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Landscape Aesthetics and the Scenic Drivers of Amenity Migration in the New West: Naturalness, Visual Scale, and Complexity

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  • Jelena Vukomanovic

    (Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado-Boulder, 1560 30th St, Boulder, CO 80303, USA)

  • Barron J. Orr

    (Office of Arid Lands Studies, University of Arizona, 1955 East Sixth St, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA)

Abstract

Values associated with scenic beauty are common “pull factors” for amenity migrants, however the specific landscape features that attract amenity migration are poorly understood. In this study we focused on three visual quality metrics of the intermountain West (USA), with the objective of exploring the relationship between the location of exurban homes and aesthetic landscape preference, as exemplified through greenness, viewshed size, and terrain ruggedness. Using viewshed analysis, we compared the viewsheds of actual exurban houses to the viewsheds of randomly-distributed simulated (validation) houses. We found that the actual exurban households can see significantly more vegetation and a more rugged (complex) terrain than simulated houses. Actual exurban homes see a more rugged terrain, but do not necessarily see the highest peaks, suggesting that visual complexity throughout the viewshed may be more important. The viewsheds visible from the actual exurban houses were significantly larger than those visible from the simulated houses, indicating that visual scale is important to the general aesthetic experiences of exurbanites. The differences in visual quality metric values between actual exurban and simulated viewsheds call into question the use of county-level scales of analysis for the study of landscape preferences, which may miss key landscape aesthetic drivers of preference.

Suggested Citation

  • Jelena Vukomanovic & Barron J. Orr, 2014. "Landscape Aesthetics and the Scenic Drivers of Amenity Migration in the New West: Naturalness, Visual Scale, and Complexity," Land, MDPI, vol. 3(2), pages 1-24, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:3:y:2014:i:2:p:390-413:d:34855
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jelena Vukomanovic & Sandra L. Doumas & W. R. Osterkamp & Barron J. Orr, 2013. "Housing Density and Ecosystem Function: Comparing the Impacts of Rural, Exurban, and Suburban Densities on Fire Hazard, Water Availability, and House and Road Distance Effects," Land, MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-22, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Przemysław Śleszyński, 2021. "Multi-Item Assessment of Physiognomic Diversity of Geocomplexes as a Comprehensive Method of Visual-Aesthetic Landscape Assessment," Geographies, MDPI, vol. 1(1), pages 1-25, March.
    2. Peng Wang & Wenjuan Yang & Dengju Wang & Youjun He, 2021. "Insights into Public Visual Behaviors through Eye-Tracking Tests: A Study Based on National Park System Pilot Area Landscapes," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-19, May.
    3. Van Berkel, Derek B. & Tabrizian, Payam & Dorning, Monica A. & Smart, Lindsey & Newcomb, Doug & Mehaffey, Megan & Neale, Anne & Meentemeyer, Ross K., 2018. "Quantifying the visual-sensory landscape qualities that contribute to cultural ecosystem services using social media and LiDAR," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 31(PC), pages 326-335.
    4. Karasov, Oleksandr & Heremans, Stien & Külvik, Mart & Domnich, Artem & Burdun, Iuliia & Kull, Ain & Helm, Aveliina & Uuemaa, Evelyn, 2022. "Beyond land cover: How integrated remote sensing and social media data analysis facilitates assessment of cultural ecosystem services," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    5. Szymon Chmielewski, 2020. "Chaos in Motion: Measuring Visual Pollution with Tangential View Landscape Metrics," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-21, December.

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