LANDSCAPE AESTHETICS NUMERICALLY DETERMINED: APPLICATIONS TO HIGHWAY CORRIDOR SELECTION
BECAUSE CONSIDERABLE CONTROVERSY COMMONLY SURROUNDS TESTIMONY CONCERNING ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION, A QUANTITATIVE METHOD TO EVALUATE AESTHETIC FACTORS OF A LANDSCAPE IS NEEDED. SUCH AN EVALUATION WILL HELP TO SEPARATE FACTS FROM EMOTIONS AND TO PROVIDE A MEANS TO HIERARCHICALLY RANK VARIOUS ALTERNATIVE SITES OR CORRIDORS. THE LAND SYSTEM, WHICH IS DISCUSSED IN THIS PAPER PROVIDES A PRELIMINARY METHOD TO QUANTIFY AESTHETIC FACTORS OF A LANDSCAPE AND TO VISUALLY INSPECT HIERARCHICALLY RANKED ALTERNATIVES. THE MODEL IS AN EXTENSION OF LEOPOLD'S CONCEPT OF LANDSCAPE UNIQUENESS. DESCRIPTIVE EVALUATION NUMBERS FOR VARIOUS LANDSCAPE FACTORS ARE USED TO DERIVE INDEXES, WHICH ARE THEN USED TO EVALUATE AND COMPARE DIFFERENT LANDSCAPES. DATA ARE OBTAINED FROM MEASUREMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS FROM TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS, AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS, AND FIELD WORK. THIS TYPE OF PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS MAY FIND APPLICATION IN THE PLANNING STAGES OF MANY HIGHWAY ENGINEERING PROJECTS. HOWEVER, THE SYSTEM IS ONLY AN ADDITIONAL TOOL IN A DECISION-MAKING PROCESS INVOLVING THE SELECTION OF ALTERNATIVE ROUTES WHOSE CONSTRUCTION WOULD SIGNIFICANTLY MODIFY EXISTING LANDSCAPES.
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Availability:
- Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309021847
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Supplemental Notes:
- Sponsored by Committee on Photogrammetry and Aerial Surveys. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
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Authors:
- Melhorn, W N
- Keller, E A
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Conference:
- 52nd Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board
- Location: Washington District of Columbia, United States
- Date: 1973-1-22 to 1973-1-26
- Publication Date: 1973
Media Info
- Media Type: Print
- Features: Figures; References; Tables;
- Pagination: pp 1-9
- Monograph Title: Photogrammetric analysis of urban and rural environments
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Serial:
- Highway Research Record
- Issue Number: 452
- Publisher: Highway Research Board
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Aesthetics; Highway planning; Landscape design; Mathematical models
- Uncontrolled Terms: Models
- Subject Areas: Design; Highways;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00203859
- Record Type: Publication
- ISBN: 0309021847
- Files: TRIS, TRB
- Created Date: Apr 11 1974 12:00AM