Factors influencing visual landscape quality perceived by the public. Results from a national survey

Abstract

In the context of significant landscape changes, understanding how residents perceive landscape quality is crucial for landscape policy-making and planning. However, while significant advancements have been made in measuring physical landscape change, social indicators assessing visual landscape quality perceived by the public are still underdeveloped. In this study, we use an indicator-based assessment of visual landscape quality that was collected through a standardized questionnaire at national scale in Switzerland. The survey was sent out to a representative sample of over 8000 households, with 2814 complete questionnaires returned. We investigated the influence of different factors on how residents assess visual landscape quality. Our results show that across Switzerland, residents rated visual landscape quality of their municipality positively, with some differences between geographic regions. Using a multilevel model, we included explanatory variables both at the individual level and variables on landscape characteristics at the municipality level. How long residents have lived in a region and how well they can see the landscape in an unobstructed way (openness of view) are significant predictors of perceived landscape quality, while gender and educational attainment are not. At the municipality level, the type of municipality and the biogeographic region are significant predictors to explain variance between municipalities. Results from this indicator-based assessment of visual landscape quality among the general public highlight the importance of including public opinion, with results that can potentially be used as a baseline from which to assess future landscape change and effects of landscape policy-decisions.