Towards Theory Generation in Landscape Aesthetics

Abstract

When planning models and emergent paradigms in the area of landscape perception are reviewed, it can be observed that the aesthetics issue is neglected in the mainstream planning approaches. In turn, visual assessment research does not provide any information of value to planners in incorporating the issue into policy models. This dilemma is attributed to the lack of a proper basis for the construction of a predictive theory of landscape aesthetics. In this paper an integrative approach to planning and theory development in landscape aesthetics is presented. An appropriate implementation strategy, based on a reflective decision making framework, is suggested where the interactions between the decision context, the decision process, and the participants' perceptions/preferences are explicitly considered.