Evaluating Aesthetics: The Major Issues and a Bibliography

Abstract

There is a growing need for a more informed and consistent approach to evaluating aesthetics. This need is due to a heightened awareness of environmental impacts and the utility of conservation practices. The integration of methodological approaches from various fields of expertise is essential in addressing the complex problems facing planners and developers in dealing with landscape aesthetics. The rationale behind this study was to facilitate such an integration by identifying the major issues in, and the most helpful bibliographic sources for, the assessment of landscape aesthetics. Forty-nine practitioners and academicians from various backgrounds agreed to participate in the study. The participants interacted through a Delphi process. They identified five major issues regarding the assessment of scenery aesthetics, and they generated and prioritized a bibliography consisting of eighty-five sources. There was little correspondence between the issues and the bibliography suggesting that the issues identified in this study constitute fertile research topics.