RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 On the Theoretical Vacuum in Landscape Assessment
JF Landscape Journal
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 51
OP 56
DO 10.3368/lj.12.1.51
VO 12
IS 1
A1 Carlson, Allen
YR 1993
UL http://lj.uwpress.org/content/12/1/51.abstract
AB In 1975, Jay Appleton drew attention to the theoretical vacuum in landscape evaluation. In 1982, Zube, Sell, and Taylor identified “a conspicuous theoretical void in the majority of the research.” They, as Appleton, issued a call to develop a theoretical framework for the field. My purpose is to determine the extent to which the theoretical vacuum remains a problem for landscape assessment studies. I examine the manner in which the call to fill the vacuum has been answered by considering two representative samples, one from the beginning and one from the end of the decade. The first is developed in Zube's “Themes in Landscape Assessment Theory” and Sell, Taylor, and Zube's “Toward a Theoretical Framework for Landscape Perception.” The second example is presented in Steven Bourassa's The Aesthetics of Landscape. By means of an investigation of these two cases, I argue that Although important theoretical work has been accomplished, much remains to be done. In particular, the field still lacks an adequate theory of justification. I conclude with some remarks about why such a theory is lacking and why it is required.