Lange Eckart, Hehl-Lange Sigrid, Brewer Mark J
Department of Landscape, The University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
J Environ Manage. 2008 Nov;89(3):245-56. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2007.01.061. Epub 2007 Sep 4.
The provision of green space is increasingly being perceived as an important factor for quality of life. However, green spaces often face high developmental pressure. The main objective of this study is to investigate a prospective approach to green space planning by combining three-dimensional (3D) visualization of green space scenarios and survey techniques to facilitate improved participation of the public. Aside from the 'Status quo', scenarios 'Agriculture', 'Recreation', 'Nature conservation' and 'Wind turbines' are visualized in three dimensions. In order to test responses, a survey was conducted both in print format and on the Internet. Overall, 49 different visualizations that belong to one of the scenarios were available in the survey and were rated according to the perceived esthetic, recreational and ecological values. The highest rated scenes include vegetation elements such as meadows with orchards, single trees, shrubs or forest. The least attractive scenes are those where buildings are highly dominant or where there are no vegetation elements. Based on the ratings for the individual images and on the corresponding scenarios, our study shows that there is high potential for improving the existing landscape. All suggested changes are either rated about equal to or considerably higher than the status quo, with the scenario 'Nature conservation' receiving the highest scores.
