Treesearch

The urban-wildland interface is treated as a place where extremes meet--where it is difficult to maintain a visually appealing transition from country to city. Problems are identified in relation to stable cities, urbanizing areas, and developing resorts in the wildlands. The visual problems of urbanization are also discussed in relation to physical impacts such as unstable soils, flooding hazards, and wildfires.

This paper outlines the opportunities for visual resource management (VRM) in the southern Appalachian coal basin resulting from the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. It focuses upon VRM as a regulatory activity that works to insure the proper enforcement of the law and effective development of its implementation programs. VRM for Appalachian surface mining is directly controlled by the law which can significantly protect the region's visual resources given proper enforcement and program development. However, the full environmental, economic and social costs of achieving the...

The surface mining process consists of four phases: (1) exploration; (2) development; (3) production; and (4) reclamation. A variety of surface mining methods has been developed, including strip mining, auger, area strip, open pit, dredging, and hydraulic. Sound planning and design techniques are essential to implement alternatives to meet the myriad of laws, regulations, and mining and visual resource objectives.

A computer modeling technique is described for evaluating the visual impact of a proposed surface mine located within the viewshed of a national park. A computer algorithm analyzes digitized USGS baseline topography and identifies areas subject to surface disturbance visible from the park. Preliminary mine and reclamation plan information is used to describe how the surface disturbances will be sequenced over time. Data from revegetation plots incorporated into the model account for disturbed areas that are returned to the viewscape. These quantitative results are displayed on a computer—ge...

The prevailing research problem for our national landscapes is: How shall we organize, control, and coordinate public and private development so as to protect, maintain, improve, and manage those landscape features that we value most? Research questions discussed include: environmental/political conflicts, taxation and zoning, landscape classification, public involvement, emerging technology, information and education techniques, landscape benefits, measurement of landscape demand and supply, and systems analysis approaches for comparing the social, economic, ecologic and physical measureme...

The present study established relationships between individual differences and subjective evaluation of different kinds of landscapes. These were the first three principle components of the five components obtained from a matrix of coincidences. The three components used were: 1) natural versus humanized landscapes; 2) pleasant versus rough landscapes; 3) straight and neat forms versus round and diffuse forms. The subjects were taken from male and female university students. These subjects completed several psychological tests: CEP, 16PF and Embedded Figures Test. The data obtained from...

This paper outlines a methodological approach for determining relevant physical landscape features which people use in formulating judgments about scenic utility. This information, coupled with either empirically derived or rationally stipulated regression techniques, may be used to produce scenic utility functions and surfaces. These functions can provide a means for setting landscape management objectives and evaluating the efficiencies of alternative management strategies.

This research attempts to isolate some of the dimensions of human evaluations/perceptions of the built environment through the use of an Audience Response Machine and a video tape of environmental scenes. The results suggest that there are commonalities in peoples' evaluations/perceptions and that this type of inquiry has prescriptive value for design/planning.

Future landscapes will consist of a gradient of types ranging from wilderness areas to totally "humanized" environments. The man-dominated landscapes will be required to fulfill multiple functions only one of which is aesthetic enjoyment. It is suggested that basic principles of form and function may contribute to design criteria. Applications to the southeastern forest landscape are being pursued.