Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
is, uneven terrain). Litton (1977) considered the whole
river landscape and recognized the following elements of
visual assessment: '(a) landforms, (b) vegetation patterns,
(c) water presence and expression, (d) human use and
impacts' (p. 46), (e) other natural influences 'including
visual effects of climate, seasonal change, topographic
orientation, and relative elevation' (p. 47). More recently,
the results of the Ryan's study (1998) show that 'local
residents see the river corridor in terms of four inter-
connected landscapes: the river, woods, farms, and built
areas' (p. 236). The photographs of rivers were higher in
preference than those of woods and grassland, of back-
yard, and of farm fields. In Western Europe, an inclination
exists towards deep, slow-flowing mature rivers that are
more than 4 meters wide (House and Sangster, 1991;
House and Fordham, 1997). As curved lines create a
sense of mystery, it appears that observers are particularly
attracted to curving or meandering river scenes (Levin,
1977; Lee, 1979; Ellsworth, 1982; Kenwick et al., 2009).
The surveys detailed in this chapter are in line with the
experimental paradigm and take advantage of both the
psychophysical and cognitive approaches. They are based
on a set of photographs and a series of questions con-
cerning the views. The aim is to appreciate riverscape
perceptions according to several criteria, to evaluate
the consensual aspect of reactions, and to understand
the underlying socio-cultural logics. Practically, such
approaches are very efficient and can provide knowledge
allowing to determine a management policy integrat-
ing social perception (the so called 'social engineering'
approach), but they are also subject to criticism. Turner
(1975) notably indicated for such an approach: 'Person-
ally I am appalled at the prospect of planning landscape
on the basis of public preference' (p. 160).
Whereas photographs are commonly recognised as an
accurate indication of on-site conditions, a few studies
have highlighted differences between static and dynamic
representations in certain conditions (Brown and Daniel,
1991; Heft and Nasar, 2000; Huang, 2009). As human
perception of the environment is multi-modal, many sci-
entists acknowledge the role that both motion and sound
play in the perception and evaluation of water landscapes.
Moreover, intangible elements such as odours, tempera-
ture and humidity could also be important components
of riverine environments, although the related impres-
sions are only felt in the real world. Scientists attempted
to use videotape images to represent waterscapes more
realistically by conveying the dynamic qualities of water
(Brown and Daniel, 1991; Hetherington et al., 1993). They
found differences in the responses to water flow (water
level, volume, and speed). The use of videos still remains
limited however. A few studies have examined variations
in perception depending on the types of stimulus (
in situ
,
photo or video). The results are very variable, indicat-
ing that additional knowledge is needed to improve the
understanding of when and why photos are an accurate
medium or may produce biases (see detailed in Hethering-
ton et al., 1993; Huang, 2000, 2004 and 2009). Anderson
et al. (1983) indicated that realistic sound stimuli affected
the aesthetic evaluation of outdoor settings. Motion, indi-
vidually and jointly with sound, has been demonstrated
to have important effects on human perception and
evaluation of dynamic landscapes (Hetherington et al.,
1993). Recently, Huang (2000, 2004 and 2009) investi-
gated preferences for built waterscapes. Results showed
that 'fast water movement, loud water sound, complex
configurations of water movement, and complex pro-
files of containers and objects of waterscapes units were
favored' (Huang, 2000, p. 11). Our own tests showed
that photographs are a realistic medium compared to
videos or in-situ conditions, notably along natural rivers
and oxbows where motion is not a key point (the flow
velocity is shown by turbulence) no more than odours
or sounds.
18.3 The design of photo-questionnaires
18.3.1 Thequestionnaireandselection
ofphotographs
Such an approach is considered as an experiment and
as a consequence of this is performed in a clear sci-
entific framework based on hypotheses, validation and
inferential statistics. The aim is to validate or invalidate
a hypothesis and the question that is asked is in strong
interaction with the selected photo set and the submission
of the view. As with every scientific experiment, there are
simplifications of the reality. Nevertheless, unexpected
perceptive aspects may contribute to the variability of
answers and make the interpretation of results more
complex. The questionnaire is then built to validate the
hypothesis and cannot be used for multiple purposes.
There are therefore clear constraints in building and
submitting the questionnaire and in selecting the pho-
tographs to mitigate noise and maximise the validity of
the experiment.
The choice of a method to submit the views to
the people surveyed is a key issue in studies on land-
scape preferences. Only direct experience stimulates all
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