Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7502-3317

Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design

Department

Landscape Architecture

Committee Chair

Charles Yuill

Committee Co-Chair

Michael P. Strager

Committee Member

Peter Butler

Committee Member

Robert C. Burns

Committee Member

Jasmine C. Moreira

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation was to understand the relationship between landscape characters and public preferences in the proposed Appalachian Geopark (pAGP) in southern West Virginia, United States (U.S.). This region was well-known for industrial activities such as coal mining logging and railways during the 1800s. With the diminishing industrial activities, the region was left behind with degraded environmental factors including landscapes and an economically challenged society. Because of these conditions, there is a need to develop this region without further damaging the lands and implement proper land management policies and practices. Understanding characteristics of those lands from the past industrial activities and people’s perceptions and preferences for how the land should be utilized would help to build resilience and sustainable development in this region. These situations have been assessed with different research phases with varied, yet interrelated objectives. These phases were presented in different chapters within this document.

First, landscape characterization and assessment were carried out based on the literature review with respect to the U.S. and European approaches, especially Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) method. Geographic Information System (GIS) along with raster and vector datasets were used to analyze and assess typology and spatial information of the study region. The findings revealed that the U.S. approach is more inclined to the aesthetic and scenic values of the landscapes whereas the LCA method emphasizes the ‘character’ of landscapes and ‘people’s perspective’ towards the landscapes. The LCA’s focus of ‘character’ of landscape and a Geopark concept offered insights and opportunities for understanding/describing the characteristics of landscapes in the pAGP beyond general and usual meanings. Second, the results sought importance of assessing people’s preferences for landscapes and landscape attributes in the study region.

The study continued with an objective of assessing public preference towards the landscape and landscape character types. This was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, crowdsourced photographs were analyzed to investigate ‘what’ and ‘where’ people were interacting with the landscapes and landscape attributes in the study region by using a combined method of GIS and machine learning approach. In the second phase, two sets of surveys including photograph ratings and questionnaires were administered with the purpose of assessing visual elicitation and cognitive exercises in order to investigate the differences and to justify the findings from different methods. The results revealed that a degree of preferences increases with the degree of naturalness in the landscapes and landscape attributes. The findings revealing the geological, biological, archeological, and historical/cultural significances support for the potential nature merchandizing assets of this region that support a Geopark concept.

Embargo Reason

Publication Pending

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