Wiesmann Urs

"Die Jungfrau - unermesslich schön?" Die Ermittlung des landschaftsästhetischen Potentials im UNESCO Welterbe Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn mittels Methoden der Geoinformatik
The Jungfrau – immeasurably beautiful? Determination of the landscape aesthetic potential of the UNESCO World Heritage Jungfrau- Aletsch-Bietschhorn region by means of geoinformatics


Project Number: CH-3313
Project Type: Master
Project Duration: 01/01/2006 - 12/31/2007 project completed
Funding Source: other ,
Project Leader: Prof. Urs Wiesmann
Centre for Development and Environment (CDE)
Universität Bern
Mittelstrasse 43
3012 Bern
Phone: +41 (0) 31 631 88 69 ; +41 (0) 31 631 88 22
e-Mail: urs.wiesmann(at)cde.unibe.ch
http://www.cde.unibe.ch

related to this project.
for which the project has a relevance.


Research Areas:
Landscape

Disciplines:
Legal and Social sciences, Economics
Social geography and Ecology


Abstract:
The human perception of scenery lies at the centre of landscape aesthetics; thereby people perceive landscape scenery as the aesthetic object. This perception is overlayed with envi- ronmental influences, social values and individual experience, leading to a transformation of the real world landscape into a filtered landscape painting in people’s mind. What we can call ‘landscape aesthetic potential’ is a measure of a landscape’s power to appeal to our experi- ence of nature and sense of scenery. In order to be able to identify and look after especially beautiful places we need a means of anticipating this potential. Various studies have suggested that, despite each individual’s private opinion of what he likes, attitudes and responses are predictable to a certain degree: consequently it is crucial to know on which landscape characteristics human preference is generally founded. Based on the In- formation Processing Theory of Kaplan & Kaplan (1989), it can be observed that early man preferred landscapes with the following four qualities in order to satisfy best his requirement for food and familiarity within his surroundings: coherence, legibility, complexity and mystery. By looking at the characteristics of a section of landscape with regard to these four criteria the landscape aesthetic potential can be forecast. Taking into account the work of Isabel Augenstein (2002) these theoretical findings were inte- grated into a geographical information system to make their applicability more efficient: each of the four qualities were defined and given parameters measurable in the landscape. The system deals to some extent with landscape metrics as part of the approach of quantitative landscape ecology; they measure the specific distribution and arrangement of landscape ele- ments. Within this framework primary interest is directed towards the visual aesthetic effect of a landscape. Quantifying landscape structures in such a way involves well-defined boundaries 78 between spatial units on varying scales. On one hand these multi-resolution demarcations have to account for the central human perception dimensions within the context of landscape aesthetics – on the other they must do justice to the dominating spatial arrangement of high mountains. Multiscale segmentation algorithms of object oriented image analysis give the sys- tem its essential flexibility.



Publications:
Droz, Marcel. 2007. „Die Jungfrau - unermesslich schön?“ Die Ermittlung des landschaftsästhetischen Potenzials im UNESCO Welterbe Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn mittels Methoden der Geoinformatik. Masterarbeit. Zentrum für GeoInformatik der Paris Lodron-Universität Salzburg.
pdf Masterarbeit



Last update: 8/11/22
Source of data: ProClim- Research InfoSystem (1993-2024)
Update the data of project: CH-3313

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