The social value of English landscapes

Qualitative assessments of landscape resources can best be approached through direct measurement of landscape perceptions. Results from a survey of one District in Hertfordshire, England, show this approach not only to be viable but also to yield much information relevant to plans for landscape improvement and protection. Consensus was high and the socio-economic variables generally had little effect on evaluations. Residential location was important in affecting landscape perceptions, resulting in an urban/rural variation in results. For detailed surveys of landscape resources prior to planned landscape change this public-participation approach to landscape resources is recommended in preference to methods based on statistical prediction or professional judgment alone.