Positive or Negative Viewpoint Determines the Overall Scenic Beauty of a Scene: A Landscape Perception Evaluation Based on a Panoramic View

Abstract

In the contemporary world, the swift advancement of urbanization, the pressing need for environmental conservation, and humanity’s unyielding quest for a better quality of life have jointly underscored the escalating importance of research on landscape aesthetics and perceptual experiences. Researchers have often evaluated the overall scene’s beauty based on photos taken from a single viewpoint. However, it has been observed that different viewpoints of the same scene can lead to varying degrees of beauty perception. Some positive viewpoints highlight landscape features that contribute to beauty preferences, while negative viewpoints emphasize aspects that may evoke discomfort and decrease perceived beauty. Therefore, a crucial question arises: which viewpoint, positive or negative, holds more influence over the overall beauty of the scene? This paper aimed to address this question by utilizing panoramic map technology to establish a landscape perception evaluation model. The model was based on empirical evidence from various spatial scenes along the Yaozijian Ancient Road in Anhua County, encompassing towns and villages. The study analyzed the functional relationship between landscape factors, positive and negative viewpoints, and the degree of scenic beauty. It was found that (1) it is difficult to reflect the overall scenic beauty of a scene (OSBS) of a single viewpoint photo, and both positive and negative viewpoints of scenic beauty have significant effects on the OSBS. In the empirical case study, it was found that the overall effect of a positive viewpoint of scenic beauty (PVSB) on OSBS was greater; (2) PVSB had a major effect on OSBS with a high visual hierarchy and cloud ratio and a low type of vegetation and proportion of man-made objects; (3) a negative viewpoint of scenic beauty (NVSB) had a major effect on OSBS with a low visual hierarchy of the landscape. The results of the study reveal the relationship between landscape factors of different viewpoints and the OSBS, which can be applied to landscape beauty evaluation and landscape planning and design processes.