Mapping Landscape Perception: An Assessment with Public Participation Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Analysis Techniques

Abstract

Mapping cognitive landscape perception is hindered by the difficulty of representing opinions that are spatially distributed in a heterogeneous way or not restricted by the locations of physical elements in the landscape. In recent years, the use of tools based on geographic information techniques has gained momentum in landscape assessment. We propose a methodology for generalizing cognitive landscape opinions on a spatial basis. To this end, we used a public participatory geographic information system to collect data, which is a method based on bipolar adjectives to approach users’ opinions, and the inverse distance weighted spatial interpolator and multi-criteria evaluation to undertake the spatial analysis. The study was conducted in the Ebro Delta, which is a protected wetland in northeastern Spain. The assessment was based on 1593 georeferenced opinions and resulted in a continuous geographic map of 330 km2 depicting positive and negative perceptions about the landscape. The area under study was perceived as productive, interesting, attractive, and, for the most part, quiet and peaceful, although it was seen as dirty in some parts. The method successfully mapped cognitive landscape opinions and establishes a novel procedure in landscape approaches.