Landscape Quality Valuation for its Preservation and Treasuring

Abstract

Pollution, environmental disruption, oversized urban development and infrastructure new construction jeopardize landscape integrity and peoples quality of life. Research deals with the landscape protection and enhancement providing governments and decision makers with a comprehensive Decision Support System to assess the quality of natural and cultural heritage and address planning measures and policy actions for landscape treasuring. Research set-up a sound methodology relying upon GIS tools, to spatially detect and define landscape units along with their endowment such as natural, ecological, historic, cultural, and urban resources then valuated with a GIS integrated multi criteria analysis tool set-up by the research team. Research developed a Case Study in the European Mediterranean Basin, validating the whole system and the performance and support of the GIS tools. Results achieved open the possibility to generalize the prototype application at regional, country and federation levels and therefore support the planning implementation for landscape enhancement.