The Theories, Methodology Of Landscape Visual Environment Assessment And Their Application

With the rapid development of worldwide urbanization and expansion in the fields of industry, energy, and communications both the landscape visual environment and the human material environment have suffered significant damage. Landscape visual pollution along with environmental pollutants poses an increasing threat to man's health, both physically and spiritually. In the last 30 years EIA implementation in China has failed to include the landscape visual environment in the assessment system. In the meantime, the sustainable development of landscape visual resources have not been clearly addressed in the Strategic Environment Assessment(SEA) and there are not sufficient corresponding laws, regulations or standards, neither are there and technology regulation system of implementation.From 1960s when landscape visual resources first received legislative protection in the UK and the USA, there have been numerous theoretical methods and practices developed and implemented on the landscape visual environment assessment (LVEA), and a majority of developed countries have established formal landscape visibility environment assessment institutions. Landscape Architecture in China has a long history and received a worldwide reputation for its abundant traditional aesthetic theories and practical design methods. However, contemporary landscape visual environment scientific assessment and protection work is a relatively new field and coupled with an insufficient recognition of the landscape visual environment and a lack of assessment methods and theories, there are few legislative protections in support of it. For these reasons the landscape visual environment assessment is not popularly administered in China as the EIA and SEA.The research work in the field of Landscape Visual Environment(LVE) in China primarily follows the methods and practices established in other countries .This has lead to a general lack of knowledge of the theoretical nature, concepts, and definitions of the landscape visual environment. For these reasons the LVE has not been clearly specified and regulated which has resulted in a lack of a well defined methodology framework and directional research methods.Taking into account China's national situation; a thorough investigation of international theory and methods; as well as practical experience and documented achievements in China; was used as a basis to investigate the methods and technological problems of LVEA and to establish a clear understanding of LVEA concepts and assessment framework. And the paper also gives some probe into the question of how to introduce LVEA into our country's environment and management feasible ways. The main contents and innovative points of the paper are as followings:1) Intensively investigate the concept, classification, and functional meanings of LEVA. The Landscape Visual Environment Assessment (LVEA) is divided into the Review Assessment, Current Situation Assessment and Future Assessment. Additionally, based on evaluation intensity and nature, the LEVA can be divided into the Landscape Visibility Environment Strategic Assessment and the Landscape Visual Environment Precision Assessment (impact assessment). For Assessment purposes, it can also be divided into the Landscape Visual Environment Objective Value Assessment (quality of landscape visual environment-LVEQ, scenic attractiveness -SA, landscape and visual carrying capacity-LVCC, landscape visual environment suitability-LVES, scenic integrity-SI) and Popularity Assessment. The paper makes it clear that landscape visual environment assessment(LVEA) is not only the support tool for environment management strategy but also a scientific planning tool and thought process and it has important significance to the improvement of the environment management strategy and the promotion of comprehensive strategy.2) To construct a diverse and compound methodology framework. With respect to methodology, the paper discusses the basic problems of evaluation methodology and analyses the main paradigms of assessment methods. Problems exist with the current methodology in meeting all the requirements of all the assessments of the LVEA. The paper will discuss the need for multiple combinations of assessment methods and proposals for strategy trees in method selection. There will also be a detailed discussion of how different assessment methods are applied to the landscape visual environment3) Based on methodology research and using the national situation of China; and specifically the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River; a process model of LVEA is proposed. The paper will discuss the methods used during different stages of assessment and also detail the use of 3S technology and how to best take advantage of system theory and fuzzy mathematic theory to carry out the landscape visual environment strategic assessment and impact assessment with application methods most suited to current reality.4) Based on the foundation of theories, methods, and practical research of the landscape visual environment; and using the example of Three Gorges of Yangtze River (Chongqing Part); the paper provides several innovative suggestions for the response strategy of our landscape planning and visual resource management. The paper sets up an interactive system of planning and management assessment and also explores, with some examples, into how to integrate the LVEA into the SEA and EIA system. The paper provides several suggestions to multiple disciplines, diverse division expert assessment delegations, and the Committee of LVEA into how to improve cooperative management of the issue.The purpose of the paper is to provide some preliminary theory framework of China's Landscape Visual Environment Assessment (LVEA) and propose some open method systems on LVEA. It provides some useful tools and case studies of landscape plannmg and visual resource management. It also provides a case study of the world class tourism resource, the Three Gorges of Yangtze River's LVEA. The information database of landscape visual resource along the Yangtze River in Three Gorges (Chongqing section) is established and some corresponding policies and suggestions are given for the landscape planning and management of the visual resources. The paper provides scientific evidence related to the region's landscape tourism resource and its sustainable development and makes reference to the visual environment assessment of similar ecosystems.Due to the limitation of time and recourses, the paper's research is preliminary and the methodology framework proposed calls for further intensive research. The following points must to be considered in the future:â‘ the application research of LVEA methodology framework. The paper is based on one case; the Three Gorges of Yangtze River (Chongqing Part). More integrative cases need to be done to test and verify the conclusions.â‘¡multiple assessment method research. Due to limitations and conditions, the paper does not carry out more comparative research on assessment methods and neither does it provide more intensive discussion on other application methods and will need more detailed research and accumulation of material.