The Impact of Photovoltaic Applications on Urban Landscapes Based on Visual Q Methodology

Ming Lu, Alin Lin and Jiyi Sun
Additional contact information
Ming Lu: School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150006, China
Alin Lin: School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150006, China
Jiyi Sun: School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150006, China

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 4, 1-15

Abstract: In recent years, the installation of photovoltaic systems in China has increased steadily to gradually become large-scale, having a significant impact on the urban landscape. Research on this impact mostly focuses on visual impact and glare risk. However, differences in urban land use types may lead to differences in the impact of photovoltaic applications on the landscape. This study adapts visual Q methodology to assess the impact of photovoltaic applications on the landscape in urban areas. Landscape photographs of photovoltaic applications in different cities of China are collected and used during the concourse and Q sorting. The final Q sample is composed of 36 photographs of different photovoltaic materials at different levels of integration in six urban land use types. The P set is composed of 36 respondents, including experts and non-experts. In conclusion, environmental harmony, power generation, innovative design, installation height, and social benefits of photovoltaic systems are the main impacts of photovoltaic systems on urban landscapes. Photovoltaic systems in different urban land use types have different impacts on the landscape. The conclusions have policy implications for different urban land use types, which has significance for the construction of urban photovoltaic systems in the future.

Keywords: photovoltaic applications; landscape assessment; urban areas; visual Q sorting; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/4/1051/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/4/1051/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:4:p:1051-:d:139243

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().