Differences in Visual Preference in Rural Landscapes on the Plain of La Mancha in Spain

Esperanza Ayuga-Téllez, Juan José Ramírez-Montoro, Maria Ángeles Grande-Ortiz and Diego Muñoz-Violero
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Esperanza Ayuga-Téllez: Buildings, Infrastructures and Projects for Rural and Environmental Engineering (BIPREE), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Juan José Ramírez-Montoro: Departamento de Ingeniería y Gestión Forestal y Ambiental, ETSI de Montes, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Maria Ángeles Grande-Ortiz: Departamento de Ingeniería y Gestión Forestal y Ambiental, ETSI de Montes, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Diego Muñoz-Violero: Departamento de Ingeniería y Gestión Forestal y Ambiental, ETSI de Montes, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 24, 1-15

Abstract: For centuries, agricultural activities have marked and defined the landscape with its own distinctive features. The consideration of the rural landscape as a resource has gained traction in recent years. In Europe, the European Landscape Convention offers a solid framework that places landscape at the forefront of European policies on cultural heritage, environment, and territorial ordination. The most important new development is the integrated vision of the landscape in its cultural and natural aspects, and the introduction of its social dimension. This work analyses the influence of different factors on preferences for rural landscapes in the locality of Campo de Criptana (Ciudad Real), representative of the singular rural landscape of the La Mancha plain. The method for assessing landscape is the people’s aesthetic response to it. Specifically, an analysis has been made of the observers’ preferences in relation to their educational level (university educated or not), gender, age, and place of origin (whether they come from the locality itself or from outside). This is one of the few works that analyse the place of origin of the observer. In view of these results, it can be concluded that all the demographic factors analysed have an influence on preferences in rural landscapes.

Keywords: landscape quality; assessment; public preferences; demographic factors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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