The effect of landscape type and landscape elements on public visual preferences: ways to use knowledge in the context of landscape planning

This study deals with an assessment of the visual quality of landscapes, and specifically with the perception of selected elements in the landscape. The aim of the study was to find out how particular elements are perceived in various landscape types, whether this perception is affected by the landscape type in which the elements are placed, and to what extent the respondents’ characteristics affect the assessment. The study was carried out with a sample of respondents of various ages, educational levels and types of employment. The respondents came from Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The preferences of the respondents were determined using an online questionnaire, in which they rated landscape photographs on a 21 point rating scale with a range from ?10 to +10 points. Using generalised linear mixed effect models, it was found that the perception of an element is most affected by the landscape type, since the same element was assessed differently according to the landscape in which it was situated. The results confirmed that selected elements which do not disturb the harmony of the landscape are generally positively perceived, and the selected elements of a technical character are generally negatively perceived. Among the characteristics of the respondents, only gender and the respondent's current place of residence have an effect on their visual preferences.