| Abstract: | This article reports findings from a study employing a number of environmental attributes in order to (a) describe agrarian landscapes in western Norway; and (b) predict preferences for the same landscapes. For these purposes three domains of attributes were chosen: informational variables; perception-based variables; and one single variable, perceived age of landscape. The most prominent characteristics of highly preferred human-influenced landscapes were their high degrees of Age and Mystery. On the other hand, highly preferred nature-dominated landscapes were characterized by high degrees of Coherence, Openness, Smoothness and Ease of Locomotion. In multiple regression analyses, informational variables were the most effective domain of preference predictors, although, in separate regression analyses, one perception-based variable, Openness, and Age also yielded significant results. The results suggest that attributes known to enhance preference are present to a markedly higher degree in traditional than in modern agrarian settings. However, that these attributes seem to function differently in human-influenced and nature-dominated settings is of theoretical interest. |
