Purpose This paper aims to describe the transdisciplinary, multiphase, mixed methods, generative design research, participatory planning and social design activities developed and implemented by the West Virginia University Rural Tourism Design Team and associated outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The multiphase methodology included quantitative and qualitative research in initial stages of the study (key informant interviews, resident attitudes toward tourism survey, visitor preferences survey, economic impact analysis) which informed social design activities at latter stages (asset mapping, landscape design/visualization of opportunities and sites targeted for development and cultural identity design) using generative design tools facilitating co-design with the communities and helping the destination take sequential steps toward achieving their goals and objectives. Findings Opportunities and challenges identified through multiple methods were triangulated and pointed to the same conclusions including the need for long term planning and managed growth; protecting community values; underutilized natural, cultural and historic assets; the opportunity to develop nature-based, cultural and historical attractions; and the need for a common vision and collective identity. Research limitations/implications This study makes a unique contribution to literature on sustainable tourism planning by incorporating social design activities to visualize findings of more traditional planning methods and provide tangible, visible outcomes of planning activities which can guide local stakeholders in rural destinations more directly to funding for planning recommendations and project implementation. Practical implications The transdisciplinary and social/generative/participatory approach provided a scaffolding of outputs to the community with citizen control and active involvement throughout the planning and design process. The incorporation of social design provided tangible outcomes including site designs and a cultural identity. Generative design research gives people a language with which they can imagine and express their ideas and dreams for future experiences. Originality/value This paper investigates the role of social design in a transdisciplinary, multiphase project to support sustainable tourism planning.

No abstract

No abstract

Photographs have been utilized as substitutes for on-site scenes in the assessment and evaluation of landscape’s visual quality, perspective, and preference. Visual quality, perception, and preference are assessed through human eyes and their judgment. However, the human judgement is often generally categorized as expert vs. citizen. Literature searches show that the expert-based assessment dominates over the citizen level judgement. There is a lack of information on methodologies to assess public preference of landscape and landscape attributes. This paper discussed two different approaches of assessing landscape preferences of the public (local and visitors) in the proposed Appalachian Geopark Project (hereafter referred as pAGP) covering Fayette, Greenbrier, and Raleigh Counties in West Virginia (WV). A set of two questionnaire surveys were administered. There were questions for answering as a cognitive preference exercise and a set of photographs for rating as a visual stimulation exercise. Both instruments were delivered to respondents as anonymous links using Survey123 and Qualtrics software respectively. The results from both surveys revealed the highest preference was found for forested landscapes followed by water features and the associated landscapes. This study’s findings revealed how multiple methods of assessing public preferences can strengthen and justify the results from different methods. Surveys were completed by 47 respondents.

No abstract