Quantifying perceived landscape desirability in human settlements: the case of four communities in Cape Coast, Ghana

Abstract

Through their natural, aesthetic and cultural attributes, landscapes serve a range of human needs. The perception and value placed on these attributes and services confer desirability on a given landscape. Landscape desirability refers to the extent of acceptability or preferability of the perceived state and functioning of a given landscape in relation to serving the landscape needs of its human inhabitants. This paper presents the idea of, and an approach for quantifying landscape desirability using four communities in Cape Coast, Ghana. A landscape desirability index was derived from four factors (attractivity, wellbeing, dignity, and eco-resilience) based on scores assigned by respondents to three sub-components of each of the four factors. The results show that all the communities scored their landscapes moderately on attractivity, wellbeing, dignity, and eco-resilience, as well as overall landscape desirability. Bare surfaces and contribution to flood and erosion mitigation were a major consideration in respondents’ scores of the sub-components of the factors. Nature and beauty (sub-components of attractivity) and sub-components of eco-resilience contributed considerably to the low desirability indices for the communities. This suggests the need to focus on these components in efforts to enhance landscape desirability. The findings suggest a need for wider studies to capture residents’ perceptions of their landscapes as an input into participatory landscape planning, transformation and management in Ghana. The quantitative approach applied can easily be adapted and replicated across communities and spatial scales to provide a comparable basis for sustainable landscape transformation in human settlements.

Multifunctional Landscape Transformation of Urban Idle Spaces for Climate Resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…Weak land administration and poor municipal services add to the challenge of discontinuous expansion and poor-quality urban landscapes and environments (Mensah 2014). Urban landscape planning and management are rarely considered important in the discourse on sustainable and resilient development (Yawson 2020). Urban landscapes have, therefore, evolved organically and chaotically with urbanization, and are poorly managed.…”

“…One visible result is the considerable proportion of land surfaces poorly covered by either natural or man-made covers (Mensah 2014). Consequently, very dusty, bushy, and unsightly land surfaces are visible in both the urban core and the periphery, resulting in high exposure to dust during the dry season and mud or sediment transport during the wet season, and other unhealthy elements (Yawson 2020). These have consequences for resilience and sustainability in both the short and long term.…”

“…These components are intertwined and provide reciprocal services and or feedback effects on each other. Landscapes, therefore, provide first impressions of the complex processes and interactions between social and ecological components that underpin the provision of ecosystem services, which, in turn, underpin human well-being and resilience (Yawson 2020). These ecosystem services are classified as provisioning (e.g., food, herbs, and clean water or air), supporting (e.g., nutrient, energy, or material cycling), regulatory (e.g., flood, erosion, and climate control), and cultural (e.g., heritage, spirituality, visual aesthetics, and recreational opportunities) (Grêt-Regamey et al 2015).…”

“…These ecosystem services are classified as provisioning (e.g., food, herbs, and clean water or air), supporting (e.g., nutrient, energy, or material cycling), regulatory (e.g., flood, erosion, and climate control), and cultural (e.g., heritage, spirituality, visual aesthetics, and recreational opportunities) (Grêt-Regamey et al 2015). A landscape reflects the status of cultural sophistication, development, and well-being, as well as the vulnerability of its inhabitants or users to a given external or environmental shock (Yawson 2020). Landscapes that are subject to unsustainable management practices can be very vulnerable to shocks and, in turn, deepen the vulnerability of its inhabitants or users to environmental shocks.…”

Multi-source sensor based urban habitat and resident health sensing: A case study of Wuhan, China

“…The advantages of this paper are: in addition to the urban street view, we also utilize a variety of evaluation indicators proving to be related to virus transmission (e.g., climatic conditions, the surrounding environment of community) [ 24 , 25 ], and establish a relatively complete human centered risk exposure assessment system from the view of Geographic Information System (GIS), evaluate the safety of the community using the observable variable value. We consider the process of exposed model as an evolving coupled confirmed cases and human settlements and system [ 26 ]. Based on the established index evaluation system, a case study of COVID-19 was carried out by using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).…”