A Digital Approach to Understanding the Complex Italian Landscape: From Viewshed to Visual Intrusion

摘要

Landscape capacity generally refers to the degree to which a landscape area is able to absorb change without significant effects on its character and perception. The aim of this study is to examine the changes caused by the construction of settlements and infrastructures by checking which patterns of landscape are affected and by what amount, through means of image analysis techniques integrated with GIS software. This type of landscape analysis allows us to create an objective image compounded by its basic elements, numerically identifying the colour ranges and geometries that constitute its structure, using the azimuth view (orthophoto) and views from the road as observation points as well as numerically comparing those values with all of the attributes that characterize a part of a territory (cultural, rarity, historical, scenic value, sound, etc.). In this way we can assess the level of impact caused by the construction of a settlement or an infrastructure by evaluating the degree of change introduced and comparing the pre-work to the post-work situation. This will give decision makers the possibility to: 1. have a more objective idea of a territory not influenced by cultural background and personal attributes; 2. assess with a methodology independent from any context; 3. rationalize the perceptual experience of the present day landscape; 4. univocally define the parameters that identify a territory; and 5. have a map of the territory's vulnerability (the analysis regards its characters and visual aspects).