In recent decades the canon of environmental aesthetics has expanded beyond its primary concern of understanding what is beautiful in the fine arts to the appreciation of natural and cultural landscapes. Corresponding with society's growing interest in conservation, environmental aesthetics has emerged as relevant to many conservation discussions. The preservation and interpretation of cultural landscapes is complicated by resources that are in a constant state of change. Traditional cultural landscape preservation practices have had mixed results. A focus on interpretation rather than preservation is generally considered a strategy for improving cultural landscape practices.Applying theories developed in the field of environmental aesthetics to cultural landscapes may lead to principles helpful to their preservation and interpretation. In this study, an environmental aesthetic framework is developed and applied to the Canoa Ranch, a historic property south of Tucson, Arizona, to evaluate the potential of using environmental aesthetics in appreciation of cultural landscapes.
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