Visual quality assessment of natural and cultural landscapes: The case of Aydin province

Objective: This study was conducted in the province of Aydın in order to determine the visual quality assessment of natural and cultural landscapes. Materials and Methods: The main materials of the research have been formed by: the National Park of the Great Menderes Delta of the Dilek peninsula, the Bafa Lake Natural Park, the Efeler District, the Agricultural Areas of the Aydın province, the Industrial Areas of Aydın province, the Old Doğanbey Village of Söke in Aydın. In the study, the visual quality assessment method was used. The method consists of the stages of the establishment of the research hypothesis, data collection, identification of analytical fields, statistical analysis and synthesis of data. The relationship between visual quality analysis and landscape characteristics has been evaluated by Spearman's correlation analysis. Results: 1890 photographs were taken representing the field of research of the province of Aydın in September and March 2021-2022. The study selected 36 photographs suitable for the type of natural and cultural landscape (urban landscapes (city), rural landscapes (agricultural, industrial and traditional settlements) and selected 8 landscape elements (liveliness, harmony, charm, naturality, curiosity, plant presence, color diversity, visual preference) and presented to 120 participants for evaluation. By examining the averages of visual preference scores (GTP) from the evaluated photographs, the photo with the highest score for each type of landscape was determined. According to the obtained results, it was determined that among the photographs of the Natural Landscape type, the 6th photo (MP6) from Dilek Peninsula-Great Menderes Delta National Park (VQS=5.5250), the 5th photo (BGTP5) from Bafa Lake Nature Park (VQS=5.8167); among the photographs of the Cultural Landscape type, the 4th photo (AK4) (VQS=3.3250) and the 6th photo (AK6) (VQS=3.3250) belonging to Aydın City in the Urban Landscape photographs; among the photographs of the Rural Landscape type, the 5th photo (TP5) (VQS=4.2250) belonging to Agricultural Landscapes; among the photographs of Industrial Landscapes, the 2nd photo (SP2) (VQS=3.1917); and among the photographs of Traditional Settlements, the 6th photo (GY6) (VQS=6.0667) had higher visual preference scores compared to the other photographs. Among all the parameters examined in the study, it was determined that the highest values were attributed to naturalness in Dilek Peninsula-Great Menderes Delta National Park, charming in Bafa Lake Nature Park, liveliness in Aydın City (Efeler District), naturality in agricultural landscapes, plant presence in industrial landscapes and liveliness in traditional settlements. Conclusion: In the study, suggestions were presented for evaluating landscapes defined as visual qualities, visual source values, landscape planning, land-scape protection, land design, and landscave management. Keywords: Visual Quality Assessment, natural landscape, cultural landscape, urban landscape, Aydın province