TY - JOUR
T1 - The impacts of knowledge of the past on preferences for future landscape change
AU - Hanley, Nick
AU - Ready, Richard
AU - Colombo, Sergio
AU - Watson, Fiona
AU - Stewart, Mairi
AU - Bergmann, E. Ariel
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank the AHRC for funding this work, Chris Smout for comments, and Carys Swanwick for very helpful advice regarding the broader literature on landscape perceptions. We also thank three referees for helpful comments on a previous version.
PY - 2009/3
Y1 - 2009/3
N2 - In this paper, we investigate whether people's knowledge of the past influences their preferences and values towards future landscape change. "Knowledge of the past" is one aspect of the information set held by individuals, and a well-established finding in economics is that changes in information can change preferences and values. The particular aspects of knowledge of the past we work with here are: (i) awareness of past landuse, as represented by woodland cover and (ii) awareness of differing and sometimes contradictory literary impressions of this past landscape. The case studies used here relate to prospective changes in woodland cover in two UK national parks, the Lake District and the Trossachs. We find that people who are made aware that the landscape has changed over time, or that perceptions of the landscape have changed over time, are more likely to favour changes to the current landscape (are less likely to favour the status quo). Knowledge of the past therefore seems to have an impact on preferences for future landscapes. We also investigate the impacts on preferences of how "special", how "wild" and how "worked in" people perceive the landscapes of these two national parks to be.
AB - In this paper, we investigate whether people's knowledge of the past influences their preferences and values towards future landscape change. "Knowledge of the past" is one aspect of the information set held by individuals, and a well-established finding in economics is that changes in information can change preferences and values. The particular aspects of knowledge of the past we work with here are: (i) awareness of past landuse, as represented by woodland cover and (ii) awareness of differing and sometimes contradictory literary impressions of this past landscape. The case studies used here relate to prospective changes in woodland cover in two UK national parks, the Lake District and the Trossachs. We find that people who are made aware that the landscape has changed over time, or that perceptions of the landscape have changed over time, are more likely to favour changes to the current landscape (are less likely to favour the status quo). Knowledge of the past therefore seems to have an impact on preferences for future landscapes. We also investigate the impacts on preferences of how "special", how "wild" and how "worked in" people perceive the landscapes of these two national parks to be.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2008.08.008
DO - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2008.08.008
M3 - Article
C2 - 18922619
AN - SCOPUS:58049140731
SN - 0301-4797
VL - 90
SP - 1404
EP - 1412
JO - Journal of Environmental Management
JF - Journal of Environmental Management
IS - 3
ER -