James F Palmer

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Verified

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• PhD
• Professor Emeritus at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Communities often lack specific information about a proposed wind farm as it is being developed. They face an impossible hurdle to obtain professional quality photosimulations of the wind farm from all of the viewpoints people feel are important to investigate. This paper presents a case study concerning one community group's solution to overcome t...

The NPS has developed the visual impact assessment (VIA) methodology to provide consistency in how NPS considers and determines the potential impacts of visual changes. The NPS VIA identifies two entities, or receptors, that could be impacted by a change in the visual landscape—the viewers and the NPS as represented by the unit(s) affected. The pro...

Visual impacts of wind turbines can have a significant adverse effect on some landscapes. Studies of these impacts are dominated by the evaluation of photographs or photosimulations. However, being in the presence of a wind farm is a complex multisensory landscape experience poorly embodied by photosimulations. Further, studies of the impacts of wi...

In 2023 I was invited to give a short keynote talk for the 6th International Digital Landscape Architecture Conference & Digital Landscape Week at Southeast University, China. The invitation was for any topic related to the integration of quantitative studies in landscape architecture and I was told that the audience would be primarily students. Af...

The public expects that the services provided by professionals, such as physicians or accountants are reliable. As the public becomes more concerned about visual impacts, it is to be expected that questions will be raised about the reliability of visual impact assessment methods. This paper presents a case study investigating three types of reliabi...

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) developed this Visual Impact Assessment (VIA) Handbook based on the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) new guidelines (2015), the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Aesthetics Checklist (Checklist), and VIA best practices. The purpose of the VIA Handbook is to describe Caltrans’...

Summing viewsheds for several turbines results in a cumulative viewshed representing the number of turbines that can be seen from locations in a study area. Viewshed methods for use in a VIA has changed little since its development in the 1970s. It is an expected component of wind energy VIAs, but how it is used and understood has not been previous...

Within the broad field of landscape assessment, scholarship focused on visual impacts accounted for a very small percentage of peer-reviewed journal articles. There has been even less interest in reviewing the methods being employed to conduct visual impact assessments (VIA) as part of the development permitting process. The purpose of this review...

The analysis of wind project visual impact assessments (VIAs) is dominated by photosimulations at a limited number of viewpoints. While wind project VIAs typically include a cumulative viewshed map, they fail to integrate information about distance zone, visible exposure and project extent into a useful measure of visual impact. As a result, the qu...

Visual simulations are visualizations of a proposed project and surrounding landscape that show how the project and landscape will look in the future—usually when the project is operational. Photosimulations are spatially accurate and realistic computer-generated visualizations of the proposed facility superimposed onto a still digital photograph o...

Statement All things being equal, the location and direction for a simulation photograph should represent a "worst-case" view.

All things being equal, the location and direction for a simulation photograph should represent a “worst-case” view.

Appropriate focal length and horizontal angle of view.

A case study showing the importance of keeping a simulation and base photography truthful.

A case study explaining the importance of base photography and photosimulation resolution

A case study illustrating the need to represent all projected visual changes.

A case study demonstrating the ineffective simulation of glare.

A case study demonstrating the need to select views that show appropriate visibility of a project.

A case study demonstrating the need to select the KOP to show worst case scenario.

A case study demonstrating the need to avoid foreground obstructions

Case study demonstrating the need to select a KOP showing the worst-case scenario

A case study demonstrating the need to avoid foreground obstructions.

A case study demonstrating the need to show project elements at the correct scale.

Current visual simulation guidelines for major developments in the UK recommend using base photographs taken with a 75 mm effective focal length (EFL). This recommendation is made in spite of the geometric laws of perspective. Nonetheless, there is some research comparing photographs to in-situ views supporting this guideline, though these studies...

The Chesapeake Bay Trust sought to develop to a standard methodology for assessing and quantifying visual impacts to scenic landscapes. This report reviews methodologies relevant to scenic landscape impact assessment, provides a summary of selected relevant models, describes conceptual options/approaches for a standard methodology for quantifying s...

LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING SPECIAL COLLECTION ON THE VISUAL ASSESSMENT OF LANDSCAPES: THEMES AND TRENDS IN VISUAL ASSESSMENT RESEARCH Edited by Paul H. Gobster, Robert G. Ribe, and James F. Palmer Landscape architects have been leading contributors to the academic field of visual landscape assessment research, and the professional practice of v...

This literature review introduces a collection of 18 articles that represent the field of of visual landscape assessment research, and the professional practice of visual impact assessment. The literature review is based on 1,845 articles identified in the Scopus database related to landscape perception and visual assessment that were published bet...

This article proposes a GIS-based model for visual impact assessment. Several indices to compare alternatives or sections of the project are presented. It is applied to the proposed Northern Pass Transmission Project, and validated using field observation of an existing transmission line and evaluation of simulations at key observation points.

Visual resource management and visual impact assessments typically assume that viewers engaged in different activities place a different importance on the scenic quality of their surroundings. However, there is little empirical research to support application of this assumption. This article reports an index of viewer sensitivity based on reported...

This article demonstrates a more scientifically rigorous analysis of key observation points (KOPs) in a visual impact assessment (VIA). By scientific rigor I mean evaluating the reliability and validity measurements used, developing models that make predictions using well-defined procedures, and organizing the study to make it possible to test thos...

The accurate representation of the visual experience by photo-realistic simulations is central to the usefulness and credibility of visual impact assessments. However, little is known about how people view visual simulations. HUNTER & LIVINGSTONE (2012) investigated the best focal length for photographic landscape representation. However, they did...

What should be the role of the public in assessing the visual impacts of proposed changes to landscapes? This question was the basis of a guided discussion session hosted by the authors at the 2017 Visual Resource Stewardship Conference. In this paper we summarize our arguments regarding the appropriate role of the public in visual impact assessmen...

This introductory paper to the Visual Resource Stewardship Conference Proceedings describes efforts to develop and maintain professional capacity in the field of visual resource management (VRM). Large-scale energy development over the last two decades has been a major factor in the resurgence of activity in VRM, particularly with respect to visual...

The American context may stand out in comparison to other contributions to this volume because of its emphasis on landscape aesthetics or scenic value and because it is highly fragmented. The USA is a federation of 50 states in which the federal government has specific limited powers, and state or local governments often determine when activities s...

The historical practices of vegetation management along the Blue Ridge Parkway In North Carolina and Virginia are reviewed. These management practices Include girdling, slash burning, grazing, and natural succession. A landscape classification Is documented that Includes more than 250 scenes from scenic overlooks along 469 mi of parkway. Classifica...

The Northern Pass Transmission Project (NPTP) is a proposed 192-mile long 1,090 MW transmission line to bring Quebec hydropower through New Hampshire, USA. The visual impact assessment (VIA) was prepared for the US Dept. of Energy. It evaluated 12 alternatives, including an existing condition with a 115 kV transmission line. The methods included fi...

The focal length which best represents the relevant context and character of the landscape in a particular view is investigated through an independent validation study. The study was conducted in Co. Wicklow, Ireland, where seven photographs were taken with FX-equivalent focal lengths between 30 mm and 90 mm at each of three viewpoints. Participant...

The Renewable Energy Landscape is a definitive guide to understanding, assessing, avoiding, and minimizing scenic impacts as we transition to a more renewable energy future. It focuses attention, for the first time, on the unique challenges solar, wind, and geothermal energy will create for landscape protection, planning, design, and management. Se...

This panel will address the themes and development of the book The Renewable Energy Landscape (Apostol et al. 2016), which is a definitive guide to understanding, assessing, avoiding, and minimizing scenic impacts as we transition to the renewable energy future. The Renewable Energy Landscape focuses attention on the unique challenges that solar, w...

There is little controversy over how to conduct a visibility analysis over bare terrain. However , in many areas this results in a totally unrealistic estimate of a project's visibility, and the question arises how to account for the screening effect of land cover when information about its height is not available. This paper investigates the diffe...

While widely prepared for EISs, there is no widely accepted geospatial approach to VIA in the USA. A landscape assessment framework for VIA is introduced that may be adapted to a project’s particular context, such as the availability of spatial data and local sensitivities. The Northern Pass Transmission Project is used as a case study to show how...

Visual impact assessment (VIA) has suffered from the lack of clear criteria for evaluating the difference between adverse and unreasonably adverse impacts. In many instances the assessment comes down to individual professionals asserting their opinion with little or no basis in verifiable evidence. This is a situation found in many areas of environ...

This technical report presents a method to based on indicators and thresholds to evaluate the scenic impact of wind energy development based on Maine's Wind Energy Act's evaluation criteria. This method is applied to the Bingham Wind Project, which has a nameplate capacity of 191 megawatts (MW) generated by 62 Vestas V112-3.0 (or the slightly small...

The current document reviews the adequacy of this VIA and presents an independent analysis of the potential scenic impacts that may be caused by the Bingham Wind Project. The analysis may not be as thorough or as a complete as the VIA, due to time and budgetary constraints. Its primary purpose is to assure that the approach used by the VIA responds...

Available at: http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_741.pdf

The visual quality of the Mediterranean Island of Gozo is one of the major selling points of the island. Which landscape elements do potential tourists prefer and which landscapes are preferred by Gozitans and Maltese? The concept and results of an academic studio on visual perception, carried out by international landscape architecture students ar...

The scenic effects of clearcutting have been a volatile issue for the American public for much of the past century. A better understanding of the scenic perceptions associated with the cumulative visible effects of clearcutting should contribute to better decisions about its use. This study evaluates the scenic impacts of simulated alternative clea...

This paper investigates residents’ perceptions of scenic quality in the Cape Cod community of Dennis, Massachusetts during a period of significant landscape change. In the mid-1970s, Chandler [Natural and Visual Resources, Dennis, Massachusetts. Dennis Conservation Commission and Planning Board, Dennis, MA, 1976] worked with a community group to ev...

Ervin H. Zube was a primary force among environment-behavior researchers, particularly those who helped develop the area of landscape perception and assessment. In this commemorative essay, the authors highlight some of Zube's significant contributions to environment-behavior studies and identify a set of his publications that has had an impact on...

Throughout this history landscape representations have been used as a vehicle to communicate information, as well as for artistic expression and entertainment. When representations are used to convey information they are commonly refer to as visual simulations. However, landscape simulations do not have much meaning or purpose outside the context o...

Allotment gardens with small cottages make a rural lifestyle partially available in urban areas. Temporary living quarters, combined with the tending of annual and perennial plants, let urbanites coexist with nature for a few months out of the year. This paper investigates the history and social life these gardens play in Denmark. A particular gard...

The US Supreme Court recently determined that experts from all fields of knowledge must demonstrate the reliability and validity of their testimony. While the broader implications of their finding have yet to manifest itself, it clearly has the potential to challenge all manner of professional practices. This paper explores the reliability of visua...

NED is a collective term for a set of software intended to help resource managers develop goals, assess current and potential conditions, and produce sustainable management plans for forest properties. The software tools are being developed by the USDA Forest Service, Northeastern and Southern Research Stations, in cooperation with many other colla...

Reliability concerns whether someone who repeats an investigation will obtain similar results. It is argued that reliability is important at the level of individuals. While all landscape assessments are based on individual judgements, they are frequently aggregated to form composite judgements. The use of inter-group, intra-group and inter-rater me...

motorized. prey. and studying activities. hiving and walking far pleasure are almost universal among the respondents, so are not useful for distinguishing differences among respondents. Down-hill skiing is a high-tech sport like the naotorited group, but involves some aspects of k i n g with nature, like the campaft group. There are 7 campaaft acti...

Wetlands are an important source of open space used for many sorts of outdoor recreation activities. However, there is a paucity of published literature documenting the use of wetlands for recreation purposes. This case study reports how wetlands were used for a wide range of recreation activities in Juneau, Alaska. The relation of recreation use t...

It is Dutch national policy to maintain the landscape's identity. Spaciousness or landscape enclosure is the characteristic of identity investigated in this study. This study develops and validates a GIS model for evaluating and monitoring the spaciousness of Dutch landscapes. Six areas are selected to represent a range of landscape conditions. The...

A survey of the use of computers in landscape architecture practice was conducted in 1996. The survey was mailed to 288 ASLA practitioners; 101 completed responses were received. The results indicate that (1) landscape architecture offices have embraced computer technology, (2) computers have yet to made an dominant impact in the area of graphics a...

The public acceptance study of the Searsburg Wind Power Project is somewhat unique because it is designed to compare public attitudes before and after the project’s construction. This executive summary presents the most important results from the 1996 pre-construction and 1997 one year post-construction surveys.Sources of Information about the Sear...

The study of landscape perceptions is a sufficiently new field that changes in perceptions over time have not yet been investigated. This paper reports the initial results of such a study. It investigates a town on Cape Cod, Massachusetts that experienced substantial conversion of forest to residential land-use over a decade. Citizens' perceptions...

This study provides a snap shot of the skill landscape architects have in using their computers in 1996. A survey was mailed to a random sample of 288 ASLA practitioners; 101 complete responses were received. It reports on those in practice, and what they expect from their new hires. It also investigates how they are acquiring their computer skills...

This study develops an approach to characterize and monitor the diversity of landscape spaciousness. It involves the integration of judgments made in the field with a GIS that includes the area of trees and buildings in 250-by-250 meter cells. The relation of spaciousness to other perceived landscape attributes is reviewed. A regression analysis us...

This paper considers two special aspects of De Hoge Veluwe, the largest national park in The Netherlands. These are the Kröller-Müller Museum and wit fiets (white bikes). How they might be incorporated into areas managed by the National Park Service is explored.

In a few short years, mountain biking has become a major outdoor recreation. This study provides an approach to map and evaluate recreational challenges and environmental effects of mountain biking trails. It is applied to eight trails in the Western US. The results indicate the relationship between experience and impact varies for different trail...

This exploratory study examines the use of qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate forest scenic value, Short, open-ended reactions and rating scales are used as response formats to describe landscape character and recreational behavior. Respondents are unsolicited 1994 New York State Fair -goers who volunteered to complete evaluations of a s...

With the burgeoning of computer technologies. three fields are converging to have a powerful impact on outdoor recreation: artificial intelligence (AI). geographic information systems (GIS). and digital visualization (DV). Developments in these three fields are briefly sketched and their trends relating to outdoor recreation summarized. This conver...

Forest recreation managers and researchers interested in conserving and improving the visual quality and recreation opportunities available in forest environments must often resort to simulations as a means of illustrating alternatives for potential users to evaluate. This paper reviews the results of prior research evaluating the validity of using...

The National Visual Simulation Task Force was convened for its first meeting on November 8-10, 1993 in Salt Lake City. Determining the present status of simulation technology among the federal land management agencies was seen by this group as one of the first activities that needed to be accomplished. This report presents the results of a survey t...

While the press seems enamored about how computers and the information highway (a.k.a. the 'i-way') are going to change our lives, some pundits are more skeptical. This report looks at the use of computers in landscape architecture education. It draws upon two sources, the first comes from a year of discussion on the internet; the second is a surve...

This study evaluates the scenic impacts of simulated alternative clearcutting management systems for the White Mountain National Forest. Alternatives represented removal of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 percent of the timber in two viewsheds every 12 years using either scattered or concentrated clearcut units of 5, 15 and 30 acres. Significant differences in sc...

This paper reviews the fmdings of past research relating scenic value to structural characteristics of forests. Data from 23 northeastern forest sites are used to describe the relationship of seasonal scenic value to six structural attributes: time since harvest, crown closure, understory layer, herbaceous ground cover, large trees, and slash or do...

A Bayesian approach is used to portray the "fuzzyness" of raster GIS models using visibility analysis as an illustrative model.

A generic model to evaluate scenic rivers is presented. The physical attributes of 180 river segments in Massachusetts are inventories, and a representative sample of 78 segments are photographed. The photographs are rated for scenic quality. A scenic index is proposed based on the relationship between individual physical attributes and scenic qual...

Individuals owning small woodlots have different management objective than corporate owners. Important among these is the forest's aesthetic value. This study investigates the effects of season and the time since harvest on the scenic quality northern hardwood sites. The seven sites studied range from one to thirteen years since being partially cut...

This paper is prepared to brief the Chief of the Army Corps of Engineers to the importance of aesthetics to quality of life and approaches to measure it. It is contextualized using Maslow’s often misinterpreted hierarchy of needs and relevant research literature. Three approaches to measure landscape aesthetics are reviewed: economic, functional an...

This chapter documents the use of wetland assessment techniques plus participatory processes to shed light on human use values of wetlands in Juneau Alaska during the the Special Areas Management Study. There existed at this time 1988-1990 major conflicts between wetland development versus preservation interests.

The research reported here characterizes residential greenspace from the perspective of 583 residents in Syracuse, New York. The results focus on the residents' perceptions of their greenspace's physical quality, the activities occurring in their greenspace, and the attitudes and motivations they had in relation to their greenspace. The results doc...

This paper briefly reviews the findings of a study to determine the visual amenity values associated with wetlands near Juneau, Alaska. The chosen approach uses a random sample survey to systematically determine these values. In a sense, a survey is a form of plebiscite that allows a richer investigation of the public's views than is possible throu...

This paper describes the effort to assess human use values of wetlands in the Mendenhall Valley area of Juneau Alaska as part of a special area wetland management study.

This report documents the Visual Resources Assessment Procedure (VRAP) for the US Army Corps of Engineers. The VRAP is a systematic method to (1) evaluate and classify existing aesthetic or visual quality; (2) assess and measure visual impacts caused by Corps water resource projects; (3) evaluate the beneficial or adverse nature of the visual impac...

The need fora broad public survey was identifred during the scoping process. General public opinion relative to the major resource considerations was seen as a special need because of their implications to the state's stewardship responsibilities. This report reviews the highlights from surveys of the general public, park users, and the Technical A...

The foundations of visual project analysis lie within the aesthetics of the landscape. Concentrating on visual dimensions to the exclusion of our other perceptions is an attempt to simplify the complexities of aesthetics, and at the same time recognize that we are primarily visual animals. Dwelling on the visual also allows this particular book to...

This chapter presents the basic decision making context including legal and scale considerations for visual project review.

To date, urban forestry has not developed a management approach that is suited to both the capacities of foresters and the realities of the urban context. Neighborhood stands are proposed as the organizing unit for such an approach. A neighborhood stand is defined as a component of the urban forest composed of contiguous trees, along with associate...

Describes the methods and results of a citizen-based inventory of local scenic resources for Cazenovia, New York.

The preliminary results of a major investigation of research needs in landscape architecture are reported. An intensive survey of prominent figures associated with landscape architecture research resulted in the classification of four research areas: landscape management.and stewardship, social meaning of landscapes, design for the newage, and deve...

Describes the methods and results of a citizen-based program to classify and evaluate the local landscape as part of a comprehensive planning program.

It is clearly Congress's intent that aesthetic values be included in the preparation of policies and plans for managing our national landscape. In the language of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Sec. 4331), we must '"use all practicable means ... [to] assure for all Americans safe, healthful, productive, and esthetically and cultural...