LOCAL PERCEPTIONS IN CONSERVATION OF RURAL LANDSCAPES: A CASE OF KARUE HILL

Abstract

The scenic character of many rural landscapes has been degraded as people seek individual benefits fromthese natural resources, thus precipitating a tragedy in a commons. In most cases, the planning of these areashas been relegated to professionals who follow normative theories and individual tastes, creatingpsychological alienation to the public. This leads to aesthetic pollution in the landscape. The planning processadopted has failed to incorporate social aspects and emphasizes the technical aspects of master planning. Thestudy therefore sought to establish the residents’ attitudes towards the rural landscapes. A field study of 101respondents was interviewed along the semantic differential scale in order to elicit attitudes towards theselandscapes. Data was collected by sequentially exposing 100 colour photographs to respondents of Karue Hill.Formal aspects of the most and least liked photographs were interpreted and presented graphically. Itemerged that most respondents preferred rolling landscapes with substantial coherence, spaciousness andcomplexity. It is recommended that designers and policymakers dealing with conservation of rural landscapesbe guided by user perceptions to ensure project acceptability and aesthetic sustainability.