https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5908-7209
ABSTRACT
Visual resources are a critical, but often overlooked type of cultural resource. Additionally, visual resources are often dealt with only at the site scale and not as part of a larger landscape or region. Building on a long history of photographic studies for landscape visual assessment, this work examines crowdsourced photography from social media sources to identify visual resources and areas of scenic interest at larger scales. A pilot study in Pennsylvania and subsequent exploration in the National Capital Region show how publicly shared photography can aid the identification and prioritization of conservation areas by garnering information from residents and visitors, alike. Analyses of these data also show trends for the types of visual resources and landscapes that are most valued. Subsequently, other forms of data, such as impact projections can be compared to the photographic data to identify where future conflicts may occur.
• Crowdsourced data is useful for identifying areas of visual and cultural resources.
• Natural or natural-appearing landscapes are valued more above other types.
• Data availability and compatibility are important for regional-scale conservation.
Acknowledgments
Funding and support for this research was provided by a United States National Park Service cooperative agreement #135414 P11AC30805, Comparative Landscape Scale Cultural Resource conservation: Pennsylvania, the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative, and the Hamer Center for Community Design housed within the College of Arts and Architecture at the Pennsylvania State University.
Thank you to the Hamer Center for Community Design for supporting my research and graduate studies.
A special thanks to Monica Genuardi for her help in the data collection and analysis.
Disclosure statement
In accordance with Taylor & Francis policy and my ethical obligation as a researcher, I am reporting that funding and support for this research was provided by a United States National Park Service cooperative agreement #135414 P11AC30805, Comparative Landscape Scale Cultural Resource conservation: Pennsylvania, the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative, and the Hamer Center for Community Design housed within the College of Arts and Architecture at the Pennsylvania State University.