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The Concept of Scenic Beauty in a Landscape

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Coastal Scenery

Part of the book series: Coastal Research Library ((COASTALRL,volume 26))

Abstract

The concept of beauty has for many centuries been considered and debated by philosophers, e.g. Kant, Wittgenstein, Hume and Locke. It is an ephemeral word that conjures up different meanings in people’s minds alongside its counterpart ugliness. When the term is applied to coastal scenery the spectrum of measuring beautiful scenery has been a task that has occupied geographers, planners, etc. for at least a century. Beautiful scenery is a prime criterion for areas, such as, National Parks, Heritage Coasts, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, but how is it assessed? Quality in a landscape is intrinsic in the physical quality of the area and is also a product of the mind of the observer, i.e. the scene looked at by an observer interacts with his/her perception of it to make a value judgment. If this is high, then the scene has beauty. Any landscape consists of historical, social and aesthetic aspects and this chapter concerns itself with these parameters, especially the visual aspect of the latter.

‘A thing of beauty is a joy for ever/its loveliness increases.’

(Keats 1918)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Architecture, Computing and Engineering, University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, Swansea, Wales, UK

    Allan T. Williams

  2. CICA NOVA, Nova Universidad de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

    Allan T. Williams

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  1. Departamentos de Física y Biología, Universidad del Atlantico, Barranquilla, Atlantico, Colombia

    Nelson Rangel-Buitrago

Addendum

Addendum

This chapter really only refers to western ideas of beauty. Ideas from e.g. the eastern world, are unfortunately not encompassed in this discussion mainly due to the author’s inability for language.Appreciation of, for example, an Asian/Polynesian/ Maori/Aborigine concept of beauty is especially true with international tourism expected to reach 1.8 bn. by 2030 (UNWTO 2017), with an expected huge influx from Asian countries.

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Williams, A.T. (2019). The Concept of Scenic Beauty in a Landscape. In: Rangel-Buitrago, N. (eds) Coastal Scenery. Coastal Research Library, vol 26. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78878-4_2

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