The emerging role of visual resource assessment and visualisation in landscape planning in Switzerland

The evolution of our understanding of landscape planning and therefore of landscape as a visual resource occurred in parallel with the changes of perception of spatial planning (urban and regional planning), since landscape planning is part of spatial planning. Already in the 1970s the visual landscape was an issue in spatial planning. This can be traced back to the romantic period when the close emotional ties with one’s home country were very important. With the emerging discussion at the end of the 1970s about ecology and ecological planning, more and more the components of natural science of ecological planning were discussed, at the expense of the visual landscape and aesthetics. With the improvement of the possibilities of the digital 3-dimensional (3D) representation of landscape, it seems that landscape as visual resource has once again become more important in the discussion. 3D visualisation will support participation in the planning process and will become an important part of decision support systems in spatial planning. The use of virtual landscapes will help to study processes in the landscape such as fragmentation of landscape and/or urban sprawl.