Eng. Elham Ghaderian, Ph.d. Morteza Adib, Ph.d. Saeid Norouzian-Maleki, Ph.d. Behzad Malekpourasl,
Volume 9, Issue 2 (9-2026)
Cultural landscapes are formed through the interaction between human communities and the natural environment. They include physical elements such as settlements, agricultural lands, roads, vegetation, water systems, and land-use patterns, as well as non-material dimensions such as collective memory, cultural identity, local knowledge, social practices, visual experience, and emotional attachment to place. Cultural landscapes should therefore be understood as living environments rather than as fixed physical settings. Their multidimensional character makes assessment complex. Methods that focus only on physical form or visual quality cannot fully identify historical, social, cultural, perceptual, and ecological values. Traditional approaches, including historical documents, field observation, interviews, questionnaires, and community participation, provide information about local identity and lived experience, but may be limited in documenting spatial relationships, monitoring change, or visualizing interventions. Emerging technologies have expanded assessment possibilities. Geographic Information Systems, remote sensing, photogrammetry, laser scanning, three-dimensional modeling, virtual reality, eye tracking, and electroencephalography can support data collection, analysis, visualization, and interpretation. They can improve spatial accuracy, reconstruct historical environments, compare scenarios, and provide evidence about users’ responses. However, they cannot independently reveal collective memory, cultural meaning, indigenous knowledge, or sense of belonging. Their value is greatest when combined with historical, perceptual, and participatory methods. This study aimed to identify and compare cultural landscape assessment methods, examine the opportunities and limitations of emerging technologies in combination with perceptual and participatory approaches, and propose a flexible, phased pathway for multidimensional assessment.
