Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Making sense of landscape change
T2 - long-term perceptions among local residents following river restoration
AU - Westling, Emma
AU - Surridge, Ben
AU - Sharp, Liz
AU - Lerner, David
PY - 2014/11/27
Y1 - 2014/11/27
N2 - Efforts to restore rivers are increasingly concerned with the social implications of landscape change. However, the fundamental issue of how people make sense of local riverine environments in the context of restoration remains poorly understood. Our research examined influences on perception among local residents 14 years after a restoration scheme on the River Dearne in the north of England. Human-landscape relationships emerging from semi-structured interviews with 16 local residents were analysed using an interpretive research framework. Nine recurring factors influenced perception among local residents: scenic beauty; the condition of riparian vegetation and of river channel morphology; opportunities to observe flora and fauna; cleanliness of the riverine environment; access available to the river; connections between the river and the surrounding landscape; disturbance and change in the familiarity of the landscape following restoration. These factors were not solely related to tangible outcomes of the restoration scheme, but were also influenced by history, memories, traditions and practices associated with the river. Critically, these factors also interacted rather than operating in isolation and two idealised perceptual frameworks were developed to map these interactions. Our research contributes to theoretical understanding of the relationships between humans and landscape change, whilst also considering how restoration practice may better reflect these relationships. The importance of a social dimension to the template of possibilities for restoring any given river emerges, underpinning place-based design and implementation of river restoration schemes.
AB - Efforts to restore rivers are increasingly concerned with the social implications of landscape change. However, the fundamental issue of how people make sense of local riverine environments in the context of restoration remains poorly understood. Our research examined influences on perception among local residents 14 years after a restoration scheme on the River Dearne in the north of England. Human-landscape relationships emerging from semi-structured interviews with 16 local residents were analysed using an interpretive research framework. Nine recurring factors influenced perception among local residents: scenic beauty; the condition of riparian vegetation and of river channel morphology; opportunities to observe flora and fauna; cleanliness of the riverine environment; access available to the river; connections between the river and the surrounding landscape; disturbance and change in the familiarity of the landscape following restoration. These factors were not solely related to tangible outcomes of the restoration scheme, but were also influenced by history, memories, traditions and practices associated with the river. Critically, these factors also interacted rather than operating in isolation and two idealised perceptual frameworks were developed to map these interactions. Our research contributes to theoretical understanding of the relationships between humans and landscape change, whilst also considering how restoration practice may better reflect these relationships. The importance of a social dimension to the template of possibilities for restoring any given river emerges, underpinning place-based design and implementation of river restoration schemes.
KW - River rehabilitation
KW - River enhancement
KW - Interpretive social science
KW - Landscape perception
KW - Sustainable water management
U2 - 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.09.029
DO - 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.09.029
M3 - Journal article
VL - 519
SP - 2613
EP - 2623
JO - Journal of Hydrology
JF - Journal of Hydrology
SN - 0022-1694
IS - Part C
ER -