Differences between Local Residents’ and Visitors’ Environmental Per- ception of Landscape Change of Rural Communities in Taiwan Chun-Wei Tsou*, Sheng-Jung Ou *Department of Landscape Architecture, Tunghai University; No.1727, Sec. 4, Taiwan Boulevard, Taichung 40704, Taiwan; +886.4.2359.0417, [email protected] Abstract Rural community development on landscape environment has become a hot issue in making rural travel attractions and this development phenomenon is getting popular in Taiwan. Visitors’ environmental per- ception on rural landscape environment would affect their behavior, impressions, and willingness-to-re- turn about that rural area. Therefore, residents and visitors who travelled in the top ten rural villages of Taiwan elected in 2007 were subjects in this research in order to analyze differences between local resi- dents’ and visitors’ environmental perception of landscape change of rural communities. Three factors, perception on rural environmental change, perception on rural environmental characteristic, and percep- tion on life emotion about rural environment, were extracted after exploratory factor analysis was done on acceptability of perception on community landscape environment of all subjects. The result of this research could act as references for management of landscape environment in developing rural commu- nities. It is expected that numerous difference could be avoided between development goals of rural communities and visitors’ perception on landscape environment. Keywords: Rural community, Local resident, Visitor, Environmental perception 161 1.Introduction type of Innovative Agriculture; the type of General The development of rural communities and rural Prosperity and Beauty; the type of Economic Pro- and agricultural land use have always been poli- duction; and the type of Aboriginal Life Style. Rec- cies of great concern to the government. As Tai- ommendations were given for each category, wan continues to urbanize and rural tourism has based on their environmental orientations and in- become an emerging tourism trend in recent frastructure level. years, travelers have seized upon experiencing the culture and relaxed way of living of the country- If we approach from the perspectives of resource side as ways to get a feel for a pace different from planning for sustainable use, as well as supply and that of the busy and fast paced urban one. Thus, demand, then the sightseeing/environmental, to boost rural development and recover the value tourism, and rural communities of the six major of the countryside, the government issued the Ru- development categories should echo each other. ral Regeneration Act in August, 2010, and the En- When rural areas gradually change from basic pro- forcement Rules for the Rural Regeneration Act in duction patterns to modes that are service-based, July, 2011. Based on these, the government then such as tourism or agricultural recreation, the land established a NT$150 billion rural regeneration usage and spatial patterns of the life, production, fund to promote rural regeneration programs to and ecology within these areas will also change. In facilitate rural sustainability and revitalization, im- the past, research and analysis have been carried prove production infrastructure, conserve rural out on the landscape changes of rural areas, agri- ecology and culture, upgrade the quality of life, cultural land, and ponds and lakes in Taiwan (Lo, and construct new rural prosperity and beauty. 2002; Chen, et al., 2003; Lai, 2005; Tsai & Huang, With legal and budgetary support, rural communi- 2007; Yang, 2009; Wang, 2012; Hu, 2012; Chung, ties are helped to first improve their basic living 2016), but they just focused on the research level environments, then to develop tourism and lei- of land use change, and structure & patterns in sure services based on their resources and circum- landscape ecology. Studied on the landscape per- stances. Soil and Water Conservation Bureau ception of users (residents, tourists) in these areas (2011), in the Rural Community Zoning and Survey are few. Classification Demonstration Project and in ac- cordance with policy, advocated the promotion However, the development of rural areas must and allocation of resources as a foundation. Based necessarily be based on the economic activities of on historical comparisons of rural communities' rural community residents. Consumption brought current usage situations and community visions, by tourists as they enter rural communities also af- and ordered to form a reclassification, six func- fects residents' real earnings in forms other than tional and visionary categories were proposed. agricultural production. The primary role in the These were including, the type of Rural Experien- formation of the rural community landscape envi- tial; the type of Environmental Restoration; the ronment is the residents. Does the atmosphere 162 suit tourist's travel expectations? Thus, this study People interpret and understand the landscape is conducted through both a literature review and through exercising willpower, social and cultural a questionnaire, to understand differences in land- experiences, and their personal socio-economic scape perception of tourists and residents. This backgrounds to form their environmental atti- can then be used as a reference for managing the tudes and behavioral responses. environmental landscape during the process of ru- ral community development. Xu and Yang (2005) proposed that the nature of landscape perception is the transmission of mes- 2.Literature Review sages about the external environment to the brain Landscape perception forms the basis of people's through the senses, with the brain then interpret- actions, but it is not enough to rely solely on land- ing these messages. It involves a series of complex scape perception. People must understand psychological processes, relying on two different whether their actions to come are good or bad, as forms of information: environmental information, well as the value and meaning of their actions. and the experiences of the perceiver. The process Only when landscape perception and landscape involved in landscape perception is the senses ob- assessment are linked together can people choose taining information from the external world, ex- their actions. Studies related to landscape percep- tracting a wide range of characteristics from exter- tion began in the 1980s, mainly in the field of land- nal stimuli, and mixing with the perceived context scape psychology. Zube, Sell, and Taylor (1982) and background to form a perception. Landscape opened the field of research on landscape percep- assessment involves many aspects of people's tion, which led to subsequent studies on land- landscape perceptions, such as description, satis- scape aesthetics and design, perception, and vis- faction, affection, and emotions. Landscape as- ual management. Zube et al. (1982) used the per- sessment is developed by our interaction process ception process of the interaction between peo- with the environment, and can be expressed ple and environment to describe the interaction through related vocabulary, especially descrip- between people and environment. Through the tions that can express degrees of subjective feel- observer's attention, understanding, and memory, ings. as well as through interactive effects with the en- vironment's structure, the interaction produces Wei (2012) explained that the perception process results such as behaviors, values, satisfaction, is the core of environmental behavior because it is which lead to the formation of various environ- the source of all environmental information. The mental usage modes. Zube (1987) believed that environment stimulates the senses and provides landscape perception is a psychological process in more information than individuals can effectively which people interact with the environment. They process. Thus, the difference between perception receive environmental information and generate and feelings can be said to be a result of the indi- landscape perception through various senses. viduals' filtering processes. Chang (1995) pro- 163 posed that perception is a response to the overall of the landscape environment, and a comprehen- relatedness of the various attributes of an objec- sive understanding of all aspects of the communi- tive thing, including a comprehensive understand- ty's landscape environment. ing of all aspects of the matter. Wang (2015) stud- ies show that from the perspective of a planner's 3.Research Methods practical applications, landscape perception infor- This study uses Taiwan's top ten classic agricul- mation needs include primarily landscape charac- tural and fishing villages in 2007 as its scope of re- teristics, landscape values, and landscape changes. search. These villages are: Zhaomen community (Xinpu Township, Hsinchu County); Fuxing com- Thus, regarding the research variables of land- munity (Tongxiao Township, Miaoli County); scape perception, different variables are formu- Jiangmayuan and Shuangtan community (Dahu lated based on different research environments Township and Sanyi Township, Miaoli County); and subjects. In the past, in research on rural en- Seshui community (Yuchi Township, Nantou vironments and tourists or local residents, Lin County); Dalian community (Tianwei Township, (2000) integrated environmental awareness into Changhua County); Huashan community (Gukeng behavioral geography to understand the various Township, Yunlin County); Gangbian community