A new information system in support of landscape assessment: PLAINS
Several business sectors have identified the potential benefits of a landscape/urban assessment based upon the objective appraisal of the interaction of the cultural and natural landscapes. This paper describes a recently approved project (PLAINS) funded by DGXII of the European Union under the Framework IV Environment and Climate Programme. The aim of this project is to identify the benefits of introducing satellite Earth Observation data into the landscape assessment process and to develop a decision support system that will provide for landscape/urban classification tuned to satisfy specific customer requirements. The system will also allow the exploration of impact assessment (what if) scenarios. The project involves three different business sectors who have inherently similar requirements in landscape assessment. The customer organisations involved in the project cover the sectors: regional planning authorities, Estate Agents and tourism. In all, there are 13 partners involved in the project from five countries (UK, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Poland). The initial development of the system will use test sites in the counties of Hereford and Worcester in the UK, with subsequent validation being carried out at sites in Italy (Province of Savona), Germany and Poland.
information systems landscape assessment satellite earth observation decision support estate agents tourism regional authorities