Landscape Perception and Landscape Change for the City of Irbid, Jordan

Abstract: This paper assesses the perception of Irbid city boundary by a group of university students and people over 40 years old; and by comparing this to Viewshed analysis which reflects the geographicalsetting. The methodology utilizes three assessment methods: digital computation (Viewshed), questionnairesand visual assessment. The aim is to illustrate subjective assessment as an indicator of change in thelandscape character of city boundaries. The subjective assessment includes memory-based questionnaires targetingboth age groups while the visual assessment targets urban planning students; the objective assessment isreflected by digital computations using GIS and Viewshed analysis. Although the city boundary asperceived by the older generation is closer to the Viewshed analysis results, in both the visual assessment andmemory-based questionnaire the young generation perceived a tighter boundary than the older generation.