Associations between Landscape Preferences and Place Attachment: A study in Røros, Southern Norway

Abstract

Associations between place attachment and preferences for local landscape categories were investigated. The subjects were the inhabitants of the Røros area in Southern Norway, a World Heritage site designated for its history of mining and unique architectural attributes. Revealed landscape preferences were clustered into four categories (from most to least preferred): Wildlands, Farm environment, Cultural landscapes and Modern agriculture. Significant positive associations were found between place attachment and two of these categories (Wildlands, Farm environment), indicating that place attachment had a positive effect on attractiveness of landscapes that have a natural character, and landscapes that contain historically important elements. Since both attachment to a place and preference for natural and traditional landscapes reflect positive emotions, the findings may partly be explained by the tendency to evaluate an environment along a pleasant-unpleasant dimension. Another explanatory factor may be that the subjects primarily pay attention to the recreational/restorative functions of the landscapes shown, and that focus on alternative functions (e.g. residential functions) could lead to different associations between place attachment and landscape preferences.