Integration Methodologies for Visual Impact Assessment of Rural Buildings by Geographic Information Systems

A real problem of the rural sustainable development is the visual impact of new buildings in the landscape. The main aim of this research project developed at the end of 1990s was to select new variables of visual impact assessment using geographic data. The visual impact assessment study is a part of the environmental impact assessment study annexed to civil, rural, or territorial engineering projects in Spain and other countries. The final result of this work was the generation and validation of new methodologies for visual impact assessment studies of these engineering projects. There were two types of selected variables: rural planning variables (physical, economic, social and legal aspects) and visual impact variables. These variables constitute the way to select optimum locations for new rural buildings. Another important objective of this research was to implement the new methodologies in computer tools such as geographic information systems and computer-aided design. It was necessary to select a basic GIS and to program routines and interfaces to enter, analyse and display geographic data. Now, the computer program developed is registered by GISCAD 2.0 and constitutes a useful tool for engineers, architects, planners, and designers to select new locations for rural buildings using visual impact criteria.