Identifying Perceptual Tipping Points in Cultural Landscapes

Cultural landscapes are increasingly changing as a result of urbanisation, more intensive land use and climate change. Using Davos and Frauenfeld as case studies, this project investigates how such changes affect the meanings people attach to landscapes. It asks when landscape change is perceived as a loss of identity, belonging or quality of life, and which social and cultural functions of landscapes may consequently be affected.

Building on Swiss sociologist Lucius Burckhardt’s constructivist approach to landscape, the project develops and tests a new method for empirically examining how people perceive and evaluate landscapes. It uses a transdisciplinary mixed-methods design combining walk-along interviews, participatory workshops and online surveys. The research is conducted in collaboration with the spatial-planning authorities of Davos and Frauenfeld.

The project aims to better understand when changes in cultural landscapes are perceived as crossing critical thresholds or perceptual “tipping points”. In doing so, it contributes to identifying potential risks to the cultural and symbolic meanings of landscapes at an early stage.