Identifying visual sensitive areas: an evaluation of view corridors to support nature-culture heritage conservation in Chiang Mai historic city

Abstract

The visual integrity of mountains contributing to cultural landscapes as nature-culture attributes is often obscured by the vertical intrusive built environment, especially in buffer areas of protected heritage zones. Therefore, this study argued that even low/medium-rise buildings that inappropriately appear in the horizontal visual plane could be a factor increasing sensitivity to this panoramic view. An integrative tool – visual sensitivity assessment – consists of Viewshed and Skyline analysis considering the pedestrian’s visual limitation in identifying the sensitive areas of the mountain view corridor in the historic city of Chiang Mai. The visible mountain areas (VMAs) were determined as a baseline, and their relationship with the visible building areas (VBAs) was then examined using statistical correlation to define a strong negative relationship as the visual sensitive areas in five zones. The results showed that the buffer zone was found to have more areas with visual sensitivity values, but this varies depending on the characteristics of buildings and the assessment from the view corridor. Meanwhile, in height-restricted areas, such as historic area zone 5, there are some concerns about the visual intrusion, which necessitates continuous monitoring using the assessment result as a guideline. Incorporating the results into implementation could support cultural landscape conservation in Chiang Mai city. The method is applicable in historic cities with similar settings to produce the baseline for the built environment that is harmonious with the cultural and historical characteristics of the city and with respect to its broader setting.