Landscape character assessment (planning boundary) naturescot - open data

What is Landscape Character Assessment?

Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) is the process of identifying and describing variation in the character of the landscape. LCAs identify and explain the combination of elements and features that make landscapes distinct from one another by mapping and describing Landscape Character Types and Areas. The associated description of their distinctive characteristics shows how the landscape is perceived and experienced by people.

LCA analyses in detail the three main physical landscape components of:

It then looks at how all these combine to form the landscapes we see and experience. Areas with similar patterns of components are mapped together as a particular Landscape Character Type. These can occur in more than one location, for example, “Rugged Massif” occurs in all different areas of Scotland, such as Inverness District and Skye & Lochalsh; and “Rocky Moorland”  in Lochaber, Argyll and the Outer Hebrides.

LCA provides baseline information – including a shared written understanding of the key characteristics of a landscape – that can be used to guide landscape change. For example, such information may inform:

LCA is also the baseline for, and informs the use of, many landscape tools and techniques, such as Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA).