Landscape Analysis for People and Environment Studies
The course consists of four main blocks including a number of compulsory online elements see information below from course leader.
Information from the course leader
Dear all,
On the 20th of January 2025 at 09:00 the mandatory roll call for the course MP0002 will take place on Canvas.
We kindly ask admitted students to be part of this roll call if you want to join the course and therefore be registered.
The roll-call will take place on the course Canvas page, and to log into this page you need a SLU student account, see Checklist for international programme students and students taking freestanding courses | Studentwebben.
Link as well as password for meeting will be available at the Canvas page from January 17th 2025.
Dates for obligatory online meetings Spring semester 2025
Janaury 20 Mandatory Roll-call
January 29 – 31
March 10 – 12
April 14 – 16
June 2 - 4
Policy document -to be read and followed by all admitted students
Course evaluation
The course evaluation is not yet activated
The course evaluation is open between 2025-06-01 and 2025-06-22
Additional course evaluations for MP0002
Academic year 2023/2024
Landscape Analysis for People and Environment Studies (MP0002-30175)
2024-01-15 - 2024-06-02
Academic year 2022/2023
Landscape Analysis for People and Environment Studies (MP0002-30012)
2023-01-16 - 2023-06-04
Academic year 2021/2022
Landscape Analysis for People and Environment Studies (MP0002-30256)
2022-01-17 - 2022-06-05
Academic year 2020/2021
Landscape Analysis for People and Environment Studies (MP0002-30168)
2021-01-18 - 2021-06-06
Syllabus and other information
Syllabus
MP0002 Landscape Analysis for People and Environment Studies, 15.0 Credits
Landskapsanalys i studier av människa och miljöSubjects
Environmental Psychology Landscape Architecture Environmental Psychology Landscape ArchitectureEducation cycle
Master’s levelModules
| Title | Credits | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Single module | 15.0 | 0101 |
Advanced study in the main field
Second cycle, has only first-cycle course/s as entry requirementsMaster’s level (A1N)
Grading scale
The grade requirements within the course grading system are set out in specific criteria. These criteria must be available by the course start at the latest.
Language
EnglishPrior knowledge
Knowledge equivalent to 120 credits and English 6Objectives
The aims of the course are to generate competence to perform landscape analyses and to create an understanding of the potential of landscape analysis within the field of people-environment studies.
After completion of the course, the student will be able to:
• discuss and compare concepts and tools for analysis and design
• formulate problems of relevance to landscape analysis
• identify literature for use in landscape analysis
• identify and develop tools for use in landscape analysis
• use and evaluate tools for use in landscape analysis
• be able to present completed landscape analyses verbally, in writing and visually
Content
The course is divided in three steps. In step one, literature review, the students identify issues and concepts within the field of people and environment studies of relevance for landscape analysis and compile useful literature concerning these identified aspects. This is reported in a written literature review. In step two, tools for use in landscape analysis are identified and/or developed. This is reported orally in seminars and in a written report. In step three different tools for landscape analysis are tested and compared. This is also reported orally in seminars and in a written report.
The course combines mandatory online meetings with tasks carried out independently and in groups.
Grading form
The grade requirements within the course grading system are set out in specific criteria. These criteria must be available by the course start at the latest.Formats and requirements for examination
Participation in compulsory elements. Approved participation in seminars. Successful completion of exercises.
If a student has failed an examination, the examiner has the right to issue supplementary assignments. This applies if it is possible and there are grounds to do so.
The examiner can provide an adapted assessment to students entitled to study support for students with disabilities following a decision by the university. Examiners may also issue an adapted examination or provide an alternative way for the students to take the exam.
If this syllabus is withdrawn, SLU may introduce transitional provisions for examining students admitted based on this syllabus and who have not yet passed the course.
For the assessment of an independent project (degree project), the examiner may also allow a student to add supplemental information after the deadline for submission. Read more in the Education Planning and Administration Handbook.
Other information
The right to participate in teaching and/or supervision only applies for the course instance the student was admitted to and registered on.
If there are special reasons, students are entitled to participate in components with compulsory attendance when the course is given again. Read more in the Education Planning and Administration Handbook.
Additional information
The course is given as a distance course, with mandatory online meetings, at 50% speed. Basic skills in Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Human Geography, Pedagogy, or Psychology are recommended.Responsible department
Department of People and Society
Further information
Litterature list
The course literature is divided in three parts:
- Basic literature for selective reading to get an orientation of the field and to start looking for a topic.
- Topic related literature for intensive reading to specify topics and to find sources for other landscape analyses in people environment studies to relate your own work to.
- *Topic specific literature, i.e. intensive reading of literature originating from topic specific searches conducted by the students individually, with optional guidance from the library staff *https://www.slu.se/en/subweb/library/services-and-courses/personal-help/book-a-librarian/
The topic specific literature should include at least three different pieces of litterature.
Most articles and book chapters are available in e-journals or e-books at SLU Library and others are available at Canvas. Notice that all files provided are for personal use only, due to copyright restrictions. A few of the books are not provided as electronic resources but are available at SLU Library.
Access to online resources at the SLU Library
Many of the databases, e-journals and other online resources at the SLU Library are restricted by license agreements and can only be used within the university. VPN (Virtual private network) is a service that allows you to log in to the university's network from anywhere in the world and get access to the restricted resources. Everyone who is a student or employee at SLU can use the VPN function for making a safe connection between a computer outside SLU and the SLU network. To make it work you must have a user account in the Active Directory at SLU. Information on how to start using VPN is available on the following page:
Information on how to activate your SLU user account is available here:
https://student.slu.se/en/study-support/it-support/support/new-student---start/
Basic literature
Selective reading to get an orientation of the field and to start looking for a topic.
Adevi, A., Grahn, P., 2011. Preferences for landscapes: A matter of cultural determinants or innate reflexes that point to our evolutionary background? Landscape Research 37, 1-23. (Available as e-journal at SLU Library)
Appleton, J., 1975. The Experience of Landscape. Wiley, London. (SLU Library)
Bell, P.A., 2001. Environmental Psychology (5th edition). Thomson Wadsworth, Belmont CA. (Pp. 1-22 and 251-292 available at Canvas)
Bonnes, M., Lee, T. & Bonaiuto, M. (2003). Psychological theories for environmental issues. Aldershot Ashgate. (SLU Library)
Cooper Marcus, C., Barnes, M., (Eds.), 1999. Healing Gardens: Therapeutic Benefits and Design Recommendations. John Wiley & Sons, New York. (SLU Library)
Cooper Marcus, C. & Sachs, N., (Eds.), 2014. Therapeutic Landscapes: An Evidence-Based Approach to Designing Healing gardens and Restorative outdoor spaces. John Wiley & Sons Ltd. (Available as e-book at SLU Library)
de Jong, K., Albin, M., Skärbäck, E., Grahn, P., Björk, J., 2012. Perceived green qualities were associated with neighbourhood satisfaction, physical activity, and general health: Results from a cross-sectional study in suburban and rural Scania, southern Sweden. Health & Place 18, 1374-1380. (Available as e-journal at SLU Library)
Falk, J., Balling, J., 2010. Evolutionary influence on human landscape preference. *Environment and Behaviour 42 *(4), 479–493. (Available as e-journal at SLU Library)
Gehl, J., 2007. Public spaces for a changing public life. In: Ward Thompson, C., Travlou, P. (Eds.), Open Space, People Space. Taylor and Francis, pp. 3-9. (SLU Library)
Grahn, P., Stigsdotter, U., 2010. The relation between perceived sensory dimensions of urban green space and stress restoration. Landscape and Urban Planning 94 (3-4), 264-275. (Available as e-journal at SLU Library)
Grahn, P. & Stigsdotter, U., 2003. Landscape planning and stress. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 2, 1-18. (Available as e-journal at SLU Library)
Hartig, T., 2007. Three steps to understanding restorative environments as health resources. In: Ward Thompson, C., Travlou, P. (Eds.), Open Space, People Space. Taylor and Francis, pp. 163–180. (SLU Library)
Hartig, T., Mitchell, R., de Vries, S., Frumkin, H., 2014. Nature and Health. Annual Review of Public Health 35(1), 207-228. (Canvas)
Iwarsson, S. & Ståhl, A., 2003. Accessibility, Usability and Universal Design – positioning and definition of concepts describing person-environment relationships. Disability and Rehabilitation, 25, 57-66. (Canvas)
Joye, Y., van den Berg, A., 2011. Is love for green in our genes? A critical analysis of evolutionary assumptions in restorative environments research. *Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 10 *(4), 261-268. (Available as e-journal at SLU Library)
Kaplan, R., Kaplan, S., 1989. The Experience of Nature. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, MA. (SLU Library)
Kellert, S. Calabrese, E., 2015. The Practice of Biophilic Design. Retrieved from www.biophilic-design.com (Canvas)
Küller, R., 1991. Environmental assessment from a neuropsychological perspective. In: Gärling, T., Evans, G., (Eds.), Environment, Cognition and Action: An Integrated Approach. New York, Oxford University Press, pp. 111–147. (Available as e-book at SLU Library)
Lynch, K., 1960. The Image of the City. Cambridge, London, The M.I.T. Press. (SLU Library and Canvas)
Ode Sang, Å., Tveit, M., 2013. Perceptions of stewardship in Norwegian agricultural landscapes. Land Use Policy 31, 557-564. (Available as e-journal at SLU Library)
Orians, G., 1986. An ecological and evolutionary approach to landscape aesthetics. In: Penning-Rowsell, E., Lowenthal, D., (Eds.), Meanings and Values in Landscape. London, Allen & Unwin, pp. 3-25. (Canvas)
Ottosson, J., 2001. The Importance of Nature in Coping with a Crisis: A photographic essay. Landscape Research 26(2), 165-172. (Available as e-journal at SLU Library)
Tveit, M., Ode, Å., Fry, G., 2006. Key concepts in a framework for analysing visual landscape character. Landscape Research, 31, 229-255. (Available as e-journal at SLU Library)
Ulrich, R., Simons, R., Losito, B., Fiorito, E., Miles, M., Zelson, M., 1991. Stress recovery during exposure to natural and urban environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology 11, 201–230. (Available as e-journal at SLU Library)
Ward Thompson, C., Travlou, P., 2007. Open Space, People Space. Taylor and Francis. (SLU Library)
Pilot study literature
van Teijlingen E., Hundley, V., 2001. The importance of pilot studies. Social Research Update 35, Department of Sociology, University of Surrey. Available at: http://sru.soc.surrey.ac.uk/SRU35.pdf
Topic related literature
Intensive reading to specify topics and to find sources for other landscape analyses in people environment studies to relate your own work to.
Bengtsson, A., 2015. From experiences of the outdoors to the design of healthcare environments. Doctoral Thesis No. 66. Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae. Swedish University of Agricultural Science. Pp. 21-26, available at: http://pub.epsilon.slu.se/12192/
Bengtsson, A., Grahn, P., 2014. Outdoor environments in healthcare settings: A quality evaluation tool for use in designing healthcare gardens, *Urban Forestry and Urban Greening 13 *(4), 878-891. (Available as e-journal at SLU Library)
Giusti, M. & Samuelsson, K. (2020). The regenerative compatibility: a synergy between healthy ecosystems, environmental attitudes, and restorative experiences. PLOS ONE, 15 (1). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227311
Grahn P., Stigsdotter U., Berggren-Bärring A-M., 2005. A planning model for designing sustainable and healthy cities. The importance of people’s need of recreational environments in an urban context. Post-conference proceedings, NAEP, Alexandria. (Available at Canvas)
Grahn, P., Tenngart Ivarsson, C., Stigsdotter, U., Bengtsson, I-L., 2010. Using affordances as a health promoting tool in a therapeutic garden. In: Ward Thompson, C., Aspinall, P., Bell, S., (Eds.), Innovative Approaches to Researching Landscape and Health: Open Space: People Space 2, Routledge, New York, pp. 116-154. (Available at Canvas)
Gyllin, M., Grahn, P., 2005. A semantic model for assessing the experience of urban biodiversity. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 3, 149-161. (Available as e-journal at SLU Library)
Hartig, T., Korpela, K., Evans, G. W. and Gärling, T., 1997. A Measure of Restorative Quality in Environments. Scandinavian Housing & Planning Research 14, 175-194. (Available as e-journal at SLU Library)
Hedfors, P., Berg, P., 2003. The sounds of two landscape settings: auditory concepts for physical planning and design. Ladscape Research 28(3), 245-263. (Available as e-journal at SLU Library)
Hagerhall, C., Laike, T., Kuller, M., Marcheschi, E., Boydston, C., Taylor R., (2015). Human physiological benefits of viewing nature: EEG responses to exact and statistical fractal patterns. Nonlinear Dynamics Psychol Life Sci. 19 (1), 1-12. (Available at Canvas)
Kaplan, R., Kaplan, S., 1989. The Experience of Nature. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, MA. (Chapters 2 and 6, SLU Library)
Kyttä, M. (2004). The extent of children’s independent mobility and the number of actualized affordances as criteria for child-friendly environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology. 24(2). 179-198). (Available at Canvas)
Lynch, K. 1960. The Image of the City. Cambridge, London, The M.I.T. Press. (Pp. 46-90, available at Canvas)
Mårtensson, F. 2013. Guiding environmental dimensions for outdoor play. SMT 90(4), 658-665. (Available at: http://socialmedicinsktidskrift.se/index.php/smt/article/view/1047/849)
Mårtensson F., Boldemann, C., Söderström, M., Blennow, M., Englund, J-E., Grahn, P., 2009. Outdoor Environmental Assessment of Attention Promoting Settings for preschool children – part of salutogenic concept. Health and place 15, 1149-1157. (Available as e-journal at SLU Library)
Schafer, M. 1993. The Soundscape: our sonic environment and the tuning of the world. Destiny Books, Rochester, Vt. (Pp. 3-12, 205-213, 246-259, available at Canvas)
Stoltz, J., Lundell, Y., Skärbäck, E. et al. 2016. Planning for restorative forests: describing stress-reducing qualities of forest stands using available forest stand data. European Journal of Forest Research, 1-11. (Available at Canvas)
Stoltz, J., Grahn, P., 2021. Perceived sensory dimensions: An evidence-based approach to greenspace aesthetics. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, Volume 59, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2021.126989
Swedish Legislation, 2004. Accessibility and usability in public spaces BFS 2004:15 - ALM 1. National Board of Housing, Building and Planning. Available at: https://www.boverket.se/globalassets/publikationer/dokument/2008/alm1_english.pdf
Taylor, R. P., Spehar, B., Van Donkelaar, P., Hagerhall, C. M., 2011. Perceptual and Physiological Responses to Jackson Pollock’s Fractals. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 5 (60), 1-13. (Available at Canvas)
Ulrich, R., 1999. Effects of gardens in health outcomes: Theory and research. In C.Cooper Marcus and M. Barnes (Eds.), Healing Gardens (pp. 27-86). New York:John Wiley & Sons. (Available at SLU Library)
Topic specific literature
Intensive reading of literature originating from topic specific searches conducted by the students individually, with optional guidance from the library staff: https://www.slu.se/en/subweb/library/services-and-courses/personal-help/book-a-librarian/
The topic specific literature should include at least three different pieces of litterature.