Variation in perceptions of the aesthetics of new suburban developments

Although the nature and correlates of variability in perceptions of the visual aesthetics of rural and natural landscapes have been well-studied, more work is needed on suburban landscapes, particularly to establish the desirable visual aesthetic qualities of new suburban developments. Visual elicitation was used to determine the aesthetic responses of adults of varying place of residence, occupation, gender and age to landscape-scale attributes of new suburban developments. A questionnaire was answered by a global sample of respondents who gave their sociodemographic details and ranked their preferences for different aesthetic attributes of suburban development. Australians and professionals were more likely than other nationalities and blue-collar workers to select the bottom of the hill, rather than the top of the hill. Professionals and those over 44 years old preferred naturalistic suburban boundaries rather than the geometric boundaries preferred by young white-collar workers. Younger respondents preferred one style of house in the suburb compared to three or more styles preferred by older respondents. Most respondents preferred low-density housing. House colour preferences varied by nationality, occupation, age and gender. These preferences may help planners to adjust the attributes of new suburban developments to cater for different subsets of people. Collaborative planning with local people will be necessary to maximise the aesthetic utility of new suburban developments.