The landscape is a factor considered when choosing to purchase a dwelling, and, therefore, it influences the price of the real estate market. However, it is difficult to measure and assess its role, since it has a series of features that work in an integrated way and are hard to quantify separately. The characteristics of the views from each dwelling must also be considered, as well as their intrinsic characteristics or proximity to public services. This study proposes an automatic method to analyze the quality of the views, including both its dimensions and its composition in order to be able to estimate the economic weight of the views in the real estate value. A series of measurements of the views from 226 dwellings are integrated into the final index equation. The results are then compared with the estimated dwelling prices. The results highlight that the average price increases up to 18.1% in dwellings with a larger high-quality visual basin. It has also been noted that it is difficult to establish a correlation between the quality of the views and the housing prices due to the multifactorial nature of the housing prices.

Housing prices are influenced by extrinsic and intrinsic factors. This study aims to highlight the economic impact of the perceived landscape on single-family houses prices in a Spanish Mediterranean urban area (Marbella). Considering the landscape an important added value in real estate markets, this study also explores the landscape elements that contribute the most to the value of housing. A particularly positive influence of mixed views (urban elements and Mediterranean scrub) and sea views is detected in the analysis. Sea views are highly requested in the local housing market, but due to the graded topographical layout of Marbella, it is not very difficult to have sea views for houses. The low importance of views on natural land areas is worth noting when one of the attractions of this municipality is that of a highly valued Mediterranean natural environment. Views on the old town centre are somewhere in between: although the old town centre is highly regarded, with a generally good state of preservation, the sampled properties have poorer quality perspectives, with reduced visual basins and views centred on the foreground, usually the houses opposite.

Peri-urban forests often have extensive greenway networks that allow for outdoor recreation. However, information associated with these greenways often does not include their degree of naturalness, which is usually reduced to descriptions of the flora and fauna and often overlooks the factors that reduce naturalness. Therefore, in some cases, the naturalness of these greenways is lower than expected. Quantifying their naturalness would be helpful, especially for hikers interested in appreciating and enjoying nature. Additionally, this information would help outdoor recreation managers to design trails or decide which ones to promote as “greenways”. The objectives of this study are (1) to design a method to calculate and map the naturalness of greenways using two approaches, one based on perceptual fieldwork and the other on geographic information systems (GIS); (2) to apply the designed method to a specific greenway; and (3) to compare both methodological approaches. The results show that, for the greenway studied, the naturalness scores obtained are low in all three types of analyses used. Around 70% of the greenway sections in the GIS visibility analysis and 80% in the GIS proximity analysis have a low naturalness index. In comparison, this value is reduced to 40% with the fieldwork analysis. Although the results of the GIS approach (proximity and visibility) generate naturalness indices and spatial patterns that are very similar, they differ significantly from those derived from the fieldwork analysis. The discussion of the results suggests that the three methodologies used are valid for analyzing the degree of naturalness of the trails. However, if used together, it could add flexibility to the type of variables incorporated in the analysis.

Peri-urban forests often have extensive networks of greenways that allow for outdoor recreation. However, information associated with these greenways often does not include their degree of naturalness, which is usually reduced to descriptions of flora and fauna and often overlook the factors that reduce naturalness. Therefore, in some cases, the naturalness of these greenways is not as high as expected. Having a quantification of their naturalness would be useful, especially for hikers interested in appreciating and enjoying nature. Additionally, this information would help outdoor recreation managers to design trails or decide which ones to promote as "greenways". The objectives of this study are (1) to design a method to calculate and map the naturalness of greenways using two approaches, one based on perceptual fieldwork and the other on Geographic Information Systems (GIS); (2) to apply the designed method to a specific greenway; and (3) to compare both methodological approaches. The results show that, for the greenway studied, the naturalness scores obtained are low in all three types of analyses used. Around 70% of the greenway sections in the GIS visibility analysis and 80% in the GIS proximity analysis have a low naturalness index, while this value is reduced to 40% with the fieldwork analysis. Although the results of the GIS approach (proximity and visibility) generate naturalness indices and spatial patterns that are very similar, they differ significantly from those derived from the fieldwork analysis. The discussion of the results suggests that the three methodologies used are valid for analysing the degree of naturalness of the trails, but if used together, it would be possible to add flexibility to the type of variables incorporated in the analysis.