The visual environment and the rural scene

Abstract

The "rural zone" of New Zealand is by far the largest proportion of the country's land surface, and in fact urban and sub~urban areas account for only 0 .9% of our total acreage . Nevertheless , on this small space, in 1971, lived 81.5% of our population. It has been estimated that our population will rise to five million by 2000 A,D, but even at this figure the urban coverage will be only 2.2%, if present urban densities are held, If we assume, rightly or wrongly, that national income is spread in the same way as population, we start to see the type of problem we are facing - a considerable imbalance between facility and responsibility. The particular responsibility I am concerned with of course is the visual environment, and the visual environment of the rural zone is one which has importance to both urban and rural populations. It is the working space of the rural population, and yet is space which is visually important to the urban population, in their increasing recreational use of the countryside.