GeoScape

Chuquipul, Miguel Angel Comeca; Ramírez, Gianina Comeca; Xiomara, Roselyn; Gonzales, Chacon; Dominguez, Juan Antonio Marquez

doi: 10.2478/geosc-2025-0007pmid: N/A

AbstractThe objective of this research is to evaluate citizen participation in the territorial management of the Utcubamba River basin in Amazonas, Peru, with particular attention to community practices in conserving natural and cultural resources. The methodology combined thematic data collection with fieldwork, including direct observations and surveys administered to members of both urban and rural social organizations. The survey, consisting of eight questions, was analyzed through frequency distribution, which facilitated the identification of participation patterns and citizen perceptions. The findings reveal active community involvement in resource management, with notable initiatives such as reforestation in Luya Viejo and tourism management in Cruz Pata and Cocachimba. Nonetheless, several shortcomings were identified: 67% of respondents reported insufficient access to information, and 93% indicated they had not participated in the preparation of territorial plans, highlighting a significant disconnect between authorities and the community. Despite these limitations, 93% of participants expressed a strong interest in becoming more actively engaged in management processes. The study concludes by underscoring the need to strengthen mechanisms for information dissemination and capacity building in order to foster more effective and equitable citizen participation in integrated territorial management.

Jánská, Michaela; Olšová, Petra

doi: 10.2478/geosc-2025-0008pmid: N/A

AbstractLocal administrations and governments communicate with the public in both obligatory and voluntary ways. In all cases, they aim to ensure that their messages reach their recipients, are understandable, memorable and enter the citizens’ decision-making process. This paper reports the results of an eye-tracking experiment combined with a structured questionnaire that tested whether positive versus negative message framing in text and images affects how well readers recall information, and how long they focus on webpage elements. Key findings show no significant effect of message framing on correct recall of either textual or visual information (p = 0,52 for text recall; p = 0,48 for picture recall) and no significant effect on time spent viewing the message itself. These results suggest that in the context of municipal website communication, positive or negative framing alone does not meaningfully enhance citizens´ recall. This implies that other factors (e. g. content clarity, relevance) may be more decisive.

Prener, Jan; Nováček, Aleš; Chromý, Pavel

doi: 10.2478/geosc-2025-0009pmid: N/A

AbstractThe major transformative events in Czechia after 1989 came with many aspects of a new reality, including changes to the geographical organisation of society and public administration. Along with this reality, there was a fundamental change in the electoral behaviour of the population and its discontinuity in time and space at different scales. Given the above, it is clear that the voting behaviour of the Czech population is partly determined by socio-economic and socio-demographic factors, in addition to increasing spatial polarisation. The aim of this paper is therefore to help – using the stability index – reveal the spatial differentiation of the stability of local political elites (members of assembly) and electoral behaviour in selected types of regions in Czechia during the period from 1994 to 2022. The territory of the Pilsen Region and South Bohemian Region was chosen for the analysis. These regions represent territorial units co-determined by structural changes and at the same time, show a relatively higher internal differentiation of social, demographic, economic and other phenomena. The highest values of analysed stability were identified in low-populated rural municipalities with up to 200 inhabitants, with the exception of a few mountain municipalities in the state border areas. Conversely, it can be noted that there are a number of border municipalities with up to 200 inhabitants. The results show a significant spatial differentiation of the examined stability and its ambivalent character, determined by selected socio-economic factors. For these reasons, the selected types of regions can be identified as suitable territorial units for a pilot analysis of the stability of local political elites.

Abante, Carlo Gabriel; Bergonio, Emerson; Salleh, Siti Aekbal; Foronda, Vladimir; Jaucian, Gertrudis Girlie; Llesol, Celerino; Haber, Claribelle

doi: 10.2478/geosc-2025-0010pmid: N/A

AbstractThis study addresses the lack of updated land cover and land cover change data in Prieto Diaz, Sorsogon (Philippines), while also identifying land use policy clusters and formulating spatial development options to guide the local planning. Land cover analysis was conducted using remote sensing techniques via Google Earth Engine and spatial analysis tools in QGIS. Year-on-year data from 2017 to 2022 revealed significant increases in tree cover within mangrove areas and in flooded vegetation across seagrass zones. The gradual expansion of built-up areas in urban and urbanizing barangays highlighted a noticeable rural-urban population shift and marked zones where built development − whether planned or unplanned − is likely to occur. Based on these findings, four development clusters were identified: Agroforestry, Agriculture, Commercial-Residential, Conservation. The three spatial development options were subsequently formulated and presented to the Local Development Council, from which participants then selected the Conservation-Enterprise option as the spatial development strategy most likely to realize their town’s vision. This approach centers focus on the interdependence between the local economy and livelihood on the stability of the town’s environment, thereby reinforcing incentives for environmental sustainability.

Pradana, Mohammad Raditia; Dimyati, Muhammad; Semedi, Jarot Mulyo

doi: 10.2478/geosc-2025-0011pmid: N/A

AbstractThis study explores the intricate relationship between visual comfort (VICO) and greenery distribution – measured by the Green View Index (GVI) – alongside object composition in the rural landscapes of Ciputri Village, Indonesia. Using panoramic imagery and semantic segmentation models, dominant visual elements were identified, categorized, and analyzed for their contributions to landscape perception. The analysis combined linear regression and Random Forest modelling to evaluate the predictors of VICO. While the linear model showed limited explanatory power (R2 = 0.37), the Random Forest model (R2 = 0.60) performed substantially better, highlighting the importance of nonlinear relationships. Key findings reveal GVI as a dominant determinant of VICO, underscoring its substantial role in enhancing visual comfort. Specific objects such as trees, mountains, and the sky positively influenced VICO when visually dominant, whereas walls had the opposite effect. Unique patterns were observed for plants and “null” objects, with their contributions varying according to their positional dominance in the visual composition. For instance, plants in primary positions were associated with reduced VICO due to perceived monotony, but they enhanced VICO when secondary or tertiary, reflecting their role as complementary elements that enrich visual diversity. Overall, these results provide a nuanced understanding of the interplay between greenery, object composition, and visual comfort, suggesting that balanced visual diversity and strategic spatial arrangements can moderately shape landscape perception, with direct implications for rural landscape planning in Indonesia.

Baidoo, Richard; Štych, Přemysl

doi: 10.2478/geosc-2025-0012pmid: N/A

AbstractThis study examines Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) changes over a 30-year period (1994–2024) in the Ahafo Ano Southwest District of Ghana using Landsat imagery from 1994, 2004, 2014, and 2024. Supervised classification based on the Maximum Likelihood algorithm was applied to classify the images into five LULC categories: dense vegetation, sparse vegetation, wetland, bare land, and built-up area. The classification results achieved overall accuracies above 95% with Kappa coefficients of approximately 0.92. The results indicate a substantial expansion of built-up areas, sparse vegetation, and bare land, occurring at the expense of dense vegetation and wetlands. These changes are primarily associated with increasing human activities, particularly agricultural expansion and urbanization, which corresponds with population growth in the study area. The findings provide important insights for land-use planning and the formulation of sustainable development policies aimed at enhancing forest cover, conserving ecosystems, and mitigating carbon stock loss.