"This project investigates the aesthetic character and visual quality of transportation corridors as seen by local and visiting travelers in Minnesota. The project broadly defines highway corridor landscapes to include the entire "view from the road". This definition is intended to contribute to the substance of context sensitive design by selecting characteristics of landscapes seen from the road that will be relevant for highway design and planning. It assumes that highway travel experiences can have a significant effect on the perceived attractiveness of the places where we live, work and travel."

This project investigates the aesthetic character and visual quality of transportation corridors as seen by local and visiting travelers in Minnesota. The project broadly defines highway corridor landscapes to include the entire 'view from the road'. This definition is intended to contribute to the substance of context sensitive design by selecting characteristics of landscapes seen from the road that will be relevant for highway design and planning. It assumes that highway travel experiences can have a significant effect on the perceived attractiveness of the places where we live, work and travel.This project investigates the aesthetic character and visual quality of transportation corridors as seen by local and visiting travelers in Minnesota. The project broadly defines highway corridor landscapes to include the entire 'view from the road'. This definition is intended to contribute to the substance of context sensitive design by selecting characteristics of landscapes seen from the road that will be relevant for highway design and planning. It assumes that highway travel experiences can have a significant effect on the perceived attractiveness of the places where we live, work and travel.

The Aesthetic Initiative Measurement System (AIMS) was developed and tested to provide a method for the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) to use to understand and monitor how travelers perceive the attractiveness of Minnesota's highway corridors and to inform planning, design, construction and maintenance decision-making with specificity. Development of the AIMS methodology involved Mn/DOT staff from several disciplines and local citizens to understand perceptions of the value of Minnesota's highway planning, design, engineering, and maintenance choices. AIMS researched the problem of identifying what landscape characteristics, seen from the highway, are noticed for their aesthetic quality by travelers. AIMS measured the relative aesthetic value of those characteristics then used those measurements to document the benefits for design and planning to monitor and compare landscape aesthetic values across space and time.