The “Fomento y Vivienda” counseling of Andalusia and the National University of Distance Education (UNED) are working closely in the Pagus project, an innovative software for the visual impact assessment of transport infrastructures. Pagus, currently undergoing testing, is called to become an effective assessment system that will allow, either the Public Administration or the consulting and builder companies, a preliminary assessment to facilitate the adequacy and integration of linear transport infrastructures in the landscape environment. Pagus project will be presented at 17 th IRF World Meeting and Exhibition (Riad, november 10-14 2013).

1. Future
The future of this pioneering project depends on
consolidating its implantation in consulting companies,
integrating it in the current analysis methodology and
assessment and extending its use in a regional, national
and international framework.
Likewise, the tool needs new funding sources to allow a
second phase where many of its task would be automated
using computer vision, this way improving its performance
and facilitating even more the assessment process.
R&D&I Program
With an initial budget of 237,548.16 euros, Pagus is part
of the incentive line started by the autonomic
Administration of Andalusia co-financed by the European
Union through the ERDF funds for R&D&I projects. The
goal of this programme is the creation of knowledge,
information and technological support platforms for
strategic areas of interests for the regional government,
such as logistics, transportation, landscape and mobility,
public works and the territorial planning and ordination in
the 2011/2013 period.
Knowledge based system for
visual impact assessment and
integration of transport
infrastructures in the
landscape
In addition, this programme aims to find ways of
collaboration between the University and the Public
Administration, capitalizing the synergism amongst them
through a mutual transfer of knowledge and the
development of multidisciplinary teams. In the case of this
project, environmental, landscape, civil engineering and
visual analysis experts from the Public Works Agency of
Andalucía and the Center of Landscape and Territorial
Studies of Andalucía are collaborating with the Artificial
Intelligence department of the Computer Science
Engineering School at UNED.
@paguslvia
paguslvia@gmail.com
http://paguslvia.wordpress.com

2. Advantages
Innovation in visual impact assessment for
transport infrastructure integration
Pagus is based in Web Technologies, to facilitate its access
and maintenance tasks. Additionally, it will optimize the visual
impact assessment and analysis of infrastructures from the
point of view of the Public Administration, Landscape
Observatories and Consulting Companies.
The “Fomento y Vivienda” counseling of Andalusia and the
National University of Distance Education (UNED) are
working closely in the Pagus project, an innovative software
for the visual impact assessment of transport
infrastructures.
The Public Administration will be able to incorporate
this tool in its environmental studies; its versatility confers a
multi-spatial character, with a proposal for any type of actions
in terms of infrastructures and not only in linear executions.
Pagus, currently undergoing testing, is called to become an
effective assessment system that will allow, either the Public
Administration or the consulting and builder companies, a
preliminary assessment to facilitate the adequacy and
integration of linear transport infrastructures in the
landscape environment.
Likewise, Pagus will imply a clear progress in the fulfillment
of the European Landscape Convention and, at regional level,
in the development of the andalusian landscape strategy,
Regional Government initiative to incorporate landscape
protection to its policies and turn it into an asset for sustainable development.
Web application
details for the
Visual Impact
Assessment over
the “MedinaSidonia” by-pass
(Cádiz, Spain).
Pagus is a visual impact assessment tool which
completes the actual visual methodology (Landscape and
Visual Impact Assessment, LVIA), reducing possible
mistakes and inter-evaluator subjectivity.
Equally it is configured as a great valuable system for
fragility map generation.
Consulting companies will be able to automate
their assessment work and propose mitigation measures
in the corridor in the planning and execution phases,
which avoids conflicts with population or affected groups.
Likewise, the tool will ease its use by personnel from these
companies.
“La Ballestera” road viewpoint (Hornos-Pontones road, in Sierra de Segura, Jaén), a referent
in road-landscape integration.
Once standardized this methodology, the obtained
information will endorse and certificate the evaluation.
This way, with only one application it will be possible to
perform full monitoring of a specific project: from pre-execution images and the environmental fragility analysis to
the assessment of the proposed solution, achieving the
integration of visual information (viewshed assessment)
with territorial information (fragility).