Which factor is primarily affected by landscape design?

The primary factor affected by landscape design is community aesthetic. This aspect encompasses the visual appearance and overall feel of a given environment, heavily influenced by how landscape elements are arranged, planted, and maintained. Effective landscape design considers various factors, such as plant selection, color schemes, and spatial organization, creating harmonious and appealing surroundings that enhance the visual quality of a community.

The aesthetic appeal can significantly influence how people perceive and interact with a space, promoting a sense of community and belonging. For example, well-designed parks, gardens, and public areas can transform a neighborhood, making it more inviting while enhancing quality of life for residents.

In contrast, while soil erosion and water runoff rates are essential environmental concerns that landscape design can help mitigate, they are not the primary focus. Landscape architects often design features like rain gardens or swales to address these issues, but the overarching goal often aligns more closely with creating an attractive community space. Similarly, building architecture, although related, does not fall under landscape design's primary purview, as it focuses more on the construction and style of buildings rather than the land surrounding them.