2003 Environmental Excellence Awards

Aesthetic Initiative Measurement System (AIMS)

Quality of life in our communities can be influenced by the visual quality of the highway travel experience. Many of us spend a great deal of time commuting each and every day around metropolitan areas and the highway corridor landscape can significantly influence the way we view the attractiveness of where we live and work. The Aesthetic Initiative Measurement System (AIMS) project was conducted to develop and test instruments and protocols that the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) can use to understand and document how travelers and neighbors perceive the visual quality of Minnesota's highway corridor treatments and landscapes. The AIMS tool offers an efficient way to learn about the aesthetic qualities that the public values in its highway corridor elements and landscapes. Such information up front makes it easier - and ultimately more cost effective - to determine ways to meet customer needs and expectations. AIMS will help Mn/DOT achieve their commitment to context sensitive design practices, which strives to integrate transportation with community and environmental values through careful planning, consideration of multiple perspectives, and respond to unique project circumstances.