502 Full Paper Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture, 8-2023, pp. 502-514. © Wichmann Verlag, VDE VERLAG GMBH · Berlin · Offenbach. ISBN 978-3-87907-740-3, ISSN 2367-4253, e-ISSN 2511-624X, doi:10.14627/537740053. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/). A Discrete Choice Experiment to Elicit People’s Preferences for Semi-Arid Riparian Corridors: A Multinomial Logit Model Abdulmueen Bogis 1 , Mintai Kim 2 1 Mahan Rykiel Associates/USA · bogis@vt.edu 2 Virginia Tech/USA · mintkim@vt.edu Abstract: The aim of this study is to examine public preferences for urban riparian corridors in arid regions using simulation and visual quality analysis scenarios. Ecological landscapes are often subject to trade-offs with aesthetic landscapes that include micro and macro environmental factors such as manicured landscapes. It is suggested that there is a preference for aesthetics in landscape design; how- ever, it is unclear how laypeople prioritize aesthetics over different ecological factors in landscape scenes. This study uses a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) to elicit the preferences of current or former residents of Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia, for multiple landscape scenes. The method combines ecological landscape characteristics (adopted from the QBR index) found in the study area in Jeddah and aesthetic characteristics commonly suggested in landscape design projects. Participants in this study were exposed to a set of illustrated landscape scenes, including various aesthetic and ecological elements configurations. Participants’ choices revealed the influence of their ecological and aesthetic values. Results show that people may prefer unmaintained ecological landscapes if minimal design interventions were provided. This will prevent trading off the ecological unmaintained landscape with aesthetically maintained landscapes within the study area. This study will help researchers and land- scape architects advance visual preference research further into the domain of empirical studies. It presents a new powerful technique to elicit the preference of an individual element in landscape scenes, which improves the precision of community-based decision-making. Keywords: Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE), Choice-Based Conjoint (CBC), Multinomial Logit Model (MNL), Ecosystem Services (ES), resilient green infrastructure 1 Introduction The aim of this study is to examine public preferences for urban riparian corridors in arid regions by testing to what extent people are willing to trade off unmaintained ecological landscapes for aesthetics offered by specific micro and macro environmental factors. Land- scape design reflects ecological and aesthetic values, and trade-offs are often made between the two in practice. In arid regions, water scarcity means riparian corridors are the richest landscape typology and the only blue-green links for hundreds of miles (BOGIS et al. 2021, HOU et al. 2021). Pressure from urbanization and lack of eco-literacy contribute to negative feedback loops, which present dire challenges for migrating avifauna and regional wildlife. Riparian systems with high biomass are more desirable when natural resources and biodi- versity are prioritized, in which multiple deliverable ecosystem services rely on the quality and health of that ecosystem. Although this can be achieved with low or no maintenance riparian buffers, these unmaintained ecological landscapes play an intrinsic role in sustaining the global ecosystem services and are important for the survival of the avifauna (BOGIS & KIM 2021, BIAMONTE et al. 2011, MILLENNIUM ECOSYSTEM ASSESSMENT 2005). Ecological landscapes are often subjected to trade-offs with aesthetic landscapes that include micro and macro environmental factors such as manicured landscapes. It is suggested that there is a