According to the article, the UK passed the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 to give countryside access to city dwellers and this act established areas of natural beauty (AONB).
What is different about AONB's is:
...the aim is not to preserve a scene from a bygone age, says Gower AONB project officer Robert Latham.
"It is not about creating a museum; it is all about creating modern, vibrant communities that live within the existing landscape.
"The emphasis is on managing development that preserves the special qualities that led to... being given AONB status," he adds.
This sounds similar to the concept of 'preserving viewsheds'.
