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The term 'natural beauty' has been an important criterion for designating and managing fine landscapes in the UK and elsewhere. However, its meaning has been assumed to be self-evident and has never been officially defined. Latterly, this has become problematic in relation to more critical contemporary understandings of 'natural', and legal challenges to the use of the term in practice. Based on an analysis of the antecedents to legislation for the protection of natural beauty, and of subsequent efforts to analyse and describe fine landscapes, this paper considers the contested use of 'natural beauty' in current landscape policy. It proposes an extended meaning for the term which is consistent with the intentions of the original legislators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The landscape has long been an important object of rural policy, particularly in terms of protecting scenic areas. Increasingly, however, landscape is seen as a multifunctional and holistic entity, which provides a framework for the governance and interdisciplinary study of spatial units. A central dilemma in the maintenance of cultural landscapes is that the historical practices which produced them are often obsolete, and new social and economic forces may fail to reproduce their valued properties. Sustainable development strategies therefore seek to instil ‘virtuous’ circles in cultural landscapes, linking society and economy to environmental service functions and land uses, in order to generate mutually reinforcing feedback loops resulting in socially preferred outcomes. We explore ways of investigating these linkages as a basis for future rural research and policy. We conceptualise cultural landscapes as ‘socio-ecological systems’ (SESs), and consider their capacity for resilience and stability. Noting that resilient systems are characterised, not by simple equilibria, but by ‘basins of attraction’, we argue the need to understand the ways in which SESs stabilise within a particular basin, or move to an alternative. In particular, we reflect on the dynamics of ‘adaptive cycles’ that may lead to changes in system state. Finally, we discuss the development of appropriate models as tools for investigating whether a landscape is trending towards stability within a ‘vicious’ or a ‘virtuous’ circle, and evaluating potential interventions to alter this trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability has become a clichéd term that is in danger of meaning everything and thus nothing. In land use planning it has become the new 'amenity' — a catch-all term that can be used to justify a refusal of permission or imposition of conditions notwithstanding a lack of professional consensus over its definition, interpretation or application. If sustainability is thus not to become a devalued and ineffective term, we need to develop ways in which the concept can be applied in a transparent and consistent way so that all stakeholders in the planning process can see how sustainability criteria have moulded the decision. Radical changes to planning in 2004 offer an important opportunity to appraise development policies and proposals in ways that ensure that individual decisions help to take sustainability forward in a cumulative way. These changes are viewed from the perspective of two academics and a senior planning officer in order to generate insights into how practice and policy might interact under the revised system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the motivations and perceptions of participants in Local Agenda 21, the principal means of addressing sustainable development practice at the local government level in Great Britain. Placement of emphasis on the need for participatory processes and innovative policy options; Holistic approach to quality of life concerns; Legitimacy of local government as a key player in sustainable development.

Abstract: The designation of tracts of land for nature and landscape conservation has been a mainstay of countryside policy. However, its continued relevance in the light of policy trends towards sectoral and spatial integration has been questioned. Focusing principally on experience in the United Kingdom, this review considers the impact and effectiveness of designations from a number of perspectives. It concludes that, whilst on balance they remain broadly fit for purpose and good value for money, they will increasingly need to be embedded in land use strategies which are more responsive to changing social needs and environmental conditions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]