Search

Historic landscape is formed from the ubiquitous traces and cultural associations which help to create a distinctive sense of place. Historic landscape characterization (HLC) is explored as a framework which focuses upon character and temporal processes, rather than isolated ‘snapshots’ of time and space, and as a means to engage with a wider spatial urban heritage. The paper reports on a period of ‘action research’ in collaboration with two local authorities in the north of England. The results highlight the way in which heritage ‘value’ lay not just in site-specific physical remains but also in the wider legacy of space and morphology. Interventions with the local authorities resulted in the uptake of HLC data in planning and land management policies, as well as planners' more general appreciation of the significance of time-depth, and how this could be supported through emergent techniques. Overall, an emphasis on the evidential value of landscape time-depth may be summarized as a shift in focus from ‘remnants’ to ‘remanence’. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Rural landscapes in many parts of the world no longer exist solely for agricultural production and therefore face change to accommodate various socio-economic demands. Hence, there is a need to improve our understanding of public attitudes—in particular, their openness—toward such change. This article discusses predictors of openness to landscape change in rural areas based on the results of an online survey conducted to develop attitudinal measurement scales for landscape change and rural landscape in England. Landscape change in rural areas was not welcomed by the respondents mainly due to their high level of affirmative attitudes to rural landscapes. However, the study suggests that there is a possibility, especially among younger cohorts, that increasing levels of education will lead to greater openness to landscape change. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Imaginative engagement as a mode of citizen participation--the use of arts-based methods to involve people actively in shared learning experiences--holds promise as a means to increase awareness and understanding, and to build capacity, for sustainable use and management of rivers. We conducted a series of creative writing workshops in a former industrial area of northern England that were focused on a "recovering" river. Participants in the workshops found the process a positive experience and reported changes in their knowledge, attitudes, and actions about the use and management of river environments locally and more generally. The "catchment consciousness" of members appeared to increase, and their raised levels of interest led them to invest time in researching the history and geography of the river. We conclude that the method has significant potential for complementing collaborative approaches to river planning and management. [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]

The maintenance of valued landscapes often requires the active collaboration of local communities in their planning, management and sustainable development. This paper examines a variety of situations in which local stakeholders have actively participated in the protection and maintenance of 'cultural' landscapes. It reviews and interprets evidence on the ways in which central and local governments, non-governmental organizations, interest groups and the wider public can collaborate in planning and managing cultural landscapes. Particular attention is given to: the role of stakeholders, participation by communities-of-interest and communities-of-place; the management of specific landscape features; and policy and funding frameworks. It is concluded that community-based initiatives are unlikely to substitute for formal management of extensive protected areas, but that participatory approaches can be effective in more targeted situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity planners increasingly recognise the need for delivering action on a ’wider countryside’, rather than on a purely site-centred, basis. Ecological processes often take place at the ’landscape scale’ and are not sufficiently accommodated within reserves, and a failure to reflect this in biodiversity planning has been one of the contributors to species and habitat decline. However, there are generally few powers to enforce compliance with spatial rural land-use strategies, and biodiversity plans at the landscape scale must rely heavily on incentives, advice and goodwill. Not surprisingly, this results in a substantial gap between policy and implementation. One way of analysing the causes of and potential solutions to, implementation failure is to examine the barriers to plan uptake. This paper addresses barriers to biodiversity action in three case-study areas in terms of ’force fields’, depicting the nature and strength of negative and positive influences on land managers and conservation staff. It is concluded that a clearer understanding of the nature of ’barriers’ can lead to improved targeting on potential ’bridges’ to a better future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the planning of protected areas like natural parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England and Wales in the analysis and exploration of links between landscape and socioeconomy with a view to capitalizing on their interactions. Principles of sustainable development in the planning of protected areas; Features of the planning policy of protected areas.

This paper argues that important issues of sustainable development have been addressed through single-issue landscape plans, and that these plans have carried little weight within the land use decision-making process. A more consolidated approach, based on multi-function landscape plans, is proposed. After reviewing the range of plans which, in the UK, cover woodland, farmscapes, visual amenity, coasts, catchments and biodiversity, the case is made for an integrative plan capable of addressing natural resource issues at the landscape scale. The preliminary character of an integrative plan is outlined. Whilst landscape plans have a relatively weak basis for implementation, it is concluded that a sufficient range of powers is available to ensure some progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental planning and the pursuit of local sustainable development increasingly rely on the active participation of affected communities. Typical examples include public participation in development plans, consensus-building in contested environmental situations, and the design of local facilities by resident populations. It is argued here that successful approaches to local participation are underlain by stocks of 'social capital', that is, the organizations, structures and relationships built up between individuals within communities. Where stocks of social capital are buoyant and high levels of trust exist between individuals, favourable conditions exist for co-operation and participation in the pursuit of local sustainability. Many claims have been made about the ways in which participatory processes can help to build up the potential for achieving consensus and stimulating active environmental citizenship. This study examines local initiatives in which communities have been enrolled into sustainability projects and strategies, and raises questions about their contribution to the growth of social capital. The article speculates that sustainability planning may assist community development in a number of ways, but that extravagant claims for participatory approaches must be tempered in the light of experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines a case of local sustainability planning development in Great Britain. Emergence of a vision-driven super-network from its beginnings as an informal network space associated with the nature conservation forum; Characteristics and nature of the actor-network theory; Processes involved in the transformation into a vision-driven network.

ABSTRACT Approaches to biodiversity and catchment planning increasingly recognize the importance of the `wider countryside` rather than the more site-specific focus of traditional environmental management programmes. Biodiversity depends on the viability of ecosystems across the whole countryside, and not only in designated reserves; equally, the quantity and quality of inland waters reflect overall conditions within river catchments, as well as the hydrological conditions of specific river channels. However, planning of these wider areas involves partnerships and agreements between a range of actors, which generally must be negotiated on a consensual basis and are vulnerable to subsequent dissent. This paper examines the actor-networks which have arisen in some innovative examples of `wider countryside` planning and assesses their durability and contribution to the attainment of environmental objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies the Local Agenda 21 to promote sustainable development at the municipal level in Great Britain. Progress on strategy production and adoption; Case studies; Nature of claims made in relation to sustainability networks; Role of local government.

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.

Opinion. Focuses on rural and environmental planning. Similarity in policy frameworks, resource-based arenas of conflict and reliance on nonstatutory approaches; Epistemological territory of urban-regional planning; Role of theory in helping address practical issues of rural-environmental planning; Substantive and procedural theories.

Discusses information that the rural land use in a densely populated country like Britain is prone to clashes of interest between user groups. Factors that may impede effective public intervention in problems of landscape planning; Collaborative mechanisms of landscape planning; Four principal areas in the collaborative approach; Concept of consultative arrangements; Conclusions on intervening rural land use.

Discusses certain aspects of systematic environmental reporting and planning in Canada. Responses to monitoring and management of environmental quality resulting from the 1992 Earth Summit; Nature of environmental reporting; Process of environmental reporting; Reflections on the state of the environment (SoE) reporting process.

This study explored the public perceptions of mobile telecommunications development - new landscape elements installed to deliver new technology - in a protected area. It examined: (1) the perceived landscape impacts of such development; (2) the importance attached to the socio-economic value of mobile telecommunications; and (3) the factors underlying the perceived landscape impacts of mobile telecommunications development. A postal questionnaire survey was conducted in the Peak District National Park, England with 420 respondents drawn from National Park residents and visitors, urban dwellers and members of environmental organisations. The study suggests that: (1) there was a prevailing antipathy towards the landscape impacts of mobile telecommunications development in the National Park; (2) apart from emergency uses, the other socio-economic benefits of mobile telecommunications technology were thought to be relatively unimportant in the National Park; and (3) rather than socio-demographic characteristics, it was respondents' understandings of protected areas' needs for the technology and potential health risks that had significant effects on the perceived landscape impacts. Overall, this study suggests that the significance of National Park landscapes is respected by the public, even when setalongside the convenience of modern technology, which has substantial implications for landscape planning and management in protected areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article cites a case study of mobile telecommunications development in the Peak District National Park, England. It used document review, interviews with stakeholders and observations of public meetings and policy statements. The Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA) was pressured to compromise landscape conservation and public safety though they were not convinced to install mobile telecommunications coverage because they favored landscape value over socioeconomic benefits.