Planning at the Landscape Scale

Traditionally landscape planning has involved the designation and protectionof exceptional countryside. However whilst this still remains important thereis a gr... » 

Traditionally landscape planning has involved the designation and protectionof exceptional countryside. However whilst this still remains important thereis a growing recognition of the multifunctionality of rural areas and theneed to encourage sustainable use of the whole countryside rather than just itshotspots.With an interdisciplinary assessment of the rural environment this book drawson theories of landscape values peopleplace relationships sustainabledevelopment and plan implementation. It focuses on the competing influences ofglobalization and localization as they are expressed in the landscape externalforces lead to a uniformity of landscapes and a decline in those farmingforestry practices that sustain local distinctiveness whilst at the same timemany people crave local identity and cherish inherited patterns of land use.This book sees the role of planning as that of reconciling these conflictingdemands reinforcing character and distinctiveness without museumizing ruralareas. Selman here examines the unmaking and remaking of landscapecharacter taking a critical approach to the often conflicting valuesassociated with multifunctional landscapes and giving equal attention to bothvalued heritage sites and devalued urban sites.Taking a landscape scale approach to the topic this book responds to theinterest sparked by concern for rural landscapes and by recent local andnational policy shifts in this area. It combines human perspectives withscientific and policy perspectives and provides a valuable resource forstudents academics and professionals in environmental management and planninglandscape management andplanning town and country planning land economy landdesign and geography. «