Landscapes change because they are the expression of the dynamic interaction between natural and cultural forces in the environment. Cultural landscapes are the result of consecutive reorganization of the land in order to adapt its use and spatial structure better to the changing societal demands. Particularly in Europe, history has recorded many successive and even devastating landscape changes, which have left barely any relics today. Today, the changes are seen as a menace, as a negative evolution because they cause a loss of diversity, coherence and identity, which were characteristic for the traditional cultural landscapes that are rapidly vanishing. This growing concern is also expressed in the European Landscape Convention, which will be used as a start for the analysis in this article. Three periods of landscape dynamics are considered: the traditional landscapes before the important changes that started in the 18th century, the landscapes of the revolutions age of the 19th to 20th century, and the post-modern new landscapes. The combined effect of the driving forces such as accessibility, urbanization, globalization and the impact of calamities have been different in each of the periods and affected the nature and pace of the changes as well as the perception people have had about the landscape. Values change accordingly and so does the way of using and shaping the landscape. It is argued that this changing perception also influences what kind and aspects of landscapes are studied, protected and managed. Diversity and identity of cultural landscapes are central in the discussion. It is shown that coherence between small composing elements in a broader spatial context is important for the legibility of the landscape and that the ability to tell the (his)story of a place strongly enhances the identity and the overall value. This offers criteria for inventorying and assessing landscapes, which is needed to define future management and development. Although the general trends of future development of the European landscapes are rather well known, planning and managing future landscape remains difficult and extremely uncertain. The processes and management in past traditional landscapes and the manifold relations people have towards the perceivable environment and the symbolic meaning it generates, offer valuable knowledge for more sustainable planning and management for future landscapes
Future Directions International (FDI) is an independent, not-for-profit Research Institute. It was established in 2000, by Major General (Retd) the Honourable Michael Jeffery (former Governor General of Australia) together with a small group of leading Australians, to conduct comprehensive research of important medium to long-term issues facing Australia.
FDI’s primary aim is to provide informed, balanced research, which ultimately will result in policy changes that will enhance the quality of strategic decisions at senior levels of the public and private sectors in Australia for the benefit of all Australians.
Its research is forward-looking, attempting to anticipate events and changes and, by so doing, identify the opportunities and challenges that Australia may face in the future. FDI produces a series of strategic reports and assessments together with Landmark Studies, that are distributed free of charge, largely by electronic means.
FDI is linked to Outcomes Australia (OA), a Sydney-based not-for-profit organisation, one of whose tasks is to examine ways to regenerate the Australian landscape. This linkage requires FDI to determine the possibility and extent of a global food and water crisis and how the results of OA’s research might help reduce it.
The research provided by FDI’s core base of Strategic Analysts together with a base of academically gifted interns is ably assisted by FDI Associates who have skills and experience relevant to the focus areas. It is an extensive network, many of whose members are in senior leadership, academic and policy development positions.
Individual decisions regarding the location of buildings on plots are affected by multiple factors. Apart from topography and financial aspects, it is the formal requirements of the local law that have the most significant impact. The final decision regarding the selection of a plot and location of the building on the plot is for the owner to make. It is they who make the decision regarding the view from the building and the landscape around it. The intangible aspect, the intention to have the best view, is usually considered as well. The view is often related to the occurrence of landmarks with prominent visual impact in the landscape that determine visual connections.
A landmark is the main, fundamental feature, which stands out and dominates the surrounding environment [1,2]. The role of a landmark in the landscape has been researched by numerous authors. In architecture and landscaping, this is the element with the strongest visual impact that dominates the rest to the composition. In the panoramic view, a landmark stands out from the background with its distinctive form, colour, and height. In the landscape, it can be an eye-catcher, which is an architectural object that catches the viewer’s eye even from the furthest distance [3,4]. In some cases, a landmark has a significant location and formal, social, and economic assets; it affects the clarity of the urban planning scheme, and designates places that are important in the space, enabling their location and perception.
✒Nimesha peiris
📚MAPT/ 19/ B1 / 08
🎓Media Arts Production Technology
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