The new culture of territory : the landscape

The concept of landscape established by the European Landscape Convention goes beyond the consideration of landscape as part of the physical space. This new concept expresses the wish globally and forwardly face up to the question of the quality of places where people live, known as the essential condition for individual and social welfare (understood in the physical, physiological, psychological and intellectual sense of the word) for sustainable development and as a resource that favours economic activity.

The European Landscape Convention lends protagonism to landscape as the structural axis of the territory, the footprint of natural and cultural heritage of a country, on which economic activities are carried out and the quality of life of the inhabitants is reflected.

Landscape is understood to be born from natural heritage and to grow as cultural heritage, i.e., landscape undergoes evolution as a result of human activity that takes place on and around it and which can improve or worsen it, whether referring to natural, rural or urban landscapes.

Attention focuses on territory as a whole, without differentiating between urban, peripheries, rural or natural parts; nor between parts that could be considered exceptional, run of the mill or degraded; nor is it limited to cultural, artificial or natural items: landscape is the whole, whose components are considered all together as they interrelate.

It is consequently a good time to analyse the different aspects that come together in landscape and put a good number of examples on the table in order to provide material for global reflection about its opportunities and future. For reflection to take place involvement by all the social players linked to the territory is required within the framework of indispensable cooperation and effort by the public institutions, the private sector, universities, professionals and social groups and citizens in general.

At this fourth edition, the International Town Development Forum of Small and Medium Size Cities / Regions "Territories 21" is consolidated as one of the most important international forums where the main people responsible for change in the territory and in its landscape, both public and private, come together at the same place to debate and reflect on the future of the small and medium size cities / regions.

In coherence with the original conception, Territories 21 will boost the creation of an open space for reflection, analysis of the situation and debate between the different scopes of responsibility for the design and application of town planning policies, who, together with professionals and businesses in the sector, aim to achieve balanced territorial development that is both ecological and sustainable while contributing to involvement of citizens in this important collective task.

Theme areas:

The administrative situation of the landscape

Urban landscape: new architecture the shaper of the urban image

Imitative architecture

The landscape and infrastructures

The natural, rural and cultural landscape

Artificial landscape