Towards the development of landscape democracy: a theoretical contribution

Abstract

Participatory approaches have gained recognition through the European Landscape Convention (Council of Europe 2000), yet still remain questionable within landscape planning. Practitioners struggle to operationalise landscape as dynamic, holistic and democratic as defined in the ELC. This is due to: 1) weakness of substantive theory in landscape planning, with practice engaging with an impoverished understanding of landscape; and 2) a focus on normative ideals of how participation ought to be as opposed to the realpolitik of these practices. As such, practitioners fail to handle the diverse, dynamic values experienced in landscape, and the conflicts and power relations of participatory processes. By forwarding an understanding of the dynamics of landscape planning, and the differences, conflicts and power relations that are present in participatory processes, the paper develops a theorisation of landscape as a democratic entity.

Keywords

Landscape democracy. conflict, power

Published in

Title: Landscape values: place and praxis
Publisher: Centre for Landscape Studies

Conference

Landscape values: place and praxis

SLU Authors

• Calderon, Camilo

  • Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Butler, Andrew

  • Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Human Geography
Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalization Studies)

Publication identifier

• ISBN: 978-1-908358-43-1

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/80914