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Landscape Planning and Management in Europe: Methods, Tools and Approaches

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Urban and Rural Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2022) | Viewed by 19112

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Anna Maria Colavitti

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Guest Editor

DICAAR, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture, University of Cagliari, Via Santa Croce 67, 09124 Cagliari, Italy
Interests: landscape planning; cultural heritage; urban and regional planning; urban and territorial policies; urban renewal and regeneration

Dr. Chiara Garau

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Guest Editor

DICAAR, Department of Environmental, Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
Interests: smart cities; participatory processes; cultural heritage; urban governance and urban policies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Sergio Serra

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Guest Editor

DICAAR, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture, University of Cagliari, Via Santa Croce 67, 09124 Cagliari, Italy
Interests: urban and regional planning; landscape planning; cultural heritage; ecosystem services; land use planning; urban regeneration

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Landscape has become a key issue for urban and regional planning after the 2000 European Landscape Convention (ELC), which defines it “as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors of a territory”. We refer to a complex concept that involves environmental, cultural, and social factors belonging to different types of natural and urban landscapes. It is the task of public institutions to identify the specific characteristics of a landscape and to assess the natural and cultural values shared by local communities. Through spatial planning, landscape quality objectives are defined and linked to a set of actions for the enhancement, conservation, and regeneration of the landscape. In the European countries that have signed and ratified the ELC, different policies and planning tools have been adopted as well as different methods of landscape quality assessment. In Italy, the 2004 Code for Cultural Heritage and Landscape underlines the status of landscape as a public good, whose protection and conservation is up to the central state which, together with the regional authorities, defines policies and strategies for its valorization and recovery into Regional Landscape Plans (RLPs). Landscape planning is therefore a tool for the development and application of successful landscape strategies, policies, and projects to improve the quality of life of the local communities in urban or rural contexts. An important innovation concerns the attempt to overcome the binding and regulatory approach, usually focused on protection constraints, in order to generate a high awareness about the identity value of the territorial capital and to encourage a democratic community involvement in the development of conservation and enhancement policies. The ELC introduces innovative planning tools but also aims to stimulate changes in the institutional and legislative framework, not only at regional and national levels, but also at local ones. While on the one hand, municipal administrations have acquired greater awareness of the role of the landscape as a driving factor for the socioeconomic development of the territory, on the other side, they find considerable difficulties in the implementation of strategies and actions at closest local level due to the ineffectiveness of municipal urban plans to determine real effects in the landscape regeneration. This Special Issue focuses on the methods and criteria to transfer the landscape quality objectives from the territorial level—usually the regional one—to the most suitable local scale for the management and governance of the landscape in its different forms. Landscape planning also acts on the wide range of ecosystem services that are fundamental to human wellbeing and are under pressure from economic, social, and environmental changes in addition to unsustainable land use. Once again, this issue is most clearly evident on a local scale and requires addressing through an integrated approach to spatial planning in relation to urban and landscape aspects.

This Special Issue encourages contributions on the topic of landscape planning and management, related (but not limited) to the discussion of different methods, tools, and approaches or experiences on the national and international scale. Theoretical and methodological papers as well as case studies are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Anna Maria Colavitti
Prof. Dr. Chiara Garau
Dr. Sergio Serra
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

Landscape planning theories
Landscape planning tools
Landscape analysis methods
Landscape quality objectives
Local landscape strategies
Assessment of ecological and landscape values
Regional landscape planning
Landscape observatory
Landscape management
Landscape regeneration
Landscape in the local planning
Public participation
Ecosystem services
Cultural heritage
Green infrastructures
Sustainable land use

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 3056 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigating the Drivers of Knowledge-Based Growth Management Using Fuzzy MICMAC: A Case Study in Iran

by Mohamad Molaei Qelichi, Amin Safdari Molan and Beniamino Murgante

Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3704; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043704 - 17 Feb 2023

Viewed by 1524

Abstract

Attention to a city’s physical development is necessary for urban development plans. In Iran, the rapid physical expansion of cities in the form of unplanned and unbalanced growth due to various reasons, including indiscriminate migration, is considered a fundamental problem. This phenomenon is known as urban sprawl, which is one of the results of this type of growth. The research aims to identify and prioritize the indicators of the realization of knowledge-based growth management (KBGM) in the city of Tabriz, using foresight methods to analyze the effective drivers. The fuzzy linguistic MICMAC method was used to analyze mutual effects by converting linguistic variables into fuzzy numbers. In addition, using the theory of fuzzy sets for experts participating in research, the relationships between the 32 research variables were investigated. This research showed that the city of Tabriz had a scattered, isolated, fast, and unplanned growth, and it has relative compatibility. Despite the possibility of development within the limits of urban growth, most of the construction activities were outside the boundaries of urban growth. Key factors affecting the management of knowledge-based growth in Tabriz city were identified. Based on our findings, the university’s reputation, government effectiveness, urban competitiveness, city branding, quality of life, and strategic planning will impact the knowledge-based development process in Tabriz. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Landscape Planning and Management in Europe: Methods, Tools and Approaches)

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15 pages, 3001 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Which Landscape for Which Community? Opportunities and Pitfalls in the Application of the European Landscape Convention in Uncollaborative Context

by Annalisa Giampino, Gloria Lisi and Filippo Schilleci

Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3486; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043486 - 14 Feb 2023

Viewed by 1298

Abstract

This article attempts to assess the various ambiguities in the application of the principles of the European Landscape Convention (ELC) in Italy and is divided into two main sections. In the first, a theoretical framework is constructed, analyzing the link between “environment”, “territory” and “landscape”. Attention is focused on the consequences that the different perspectives open up on both the value and operational levels, as well as dealing with attempts at definition. The idea of community is then questioned and some theoretical and practical challenges related to involvement and participation in landscape planning processes are analyzed. In the second part of the paper, the relationship between the city of Palermo (IT) and the Oreto River is taken as an extreme example in the theoretical argumentation and is examined from the perspective of development and current bottom-up practices. The aim of the research is to provide a divergent point of view on the concept of community and identity as this constitutes the foundation of the ELC definition of landscape, through an argumentation that is applicable in general and not only related to particular circumstances, in order to fully apply the ELC also in controversial and peripheral situations where landscape struggles to be accepted by local communities as a common good. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Landscape Planning and Management in Europe: Methods, Tools and Approaches)

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13 pages, 4912 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Urban Growth and Habitat Connectivity: A Study on European Countries

by Francesco Zullo, Cristina Montaldi, Gianni Di Pietro and Bernardino Romano

Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 14689; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142214689 - 08 Nov 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1494

Abstract

The main tool for biodiversity conservation at the European level is the Natura 2000 network. The identification of Natura 2000 as an “ecological network spread over the entire European Union territory” is the symbolic image launched by the Habitat Directive (92/43/EEC) even though many considerations focused on the contradiction between the shared model of the ecological network—based on spatial continuity—and the fragmented geographical configuration of the Natura 2000 sites. Currently, it stretches across all 28 European countries, both on land and at sea, and it is made up of over 27,000 sites for a total extension of approximately 1,150,000 km². The land area covered by N2000 corresponds to approximately 18% of the total EU, with the national coverage ratio ranging from a minimum of 9% to a maximum of 38% in the various European countries. The aim of this study was to determine the degree of landscape fragmentation caused by the urban areas towards the Natura 2000 network, with the aim of analyzing how the current urban settlements’ geography could compromise their functionality. The proximity analysis carried out provides the necessary information to achieve full efficiency in the connections between the different habitats. In addition, these results give indications on which planning scale is most appropriate to intervene to reduce environmental fragmentation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Landscape Planning and Management in Europe: Methods, Tools and Approaches)

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28 pages, 5380 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cross-Disciplinary Approaches to the Regeneration of Minor Historical Centers: The Case of Mogoro in Sardinia

by Carlo Atzeni, Anna Maria Colavitti, Stefano Cadoni, Alessio Floris, Francesco Marras and Sergio Serra

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14439; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114439 - 03 Nov 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1039

Abstract

In Italy, the regeneration of historic centers is a relevant issue in the theoretical debate and practice of urban planning, a discourse which usually adopts strictly constraining approaches and tools directed almost exclusively at the preservation of the traditional characters of historic buildings, neglecting social and economic processes. In particular, the redevelopment of minor historic centers becomes a priority action for the revitalisation of marginal territories affected by the phenomena of depopulation and weakening of the socio-economic structure. The paper focuses on the regional context of Sardinia to investigate methods and criteria for the drafting of planning tools for the redevelopment of minor historic centers, enabling the definition and implementation of strategies in accordance with the objectives and guidelines of the Regional Landscape Plan. With a case study methodology applied to the historic center of Mogoro, the research discusses an innovative and interdisciplinary approach to the definition of flexible regulations to manage the urban regeneration process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Landscape Planning and Management in Europe: Methods, Tools and Approaches)

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19 pages, 4416 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Understanding the Role of Nature in Urban-Rural Linkages: Identifying the Potential Role of Rural Nature-Based Attractive Clusters That Serve Human Well-Being

by Mario Cozzi, Carmelina Prete, Mauro Viccaro, Frans Sijtsma, Paolo Veneri and Severino Romano

Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 11856; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141911856 - 21 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1880

Abstract

Rural areas provide unique amenities for recreational purposes which are highly appreciated by urban inhabitants. This generates an important but often hidden relationship between the urban and the rural. The aim of our study is first to provide empirical evidence for this linkage and then to identify for Italy, at the municipal level, those rural areas which actually function as nature-based attractive clusters. We used the data coming from a participatory webGIS survey that asked 1632 Italian respondents to mark attractive nature related places locally, regionally, nationally and world-wide to explain quantitatively and qualitatively the relationship between urban and rural. From the survey, indicators were developed to rank the nature-based attractive clusters. Our results pointed out a major (almost double) flow from urban to rural for natural amenities, which increased with the spatial level at which attractive nature areas were marked. This analysis allowed for the identification rural clusters of Italian municipalities that form nodal points for nature-based urban well-being; shedding light on an often neglected urban-rural relationship. The method is applicable in other countries and may stimulate better planning and management strategies for improving rural areas, taking an urban-rural perspective. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Landscape Planning and Management in Europe: Methods, Tools and Approaches)

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14 pages, 2288 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Battles around Urban Governance and Active Citizenship: The Case of the Movement for the Caracol da Penha Garden

by Jorge Gonçalves

Sustainability 2022, 14(17), 10915; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141710915 - 01 Sep 2022

Viewed by 1346

Abstract

Building a civil society that can act as a collaborative voice in the processes of change that take place in the territories does not always come about naturally and peacefully but is often something that needs to be won, based on concrete episodes in daily life. These changes are framed by the ongoing trend of shift from a form of power carried out in accordance with the old values of opacity, autonomy and imposition to one dominated by transparency, informality and sharing. The consolidation of governance processes in line with the legitimate exercise of local, national, regional or metropolitan government therefore makes sense. A descriptive methodology is adopted here of the process of affirmation of an organic movement of citizens, identifying step by step the interactions between actors that led to the reversal of the initial decision taken by the municipality. This emblematic case is framed theoretically by the ongoing paradigm shift related to the modes of exercising power at the local scale. This analysis of the case of the Movement for the Caracol da Penha Garden in Lisbon, Portugal is a contribution to understanding how this slow and difficult transformation takes place in urban and metropolitan environments and how the learning that can be taken from these processes can be of great benefit to all urban stakeholders. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Landscape Planning and Management in Europe: Methods, Tools and Approaches)

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17 pages, 991 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Policy Recommendations for Integrating Resilience into the Management of Cultural Landscapes

by Ahmadreza Shirvani Dastgerdi and Reza Kheyroddin

Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8500; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148500 - 11 Jul 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2047

Abstract

The perspectives of resilience and cultural landscape share common interests in planning, managing, and protecting socio-ecological systems. Although the principles of the Yokohama, Hyogo, and Sendai frameworks may be used in a variety of geographical contexts due to their general design, the implementation of these frameworks in cultural landscapes is seldom discussed. Our theoretical research is the first step in an ongoing effort to explore how urban governance and policy may provide room for enhancing cultural heritage resilience against natural hazards. A meta-synthesis of international guidelines on cultural landscapes, resilience, and disaster risk reduction serves as the foundation for the research methodology used in this study. The research findings highlight that cultural landscapes must be managed with political, social, and economic support to stay resilient, and therefore, the first step towards this goal is to integrate cultural heritage into the disaster risk reduction plan at a national level. Furthermore, cultural landscapes need a bottom-up participatory framework and more internship opportunities to bring together the government, first responders, site managers, and the local community. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Landscape Planning and Management in Europe: Methods, Tools and Approaches)

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31 pages, 8428 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Settlements and Urban Morphological Quality in Landscape Planning–Analytical Models and Regulating Tools in the Landscape Plan of Regione Toscana

by Massimo Carta, Maria Rita Gisotti and Fabio Lucchesi

Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1851; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031851 - 06 Feb 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2230

Abstract

Settlement and urban landscape quality is a vast field of research, ranging from studies on “the shape of the city” to studies on functions and services performed by the urban landscape. In Italy, a decisive steering role is entrusted to regional landscape planning, as introduced through the current Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape. Regional landscape plans define the rules to which all municipal plans must conform. This paper aims to assess the effectiveness with which the general principles and rules regarding settlement and urban landscape quality defined on a regional level through landscape plans are transposed and implemented on a local level through municipal plans. We chose the case study of Regione Toscana, which has a Regional Landscape Plan approved in 2015 (PIT/PPR) that identifies “settlement morphotypes” and “contemporary urbanisation morphotypes” and presents “Guidelines for landscape redevelopment of urbanised fabric in the contemporary city”. We examined how the eight municipal plans approved so far are addressed in the PIT/PPR contents. We also conducted a more in-depth study on topics of interest through structured interviews with four designers who were responsible for most of the plans analysed. We also conducted a more in-depth study on topics of interest through structured interviews with several plan designers. The results from the discussion showed some weakness in the PIT/PPR’s ability to guide local planning tools to improve urban quality. Additionally, the PIT/PPR’s effectiveness appears more evident in the rhetoric of arguments used by local plans than in the results of the transformations that they prefigure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Landscape Planning and Management in Europe: Methods, Tools and Approaches)

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22 pages, 5128 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Landscape Changes in Protected Areas in Poland

by Anna Zbierska

Sustainability 2022, 14(2), 753; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14020753 - 11 Jan 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2278

Abstract

Land-Use Cover Changes (LUCCs) are one of the main problems for the preservation of landscapes and natural biodiversity. Protected Areas (PAs) do not escape this threat. Poland is among the European leaders in terms of the variety of landscapes and the share of an area designated as a protected area. However, as many as 78% of the habitats have poor or bad conservation status based on EEA reports. This article analyzes the LUCCs between 2000 and 2018 in various types of the Polish legal forms of nature protection areas and the European Natura 2000 network within the country. The research material was: the data of Corine Land Cover (CLC), the Central Register of Nature Protection Forms, and high-resolution layers, such as HRL and orthophotos. The results were compiled according to the CLC class and forms of protection. The matrix of transformations showed that the most frequently transformed CLC class was 312 (coniferous forest). It was transformed into class 324 (transitional woodland shrubs). The changes in PAs were usually smaller than in the surrounding buffer zones, which may indicate their effectiveness. The exception was the areas of the European Natura 2000 network. The scale of land-cover flows (LCFs) changed within particular forms of protected areas, though afforestation and deforestation predominating in all area types. National reserves and parks were the most stable in terms of land cover structures. However, human settlements increased around the protected areas, potentially increasing threats to their ecological integrity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Landscape Planning and Management in Europe: Methods, Tools and Approaches)

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21 pages, 3493 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Mind the Gap: Why the Landscape Planning System in Sardinia Does Not Work

by Anna Maria Colavitti, Alessio Floris and Sergio Serra

Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7300; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137300 - 29 Jun 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1962

Abstract

In Italy, after the introduction of the Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape in 2004, the Regional Landscape Plan (RLP) has acquired a coordination role in the urban planning system, for the implementation of policies for landscape protection and valorisation. The case study of the RLP of Sardinia is a paradigmatic application to the coastal area of the island, which is considered most vulnerable and subject to settlement pressure. The objectives of preservation and valorisation of the territorial resources should be transferred into local planning instruments by adopting strategies aimed at the preservation of the consolidated urban fabric, at the requalification and completion of the existing built-up areas according to the principles of land take limitation and increase in urban quality. The paper investigates the state of implementation and the level of integration of landscape contents in the local plans that have been adapted to the RLP, using a qualitative comparative method. In addition, the results of the plan coherence checks, elaborated by the regional monitoring bodies after the adaptation process, have been analysed to identify the common criticalities and weaknesses. The results highlight the lack of effectiveness of the RLP, after more than a decade since its approval, considering the limited number of adequate local plans and the poor quality of their analytical and regulative contents in terms of landscape protection and valorisation. Conclusions suggest some possible ways to revise the RLP, focusing on the participation of local communities and the development of a new landscape culture. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Landscape Planning and Management in Europe: Methods, Tools and Approaches)

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