Introduction

The new landscape policies which are being implemented in Catalonia and in many European countries require indicators to allow periodic monitoring of the development and state of the landscape, the people's satisfaction with their landscape and the effectiveness of public and private initiatives for the improvement of landscape.

The debate on what these indicators should be is active throughout Europe , but is not yet resolved. Diverse factors make this task really complex: the transversal nature of the concept of landscape, which covers natural and cultural dimensions, in addition to an individual and social dimension of perception; the relative novelty of landscape as a factor in town and country planning, and the willingness to work with a list of indicators which are applicable, are of established usefulness and are comprehensible to society as a whole

The objective of the seminar is therefore to debate the subject of landscape indicators from different disciplinary perspectives and share the most interesting experiences connected with this theme existing in the European region.

Participants

The maximum number of participants in the seminar is 150 so that, in order to attend, it is essential to register beforehand.

The working languages are Catalan, Spanish, English and French, and for this reason the sessions will have a service of simultaneous translation from one to another of these languages.

Parallel activities

On the occasion of this seminar, the Map Library of the Cartographic Institute of Catalonia will organise two supplementary activities:

- Exhibition of cartography and landscape: "Aerial photographs of Catalonia : witness to an area in transformation

- Guided visits to the Map Library of Catalonia.

Location

The headquarters of the Cartographic Institute of Catalonia (ICC), situated in the Parc de Montjuïc, Barcelona .

» Map showing the location of the ICC

Transport

'Barcelona airport has connections with nearly all the larger European cities. Trains leave this airport every 15 minutes to Barcelona (Sants station). The timetable can be consulted on the web www.renfe.es. There is also an airport bus (Aerobus) which goes from Barcelona airport to and from Plaça de Catalunya, with a stop at Plaça d'Espanya (close to the headquarters of the Cartographic Institute of Catalonia ).

Girona-Costa Brava airport specialises in low-cost flights. The main airline operating through Girona is Ryanair (www.ryanair.com), and the company Transavia ( www.transavia.com ) also flies to and from Girona. There is a daily bus service (Barcelona Bus) from this airport to the city (Estació del Nord).

Barcelona City has an excellent network of public transport. To enquire about the most suitable lines in each case, there is the web Guia urbana de Barcelona.

Accommodation

It is recommended to reserve accommodation well beforehand in order to avoid a shortage of availability for these dates. The Turisme de Barcelona web will help in finding accommodation and has information on a great range of hotels and hostels close to bus and metro stations.

» Hotel search - Turisme de Barcelona