Chronos' space

Francesco Careri
Researcher at the Roma TRE School of Architecture and Co-founder of Stalker and the Laboratorio di Arti Civiche (LAC)

"Verily at the first Chaos came to be, but next wide-bosomed Earth, the ever-sure foundations of all the deathless ones who hold the peaks of snowy Olympus, and dim Tartarus in the depth of the wide-pathed Earth [...]
And Earth first bore starry Heaven, equal to herself, to cover her on every side [...]
After them [the children], was born Chronos, the wily, youngest and most terrible of her children, and he hated his lusty sire."
(Hesiod, Theogony: 116-9; 126-7; 137-8)

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Franges. Els paisatges de la perifèria, now available in digital format

Last May, the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia published a book entitled Franges. Els paisatges de la perifèria (Fringes. The landscapes of the periphery) based on the seminar with the same name held in November 2010. This book is the third volume in the series "Reflections" within the Plecs de Paisatge ("Landscape Documents"). It is now available in digital format on the Landscape Observatory website, where visitors can download all the books' chapters.

Priorat County Landscape Charter signed

On October 4th, the Priorat County Landscape Charter was officially signed in an act presided over by the Catalan Government's Minister of Territory and Sustainability, Lluís Recoder. The objective of this initiative, which includes collaboration form the Landscape Observatory, is to protect, classify, improve and evaluate Priorat landscapes. The most important promoters of this initiative include the County Council (promoter), the majority of local municipalities, the Catalan Department of Agriculture, Ranching, Fishing, Food and the Environment, and the Tarragona Provincial Council, in addition to nearly a hundred entities and individuals who have adhered to the pact, all assuming specific commitments.

Andorra debates on landscapes and ski resorts

The coexistence between landscapes and ski resorts will be the subject of debate in a conference scheduled for November 13th in Andorra. This event is a part of Andorra's attempts to draft its National Landscape Strategy and will include participation by Joan Nogué, Director of the Landscape Observatory, who will talk about the Catalan experience in this respect. During this event, the Andorran Government will present its Guide to Integrate Ski Resorts into Andorran Mountain Landscapes. The aim of this guide is to serve as a tool to integrate the typical infrastructures found in ski areas, both existing and possible future ones (ski runs, mechanical chairs, buildings, parking areas, welcome centres, accesses, summer activity areas, etc.). Preparing this document represents one of the prior actions needed to draft the National Landscape Strategy for Andorra.

The Latin American Landscape Initiative signed and ratified (LALI)

On October 19th the Colombian city of Medellin hosted the signing of the Latin American Landscape Initiative (LALI), fostered by the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA Americas), as well as by representatives of the academic field, local authorities and Latin American civil society. LALI, pioneer in Latin America, represents a declaration of ethical principles to encourage recognising, valuing, protecting, managing and planning Latin American landscapes by promoting projects and agreements among different actors which recognise the existing landscape diversity as well as its values. LALI was signed within the framework of the International Federation of Landscape Architects' (IFLA) Americas Regional Conference. This conference, devoted to "Borders. Landscapes on the alert", gathered more than 300 participants from all countries in Latin America, as well as from the rest of the world. Pere Sala, coordinator of the Landscape Observatory, participated in the conference with a lecture on "Borders. Building a new landscape discourse" and attended the signing of LALI.

Olot debates on strategies to adapt landscapes to climate change

The Landscape Observatory and the University of Girona organized the international workshop, "Landscape and Climate Change," this past July. The seminar was a part of the European Masters Course in Planning and Policies for the City, Environment and Landscape and brought together nearly fifty students from all over Europe. Their final projects included presenting possible strategies to adapt to climate change in the landscape units studied. The various presentations given as part of the workshop as well as the students' proposals can be found on the Observatory's website.

Granollers to consult its inhabitants on the landscape they want for the city

With the logo, "Each of us has our own landscape. There are more than 60,000 in Granollers… How do you want yours to be?", Granollers Town Hall launched its project "Granollers, more than 60,000 landscapes" consisting of a referendum to improve the quality of the city's landscapes. To participate, local residents have to complete a form or access the online platform from October 1st to December 15th. The "Involvement with Granollers' Landscape Plan" provides continuity with the technical work begun in 2011 to draft the Granollers Landscape Plan, a pioneering landscape planning tool in all of Catalonia. The plan can be framed within the European Landscape Convention and is a clear expression of the will to involve the population in defining the landscape. It is also the first experience in Catalonia in which the European Landscape Convention is applied at the municipal level.

The Implementation of the European Landscape Convention in Lapland (Finland)

In September, 2011, the town of Inari in the Finnish region of Lapland, hosted the seminar entitled, "The Implementation of the European Landscape Convention In the North Calotte Area Municipalities". The conference was organised by the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and Environment in Lapland with support from the Nordic Council of Ministers. The Landscape Observatory of Catalonia also participated, discussing how the European Landscape Convention has been implemented in Catalonia. The different presentations have now been published in five languages (English, Sami, Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian).

The Dutch magazine, 'scape, focuses on the Landscape Observatory

The Dutch magazine, 'scape, is dedicated to urban planning and landscape architecture. In its last edition, it focused on the work carried out by the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia. One of the central topics highlighted is the Council of Europe's European Landscape Award. The Observatory has had a noteworthy role in these awards. Its project, "City, Territory, Landscape" (fomented jointly by the Government of Catalonia's Department of Education and the Department of Territory and Sustainability) earned special mention in the second edition of these awards.

Conclusions from the InfraScapeLab Workshop

The IntraScapeLab: Infrastructures and Territory workshop was held from June 29th to July 6th in Barcelona and Olot. It was organised by the IntraScapeLab research group in the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and the Centre for Territorial Sustainability (CST in Catalan). The workshop consisted of proposals for the stretch of the Bracons roadway through Vall d'en Bas. These plans had to give special consideration to ensuring the continuity of agricultural activities while also redefining the roadway's pass through the Preses municipal area. The workshop represented an opportunity to explore new methodologies and tools for urban planning and infrastructure implementation in the territory. The workshop's conclusions can be consulted here.

More recognition for the Tudela-Culip landscape recovery project

In the last few months, the Tudela-Culip restoration project in Cap de Creus Natural Park has received two, very important distinctions, adding to the other recognitions it has already received. As such, it was awarded the ASLA 2012 Professional Awards, which serves to distinguish the best landscape planning projects in the world, and the 7th Rosa Barba European Landscape Prize, which recognises the best landscape projects in Europe. The project is led by landscape architect, Martí Franch, and project foreman, Ton Ardèvol. The restoration project was originally promoted by the Spanish Ministry of the Environment, the Catalan Government's Department of the Environment, the Cap de Creus Natural Park, and the company, Gestora de Runes de la Construcció, S.A. It consisted of demolishing 430 buildings belonging to the former Club Med vacation settlement, eliminating more than 50 hectares of exotic flora to repopulate it with autochthonous vegetation, recovering the area's original topography, and creating a look-out point and path to be able to walk through and enjoy this spectacular landscape consisting of rocks and sea.

Presentations from the seminar, Paysages européens & mondialisation, now available

In May 2009, an international seminar was held in Florence (Italy) dedicated to the interrelationship between landscape, Europe and globalisation (Paysages européens & mondialisation). The seminar was organised by the Universities of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and Paris 3 Sorbonne Nouvelle, in collaboration with other European universities, to analyse landscapes within the context of globalisation. This year, the different presentations given at the seminar have been published in a two-volume collection edited by Aliné Bergé, Michell Collot and Jean Mottet. The second volume, subtitled Eléments de géographie littéraire, is available only in digital format here.

Extraordinary RECEP-ENELC assembly meeting

The European Network of Local and Regional Authorities for the Implementation of the European Landscape Convention (RECEP-ENELC) held an extraordinary assembly meeting last June 1st to make decisions on the future of the network. Amongst other questions, the assembly decided to reduce the quota for network members and to name Mr. Eduard Rosell as the network's Acting Director pending ratification at the next Executive Committee meeting. Mr. Rosell currently serves as Deputy Director General for Territorial Planning and Landscape in the Government of Catalonia's Department of Territory and Sustainability.

The CEMAT considering Landscape with its Heritage Values

Report by Audun Moflag dealing with the presence of landscape in spatial planning, commissioned by the CoE.

Intercanvi

Short film by the Majorcan director Toni Bestard and produced by Pedro Barbadillo, focused on the transformation of coastal landscape in Mallorca.

Luoghi di valore. Come li viviamo, come li vorremmo

Research initiative that aims to understand the link between the people in a community and their landscapes, and to raise public awareness of the need for everybody, regardless of their origin or daily requirements, to get involved in the conservation and management of the landscape.

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