Peripheral Landscape

Toni Sala
Writer, National Literature Award of Catalonia

The first landscapes were reportedly painted in the Middle Ages, generally portraying walled-in gardens. The outside world, however, was hidden behind those walls, horrible and unknown. The periphery was limited, as such, to those impenetrable walls.

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Peripheral landscapes in photos and paintings

From November 6th, 2010, to January 30th, 2011, you can visit the exhibit, "Landscapes in the periphery. Crossed perspectives", at the Museu Comarcal de la Garrotxa museum in the city of Olot. This collection has been organised as a complementary activity to the International Seminar on Fringes. Landscapes of the Periphery organised by the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia. The exhibit juxtaposes the idyllic and bucolic landscape portrayals found in late 19th century and early 20th century paintings (including work by Joaquim Vayreda, Josep Berga i Boix, Ramon Casas and Enric Galwey) and the contemporary vision of peripheries as depicted by photographers such as Jordi Bernadó, Albert Gusi, Rafel López-Monné, Aleix Plademunt and Llorenç Rosanes. The aim is to reflect on different landscape representations and, at the same time, take note of how these landscapes have changed over the last few decades. The exhibit is also a good opportunity to visit the museum's permanent collection, all preceding its upcoming reconversion into the Landscape Museum of Catalonia.

The Landscape Observatory of Catalonia, selected for the 3rd Mediterranean Landscape Prize

The participatory process launched by the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia to prepare its landscape catalogues has been selected to take part in the 3rd Mediterranean Landscape Prize. This award serves to raise awareness about the role of landscapes in defining territorial cultural identities and to improve the quality of life of its people. With this aim, the best initiatives, plans and programmes, architectural projects and awareness campaigns, amongst others, are selected across Europe for the special attention they pay to landscapes. The selection process begins at the regional level. It is here when the Regional Selection Committee chose to nominate the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia for the participatory process it created while preparing the Catalan landscape catalogues from 2006 to 2009. The Steering Committee and then the International Jury's decisions will determine the final winners. However, all the candidates selected at the regional level will be included in the Catalogue of Good Practices whose aim is to help raise awareness about these landscape concerns and the creation of a common landscape culture.

5th Anniversary of the Catalan Law on Landscapes

On June 8th, 2005, the Parliament of Catalonia approved the Law on landscape protection, management and planning in Catalonia. Inspired by the European Landscape Convention, the Catalan Law on Landscape begins with a global and integral view of landscape and is pragmatic and tangible in nature. It also gives preference to providing incentives rather than applying sanctions. With the 5th anniversary of this Law's approval, the Government of Catalonia has published La política de paisatge a Catalunya which summarises the diverse initiatives enacted in this field. Over the last five years, the Law has been developed as foreseen, all the instruments specified in the Law have been applied and concrete actions have been taken as a result of each. Concretely in terms of territorial planning, a process has been launched to develop and apply the landscape catalogues and guidelines and the studies and reports on landscape impact and integration. As foreseen within the Law, the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia has also consolidated its role as an international reference in the landscape field and has carried out intense labour to communicate and raise awareness about this important issue. Specifically, in this last respect, the Landscape Observatory has fomented the use of landscape files and the incorporation of landscape as an additional academic subject within Catalan schools. Lastly, various annual and open calls for proposals to finance initiatives aimed at improving landscapes have been organised through the specific fund dedicated to protecting, managing and planning landscapes.

The project to renovate the Tel Aviv port awarded the Rosa Barba European Landscape Prize

The project to renovate the Tel Aviv port awarded the Rosa Barba European Landscape Prize
The 6th European Landscape Biennial, held in Barcelona from September 30th to October 2nd, attracted nearly 800 participants to debate on and exhibit their creations around the topic of "liquid landscapes." The Biennial also served to announce the winner of the Rosa Barba European Landscape Prize which serves to recognise the best landscape projects over the last four years. On this occasion, the award was given to the Tel Aviv port project in Israel designed by Mayslits Kassif Architects. This project represented a non-aggressive landscape intervention initiative from an architectural point of view in comparison to previous projects in this area of the port. This year's Biennial was organised by the Illustrious College of Architects of Catalonia, the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya's (UPC) Master's Programme in Architecture and Landscape, the association "Friends of the UPC" and the Government of Catalonia's Directorate General on Architecture and Landscape with support from the Spanish Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs.

Exchange of experiences between the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia and Chilean and Argentine institutions

Last October, the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia was invited by the Spanish Cultural Centre in Santiago de Chile to describe its activities and exchange experiences with other institutions and entities from that country. The conference, "Landscape and Citizen Participation", held within the framework of the Citizen Empowerment and Participation cycle of conferences, represented the start of two days of meetings with experts from the Chilean Government's Geo-information Heritage Unit and other Ministries to find out about their respective activities in the landscape area and debate jointly on future challenges. The Chilean capital also hosted a conference with representatives from the Argentine Landscape Network which is present in 19 Argentine cities and has been working for the last two years on the creation of landscape observatories at each of its respective hubs. These observatories share very similar objectives to those of the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia. Lastly worth noting is the extraordinary social work carried out by the Fermín Vivaceta School and Workshop of Crafts in favour of urban landscapes and heritage in the historic Yungay neighbourhood.

The Proxectoterra education project receives the National Urban Planning Award

The Spanish Department of Public Works has awarded the II National Urban Planning Award to the education project Proxextoterra, fostered by the Galician Architects Association. The project was launched ten years ago, in January 2000, and was aimed at promoting the improvement of the education on Galician land, architecture and landscape. The contents are structured around text books, exercise booklets, audiovisual materials and comic strips and are complemented by different activities, all adapted to the different levels of compulsory education and available for teachers, students or the general public. All contents are available at their website: http://proxectoterra.coag.es/. The Proxectoterra is one of the experiences mentioned in the new book edited by the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia, a selection of the papers of the International Seminar on Landscape and Education held in November 2009.

Inventory of Andalusian landscape resources

Since 2009, the Andalusian Landscape and Territory Study Centre has been working to create and inventory landscape resources in that autonomous community. Its aim is to move forward on identifying, categorising and qualifying landscapes in accordance with European Landscape Convention principles and with the objective of joining the Andalusian Network of Environmental Information (REDIAM). Based on the methodology used to evaluate landscapes in England and Ireland, amongst others, this inventory aims to implement and coordinate the primary sources and technical procedures necessary to respond to the growing demands from both public and private sectors to protect, manage, plan and make use of landscape resources. The tool is based on a semi-automatic process to identify, catalogue and qualify landscapes and aims to be generalisable in terms of territorial planning at different levels. Thus far, the Andalusian Landscape and Territory Study Centre has applied this inventory to the Sierra Morena mountain range, used as the pilot area. This project was initiated at the behest of the Directorate General on Sustainable Development and Environmental Information within the Government of Andalusia's Ministry of the Environment and framed within the Andalusian Landscape Strategy.

First research grant 'Thinking Landscape 2010'

The CDAN has awarded the first of the research grants "Thinking Landscape 2010" to the project "Landscape experience in China during the Song dynasty", by Antonio José Mezcua López. The panel was formed by specialists in different fields: Joan Nogué, director of the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia; Javier Maderuelo, professor of Landscape Architecture in the University of Alcalá de Henares; Manuel García, professor of Art History in the University of Zaragoza; and Teresa Luesma, director of the CDAN of the Beulas Foundation. The project by Antonio Mezcua presents a methodological approach to the landscape in China that encompasses all fields where the concept of landscape is present. The members of the panel highlighted the large number of projects (170) as well as the high professional quality of the researchers involved, belonging to different fields. In their works, they applied a wide array of methodologies and perspectives when approaching the idea of landscape, ranging from the study of specific situation from general theoretical analysis.

Results from the 6th International Congress on Spatial Planning

More than 300 people participated in the 6th International Congress on Spatial Planning (VI CIOT) held from October 27th to 29th in Pamplona and organised by Fundicot. The title of this year's congress was "Moving towards a commitment to the Territory". The Congress' topic areas focused on: 1) "Experiences and good governance with regard to spatial planning. New challenges in times of crisis"; 2) "Cities and global change; towards a new territorial paradigm"; 3) "Coastal and inland tourism and the effect of the second home on territorial development. The need to adapt basic sectors of our economy"; 4) "Rural development and biosphere reserves. New horizons of hope"; 5) "Landscape and territorial heritage. Values to develop and conserve"; and 6) "Infrastructures and territory. The need for change to achieve effective and efficient productive territorial capital". The Landscape Observatory of Catalonia, through its technical coordinator, has taken part in the Congress' Scientific Committee. More information about the Congress is available at this website and the conclusions here.

Landscape policies in Catalonia, protagonists during the 10th anniversary celebration of the European Landscape Convention

A conference was held on October 19th and 20th in Florence to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Council of Europe's European Landscape Convention approved in 2000 in the same Italian city. This conference served to examine the progress made in protecting, managing and planning European landscapes over the last decades as well as to analyse the new challenges to the Landscape Convention's application. Information is available on the Council of Europe's website regarding this celebration. Catalonia was the European region chosen by the Council of Europe to explain its landscape policies over the last ten years to the more than 300 political representatives and technical experts from numerous European institutions, universities and organisms. The Landscape Observatory of Catalonia, a member of the group responsible for the European Landscape Convention's information system, was also present during this event. The European Landscape Convention, which entered into force in March, 2004, was the first international treaty giving legal recognition to landscape. To this date, more than 31 Council of Europe members countries have ratified the Convention. The Catalan Parliament adhered to the Convention in December 2000, just two months after its initial approval in Florence.

New Director of the European Network of Local and Regional Authorities (RECEP)

This past September 30th, the eighth meeting of the European Network of Local and Regional Authorities for the Implementation of the European Landscape Convention's (RECEP) Executive Committee met in Ploiesti (Prahova County, Romania). One of the Committee's primary decisions was to name Oriol Porcel to head the Network for the next four years, substituting Riccardo Priore in this post. Luminita Iatan, the representative for Prahova County in the Network was named Deputy-Director. Other decisions refer to the new activities the Network will undertake over the coming months as well as its new communications and financing strategies. The Network, whose legal headquarters are found in Strasbourg (France), is a non-governmental international organisation consisting of 35 local and regional public entities across Europe, including Catalonia. RECEP's primary objectives are to raise awareness about and apply the European Landscape Convention at both the local and regional levels and foment the exchange of landscape-related experiences and knowledge amongst its members. Through the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia, the Autonomous Community plays a leading role in the Network, though the Government of Catalonia is the Community's political and institutional representative in RECEP.

Comarques Gironines Landscape Directives

Chapter on the Landscape Directives included within the Partial Territorial Plan for the Comarques Gironines Area, prepared by the Catalan Ministry of Town and Country Planning and Public Works, approved on September 14th, 2010. These Landscape Directives are legally incorporated into the landscape quality objectives included in the Comarques Gironines Landscape Catalogue prepared by the Landscape Observatory.

Key points of landscape research in Europe: ‘Landscape in a Changing World – Bridging Divides, Integrating Disciplines, Serving Society'

The latest issue of the series Science Policy Briefings, edited and published by the European Science Foundation, sets out the key points of landscape research in Europe today and how results can help policy-makers, professionals and society at large to address major current challenges from climate change to demographic changes, migration and food security. The series Science Policy Briefings is aimed at discussing the development of key areas of scientific and academic activity across Europe.

Paisaje urbano de Sevilla

A space for public participation, this website's objective is to draft a series of urban landscape guidelines for the city of Seville. The site centralises information available about this subject and enables direct participation through a discussion group.

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