Imagining rural landscapes
Making sense of a contemporary landscape identity complex in the Netherlands
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21598643 |
|---|---|
| Authors | T Lam (0009-0009-8173-5183, Wageningen University & Research), Timothy Theodoor Marini Lam (Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands), Koen Arts (0000-0001-6436-6499, Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 60-83 |
| Publication date | 2025-02-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Values (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0963-2719 • E-ISSN: 1752-7015 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/09632719241289505 |
| OpenAlex | W4403654699 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 21 |
Periods of accelerated societal change in European history have disrupted gradual alteration in the landscape, creating breaks with the past. This has led to, what we refer to as, the contemporary landscape identity complex in the Netherlands. Composed of dissonant narratives surrounding the landscape that play out on the societal level, the contemporary landscape identity complex may create tensions that can obstruct conservation efforts. In this article, we map out this complex. Three narrative clusters, distilled from literature and supplemented by interviews, aid in understanding the tension regarding the future of the Dutch contemporary rural landscape, namely: ‘the utilitarian narrative’, ‘the romantic narrative’, and ‘the eco-scientific narrative’. The contemporary landscape identity complex is fed by these narratives, specifically through how rural landscapes are imagined and discussed, as opposed to how they are lived and acted upon. The way such narratives play out in practice is further investigated through a case study on the ‘Bommelerwaard’, an area in the south-central of the Netherlands. From our results, we propose a pathway to reconcile the contemporary landscape identity complex towards a landscape conservation ethic that allows for a co-existence of a diversity of images and ideas about (semi-) natural landscapes
Aesthetics · Archaeology · Architectural engineering · Art · Cultural landscape · Economic geography · Environmental ethics · Geography · Landscape architecture · Place identity · Place making · Sense of place · Sociology · Urban planning · Engineering · Environmental Philosophy and Ethics · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Philosophy · Rural development and sustainability · Ecology
Why landscapes of the past are important for the future
Rewilding
Purposeful Sampling for Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis in Mixed Method Implementation Research
Cultural Complexity
Doing Qualitative Research
Perspectives on Landscape Identity
From modernist landscapes to New Nature
Heritage, Memory and the Politics of Identity
Ecological Restoration and Place Attachment
Wild experiments at the Oostvaardersplassen
Preservation and Development
Flirting with space
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |