Breaking away from the landscape - Former teammates, now adversaries: Analysis of the development of the communications between open landscape and settlements (1845–2023)

Abstract

Based on both historical and recent maps, this paper discusses the trend of nearly 200 years of development of the communications network between settlements and open landscape in the Czech Republic. In this Central European country, the development was quite dramatic. Firstly, due to the intended transformation towards a centrally planned economy and state ownership. Secondly, the transformation took a U-turn towards privatisation and consequently, suburbanisation has caused significant pressure for development over the last decades.The connection between settlements and the open landscape has changed considerably in the framework studied. Unlike the past settlements, contemporary ones are distancing themselves from the open landscape, offering fewer opportunities to enter it. Former agricultural villages have been particularly affected by this change, with the currently reduced number of communications into the open landscape making it difficult for their inhabitants to interact with the landscape and may also constitute an obstacle in the future successful development of these settlements.The final recommendations set out in this paper can serve urban planners by guiding them towards developing projects that are more interconnected with their surroundings. Such implementation of measures prevents the negative impacts of current developments of rural settlements on the accessibility of the open landscape for its inhabitants.