Self-mobilisation and lived landscape democracy: local initiatives as democratic landscape practices

Abstract

In both the European Landscape Convention and academic literature there is a widespread idea that public participation in landscape matters increases landscape democracy. Based on theories promoting self-mobilisation as the ultimate form of public participation, the article studies and discusses efforts rooted in local communities related to questions of democracy. Fieldwork was carried out in two different communities characterised by such efforts. The author first discusses the efforts within the context of a Nordic conception of landscape practices, encompassing all forms of landscape management and use, and then discusses the democratic nature of different practices. The findings indicate that aspects of democracy are threatened when local self-mobilisation efforts develop politically. To broaden the current understanding of landscape democracy, the author advocates the need to extend the scientific understanding of modern landscape practices to include those carried out with the intention to undertake landscape changes and improvements.