Urban Cultural Landscape Research Articles

Understanding the cultural landscape value of traditional agrarian landscapes of African Sahara Desert: The case of Timimoun, Algeria

In 1992, the World Heritage Convention became the first international legal instrument recognize cultural landscapes as a human heritage that must be protected. The Cultural Landscape - Past, Present and Future considers different aspects of man's intervention with natural vegetation and the landscape resulting from a long equilibrium of co-existence. These landscapes are not stable, and the recent and ever accelerating changes in technology and life-style have increasingly affected many ancient landscapes, as old land-use practices are abandoned and traditions forgotten.(Birks et al., 1988) Human communities in desert areas formed a special landscape, providing these cultural landscapes within a special ecosystem of sustainable living conditions, which helped to create many social, economic, and cultural systems in addition to preserving biodiversity. 
 Unfortunately, the cultural landscape in the African desert is constantly deteriorating under the influence of urban, economic, and social changes. In the southern Algerian Timimoun city of is one of the most important global desert touristic destination due to the natural cultural landscape characterizes it, but unfortunately this landscape in continuous deterioration. Agricultural landscapes of desert environment, with its remarkable knowledge culture and world of practices, must be seen as a living library where this knowledge is transferred from generation to generation. It seems certain that we will need more of the know-how stored in this living library in the near future, especially considering the effects of climate change we are experiencing today.
 The paper aims to identification of cultural landscapes in the oasis and analyses transformation and change in cultural landscape and traditional green infrastructure elements by relying on a historical analysis of spatial images based on quantitative analysis using ArcGIS software with the aim of identifying the real reasons of this deterioration in the urban cultural landscape in desert cites we will propose an action strategy to prevent this degradation.

Creole and vernacular architecture: embryonic syncretism in Caribbean cultural landscape

Tracing across the complex histories of dominions and influences converging on the Caribbean territories, this paper examines certain common historic threads that persisted into the contemporary Caribbean cultural landscape and its architecture. As the largest English Caribbean island, Jamaica had one hundred and sixty-one years (1494–1655) of Spanish governance; and in the Lesser Antilles, Trinidad had two hundred and ninety-nine years (1498–1797). Drawing evidence from sixteenth- to mid-nineteenth-century archival iconography and documentation across the wider Americas, this paper identifies and discusses a common Caribbean urban and rural cultural landscape. By the 1834 English emancipation declaration from enslavement, this landscape acquired architectural syncretism at the encounter between the Indigenous buhio, or bohio, and the arrival of Columbus in 1492. This encounter has since then propelled creole and vernacular manifestations of distinct architectural forms from Indigenous, European, and African peoples across the period of plantation enslavement. Gottfried Semper displayed a Caribbean ‘hut’ from the island of Trinidad at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, extending the syncretic manifestation from the ‘primitive hut’ architectural treatise to the birth of modern architecture. While ascribing the roots of these styles to Caribbean traditional architecture, this paper demonstrates the value of such architectonic syncretism and the connection with the development of modern architecture, and furthermore, the agenda of sustainable development.

Трансформація культурного ландшафту Києва в період незалежності України

The article is about a cultural analysis of Kyiv's cultural landscape, which is made up of a complex of elements such as an architectural ensemble and public spaces, historical and cultural heritage objects, cultural and creative industries, media, along with external agents such as active consumers and contemplators. We observe the fundamental changes in Kyiv's cultural landscape during the period of independence, as a result of modern changes in everyday culture. The article is based on multidisciplinary researches on the psychological space of Harry Trayandis, Sarah Dawkins, Sophia Nartova-Bochaver, visual anthropology of Benjamin Cope, Nerius Millerus, analysis of the transformation of leisure practices of Neil Brenchby-Barbury-Simbros and others. The scientific developments of Ernst Cassirer, Manuel Castells, Arnold Toynbee, and Tolcott Parsons are important core theories on which the methodology of work is built. The transformation in the overall cultural viewpoint may be seen in the development of urban cultural landscapes, as well as the increased emphasis on the production of cultural services. If the city used to be a "factory" for producing goods, it is now a market for services. Cities are becoming more and more places where cultural practices can be carried out. As a result, capital freely flows in the city, fueling the expansion of the cultural environment. Mapping residents' daily cultural practices is evolving into a technique for mapping urban area and industries. Modern geographers like Neil Brenner, David Hervey, and others have recognized 1970s-era spatial alterations in Western cities. The city development, particularly its cultural environment, began with Ukraine's independence in 1991. "Antropolis: wspóczesny Gdask w wymiarze symbolicznym" is a signifcant resource for us. It is a study of Gdansk's urban anthropology from a German to a Polish city after the city's architectural ensemble was demolished during WWII. The experience detailed in the essay is used to propose solutions for the rebuilding of Ukrainian cities. From 1991 to the present, a cultural investigation of the transformative processes of urban cultural landscapes and socio-culture phenomena in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities has not been conducted. The cultural landscapes of Ukrainian cities are being transformed, and the cultural coordinates of local communities' social engagement in the alteration of the cultural landscape of cities are being determined.

Study on 24 Jieling Drums as Urban Cultural Landscape in Malaysia

The 24 solar terms, a knowledge system incorporated in the East Asian lunisolar calendar, reflect a typical agricultural life shaped by the astronomical and phenological nature in ancient China. The UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage embodies this Chinese tradition and culture. It is also commonly observed among Chinese diasporas in other parts of the world. Since 1988 when Tan Chai Puan and Tan Hooi Song established 24 Jieling Drums (二十四节令鼓) in Johor Bahru, Malaysia by exploring this Chinese traditional heritage, artistic performances of this vibrant music genre have effectively transmitted drumming aesthetics in Malaysian urban landscape into the Chinese cultural sphere for over three decades. This study explores a characterised link between this millennia-old Chinese cultural heritage and 24 Jieling Drums as an urban cultural landscape in Malaysia, and discusses several issues on the cultural elements applied in a diversified land through the narrative.

Photographic dissemination of historic landscape as a tool for citizenship

ABSTRACT The article analyses the role of photography in communities’ knowledge and interpretation of historic landscape. Focus is placed on the work of photographic landscape observatories within the European framework, on issues regarding their active development at the present time, and on their effectiveness and presence in tasks related to raising awareness. The UNESCO definitions of Historic Urban Landscape and Cultural Landscape and their revisions launched a debate about the need to document and disseminate landscape —through several media— as strategies to promote reflection among the inhabitants of a region. Since the European Landscape Convention, groups, institutions, and organisations have worked towards encouraging citizen participation in the reflection on the territorial changes brought about by industrialisation, tourism, and urban growth. Along these lines, it is worth looking into the type of methodologies and tools available in photographic observatories and their ability to connect local experience with expert knowledge on historic landscape.T

Methodologies for the study of a vernacular built environment within a historic residential complex: The case of the village of Gornji Stoliv, Montenegro

The settlement of Gornji Stoliv is an abandoned rural ensemble located on the northern hillside of Mount Vrmac, in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro. Including around six dozen residential, commercial and religious buildings, the village is a rare testimony to a social and architectural tradition that was developed throughout the Adriatic coast within the borders of the Republic of Venice from 1420 to 1797. A research conducted between December 2018 and May 2019 was the first wide-scale research into the historical, social, urban, and architectural characteristics and cultural landscape of the village since the 1950s. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive set of analyses carried out on the current state of conservation of the village and demonstrates the methodologies required to analyse a historical built environment of this kind in the absence of sufficient written and archival material.

Kharkiv As a University City: The Evolution of Symbolic Space

The emergence and evolution of the symbolic space of Kharkiv, one of the largest university centres in Ukraine, represent changes in the urban cultural landscape and the urban narrative of memory. Here, the transformations of sign-space (ritual practices and symbolism) in Kharkiv’s institutions of higher education are traced from the first half of the nineteenth century to the present time. The genesis of sign-space in the city’s institutes of higher education is an example of the transfer of western European university ideas to eastern European terrain, and their further adaptation there. The functioning of sign-space is studied in the fifteen largest institutions of higher learning in Kharkiv today.
 University symbols and rituals define a system of views of the modern university, its functions, and its ideals. Building a university sign-space is also interpreted as a competition for the symbolic environment of the city in which it exists. In this way, institutions of higher education seek not only to be represented in the urban milieu, but also to promote the consolidation of a certain part of the surrounding urban community. Kharkiv’s symbolic space as a university city is tightly knit but heterogeneous, representing a complex system and comprising a wide variety of visual and verbal elements. The current forms of visual (self)representation of Kharkiv’s universities are a synthesis of local and borrowed academic traditions. The “commercialization” and “service function” of the modern university clash with the “old” ideals of Enlightenment, a conflict reflected in the symbolic and ritual forms perceived by the university community.

Culturalization and urban horticulture in two World Heritage cities

ABSTRACTHorticulture features widely in research about urban agriculture. Interest is motivated by eco-technical challenges, such as improving household nutrition in expanding mega-cities, closing urban waste cycles through agricultural processes, and examining “SMART” potentials for the low-carbon production of fruits and vegetables. Studies also link participation in urban growing with political expressions of citizenship. These illuminations largely neglect socio-cultural insights, despite the important traditional contribution horticulture has played in shaping urban cultural landscapes and frequently culture appears as a faint backdrop to urban regeneration, or a proxy for consumption. To help illuminate the role of culture and its actor constellations within urban horticulture, the cases of two UNESCO World Heritage cities, Bath (UK) and Bamberg (Germany), are compared.Drawing on Luhmann’s social systems theory and its derivatives, notably Nassehi’s concept of cultural contingency, the article examines cultural dimensions of urban horticulture in the two cities and identifies four types of culturalization, or empirically observable and complex bundles of practices that explain how urban horticulture is governed and executed. This indicates the local historical embeddedness of rivalry/competition and cooperation among urban gardeners, and the relevance of culture as a potential for innovation in urban horticulture.

Geocultural branding of the city: “Verkhokamskaya Manor”

This article gives a perspective on geocultural potential of the city of Vereshchagino of Perm Region, which is appropriate to use for implementation of creative scenarios in development of modern urban environment. The object of this research is the urban cultural landscape, while the subject is a promising brand image “Verkhokamskaya Manor”. In 2023, the city, which in the popular scientific publishers received a name of the “Western Gates of Ural”, would celebrate the 125th anniversary. The article analyzes the problems typical to a provincial city, such demographic, communal, and sociocultural. It is suggested to introduce a progressive color palette into the visual image of urban environment. Special attention is given to historical and cultural aspects of the development of phenomenon of asceticism on the Vereshchagin land. The main conclusion lies in the thesis that Vereshchagino has a unique chance to become a comfortable city for living, a spot for the people who maintain and restore socio-historical uniqueness of economic structure of the country though active ascetic practices. This author's initiative is based on the theory and methodology of geocultural branding of cities and territories (D. N. Zamyatin). The described brand image “Verkhokamskaya Manor” includes visible and hidden meanings of creativity and asceticism, which manifest as mental basis in the author's strategy model of geocultural branding of the city of Vereshchagino.

Fortresses as Specific Areas of Urban Greenery Defining the Uniqueness of the Urban Cultural Landscape: Warsaw Fortress—A Case Study

The term “fortress landscape” is a holistic one which involves coverage and terrain adapted for defensive purposes. The specificity of the historical heritage of the Polish cultural landscape is expressed in a great number of such objects, some of which have been absorbed by its cities. A case in point is the Warsaw Fortress. A significant part of its fortification has survived to this day. Due to its spatial structure, manner of use and condition, the Fortress constitutes a valuable element of Warsaw’s natural system. At the same time, it should be noted that this element is important due to being a tourist attraction and is an example of qualified military tourism. Military tourism is one of the most popular types of modern tourism. Its elements are frequently integrated into the urban green area system. Moreover, due to its specific spatial structure, the Fortress provides a unique element enriching the cultural landscape of the city. In this paper, a historical background of the Warsaw Fortress is analyzed with a special emphasis on its cultural value and public perception. The methods used in the study include a cultural value assessment, the WNET method, a survey questionnaire and both PCA and PCC statistical methods. The analysis showed that the landscape value of the Fortress received 70% of the maximum possible rating in the conducted survey. What is more, the Warsaw Fortress was also evaluated using all the assessment criteria. The study shows that the entry of the fortress elements into the city’s natural system is perceived as being valuable, although it often lacks a specific program. Consequently, the Warsaw Fortress should be subject to landscape protection with a view towards revitalization, along with introducing a recreational program.

Influence of Visual Proportion of Urban Street Cultural Landscape on Crowd Aggregation —— An Empirical Study on Street Space in Downtown Chengdu

This paper explored the correlation between the visual proportion of urban street cultural landscape and crowd aggregation. In the study, the relevant theoretical assumptions and measurement scales were established first; Then the street panoramic images of 535 sampling points were obtained through systematic sampling and field shooting; Easygo and POI (Points of Interest) data of the research area collected every two hours within one week were picked up through big data capture; Finally, the driving force of geographical differentiation was detected by using the geographic detector. The results showed that: (1) in the artificial landscape, the visual proportion of architectural landscape had a significant impact on crowd aggregation and the explanatory power q was 0.15. Neither the visual proportion of roadway landscape nor that of sidewalk landscape had significant impact on crowd aggregation; (2) In the natural landscape, both the visual proportion of greenery landscape and that of sky landscape had significant impact on crowd aggregation and the explanatory power q was 0.09 and 0.05 respectively; (3) The interaction between the visual proportion of architectural landscape and that of greenery landscape or between the former and that of sky landscape showed a two-factor enhancement and the interaction between the visual proportion of greenery landscape and that of sky landscape showed non-linear enhancement; (4) There were significant two-factor enhancement effects in the interactions among the the visual proportion of architectural landscape, that of greenery landscape, of sky landscape and aggregation of POI facilities, of which the biggest q value was 0.76.

More on Smart Cultural Landscapes: technicalities of the planning processes

This paper will build upon my previous smart cultural landscapes research, by offering a technical overview of the planning processes that the policies are based on. In this respect, I will discuss, in an analytic manner, how the argumentation process should take place from a cultural landscape study. This will take into consideration the proficiencies of a planning professional, the smart characteristics of a cultural landscape policy or study and the relevant steps that should be taken to effectively solve the local rural or urban cultural landscape specific issues. The anticipated results would be to establish a well-known place of cultural landscape studies amongst the local rural and urban development processes.

A Booming City in the Far North

Many cities of Russia’s Far North face a massive population decline, with the exception of those based on oil and gas extraction in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. Yet, there is one more exception to that trend: the city of Yakutsk, capital of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic, whose population is booming, having grown from 186,000 in 1989 to 338,000 in 2018, This unique demographic dynamism is founded on the massive exodus of the ethnic Yakut population from rural parts of the republic to the capital city, a process that has reshaped the urban cultural landscape, making Yakutsk a genuine indigenous regional capital, the only one of its kind in the Russian Far North.

Transformation of urban landscape value perception over time: a Delphi technique application.

The developments in information technologies have changed the values shared in the urban society and the urban dwellers' profile over time. The projects and applications that will enable the cities to reach the standards of the modern world cities have been compulsory. The concept of urban transformation has been put forward in order to solve the problems that arise in the cities and to increase the quality of life of the urban dwellers. The quality of the social and physical structure determines the quality of life in urban areas. Urban natural and cultural landscape value concepts have a broad context which includes many tangible and intangible components of the cities. Urban landscape values are the strongest factors in determining and influencing the quality of urban life due to their scope. In this study, urban landscape values of today's cities on the basis of changing social, ecological, economic, and cultural norms have been determined by gathering the opinion of 13 experts through Delphi technique. In addition, the possible effects of urban renewal applications on urban landscape values were also determined by the data gathered. At the end of the study, 15 natural and 20 cultural urban landscape values were determined and it was concluded that the urban renewal applications have a direct impact on the natural and cultural landscape values of an urban area. As a result of the study, we identified the perception of natural and cultural urban landscape values in the cities under the influence of globalization in accordance with the purpose of the study and discussed the possible effects of urban transformation practices on natural and cultural urban landscape values ​in cities with a dynamic structure and in constant interaction with the living society. In addition to creating resources for subsequent similar studies, the present study also presents the urban parameters which must be taken into account in all processes including design, implementation, and monitoring stages together starting from the planning stage of urban transformation practices.

Studying Resilience on Urban Cultural Landscape Heritage

Managing is a significant process on a maintenance process. In cultural landscape heritage, it must be done for conservation. Based on values, the elements of local heritage can be define accurately and can be used as a guide to elaborate with the specific or definite goals. In the recent, Toba Lake was chosen as a national tourism destination. The main effect of it, it has been create many programs to support the tourism activity. There are many signs to elaborate Toba Lake as a tourism destination for keeping its values. All of the spatial demand must be balance with the appropriate action by the accurate policy. The next process after balancing process is about creating a built environment and the local community to become a resilience environment which supported by resilience community. Discussion on resilience with cultural landscape theory will be use as a preposition to explore field data. Without thinking about spatial and cultural value, it will occur a degradation of nature and culture that can be dangerous for the local community as the main settlers.

Эколого-географические аспекты исследования городского культурного ландшафта

Эколого-географические аспекты исследования городского культурного ландшафта

Local-Indigenous Autonomy and Urban Cultural Landscapes: Learnings from Māori and Te Ara Mua-Future Streets Project

Local-Indigenous Autonomy and Urban Cultural Landscapes: Learnings from Māori and Te Ara Mua-Future Streets Project

Phenomenon of urban memory: social-philosophical analysis

The social-philosophical research of a phenomenon of urban memory is presented in the article. The basic is the memory concept. Defining essence of individual and collective memory in their interrelation and development, the author has created the platform for conceptualization of urban memory. Concepts “memory figures”, “reminiscence modes”, “а subject of urban memory” “an object of urban memory”, “the place of memory”, “cultural forms”, development of typology of cultural forms of the urban landscape and the concept “substitution” have allowed to create complete idea of urban memory.Urban memory is treated as one of forms of collective memory. It is carried out by the city as social community and collective historical identity in relation to itself, to the famous historical figures and products of the sociocultural development who personify the historical past and the present of the city, are uniform for members of urban society, are included in a context of personal memory and are reproduced in individual memoirs.Urban memory is changeable and substituted (from Latin – substitutio) because in development there is a replacement of one objects of memory with others. It is substantially caused by transformation of an urban cultural landscape and can be interpreted as natural development of the city and memory. On the example of Vitebsk the author has shown dependence of transformation of urban memory on change of an urban cultural landscape. The multilayered substitutability of the city and its memory is as a result revealed.

Stedelijk werelderfgoed en de Historic Urban Landscape-benadering in Nederland

Urban World Heritage and the Historic Urban Landscape approach in the Netherlands Within the category of cultural landscapes on the UNESCO World Heritage List the ‘continuing urban landscapes’ are a small but interesting group of sites. This group consists of urban and suburban areas (‘urban landscapes’) with outstanding historical and heritage values, while at the same time they are characterized by a high degree of spatial dynamics. Many developments take place that lead to change of the environment. Rio de Janeiro, the mining landscape of Nord-Pas de Calais and the Italian Amalfi coast near Naples are examples of these urban cultural landscapes on the World Heritage List. Next to these sites, there are urban World Heritage sites that formally are no cultural landscapes, but have similar characteristics. Historical city centers of Rome or Bruges, the Amsterdam canal ring or Speicherstadt in Hamburg are comparably stretched out and have comparable values. These sites are confronted with similar challenges with respect to conservation and management of change. The obligation to preserve the outstanding universal value of the site could become under pressure. This surely is the case in some urban and suburban World Heritage sites in the Kingdom of the Netherlands: Amsterdam Canal Ring, Defence Line of Amsterdam and Willemstad, Curaçao. The World Heritage status requires a strict management of the site. UNESCO’S Historic Urban Landscape approach can be helpful to make preservation and development compatible. In this article the opportunities and dilemmas of the HUL and ICOMOS’S role in it are discussed. A stronger emphasize on HUL when reviewing developments in urban World Heritage sites is advocated.

“Inte­resting” in the Aesthetic Landscape of the City

The article examines the aesthetic category of “interesting” as a dominant of urban environment development. The authors try to comprehend this category from the point of view of cultural know­ledge. The article includes a theoretical section, where, basing on well-known concepts, the authors outline the principles of embedding the “interesting”, as something aesthetics and artistic, in the postmo­dern fabric of modern megacities. The analytical part of the article is based on specific examples represen­ted by urban cultural landscapes, by the post­modern clash of art and non-art in urban space, by event communications and other forms of urban culture representation. The study resulted in designation of one of the main problems of modern cities: as a result of their excessive saturation with “interesting”, there can be observed a gro­wing cultural and aesthetic insensitivity to the “inte­resting” among their citizens.From the methodological point of view, the study revealed that, in interpretation of modern phenomena of socio-cultural reality, it is not enough to proceed from the basic principles of a particular science. So, the interdisciplinary approach, as a methodolo­gical resource in demand today, allows revealing, by the example of the concept of “inte­resting”, the interconnection and interdependence of the methodological approaches of aesthetics and culturology for stu­dying the cultural environment of modern cities.The authors analyze the “interesting” as an instrument of influencing on the cultural environment of the city and the perception of its text. As a result, the “interesting” intensifies the nonlinearity and fractality of urban space. On the example of Russian ci­ties development, the article reveals that the formation of a new cultural environment is always connected not only with changing of artistic design solutions or/and aesthetics trends. The authors prove that the need for “interesting” widens the frames of the subject field of aesthetics. The “interesting” is moving to the cen­ter of interdisciplinary cultural studies.