Contributions to the integration of socio-cultural landscape assessment methods in the learning process

Abstract

Urban landscape planning benefits from integrating landscape assessment in a holistic way, not only considering methods focused on ecological, physical, economic, and institutional components, but also on socio-cultural perspectives. The European Landscape Convention (ELC) emphasizes the importance of assessing landscapes while considering the values assigned to them by interested parties and the population concerned. However, incorporating subjective landscape dimensions in assessments remains a challenge. The socio-cultural assessment is a process that allows for the collection, synthesis, and communication of the values assigned by people. Although there are several methods available in the scientific literature, there are gaps related to aspects that don’t have material benefits. To address these gaps, we aim to identify socio-cultural assessment methods and discuss how to integrate them into the Landscape Architecture learning process. Our comparative analysis of methods revealed several suitable methods based on landscape values perception. Based on this, we suggest integrating these methods and tools into the Landscape Architecture learning process to enrich the assessment and planning of urban landscapes.