Author(s)

H. Palang, A. Printsmann, H. Alumäe, E. Kaur, T. Oja, M. Prede, P. Pungas, M. Reimann & H. Sooväli

Abstract

Local people as shapers of sustainability of rural landscapes H. Palang, A. Printsmann, H. Alumae, E. Kaur, T. Oja, M. Prede, P. Pungas, M. Reimann & H. Soovali Institute of Geography, University of Tartu, Estonia Abstract This paper explores the landscape preferences and value assessments of local people in six Estonian counties plus two more detailed test areas. Based on questionnaires and interviews, we study the sense of place and landscape valuations of the local people. We describe which places local people value, how they assess the changes which have occurred during the last decade and which landscapes they consider characteristic to Estonia. We argue that knowledge and, thereby, identity are local and a county is too large a unit for studying this. We also suggest that there are mental borders beyond which the knowledge does not reach, that knowing the history of the area helps people to appreciate their places and maintain them and that social sustainability is crucial in landscape m

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