Landscape analysis: three questions to understand this key concept in regional development

Whether remarkable or ordinary, urban or rural, the landscape is not only an essential component of the quality of our living space, but also a major asset for the economic, social and cultural development of a region. Landscape analysis is an approach that enables us to better understand the territory we occupy. It's about understanding how our living spaces have been organized in the past, to help build and develop them for tomorrow. In this concept, we place ourselves in a spatio-temporal continuum, with a retrospective and prospective analysis: I look at the landscape today, identify what led our predecessors to shape it as it stands, then imagine the landscape of tomorrow, informed by current societal issues.

It's about using a scientific approach to equip various local players, such as regional planning and development professionals, to better understand our current living spaces and plan for their future development. For example, the analysis can be used in targeted, individual projects, such as the construction or renovation of a single-family home, or more collective projects, such as the enhancement of a neighborhood's heritage. Their installation contributes to a continuous modification of landscapes, whether in urban or rural areas. Taking this impact into account and understanding it, through landscape analysis, contributes to their integration into the existing landscape and facilitates their acceptance. This can also be useful in more global projects, such as the pedestrianization of a city center. Here too, landscape analysis serves as a toolbox, providing a series of techniques to help understand the issues driving this territorial change. Beyond management issues, training in landscape analysis can also be useful for tourism and heritage professionals. They then have complementary elements to their basic training to amplify their stories as nature guides or tourist guides, for example.

There are in fact several processes to combine, revolving around two central tools: cartographic analysis and field visits. First and foremost, the landscape must be studied on site. You also need to be able to meet the people who can help you with the analysis, because they are the living local memory. In addition, there's a great deal of historical research to be done. In landscape analysis, we are therefore in a discipline at the crossroads of natural and human sciences: geography, urban planning, history, geology, politics, agronomy, sociology, biology; ...