Cultural Landscapes in Transition: Balancing Heritage, Development, and Sustainability

Abstract

This Special Issue brings together contributions dedicated to understanding and enhancing cultural landscapes, the result of the continuous interaction between nature and human action over time. These landscapes represent an important historical and social legacy, reflecting processes of territorial occupation, cultural practices, and relations between communities and the environment. Building on the framework established by the 1972 World Heritage Convention and reinforced by the 2000 European Landscape Convention, the published works explore the role of landscapes—land, river and coastal—in quality of life, collective identity and cultural heritage. The Special Issue also seeks to analyse the challenges that urban growth, the transformation of the territory, and, in some cases, the abandonment of low-density areas pose to the preservation of these spaces. The articles address strategies and good practices to reconcile heritage conservation and contemporary development, highlighting the importance of territorial planning that is sensitive to the historical and cultural context. Sustainable approaches, including nature-based solutions, adaptive reuse, and integration of traditional techniques, are also discussed. Another central aspect is the role of local communities in building a shared vision for the future of cultural landscapes, promoting greater awareness of their value, and encouraging responsible development models. Taken together, this Special Issue deepens the debate on how to ensure that cultural landscapes continue to play a key role in building identities and adapting to contemporary challenges.