Transitional landscapes—those situated between stable rural cores and expanding urban peripheries—are increasingly at the forefront of land use transformations driven by environmental, socio-economic, and infrastructural pressures. This review interrogates the dynamics of land use change in these liminal territories through the analytical lens of historic landscape patterns, understood as enduring spatial matrices shaped by the stratification of natural and anthropogenic elements over time. By integrating insights from landscape archaeology, planning theory, cultural geography, and agro-ecological studies, the article identifies the main processes underpinning both the resilience of landscape invariants and the flexibility of adaptive practices. The review is structured around three core thematic domains: (i) the persistence of spatial invariants such as hydrographic networks, terracing systems, and linear cultural features; (ii) the adaptive responses of agro-forested margins to climatic, demographic, and economic shifts; and (iii) the conceptual and methodological implications for contemporary planning strategies. Special attention is given to the tensions between conservation and transformation, as well as to the shifting boundaries—ecological, functional, and symbolic—that reconfigure landscape identities. By critically synthesizing the existing literature and identifying areas of epistemological fragmentation, the article proposes a multi-scalar and culturally embedded approach to landscape planning and concludes by outlining a research agenda that promotes integrative frameworks capable of reconciling historic continuity with the necessity of innovation in peri-urban and marginal territories.
Shifting Boundaries of Transitional Landscapes: The Dynamics of Land Use Change within the Framework of Historic Landscape Patterns
DRUSI BARBARA
Co-first
In corso di stampa
Abstract
Transitional landscapes—those situated between stable rural cores and expanding urban peripheries—are increasingly at the forefront of land use transformations driven by environmental, socio-economic, and infrastructural pressures. This review interrogates the dynamics of land use change in these liminal territories through the analytical lens of historic landscape patterns, understood as enduring spatial matrices shaped by the stratification of natural and anthropogenic elements over time. By integrating insights from landscape archaeology, planning theory, cultural geography, and agro-ecological studies, the article identifies the main processes underpinning both the resilience of landscape invariants and the flexibility of adaptive practices. The review is structured around three core thematic domains: (i) the persistence of spatial invariants such as hydrographic networks, terracing systems, and linear cultural features; (ii) the adaptive responses of agro-forested margins to climatic, demographic, and economic shifts; and (iii) the conceptual and methodological implications for contemporary planning strategies. Special attention is given to the tensions between conservation and transformation, as well as to the shifting boundaries—ecological, functional, and symbolic—that reconfigure landscape identities. By critically synthesizing the existing literature and identifying areas of epistemological fragmentation, the article proposes a multi-scalar and culturally embedded approach to landscape planning and concludes by outlining a research agenda that promotes integrative frameworks capable of reconciling historic continuity with the necessity of innovation in peri-urban and marginal territories.
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