Landscape Planning at the Local Level

Dr. Luigi La Riccia, Ph.D. in Territorial Planning and Local Development at the Inter-University Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning, Polytechnic of Turin (Italy). Member of CED PPN (European Documentation Centre on Nature Park Planning) since 2009. He conducts research activity about themes of urban and regional planning, landscape planning and design, environmental and ecological planning, geographic information systems (GIS). He works on research and application works at national and international level. Author of a large number of publications, reports and contributions presented at national and international conferences, seminars, Ph.D. and Master's degree programs, graduate schools, and other educational institutions. E-mail: luigi.lariccia@polito.it

The book, showing virtuous examples of urban planning in Italy and Europe, exposes certain doubts and open questions: what is the new role of urban planning? What actions / rules are now achievable for the protection, planning and management of local-scale landscapes? The overall reflections gathered in the book contribute to suggest innovative visions about landscape planning at local scale, seen as first steps towards a more functional change of perspective.

New landscapes are the result of local planning practices that no longer seem able to "understand" the current society through urban design. Public space and new urban centralities interact with the increasingly complex functions of social life and mark the distance from territorial values, relying less and less on physical relationships (economic and functional) and increasingly on symbolic and intangible relationships, as 'cultural identity'. Landscape is essential for the sustainable future of the urban and rural territory: the landscape quality is a factor of economic competitiveness and acts also as a factor of social cohesion and integration.