Can Landscapes be Read?

Abstract

th This book brings together 28 selected papers from two events, the 20 session of the Permanent European Conference for the Study of the Rural Landscape (PECSRL), and aseries of workshops, financed by the European Union under the title EURULA. This book focuses on aspects of landscape related to language, representation and power. Together with a special issue of Landscape and Urban Planning that discusses planning-related topics, we hope that we can offer a deeper understanding in an interdisciplinary perspective of what is going on with the rurallandscapes in Europe. Compiling the book has been a team effort. We wish to thank all participants of the both meetings - their discussions have lead to this book. The reviewers of the chapters gave helpful comments, and Zac Gagnon did a great job to harmonise the language in the book. Our sincere gratitude to all you! Tartu, Ghent and Trondheim, Christmas 2003 Chapter 1 THE PERMANENCE OF PERSISTENCE AND CHANGE Introduction 3 Hannes Palang', Helen Sooväli', Marc Antrop2 & Gunhild Setten IInstitute ofGeography, University ofTartu, Estonia 2Department ofGeography, Ghent University, Belgium 3Department of Geography, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway 1. PERMANENT PERSISTENCE AND CHANGE The only thing that is permanent is change. The hidden paradox in the relationship between permanence and change is that "all change implies that something is preserved", and that "in all permanence there is some degree of change" (Jones 1991: 235).