CULTURAL LANDSCAPES

CULTURAL LANDSCAPES

BALANCING NATURE AND HERITAGE
IN PRESERVATION PRACTICE

T HE concept of cultural landscape has evolved over several generations. Yet that concept is still relatively new to the field of historic preservation, and while it has made a substantial contribution, it remains misunderstood or marginalized in many quarters. Indeed, the number of preservationists who have not heard of the term or have only a vague notion of what it represents is substantial. Cultural landscape—or simply “landscape,” as it is known in some circles—is frequently misconstrued as being synonymous with designed landscape—a garden, park, campus, boulevard system, and the like—or with landscaping—the act of manipulating topography, ground surfaces, and plant material. For some, cultural landscape applies primarily to rural settings or to those created by an ethnic or racial “other”—Pennsylvania Germans, Cajuns, Hopi. Similarly, some construe the concept’s pertinence to “different” places such as New Mexico, but not to their own backyards. Irrespective of such misunderstandings, many preservationists tend to view cultural landscape simply as comprising physical entities—comparable to historic districts, for instance —instead of also as a method of considering, analyzing, and evaluating places. 

RICHARD LONGSTRETH