Home Executive Summary 1. Introduction 2. Landscape Character 3. The Evolution of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Landscape 4. The Built Environment 5. Elements at Risk and Strategies for Recovery 6. Interpretation of Tradition 7. The Changing Countryside 8. Conclusion

2. Landscape Character

Landscape is about the relationship between people and place. It is the result of the way that different components of the environment - natural and cultural - interact and are perceived.

Every landscape has its own character, a distinct, recognisable and consistent pattern of elements in the landscape (i.e. trees, hedges, field systems, buildings, etc.) that makes one landscape different from another. This is why the Fens are different from the Derbyshire Dales which in turn are different from the Sussex Downs. The appearance of each of these areas represents the interplay between natural forces and human activity, that has resulted in the elements or combinations of elements which make a particular contribution to local distinctiveness.

This is not to say that the character of a landscape is in any way fixed and immutable. Human activity (and human default) mean that, to some degree, the landscape is always in a state of flux. Change has occurred in the past, is happening now and will invariably take place in the future. The recognition of this fact by society and the attendant desire to maintain those qualities that make a place 'special', are what makes the understanding of the English landscape so important. It is this need to 'understand' that provides the impetus for this report and the wider project of which it forms a part.

• 2.01/ 2.02 / 2.03 - Character and Map
• 2.04 - Landscape Character Types