CoastScapes - the coastal landscape project

Abstract

The Mediterranean Sea has an incredible complexity of exceptional landscapes that European policies aim to preserve, improve and renewal. Among these policies stands the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), a protocol that, in addition to conserve resources, purpose to facilitate the sustainable development of coastal areas. This document is intended to optimize and coordinate existing policies, to obtain a global view of the elements that represent a resource to be exploited in the design phase. Acknowledged the EU guidelines has been identified a model that would allow the analysis of the coasts state, and that would provide the necessary tool to implement the proposal, in the coastal area: the landscaping multidisciplinary approach. The tool chosen was the DPSIR model (Driving forces, Pressures, State, Impact, Responses). It has been applied this conceptual model-causal, to formulate, through the answers provided, the directives for the landscape project. It were created, with the structuring in ‘chains’ own model, the causal relationships of the main elements that characterize the coastal environment in its complexity. From this, it’s emerged the so-called critical potential of the territory, with the consequent causes and subsequent effects. The reason for the choice is not so much in the instrument, but in its purpose. The model, usually used for the VAS, can outline a landscaping strategy, which induces to conscious design choices. It was considered that the model used with the landscape approach, by its nature multidisciplinary and integrated, could provide dynamic responses. these are appropriate responses to the territorial and environmental needs, that meet the socio-economic expectations of the coastal environments.