The Daily Governance of Landscape: The Contribution of Local Landscape Commissions

Abstract

The need of a widespread landscape quality has led, in Italy as abroad, to the establishment of Local Landscape Commissions (LLC) as a tool for a preliminary assessment of territorial transformations in relation to their landscape compatibility. These bodies are composed of subjects with long-term and qualified experience in the protection of the landscape and oversee the evaluation of the transformations subject to landscape authorization. In Italy, their widespread distribution throughout the territory makes them a potential effective tool for territorial transformation monitoring; their application, in many Italian regions, not only to listed areas, but to the whole territory, makes them an operational tool for the management and governance of the entire landscape, including degraded areas, as intended by the ELC. In Switzerland LLC are strictly connected to the Department of the Territory and contribute to the development of landscape local planning tools. In France the Conseils d’Architecture, d'Urbanisme et de l'Environment (CAUE) have a great role in landscape training and dissemination activities. In Netherlands the Architectuur Lokaal Foundation acts to create a link between landscape national policies and local practices. What can we learn from these experiences in a European perspective? The paper aims to reflect on how LLC could contribute to ELC implementation.