Skärbäck, E., 2000, Landscape programme as a development factor for Öresund, a new scandinavian region in an era of transition, in: ECLAS (Aničić, B.), ‘Landscape of the future: the future of landscape architecture education’, Department of Landscape Architecture, Zagreb
- Author : Skärbäck, E.
- Year : 2000
- Published in Book : Landscape of the future: the future of landscape architecture education
- Pages : 13-23
- Abstract in English : The Danes lost Skåne to Sweden in 1658, but cultural ties across the Öresund straits have stood the test of time relatively successfully. The Fixed Link has signalled the start of close and intensive cooperation on both sides of the Sound. Universities in the region are partners in the Öresund University, a joint organization with a total of 130,000 students. The overall region has enormous potential, with a focus on high-level research, particularly in the medical, IT, food, logistics and environmental spheres. The Öresund region has a population of 3.5 million people, and since its extends over two countries, it will have an international character and vitality which will promote cooperation with other parts of Europe, and with other continents. The Danish and Swedish prime ministers jointly formulated one of the most crucial objectives for the Öresund region when they declared that “The Öresund region is to be one of the cleanest regions in Europe in environmental terms.” The agricultural land is definitely amongst the most productive in the world. This gives the landscape programme for the region a very crucial role. How can various prerequisites for industrial development be achieved, while simultaneously ensuring that the region retains its historic landscape and improves its green infrastructure? Throughout the western world, the 1990s have resulted in a substantial increase in the incidence of stress-related diseases. Walking in the woods, contact with nature, and a green environment in close proximity to housing counter stress and accelerate recuperation and the rehabilitation of stress-related diseases. The development of a knowledge-intensive society calls for an attractive environment. As a result, environmental qualities will be one of the key factors in making the regions of the future in Europe attractive and promoting development. Young, well-educated people are mobile, and they want to live in locations which are good for their children. If companies want to recruit well-trained employees, they have to move to such locations. This is the reverse of the situation in the 20th century, in the era of industrialism, when companies established their operations in places where they were allowed to pollute the environment, and the labour force was forced to relocate in order to find work. The Öresund regional landscape programme regards landscape as a resource, providing an environment both for living and for commercial development. The focus is on landscape values, their conservation and improvement, and ways in which environmental pollution resulting from inappropriate expansion may be prevented. Opportunities for society to identify, maintain and improve landscape values in the operational process are discussed in this context. The programme will, for example, study the possibilities of incorporating the environment as a development factor in planning and environmental impact reporting, at an overall strategic level. A special chair in “urban development” has been established at the Department of Landscape Planning at Alnarp to tackle these issues.