The relationships between territorial governance and the pursuit of sustainable development are evidenced to be critical. Exploratory tools, like Geographic Information Systems (GIS), enable us to comprehend the patterns, dynamics, and parameters of land-use changes over the years. The results from such studies could be used in the design of a sustainable territorial governance strategy. Contextually, a study has been conducted based on the changes that occurred in land uses in the Canary Archipelago in the years 1990, 2000, 2012, and 2018 using CORINE (Coordination of Information on the Environment) data. Even if most of the land uses have been stable over the analyzed period, the investigation shows a decrease in agricultural areas. By contrast, it is possible to verify an increase in semi-natural areas and urban agglomerations. Moreover, the authors believe that an assessment of the land-use changes on these ultra-peripheral areas will also enable us to disclose some obstacles and opportunities for sustained development.

In recent decades, rural buildings have proliferated in the rural environment, in many cases clashing with the surroundings. One of the main objectives in rural areas must be to maintain a balance between economic and sustainable development. In the exterior design of buildings, it is necessary to follow technical and scientific criteria that respect the natural environment, and one of the most important parameters in this scenario is façade color. This article analyzes the costs of using different colors on façades and how color variations affect the integration of buildings in the rural landscape. It addresses the context of rural buildings in the Extremadura region of Spain, where large areas of undeveloped land are available to drive economic development. Ten technical projects and photos of buildings were used for the study. A palette of suitable colors developed and proposed in previous studies was used to improve the external finishes of the façades. The variation in cost was calculated between the current designs and improved alternatives simulated using infographs, and a survey was conducted to determine how the rating of the landscape integration changed. The analysis shows that a building façade in a suitable color is always a significantly better rated solution than a finish in white (by 9%–14%). The results obtained are important because they show that a small variation in the cost of a building can significantly increase the rating of its integration and, therefore, give value added to the intervention because it respects the natural environment.

Human actions in the natural environment create a visual impact. The main objective of this study was to examine the acceptance of vegetation screens for integrating buildings into the landscape using new techniques of visualization in three dimensions (3D), videos and public participation. The status quo of two study areas representative of the Mediterranean climate in Spain (one inland and one coastal) was modelled, placing vegetation screens around a building typical of the area and varying the density, species, and layout of plants. After establishing a series of scenarios, videos showing a simulation of outdoor tourism activities performed at varying speeds were created to analyse how movement affects the perception of the combination of a building and vegetation screen in the versions created. The 3D models generated were subjected to a survey for public participation and to allow respondents to rate their preferences of the videos created. The results show that adding vegetation always improves the integration of buildings into the landscape. The most highly rated vegetation screen placed around the buildings in the two scenarios was high density vegetation, irrespective of the layout or species.

Public policies directed to territorial management governance strategies could have a significant influence on activities, like tourism. In fact, such policies could profoundly shape the regions. Besides, in territories with a socio-economic basis depending on tourism, such policies could present even more meaningful consequences in the region. Thus, throughout the evaluation of the public perceptions (surveys), the present research intends to produce further insights into how those regional policies could affect tourism activities in the Azores Islands.The study shows that more than 90% of the participants believe that Spatial Planning and Planning strategies directly impact tourism in the Azores Archipelago. Also, the research shows that the growth and development of Azores are sustainable and focusing on foreign high market segments. However, Azores do not have adequate territorial planning strategies and projects to increase residents’ quality of life.