Making a 'Mess' in the Countryside:Organic Farming and the Threats to Sense of Place

Contested beliefs about land-use are associated with divergent representations of a rural landscape as place

“…Reflecting a "radical re-ordering" in the way humans use rural space (Holmes, 2006, p. 142), rural landscapes within western developed countries have become increasingly heterogeneous, attributed with multiple and frequently contested meanings (Duenckmann, 2010;Egoz et al, 2006;Hovardas, Korfiatis, & Pantis, 2009;Mahon, 2007;Quétier et al, 2010;Rogge, Nevens, & Gulinck, 2007). Land use conflict arises when groups attributing different meanings to the landscape have incompatible expectations for the activities considered appropriate within those landscapes, and see some land uses as impeding a particular version of meaning (Cheng et al, 2003;Di Masso, Dixon, & Pol, 2011;von der Dunk et al, 2011;Woods, 2003).…”

“…Empirical studies have, for example, demonstrated place meanings to be an important factor in the formation of local environmental concerns (Brehm, Eisenhauer, & Stedman, 2013) and attitudes towards farming methods (Egoz, Bowring, & Perkins, 2006), as well as an important factor in attitudes to proposed water management initiatives (Jacobs & Buijs, 2011). Other studies demonstrate contrasting attitudes and levels of opposition towards off-shore wind farm developments to be related to differences in symbolic meanings and levels of place attachment (Devine-Wright & Howes, 2010).…”

What is Private Land Stewardship? Lessons from Agricultural Opinion Leaders in North Carolina

“…Egoz et al [43] suggest traditional stewardship ideals in New Zealand include maintaining a tidy and efficient farming landscape, while Nassauer [44] found similar ideals prevailed in more urban areas of North America. Furthermore, landowners may earn respect in the farming community by demonstrating that their farm is maintained and successful through keeping it tidy [43].…”

“…Egoz et al [43] suggest traditional stewardship ideals in New Zealand include maintaining a tidy and efficient farming landscape, while Nassauer [44] found similar ideals prevailed in more urban areas of North America. Furthermore, landowners may earn respect in the farming community by demonstrating that their farm is maintained and successful through keeping it tidy [43]. Although this research adds to the limited research that exists related to concepts of stewardship, longitudinal meta-analyses could provide valuable insight regarding if and how views of stewardship (i.e., who it is owed to and how it is defined) are evolving over time.…”

Environmental Aesthetics and Rewilding

“…From previous empirical research, this seems especially the case in agricultural landscapes where neat, rectilinear forms are associated with good land management and a strong so-called work ethic (Egoz et al, 2006).…”