Spatial identity of Latvian cultural landscape within regional context

Abstract

The value of the cultural landscape heritage, its accessibility, preservation, landscape protection zone rating, avoidance of blocking or releasing viewlines (silhouettes, panoramas) etc. – these are the issues which are very little reflected in municipal documents. The documents mainly consist of decisions and support to meet practical or business-friendly needs. Along with the increased attraction of EU investment in agriculture, the mentioned issues become even more aggravated – at which expense the areas and the respective payments are increasing? The answer is one – at the expense of the landscape. In each of Latvian counties, there are territories that cannot lose historical value and we must search for a mutually beneficial algorithm. EU funding projects must contribute to the preservation of the cultural landscape heritage, i.e. to the introduction of Europe's best philosophy and practices. The recovery of the cultural landscape, including maintenance works and its progress in postsocialist areas, is not an easy task, knowing the existing ownership and the economic situation in the country. Will we really get a greater contribution to the state economy from the amount of threshed centners than from the preservation of landscape values in the long term? A task of crucial importance is the research of each region's landscape space, the development of a concept and elaboration of project documentation. As the study shows, Latvian greenfields and cultural heritage calls for the actions to form several areas of the museum reserve.

The Research for Aesthetic Quality of Residential Areas in Latvia and Finland

“…The study deals with adapting the 1960s-1980s standard designs of the city's high-rise residential buildings, creating densely built-up inner courtyard areas with through roads and chaotic pedestrian transit to school, station, market, post office, bus station, etc. The inner courtyards in high-rise residential areas serve as small-scale public open space, which is one of the structures of the urban environment [3]- [5]. It is a green area freely accessible to the inhabitants of the buildings in which several landscaping elements appear: paths, play areas, courtyard rainwater collection points, pergola, terraces, vines, shelters, a large lawn with seating, a barbecue area, flowering shrubs, fruit trees, berry bushes, perennials, terrain, bicycle racks, bin shelter, etc.…”

“…The courtyard areas of apartment buildings are similarly seen as public outdoor space uses, which include several activity options: going to school, work, shopping, and waiting for the bus; optional activities -walking, relaxing, sunbathing, etc., which depend on the quality of the courtyard and the environment; social activities -several persons working and taking care of the courtyard area; using the area for leisure and sports activities. The architectural and landscape balance of the inner courtyards benefits the city by strengthening the community and ensuring the development of the local economy [1]- [3].…”

Public open space placemaking suitable for adolescents

“…However, these areas can also be used as public outdoor spaces without ownership, for example for relaxing or studying in a café, or for squares as meeting places [1; 5]. Particular attention should also be paid to the development and quality use of heritage sites today, which may also have different ownerships, through a variety of measures to attract people, while at the same time promoting them [6].…”