Journal of European Landscapes

Journal of European Landscapes

Focus and Scope

As a result of growing economic interdependence and political integration, Europe becomes ever more important as a spatial framework for research. This is particularly true for landscape research. The development of landscapes is highly dependent on the politics of the European Union. Policies on landscape and heritage are increasingly influenced by international cooperation.

For disciplines with a spatial dimension, such as geography, archaeology, landscape research and heritage studies, this results in comparative research in regions in Europe and, sometimes, on Europe as a whole. As a result, there is a growing awareness of the European dimensions of landscape and heritage. Although landscape is a theme that is increasingly studied on a European level (in fact, landscape is often described as a typical European theme), there is no journal that focuses on landscape and heritage.

The Journal of European Landscapes fills this gap by stimulating and promoting both empirical research and reflexive thinking on the history and heritage of the landscapes of Europe. In our opinion, the proposed journal should focus on the history and heritage of landscape. For the historical dimension, the tradition of ‘landscape history and archaeology’, a successful research tradition on the British Isles, could be seen as a good basis. This tradition is also of growing importance in continental Europe. Heritage, defined as the present use of the past, is a good addition to this as it connects historical research with modern planning and management.

Journal of European Landscapes is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal launched to accelerate research and free information exchange in European landscape research. In addition to local and national focused journals the Journal of European Landscapes wants to stimulate debate, research and other forms of international cooperation.

Journal of European Landscapes publishes papers with an international comparative perspective on (rural, urban as well as industrial) landscapes in Europe, as well as European landscapes elsewhere. The Journal of European Landscapes also wants to document research projects in order to enable the academic community to access, discuss and scrutinize the value and meanings of the outcomes for future landscape research, policy and practice.

Journal of European Landscapes aims to offer a platform for interdisciplinary research into landscape. The historical and heritage dimensions of landscape are important, but the spatial, physical, visual, representational, philosophical and other landscape dimensions are also included. In many cases this requires interdisciplinary research across academic disciplines ranging from archaeology, anthropology and art history, to geography, earth sciences, economics, tourism studies and sociology. The Journal of European Landscapes aims to publish studies on the historical and heritage aspects of landscape against the backdrop of challenges that Europe is facing today: the challenges of European unification, international cooperation and conflicts, migration, climate change, energy transition, increase of tourism, digitization and urbanization.

Open Access

Journal of European Landscapes is a Diamond open access journal and provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge (Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0)).

For publication in Open Access for this journal, no contribution by the author is obligatory. So far, the journal has been able to support all publications in Open Access thanks to the support of our sponsors. Yet the editorial board strongly advises researchers in funded projects to make a voluntary contribution to the journal. Please contact Amsterdam University Press via [email protected] for exact instructions to the voluntary Open Access contribution, or consult the guidelines in the Manuscript Submissions System.

This journal is supported by:

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In Memoriam Hans Renes

On the 28th of September we had to say farewell to Prof. Dr. Johannes (Hans) Renes at the age of 68. As founder of the Journal of European Landscapes his knowledge, enthusiasm and extensive international network have been of great importance in the vulnerable early phase of the journal. All over Europe Hans will be missed, and we are thankfull to share this im memoriam with you, written by prof. Karl Martin Born, chair of the Permanent European Conference for the Study of the Rural Landscape (PECSRL) where Hans was a member of the board.

Between 1972 and 1979 Hans studied Social geography at Utrecht University where he specialised in historical geography. Further steps in his career led him to Wageningen where Jelle Vervloet supervised his PhD Thesis on the historical landscapes in Limbourg. In 1998 he moved to Utrecht University researching and teaching on historical geography, landscape research and landscape heritage studies. Since 2002 he also taught at Free University Amsterdam; from 2011 until 2013 he held a Professorial Chair in Heritage Studies at VU.

It no exaggeration to say that he was one of the main representatives of Dutch Historical Geography – not to say of European Historical Geography as many of his publications focus on European Landscapes with their similarities, differences and development paths. Hans had a profound interest in applied historical geography, landscape planning and landscape history; in the Netherlands with its strong relationship between heritage and spatial planning he not only contributed significantly to the education and training of planners but also served as a consultant to various public bodies.

Hans was devoted to international and interdisciplinary cooperation, most notably in his commitment to boards of various associations focussing on historical geography: the Arbeitskreis für Historische Kulturlandschaftsforschung in Mitteleuropa (Germany), EucaLand Network (Paris), Netwerk Historisch Cultuurlandschap (Dutch network of historical geographers and landscape historians) and of course the Permanent European Conference for the Study of the rural Landscape. He also served as Editor or Co-Editor of various journals on historical geography and landscape studies. His insights and leadership were valued by colleagues around the world. He believed fervently in the collaborative nature of scholarship and worked tirelessly to foster meaningful connections among scholars, researchers, students, planners and the general public.

His academic oeuvre includes small-scale research in order to identify all factors shaping and changing the landscapes in greatest detail and also comparative work to foster the investigation of general driving forces in the landscape.

Many of you will remember Hans as a gentle and compassionate colleague who enlightened us not only with many presentations and papers at various PECSRL-Conferences but also encouraged us (and esp. younger researchers) to press on with our work (I remember at least two occasions when he gave me the right advice). As PECSRL Conferences always had a strong social element you may remember him as an entertaining conversation partner.

His work will continue to inspire generations of scholars, planners and landscape enthusiasts. His memory will endure as a beacon of excellence and dedication. Though he is no longer with us, his legacy will live on through his work and the many geographers, landscape researchers and planners he educated.

A memorial service to celebrate the life and achievements of Prof. Dr. Johannes Renes will be held on 6 October in Asperen.

He may rest in peace.

Karl Martin Born