Drawing on the personal-existential landscape identity for local planning policy: reflections from three rural areas in Estonia

Abstract

This article examines from a micro-geography perspective the personal-existential landscape identity of stakeholders in relation to territorial distinctiveness. The actions and decisions of individual actors shape lived landscapes into ontologically distinctive places. These actors base these actions and decisions on their landscape values and personal-existential landscape identities of the people. Here, how locals in three rural regions in Estonia perceive their individual place attachment, and how these perceptions shaped the landscapes, is illustrated in detail. We pay attention to how their self-identity and self-realisation are connected to the history-oriented place-rootedness of these lived territories. These meanings have materialised through the restoration of village borders, self-realisation in agriculture and civil governance, or enabling a particular place-bound lifestyle. The article suggests planners consider the personal-existential landscape identities of stakeholders as a significant factor in the local planning policy making process.

Keywords:

• Everyday
• governance
• landscape identity
• laypeople
• place attachment

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the reviewers for their valuable comments, Anu Printsmann for drawing the map, and Mara Woods for sensitive editing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Estonian Research Agency under Grant PRG 398 Landscape approach to rurbanity.

Notes on contributors

Kadri Kasemets

Kadri Kasemets is a researcher in the Centre for Landscape and Culture, Tallinn University. She received her PhD in 2012 from the interdisciplinary Studies of Cultures doctoral program, with the thesis Milieus in neighbourhood place-making. Her research draws on cultural geography and landscape research. Her current work examines rural everyday geographies.

Hannes Palang

Hannes Palang is Head of the Centre of Landscape and Culture, Tallinn University. His research focuses on landscape studies, with a particular focus on the history, planning and perception of Estonian landscapes.