15th October 2003
Austin Court, Birmingham

Download workshop proceedings (1.4MB)

There is an increasing appreciation of the importance of the urban fringe in helping to establish better quality places and spaces and to create a more positive vision for land linking town and country. There is a need to develop urban fringe landscapes that perform a wide range of functions for society including development, recreation, agriculture, transport and nature conservation.

Although similar challenges exist in many urban fringe areas, there is a great diversity of landscape types near urban areas. Landscape Character Assessment captures the distinctive characteristics of these landscapes and promotes understanding of how these landscapes have developed.

As part of its series of topical workshops on Landscape Character Assessment and its applications, the Landscape Character Network organized an event in Birmingham on the 15th of October 2003. Entitled 'Linking Town and Country', this workshop examined the particular characteristics and challenges of urban fringe landscapes and how Landscape Character Assessment has been used in these areas. The workshop also showed how Landscape Character Assessment can be used as a tool for sustainable development and to develop multifunctional landscapes around our towns and cities.

Speakers:
Karl Kropf, Roger Evans Associates:
Chair

Christine Tudor and Andrew Gale, The Countryside Agency:
Visualising Multi-Functional Urban Fringe Environments

John Handley, Centre For Urban and Regional Ecology:
Planning for Sustainable Development in the Countryside Around Towns

Richard Copas, The Environment Agency:
'Planning River Landscapes - Fringing on the Ridiculous?'

Roger Butler, British Waterways:
'Urban - Rural Linkages : Canal Corridors'

Sue Mullinger, Great North Forest:
'Local Management Zone Strategies for the Great North Forest: An Integrated Approach to Shaping the Countryside Around Our Towns and Cities'
Frazer Osment, Landscape Design Associates:
'Designing The Urban Fringe: The Challenge of Responding to Landscape Character and Settlement Setting in the Expansion and Regeneration of Settlements'