LANDSCAPE & RUINS

The theme of the 2009 ECLAS Conference is a particularly appropriate one for the first ECLAS Conference to be held in Italy - with its incomparable cultural heritage. The topic: "Landscape and Ruins - Planning and design for the regeneration of derelict places" is at first sight something which may not seem so relevant to those parts of Europe without landscapes that enjoy such a rich legacy of classical archaeological sites, but in fact all newly created landscapes are necessarily built on the remains of what went before, and the importance of understanding time depth in landscapes at all scales and of all types is being increasingly acknowledged. The main issues that have been identified within this theme are the regeneration of rejected landscapes, planning and design after catastrophic events and landscape change, planting design for ruined landscapes and development of archaeological landscapes. The papers on this theme reflect the multifaceted nature of the landscape and mankind's interaction with it. They show that the subject area is one of unusual breadth, drawing on and integrating concepts and approaches, not just from the two sides of the traditional divide between the creative arts and the natural sciences, but incorporating many aspects of the humanities and technology as well.