Le paysage, une qualification socioculturelle du territoire

Abstract

In Canada as elsewhere, the issue of landscape reflects major social, cultural, environmental, economic and other themes that involve considerable challenges. This article discusses concepts relating to landscape that are conveyed by means of aesthetics, cultural geography, the ecology of the landscape and environmental psychology, and then proceeds to illustrate the advantages of a socio cultural position that is able to encompass the many manifestations of the experience of the landscape. From a conceptual standpoint, we need to move beyond the standard meanings attributed to the land scape, which liken it to the restrictive aspect of a visual frame or to the unrefined forms of the land base. Contemporary conditions governing visual references to the landscape have led to a necessity to expand the idea of landscape to include its many meanings, based on new social concerns in relation to the environment, heritage, individual surround ings or well-being. With regard to methodology and practical matters, it is imperative that we move quickly to rethink traditional approaches that associate the landscape issue with a visual resource to be dealt with by experts. Going beyond the instrumental approaches that are still widespread, the operational scope of the concept of landscape must be reconsidered in the light of the many social concerns and the framework for action that they require. Resume Au Canada comme ailleurs, la question du paysage temoigne d'enjeux majeurs d'ordres social, culturel, environnemental, economique et autres, qui posent des defis considerables. Cet article discute des con cep tions du paysage vehiculees en esthetique, en geographie culturelle, en ecologie du paysage et en psy chologie environnementale, puis illus tre l'in teret d'une position socioculturelle susceptible d'em bras ser les multiples manifestations de l'experience du paysage. Sur le plan conceptuel, il convient de depas ser les acceptions classiques du paysage, qui l'assimilent a l'aspect reducteur du cadrage visuel ou aux formes brutes de l'assise territoriale. Les conditions contemporaines des regards porteurs d'evocation paysagere obligent a elargir la notion de paysage aux diverses significations alimentees par les nouvelles preoccupations sociales en matiere d'environnement, de patrimoine, de cadre de vie ou de bien-etre. Sur les plans methodologique et pratique, il est urgent de repenser les approches traditionnelles associant la question du paysage a une ressource visuelle dont la gestion releve d'experts. Allant au dela des logiques instrumentales encore repandues, on doit reconsiderer la portee operatoire du concept de paysage a la lumiere de la pluralite des preoccupations sociales et des cadres d'actions que celles-ci requierent.

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