There is no generally valid, recognised definition of what landscape actually is. On the basis of its relatedness to the environment, to aesthetics, territory, society, politics, economics, geography, planning, ethnology and philosophy, the concept of landscape is considered to be a "composite" notion shaped by a thousand years of Central European ideas and of literary and art history. In other words, the very term "landscape" is ambiguous and it is used in different ways both in the scholarly world and everyday speech. The aim of this volume is to present various possible approaches to the phenomenon of "landscape". Far from laying any claim to be exhaustive or comprehensive we have simply tried to do justice to the overarching interdisciplinary approach of the Zentrum für Landschaftsinterpretation und Tourismus (ZELT: Centre for Landscape Interpretation and Tourism) by singling out and addressing individual instances of this fascinating multifaceted phenomenon.

The study of the cultural meaning of landscapes is of increasing interest in several fields. This book attempts to open up the subject to a wider audience, and is the first to deal with the basic principles of reading the landscape'.

Wir verstehen unsere Gesellschaft als wissen(schaft)sbasiert. Doch neuere Wissenschaftstheorien hinterfragen den Wahrheitsanspruch und damit die traditionelle Legitimation wissenschaftlicher Aussagen durch den Verweis auf die Abhängigkeit jeder Wissensproduktion von kulturell und historisch spezifischen epistemologischen, institutionellen, politischen und ökonomischen Machtverhältnissen, im globalen Kontext wächst der Unmut über die hegemoniale Macht westlicher techno-wissenschaftlicher Denknormen auf Kosten nicht-westlicher Wissensbestände und Praktiken. Andererseits beruhen weitreichende politische Entscheidungen zunehmend auf Expertenwissen, zum Beispiel in der Klima- und Energiepolitik. Vor diesem Hintergrund reflektieren elf Beiträge aus den Geistes-, Sozial- und Kulturwissenschaften über das Verhältnis von Wissen und Wissenschaft, über disziplinäre Bedingungen der Wissensproduktion und -legitimierung und über theoretische Ansätze in der Philosophie und Soziologie sowie praktische Modelle der partizipativen Wissensgenerierung in der Politikberatung, um neue Formen der Legitimierung zu prüfen.

This book examines a range of practical developments that are happening in education as conducted in urban settings across different scales. It contains insights that draw upon the fields of urban planning/urbanism, geography, architecture, education and pedagogy. It brings together current thinking and practical experience from German and international perspectives. This discussion is organised in four segments: schools and the neighbourhood; education and the neighbourhood; education and the city and finally, education and the region. Contributors cover a wide range of contemporary and significant socio-political aspects of education over the last decade. They reinforce emergent thinking that space and its urban context are important dimensions of education. This book also underscores the need for more research in the relationships between education and urban development itself. Current urban planning does not fully connect our understanding in education with what we know in the spatial and planning sciences. Accordingly, this release is an early attempt to bring together a growing body of integrated and interdisciplinary reflection on education theory and practice.