"The first in-depth presentation of the Nordic landscapes to be published in nearly twenty years. “Norden” -- the region along the northern edge of Europe bordered by Russia and the Baltic nations to the east and by North America to the west -- is a particularly fruitful site for the examination of the ever-evolving meaning of landscape and region as place. Contributors to this work reveal how Norden’s regions and people have been defined by and against the dominant culture of Europe while at the same time their landscapes and cultures have shaped and inspired Europe’s ways of life. Together, the essays provide a much-needed picture of this culturally rich and geographically varied part of the world."--pub. desc.

This study identifies and analyzes the different types of landscape painting that dominated the Scandinavian countries in the 19th century. The author shows how the wilderness became a symbol of Nordic strength, as well as a counter-image to industrialization and European urban culture.

This open access book is about socio-spatial theory in, and the nature of, Nordic geography. From both historical and contemporary perspectives, the book engages with theorisations of geography in the Nordic countries. Including chapters by geographers from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, it reflects how theories about the relations between the social and the spatial have been developed, adopted and critiqued in Nordic human geography in relation to a wide range of themes, concepts and approaches. The book also traces institutional developments, distinct geographical traditions and intellectual histories, as well as authors’ own experiences as geographers in and beyond the Nordic area. The chapters together introduce and engage with debates and discussions that permeate Nordic geography and allows readers a glimpse of geographical thinking and the role of socio-spatial theory in the Nordic countries. By providing insights into how geographical ideas emerge, travel and are translated and adapted in specific contexts, the book contributes to debates about historical-geographical situatedness and theorisations of geography.

Cultural ecosystem services in the form of experiences derived from landscapes are potentially important, but often overlooked. Given the large and unprecedented landscape changes many of the Nordic countries are undergoing, there is a need to find ways of including people’s preferences and the value of landscape impacts in policy assessments and decision-making processes. The project aim has been to synthesize knowledge about the magnitude and value of landscape experiences, and investigate current practices and examples of how landscape impacts are incorporated (or not) in policy assessments and decision-making contexts in the Nordics. The literature demonstrates potentially high unaccounted welfare loss from landscape change. We find clear weaknesses in current practices, that a second phase will try to address. The project was carried out by Vista Analysis in Oslo and Department of Environmental Science at Aarhus University from 2014–15.

A Companion to Nordic Cinema presents a collection of original essays that explore one of the world’s oldest regional cinemas from its origins to the present day. Offers a comprehensive, transnational and regional account of Nordic cinema from its origins to the present day Features original contributions from more than two dozen international film scholars based in the Nordic countries, the United States, Canada, Scotland, and Hong Kong Covers a wide range of topics on the distinctive evolution of Nordic cinema including the silent Golden Age, Nordic film policy models and their influence, audiences and cinephilia, Nordic film training, and indigenous Sámi cinema. Considers Nordic cinema’s engagement with global audiences through coverage of such topics as Dogme 95, the avant-garde filmmaking movement begun by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, and the global marketing and distribution of Nordic horror and Nordic noir Offers fresh investigations of the work of global auteurs such as Carl Th. Dreyer, Ingmar Bergman, Lars von Trier, Aki Kaurismäki, and Roy Andersson. Includes essays on Danish and Swedish television dramas, Finland’s eco-documentary film production, the emerging tradition of Icelandic cinema, the changing dynamics of Scandinavian porn, and many more

This book describes an easy to apply methodology to determine the scenic value of a coast. As one of the most critical aspects of beach user choice, the determination of coastal area scenic quality is of primordial importance. This book is, therefore, an extremely useful tool for any coastal lovers, being them users, teachers, researchers, or managers. In particular, this work is the first book to present a semi-quantitative analysis of coastal scenery based on more than 4,000 interviews about people’s desired coastal imaginary. Twenty-six parameters can be used to identify any coastal scene, which have then been sub-divided into five attribute categories, weighted and subjected to fuzzy logic mathematics to obtain a decision number (D). This number D represents the coastal scenery at that point, and Five D classes are then presented (from I-excellent, to V-poor). Heritage areas, like National Parks should lie in Class I, which infers top scenic quality. Over a time span of a decade or so, the authors of this book have assessed more than 900 global locations using the technique given in this book. One of the main aims of this method is to point out how scenic areas may be improved by judicious intervention relating to parameters, mainly anthropogenic, chosen for assessment. The content of this book opens perspectives for analysis of the potential for coastal tourism development in natural areas and for landscape quality improvement in current coastal tourist developed areas. “In a very comprehensive way, this book reviews the main concepts about coastal scenery and through the vast global work experience of the authors, presents different methodologies, as well as introducing a novel methodology, using parameter weightings and fuzzy logic mathematics.” Carlos Pereira da Silva, CICS.NOVA, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal “Our lives will be greatly enriched by finding beauty, but we can use help in defining the many ways beauty can be manifested. This book can help us by informing us of the ways landscapes can be viewed and described from many viewpoints to place our own understanding in better perspective.” Karl Nordstrom, Geography Department, Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA “How do we define and quantify a coast’s scenic value? This is the book. It begins by defining coastal scenery, then reviews the approaches to quantifying it, followed by a new fuzzy logic approach and examples. It finishes with a chapter on how to manage these attractive landscapes, many of which are being overrun and ruined by development. This is a must read for researchers who wish to evaluate and managers who wish to maintain this valuable yet intangible coastal resource.” Andrew Short, Coastal Studies Unit, Sydney University, Australia