From agricultural to rural landscape: geography and perceptions of Greek rural landscape

Abstract

Rural areas have become very important in distinguishing between the "urban" and the "rural", due to the symbolic significance of the rural, as a "tank" from where ideas, values and meanings can come. Rural landscapes in Greece are today still identified as agricultural landscapes. In this paper, Greel landscapes are presented, along with the perception of these landscapes from different social groups. Two typologies are presented on the basis of physical and human geography of the land. Results go a step forward from bipolar definitions of the rural and the urban and can offer a powerful tool for understanding transformations in rural areas in Greece today and plan spatial policies.