Perspectives on landscape identity, a conceptual challenge

The concept of landscape identity is often referred to in landscape policy and planning. A clear definition of the concept is lacking however. This is problematic because the term ‘landscape identity’ can have many different meanings and thus easily lead to confusion. We define landscape identity as ‘the perceived uniqueness of a place’ and endeavour to describe the content of this definition more concisely. Within this context the paper introduces the framework of the Landscape Identity Circle for the various dimensions of landscape identity based on two axes: differentiation between spatial as opposed to existential identity, and differentiation between personal and cultural landscape identity. This framework is valuable in positioning research approaches and disciplines addressing landscape identity