Transformações na paisagem rural do norte de Portugal

Mestrado em Arquitectura Paisagista - Instituto Superior de AgronomiaThe Landscape is a fluid and dynamic system that reflects the interaction between its ecological com-ponent and human activity. To speak about Landscape is therefore to speak about nature and human culture. The importance of the evolution of the agricultural and pastoral activities in the shaping of the Landscape, specifically in the North of Portugal, together with the structural role played by the me-thods of appropriation of agricultural territory, are the subject of this thesis. Having recognized the contribution of the political and economical history of Portugal in transforming the Landscape, and accepting that the changes effected upon the traditional landscape set-up have, not only, played an important role in the deterioration of the entire ecosystem, but also, contributed to the country’s dependence in food imports; it is intended to define the basis for obtaining a model for the organization of the Landscape that is sustainable from an environmental, socio-political and eco-nomical perspective. Through the proposal of a landscape plan for the municipality of Santo Tirso, the presented case study seeks to apply this concept of design and management of the landscape with the objective to reverse the downward trend of the heterogenic and complex layout of the landscape by applying the principles of the Landscape-System methodology (Magalhães et al, 2007)