About Cultural Landscapes

Cultural landscapes are landscapes that have been affected, influenced, or shaped by human involvement. A cultural landscape can be associated with a person or event. It can be thousands of acres or a tiny homestead. It can be a grand estate, industrial site, park, garden, cemetery, campus and more. Collectively, cultural landscapes are works of art, narratives of culture, and expressions of regional identity. There are primarily four types of cultural landscapes, although any given landscape may fall under more than one typology:

>Designed Landscapes

>Ethnographic Landscapes

>Historic Sites

>Vernacular Landscapes 

Why are cultural landscapes important?

Cultural landscapes are a legacy for everyone. These special sites reveal aspects of our country’s origins and development as well as our evolving relationships with the natural world. They provide scenic, economic, ecological, social, recreational, and educational opportunities helping communities to better understand themselves.

Why is it important to protect cultural landscapes?

Neglect and inappropriate development put our irreplaceable landscape legacy increasingly at risk. Too often today’s short-sighted decisions threaten the survival and continuity of our shared heritage. It is everyone’s responsibility to safeguard our nation’s cultural landscapes. The ongoing care and interpretation of these sites improves our quality of life and deepens a sense of place and identity for future generations.