Essays on the Contradictoriness of Enthusiasm and Recklessness in Urban Landscapes and Ideas of their Success Some of the fastest growing regions in the world are regarded as particularly attractive landscapes. Here not only residents and guests, but also people's representatives and regional marketing enthuse about the beauty and grandeur of the natural or historic cultural landscape and often also attribute the extraordinary qualities of life and the economic success of the region to those qualities. Landscape is often almost celebrated as a major location factor for a city or region. Simultaneously, it is just these growing regions where the existing qualities of the landscape are most ruthlessly being handled. This is due first to the pressure for growth itself that, through more buildings, triggers accelerated use of space, density and urban sprawl. It repeals existing rules, conventions and responsibilities of care for space and, by this, leads to new unprotected area types between city and country, which are correctly described as 'urban landscapes'. Maybe the recklessness also comes from a certain carelessness, because strong beauty of landscape is subconsciously associated with invulnerability. Both are linked together in the concept of euphoria: the "upscale lifestyle of greatest well-being, with increased vitality and reduced inhibitions" (Wikipedia). The term euphorigenic landscape therefore supposes a locally typical behaviour, a specific ‘regional habitus', which tends toward elation and at the same time to disinhibition against one's own landscape. This book tries, by exploring very different regions in Asia and Europe, to define by way of example which natural, morphological and cultural factors lead to the conclusion that a landscape can be considered as socially and economically euphorigenic'.

Open access Publication in Urban Landscapes Studies (OPULS)

As an open access project on urban landscape studies we set up a collection of several essays. The first edition Euphorigenic Landscapes - issue 01 focuses on urban landscapes in Europe, China, and Africa, written by university staff members, research associates and doctoral students related to the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Open Spaces (LAREG).

We now plan to widen the circle of authors to a larger community.

be euphorigenic!

be euphorigenic!

Choose an urban landscape and write your own essay

We invite Landscape Architects from all over the world to participate in the second edition. Essays have to base on the common structure, that describes urban landscapes, following Henri Lefèbvre, as an intermediate level between the private everyday-life and the global systems:

. Describe the four different levels according to Lefèbvre and show how they interact

. Describe the specific landscape qualities and how do they contribute to unique locations

. Discuss what could serve as an intermediate level and how landscape qualities could lead to a successful urban development

Contributions pass a peer review process. For further information please contact Michael Schmölz

Your ideas may be part of issue 02 in our Open access Publication in Urban Landscape Studies