Agricultural landscape, heritage and identity in peri-urban areas in Western Europe

This work focuses on particularly sensitive agricultural landscapes, which are visible in peri-urban areas. These territories are indeed fast evolving areas that consist of a "third-area", both urban and rural. The aim of this paper is to analyze the role played by heritage in agricultural landscapes of peri-urban areas. The paper is built around these following questions: what are the changes in agricultural landscapes in the framework of the fast urban sprawl, and what are their effects on practices, especially around heritage, and on the many stakeholders' perceptions? With the help of visuals like aerial or ground pictures, maps, diagrams, interviews, this paper uses a panel of specific examples selected in Western Europe. A wide range of peri-urban situations has been chosen to show the different kinds of existing urban pressure on agricultural landscapes.