Cultural Landscape Functions

Abstract

The utilization and transformation of the landscape by humans is aimed at providing them with suitable conditions of living and development. What enables the accomplishment of particular human objectives is relevant functions of the cultural landscape. The following ten functions have been distinguished and described: spatial (consists in providing man with living and economic space), ecological (involves providing man as a living organism with the necessary physiological substances, that is, the environment suitable for living), nature protection (is to provide suitable ecological conditions for other living organisms), material supply (provides man with goods necessary for life and activity), energy supply (consists in equipping man with energy, necessary for the activity of processing), communicational (enables man to communicate, move in space, transport materials, energy and information), educational (enables human development, broadens their knowledge of man, society and living environment), recreational (provides human opportunities, improving health and mental state), sacred (meets the needs of a higher order, that is, spiritual) and aesthetical (provides human experience and aesthetic experience, necessary for spiritual and moral development and well-being). The optimization of the spectrum of functions of each landscape should be based on the principles of compatibility of the functions, their complementarity and the principle of necessity or priority of the function. The significance of the functional approach to the cultural landscape is justified, as it allows the application of the principles and methods of the system approach to the research into the landscape, which facilitates the management of the landscape.