Landscape values and the question of cultural sustainability: Exploring an uncomfortable relationship in the case of Greece

The article highlights the factor of tentativeness in the applicability of the cultural sustainability concept to landscape values in the case of Greece. The authors used a comparative questionnaire survey to draw out indicative trends in lay landscape conscience (gauged as perceptions, values, preferences, feelings and behaviours) in relation to the Greek landscape in the Arcadia region and on the island of Lesvos. Differences were found between urban and rural respondents in the case study sites, in line with relevant literature. Since the disruption of traditional' organic forms of lay landscape conscience during Greece's rapid post-war urbanization and rural exodus, Greek landscape conscience now seems to be going through a reformulation, in a new, more Western guise. In this context, cultural sustainability may, at first glance be irrelevant and even undesirable. However, the findings also indicate that cultural education and landscape awareness play a significant role in understanding and better handling of contemporary landscape issues. The authors conclude that Soini & Birkeland's eco-cultural civilization' storyline of scientific discourse on cultural sustainability is the most appropriate way forward in landscape stewardship, since it supports cultural change through education and participatory governance, while also involving local values and knowledge.