IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v15y2025i10p1020-d1651797.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Landscape Character Assessment for Sustainable Rural Development in Border Insular Areas: A Case Study of Ano Mirabello, Crete

Author

Listed:
  • Aikaterini Gkoltsiou

    (Laboratory of Floriculture & Landscape Architecture, Department of Crop Science, School of Plant Sciences, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 118 55 Athens, Greece)

Abstract

This article seeks to demonstrate the value of landscape character assessment in addressing the unique needs of remote areas, located at national insular borders, with lower levels of development and economic activity. The paper assesses and presents the predominant landscape character of a remote agricultural area in the north part of the island of Crete in Greece, the specific assets of various landscape character types with the main productive economic sectors, leading to a proposal for tourism development sustainable strategies. To achieve this, a landscape character assessment methodology was applied in combination with a literature review and landscape evaluation per each economic sector. The goals of a landscape strategy for the area were formulated to preserve and enhance the landscape character and uniqueness, as natural and cultural heritage, for the benefit of the island inhabitants. At the end, landscape strategies for the planning, management and protection of the specific area were proposed for its sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Aikaterini Gkoltsiou, 2025. "Landscape Character Assessment for Sustainable Rural Development in Border Insular Areas: A Case Study of Ano Mirabello, Crete," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-31, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:10:p:1020-:d:1651797
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/10/1020/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/10/1020/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ioannis N. Vogiatzakis & Maria Zomeni & A. M. Mannion, 2017. "Characterizing Islandscapes: Conceptual and Methodological Challenges Exemplified in the Mediterranean," Land, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-13, February.
    2. Aikaterini Gkoltsiou & Eleni Athanasiadou & Angeliki T. Paraskevopoulou, 2021. "Agricultural Heritage Landscapes of Greece: Three Case Studies and Strategic Steps towards Their Acknowledgement, Conservation and Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-28, May.
    3. Aikaterini Gkoltsiou & Urszula Forczek-Brataniec, 2024. "The Role of Landscape Architecture Profession Recognition in the Context of Facing Contemporary Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-19, June.
    4. Simensen, Trond & Halvorsen, Rune & Erikstad, Lars, 2018. "Methods for landscape characterisation and mapping: A systematic review," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 557-569.
    5. João Capucho & Arminda do Paço & Pedro Dinis Gaspar, 2023. "Tourism Related to Aromatic and Medicinal Plants: Some Practical Evidence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-13, November.
    6. Gkoltsiou, Aikaterini & Mougiakou, Eleni, 2021. "The use of Islandscape character assessment and participatory spatial SWOT analysis to the strategic planning and sustainable development of small islands. The case of Gavdos," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yulian Pan & Yunong Wu & Xi Xu & Bin Zhang & Weifu Li, 2022. "Identifying Terrestrial Landscape Character Types in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-19, July.
    2. Shuang Zhao & Diechuan Yang & Chi Gao, 2023. "Identifying Landscape Character for Large Linear Heritage: A Case Study of the Ming Great Wall in Ji-Town, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-21, February.
    3. Manolaki, P. & Zotos, S. & Vogiatzakis, I.N., 2020. "An integrated ecological and cultural framework for landscape sensitivity assessment in Cyprus," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    4. Qi Mu & Fabrizio Aimar, 2022. "How Are Historical Villages Changed? A Systematic Literature Review on European and Chinese Cultural Heritage Preservation Practices in Rural Areas," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-20, June.
    5. Nadja Penko Seidl & Mateja Šmid Hribar & Jelka Hudoklin & Tomaž Pipan & Mojca Golobič, 2021. "Defining Landscapes, and Their Importance for National Identity—A Case Study from Slovenia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-18, June.
    6. Simensen, Trond & Halvorsen, Rune & Erikstad, Lars, 2018. "Methods for landscape characterisation and mapping: A systematic review," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 557-569.
    7. Vesna Rajčević & Tanja Mišlicki Tomić & Irena Medar-Tanjga & Mlađen Trifunović & Neda Živak & Aleksandra Petrašević, 2023. "The Role of Landscape in Sustainable Tourism Development—A Study of Identification and Evaluation of Landscape Qualities of the Vrbanja Basin in Bosnia and Herzegovina," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-19, April.
    8. Rędzińska, Katarzyna & Szulczewska, Barbara & Wolski, Przemysław, 2022. "The landscape thresholds analysis as an integrated approach to landscape interpretation for planning purposes," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    9. Zizhen Hong & Wentao Cao & Ying Chen & Sijia Zhu & Wenjun Zheng, 2024. "Identifying Rural Landscape Heritage Character Types and Areas: A Case Study of the Li River Basin in Guilin, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-24, February.
    10. Péter Csorba & Krisztina Bánóczki & Zoltán Túri, 2022. "Land Use Changes in Peri-Urban Open Spaces of Small Towns in Eastern Hungary," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-18, August.
    11. Barbara Sowińska-Świerkosz & Malwina Michalik-Śnieżek, 2020. "The Methodology of Landscape Quality (LQ) Indicators Analysis Based on Remote Sensing Data: Polish National Parks Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-18, April.
    12. Joan Carles Membrado-Tena & Jorge Hermosilla-Pla, 2023. "The Precarious Survival of an Ancient Cultural Landscape: The Thousand-Year-Old Olive Trees of the Valencian Maestrat (Spain)," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-20, July.
    13. Amalia Vaneska Palacio Buendía & Yolanda Pérez-Albert & David Serrano Giné, 2021. "Mapping Landscape Perception: An Assessment with Public Participation Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Analysis Techniques," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-17, June.
    14. Antonio Santoro & Martina Venturi & Mauro Agnoletti, 2021. "Landscape Perception and Public Participation for the Conservation and Valorization of Cultural Landscapes: The Case of the Cinque Terre and Porto Venere UNESCO Site," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-24, January.
    15. Theano S. Terkenli & Aikaterini Gkoltsiou & Dimitris Kavroudakis, 2021. "The Interplay of Objectivity and Subjectivity in Landscape Character Assessment: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches and Challenges," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-19, January.
    16. Ioannis N. Vogiatzakis & Paraskevi Manolaki, 2017. "Investigating the Diversity and Variability of Eastern Mediterranean Landscapes," Land, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-16, October.
    17. Rachel E. Bitoun & Gilbert David & Rodolphe Devillers, 2023. "Strategic use of ecosystem services and co‐benefits for Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(3), pages 1296-1310, June.
    18. Vassiliki Vlami & Stamatis Zogaris & Hakan Djuma & Ioannis P. Kokkoris & George Kehayias & Panayotis Dimopoulos, 2019. "A Field Method for Landscape Conservation Surveying: The Landscape Assessment Protocol (LAP)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-20, April.
    19. Enrico Pomatto & Marco Devecchi & Federica Larcher, 2022. "Assessment of the Terraced Landscapes’ Integrity: A GIS-Based Approach in a Potential GIAHS-FAO Site (Northwest Piedmont, Italy)," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-21, December.
    20. Enrico Pomatto & Paola Gullino & Silvia Novelli & Marco Devecchi & Federica Larcher, 2023. "Landscape Strategies for Terraced Landscapes in the European Alpine Region Using a Mixed-Method Analysis Tool," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-21, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:10:p:1020-:d:1651797. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.