GEOGRAPHY I

The course focuses on the main concepts relating to environmental issues affecting the recent increase of human action in trasforming the earth surface, in order to improve students' expertise in analyzing and explaining territorial complexity.
Special interest will be devoted to the concept of both environmental and cultural heritage. The course will consider instruments to understand the history of geography and its connections with ecological issues. Specific aim will be the critical analysis of rural landascapes, with a focus on the new relationships between urban and rural environments: neoruralism and specific narratives of growing interests in rural lifestyles.

The instructional goal of the course is that of developing knowledge about:
- the relevance of the environment in the evolution of human landscapes, with special regards to natural characters and to cultural heritage.
- the concept of "Environmental Risks" with its manifold aspects, focusing on the threats affecting both rural and suburban landscapes.
- the role of cultural geography in facing with new relationships between urban and rural environments.

The achievement of specific practical and applied skills will concern:
- assessment of Cultural Heritage within each landscape, evaluating both environmental and aesthetic qualities.
- the competence to detect and analyze the potential environmental risks, with a special focus on freshwater local contexts.
- the proper use of digital tools to set up a census in order to assess and safeguard natural and cultural heritage.

Basic knowledge of concepts and terms of geography.
Students are besides required a basic knowledge of the concept of "Environmental Risk", with special regard to increasing global urgencies. They are finally espected to manage high school atlases cartography.

Main terrestrial ecosystems and their relationships with human activities will be considered. The course is besides aiming to develop the idea of landscape in an holistic sense, with a special focus not only on alternative social economic landscape planning strategies, but also on cultural attitudes in order to foster new participative territorialities. A special investigation will be devoted to the relationship between rural and urban environments, with special focus on social perceptions. New ruralities will be considered as innovative opportunity to develop best practices according to the need to enhance the role of ecosystem services.

Attending students:

1) Notes from the lectures

2) Antonio PAOLILLO (a cura di), Luoghi ritrovati. Itinerari di geografia umana tra natura e paesaggio, Vidor (TV), ISTHAR, 2013.

3) Francesco VALLERANI, I 'Piaceri della Villa'. Vivere e raccontare la campagna tra abbandoni e ritorni, Firenze, Le Monnier, 2021

4) A further lecture notes will be available on line.

Not attending students:

1) Antonio PAOLILLO (a cura di), Luoghi ritrovati. Itinerari di geografia umana tra natura e paesaggio, Vidor (TV), ISTHAR, 2013.

2) Francesco VALLERANI, I 'Piaceri della Villa'. Vivere e raccontare la campagna tra abbandoni e ritorni, Firenze, Le Monnier, 2021

3) Lecture notes on Italian landscape and mid XXth literature

4) A further lecture notes will be available on line.

The exam will be planned according to the health situation. More details will be provided later.

Depending on the health situation, teaching should take place in presence with frontal lectures. The specific procedures will be communicated in time.

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This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Natural capital and environmental quality" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development