Abstract

The Landscape in Focus project, an EU-funded collaboration of landscape architects from the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, and Slovakia, supports small municipalities (up to 5,000 inhabitants) in sustainable landscape management. These municipalities play a vital role in preserving and enhancing landscape values but often lack the necessary resources and expertise to address the complex challenges they face today. The project showcases best practices through case studies, promotes public awareness, and identifies replicable models based on conceptual planning, both in built-up areas as well as in open landscape, community involvement, aesthetic and functional design, and nature-based solutions. Standardized case studies were adapted for online dissemination and usability. By emphasizing shared solutions and local participation, the project provides actionable strategies to empower municipalities in addressing contemporary landscape challenges and advancing sustainable management.

Keywords: rural landscape, small and medium-sized municipalities, conceptual planning, local community