Locating Tranquillity: New Understandings for Landscape Management

While “tranquillity” is a widely used term with a common-sense meaning, thinking about how to maintain and create the conditions for tranquillity in people and place is less straightforward. Where does “tranquillity” happen, and (how) can it be made to happen? Much existing research focuses narrowly on descriptive characteristics of place such as noise levels, light pollution, or number of buildings. This may be a starting point, but we think it doesn’t go far enough in equipping landscape management organisations to preserve and create tranquillity in a real, tangible way for a wide range of people. In this project we unpick assumptions – whether based on different uses of the term, subjective experiences based on individual or demographic characteristics, or other complex associations – to make practical recommendations on how landscape management can best create tranquil experiences for everyone.  

To begin to answer these questions, the project team is undertaking a transdisciplinary literature and policy review and analysis of Cornwall National Landscape’s Management Plan, to provide practical recommendations and identify areas for further research.