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Linear transport structures as a landscape element
Valehrach, Jan ; Svoboda, Richard ; Hubáčková, Dana
Traffic arteries have accompanied man since the dawn of the ages. Roads and railway tracks create lines throughout the landscape. They even left their footprints long after the traffic connection starts to wane or disappears altogether. The landscape is left with the formations that nature eventually takes back, yet still, the spatial orientation of villages indicates its determination by the construction around roads, and the directions of streets still are linked to the roads running out of the towns into the surrounding settlements. Linear structures are generally considered a negative element in the landscape. They divide the landscape, create obstacles and leave a permanent scar. In a similar way, this could be also noted in human perception: railway lines and busy roads are obstacles that divide human settlements or prevent them from developing spatially. On the other hand, these artificial lines are an important landscape feature. Alleys are growing along roads, green belts are appearing in our intensively farmed landscape, often providing the only shelter for animals. Unexpectedly, some oklf today's protected areas have even been created as a result of past intrusions into the landscape. It is therefore important to look at transport structures from multiple angles, to work with their layout and impact on the landscape. The ambition of this article is not to provide the reader with any fundamental or ground-breaking information, but rather to stimulate reflection on both the negative impact of transport structures on the landscape and, in particular, the undeniable positives that are often overlooked when evaluating them.
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