’Landscape means as much to the French as it does to us, but language makes it hard for French experience to reach our shores. This volume of translated essays breaks down the barrier. It reveals a detailed analysis and understanding of French landscapes that challenges our preconceptions. As we also explore the potential of the European Landscape Convention, British landscape policymakers and practitioners will find here a rich mine of ideas.’ Adrian Phillips, IUCN and National Trust ’The adoption of the European Landscape Convention in 2000 by the Council of Europe transformed landscape policy, which had hitherto been preoccupied with the protection of exceptional landscapes. This important book, the outcome of an international and interdisciplinary research project led by the French Ministry of Ecology, demonstrates the role that ordinary, everyday landscapes have to play in issues of sustainability and resilience, and argues that landscape is a res publica, a matter that concerns everyone and should be debated by everybody.’ Ian Thompson, University of Newcastle, UK