Revisiting the “Reading Landscape Backwards” Approach: Advantages, Disadvantages, and Use of the Retrogressive Method

Abstract

Landscape analysis outside higher education institutions is growing due to new international regulations and governmental policies. Here, the retrogressive method is revisited by examining its uses and advantages. The retrogressive method studies landscapes by starting in a younger time period and travelling back towards older periods. This article’s point of departure is that the method appears to have declined in use in favour of its opposite: the retrospective method. Besides exemplifying its use in some contemporary works, this study gives examples of the pros and cons and current uses of the retrogressive method from two critical Scandinavian debates, from contemporary works, and from three experienced scholars. The results show that the retrogressive approach is suitable for reconstructing landscapes when sources are scarce, including sources concerning more recent periods. Written sources in combination with physical remnants in today’s landscape may be used in tandem, particularly in terms of studying changes in the landscape by comparing two or more cross-sections in time. The retrogressive method is best used in the analysis phase of research and not in the presentation phase. The article’s endpoint is that the retrogressive method is highly relevant within contemporary landscape planning.

Keywords

• retrospective
• regressive
• in-depth interview
• document analysis
• critical debates
• landscape planning