engleski

The Destruction of the Natural and Cultural Landscape- the Croatian Coast Example

The text analyses the subject of the natural and cultural destruction of the territorial identity, which is evident in the Croatian region and its coastal area, i.e. in the Dalmatian region. The transitional living conditions since Croatia’ s independence in the early nineties of the 20th century lead to numerous social phenomena which often had negative influence on the social and natural capital of the country. The phenomena which will serve for the purpose of the analysis are commonly known as concreting and apartmentizing of certain tourist destinations on the islands and along the coast. These processes can help explain the consequences of excessive development of mainly tourist secondary housing objects (summerhouses, apartments, hotels, urban villas etc.), all for the purpose of firming private investments and tourism profits. This is how attractive natural landscapes of original Mediterranean type and Mediterranean territorial identity were changed in a radical and often aggressive manner (there are numerous cases of gravel strewing into the sea and concreting of the coast and thus creating an artificial and unnatural appearance of the coast). In other words, this is only one of the many consequences of the globalization influencing the local natural landscape and often referred to as environmental degradation. There are numerous examples of property development without the necessary construction documentation or outside the existing spatial plans. There have been cases, where already built objects were completely demolished or they were subsequently settled within the aforementioned plans. The coupling of economic capital and political authority in the interest of certain individuals often lead in a direction which is contradictory to the preservation of the rural, urban, Mediterranean and Croatian landscape and identity at the same time. Its disruption leads to destruction of the existing natural resources which should remain for the future generations and this does not comply with the proclaimed sustainable development as the only desirable alternative as opposed to the ever accelerating development and growth. The local population has often no benefits of such investments and loses its quality of living and its way of life, especially in the months during the summer season. This work will display how territorial destruction influences the life of the local population and it will give an overview of the most imperilled locations along the coast and on the islands.

Coastal strip; destruction; landscape; territorial identity; Croatia

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