The Horta Nord Irrigation System

Cultural landscapes are territories (urban and rural) with plenty of history and content that express the human action of nature transformation and unique landscape construction. When renewing territorial projects, the aim is to further the cultural value possibilities, assigning the knowledge of the landscape using local sciences. This kind of multidisciplinary approach is intended to help understand the site complexity. The landscape is a great reminder of the historical heritage while at the same time the contemporary situation of the region. These old territories, with their large heritage, lead us to explore their cultural landscape condition.

The Horta Nord of Valencia is an area filled with history and heritage shaped by the work of its society. It’s irrigation system started at 8th century. These days, cultural landscapes still live on thanks to their land production and habitability. Cultural landscape has to be approached with the collaboration of people who preserve its heritage alongside concerned institutions, local citizens and those who want to sustainably develop. Also, we focus on the analysis of projects that promote the local development of territories and cities in an holistic perspective without trivializing the territory.

Accordingly, we reveal cultural landscapes through the elaboration of an Atlas with multidisciplinary knowledge. Each group explore and give a vision of the area through the analyze of a territory’s layer.

The rural territories constitute socio-landscape heritage in contrast to urban transformation. This landscape heritage doesn’t refer only to the past but also the future, to feed territories with food sovereignty.