Libraries and leisure

Landscape

The landscape of Hertfordshire could be described as everything outside your window. What you see matters, but also important is what lies beneath the skin: the shaping of the land; a depth of character that has developed over time; a rhythm of life. And to these qualities add the myriad of opportunities the landscape provides for use.

The landscape in Hertfordshire has always changed and this will continue, but particular pressures come from being situated in a region where there are huge demands for housing, industrial and leisure developments, and where other activities of a large population take their toll.

The County Council is one of a number of organisations in the county seeking to manage this change on behalf of the county's current inhabitants, and on behalf of their children. In some places effort goes into conserving the legacy, such as the county's unrivalled collection of historic parks and gardens. In others resources are being directed at creating new landscapes, to go with new buildings or following despoilation. But some work is simply aimed at providing us all with a better understanding and experience of everything outside our windows.