Landscape-as-governance: exploring agency, embodied sensing, and decision preferences

Julian Clark; Jim McGinlay; Nikoleta Jones; Victoria Maguire-Rajpaul

doi:10.1002/pan3.70080

Landscape-as-governance: exploring agency, embodied sensing, and decision preferences

Julian Clark^*
, Jim McGinlay
, Nikoleta Jones
, Victoria Maguire-Rajpaul

^*Corresponding author for this work

Geography

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

1.We introduce landscape-as-governance (LAG) as a dynamic landscape property and theoretical approach that uses people’s embodied sensing to explain their governance preferences.
2.LAG incorporates enactive cognitive approaches and polycentric governance to reveal how sensing and sensemaking influences decisionmaking at personal and landscape scales.
3.LAG's novelty lies in showing how personal landscape sensing intertwines social and ecological factors, transforming individual experiences into collective governance norms.
4.While people's interests undoubtedly play a dominant role in determining landscape governance, LAG argues that sensing and sensemaking are crucial components that shape these interests and preferences.
5.LAG suggests that recognizing the co-constituted nature of human agency in landscapes can lead to more reflective, sustainable and equitable governance, emphasizing the need for bottom-up innovation and the integration of sensory experiences into decision-making processes.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1652-1672
Number of pages	21
Journal	People and Nature
Volume	7
Issue number	7
Early online date	18 Jun 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.70080
Publication status	Published - Jul 2025

Bibliographical note

Copyright:
© 2025 The Author(s). People and Nature published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.

Keywords

co-constituted social-ecological agency
sensing
power
landscape-as-governance

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Access to Document

10.1002/pan3.70080Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY)

ClarkJ2025LandscapeFinal published version, 821 KBLicence: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY)

ESRC IAA 2014 – UEF – Titled: ESCALATION
Clark, J. (Principal Investigator)
Economic & Social Research Council
31/03/17 → 31/12/18
Project: Research Councils

Cite this

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title = "Landscape-as-governance: exploring agency, embodied sensing, and decision preferences",

abstract = "1.We introduce landscape-as-governance (LAG) as a dynamic landscape property and theoretical approach that uses people{\textquoteright}s embodied sensing to explain their governance preferences. 2.LAG incorporates enactive cognitive approaches and polycentric governance to reveal how sensing and sensemaking influences decisionmaking at personal and landscape scales. 3.LAG's novelty lies in showing how personal landscape sensing intertwines social and ecological factors, transforming individual experiences into collective governance norms. 4.While people's interests undoubtedly play a dominant role in determining landscape governance, LAG argues that sensing and sensemaking are crucial components that shape these interests and preferences. 5.LAG suggests that recognizing the co-constituted nature of human agency in landscapes can lead to more reflective, sustainable and equitable governance, emphasizing the need for bottom-up innovation and the integration of sensory experiences into decision-making processes. ",

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author = "Julian Clark and Jim McGinlay and Nikoleta Jones and Victoria Maguire-Rajpaul",

note = "Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 The Author(s). People and Nature published by John Wiley \& Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.",

year = "2025",

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doi = "10.1002/pan3.70080",

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AU - Clark, Julian

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AU - Jones, Nikoleta

AU - Maguire-Rajpaul , Victoria

PY - 2025/7

Y1 - 2025/7

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AB - 1.We introduce landscape-as-governance (LAG) as a dynamic landscape property and theoretical approach that uses people’s embodied sensing to explain their governance preferences. 2.LAG incorporates enactive cognitive approaches and polycentric governance to reveal how sensing and sensemaking influences decisionmaking at personal and landscape scales. 3.LAG's novelty lies in showing how personal landscape sensing intertwines social and ecological factors, transforming individual experiences into collective governance norms. 4.While people's interests undoubtedly play a dominant role in determining landscape governance, LAG argues that sensing and sensemaking are crucial components that shape these interests and preferences. 5.LAG suggests that recognizing the co-constituted nature of human agency in landscapes can lead to more reflective, sustainable and equitable governance, emphasizing the need for bottom-up innovation and the integration of sensory experiences into decision-making processes.

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Landscape-as-governance: exploring agency, embodied sensing, and decision preferences

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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Projects

ESRC IAA 2014 – UEF – Titled: ESCALATION

Cite this