Program committee: Marc Antrop, Ulf Jansson, Tõnu Oja, Tiina Peil, Hannes Palang, Theo Spek, Gunhild Setten, Helen Sooväli, Jelier Vervloet

Local organizer: Hannes Palang, Helen Sooväli, Helen Alumäe - Institute of Geography, University of Tartu

Target groups: geographers, planners, agronomists, archaeologists, historians, landscape ecologists, etc.

It is the time when the rural landscapes of Europe are undergoing significant changes. Some landscapes are being abandoned; some are being turned into urban areas. The speed of the change is the highest of all times. Current socio-economic changes have put increased pressure on European rural landscapes. Processes such as marginalisation on the one hand, and rural-urban transition on the other pose a serious threat to the landscapes we know today. The conference tries to explore the reasons and the consequences of these changes, but also to offer solutions for the future.