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Twentieth Century Agricultural Colonizations in Italy, Spain and Israël as (Large-Scale) Modernist Rural Landscapes

par Fisher, Axel
Editeur scientifique Hein, Carola
Référence IPHS Conference "History, Urbanism, Resilience"(17: 17-21 July 2016: Delft (NL)), 17th IPHS Conference, Delft 2016. History, Urbanism, Resilience, Book of Abstracts, TU Delft Open, Delft, page (175)
Publication Publié, 2016-07-07

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Résumé :

Throughout the 20th century, many countries witnessed the implementation of large-scale agricultural development and colonization policies (ADCP). Inspired by agrarian ideologies as well as by different forms of social and political utopias, these involved major land reforms aimed primarily at modernizing the agricultural sector. Their translation into practice was carried on by agricultural development and colonization schemes (ADCS). ADCS combined large-scale land reclamation with major (re)settlement of ‘problematic’ groups (hired labourers, ethnic minorities, war veterans, refugees, dissidents, etc.) often in un- or under-populated areas within or on the fringes of the concerned countries. ADCS were implemented in different political contexts and continued even after radical political changes. In addition to their sector-specific goals, ADCP aimed at fostering economic growth by supplying national markets, solving the critical socio-economic situation of their target groups, as well as fostering new identities through of spatial, artistic and cultural frameworks. Hence, ADCS strongly contributed to the construction of national identities and cultures – shaping behaviours, values, language, education, the fine and applied arts, etc. –, but were also central to state-building processes – establishing norms, institutions, and scientific agendas. Therefore, ADCS differ from both ancient and modern colonisations for being mostly endogenously directed towards sovereign areas (or eventually contested border zones) to consolidate cohesive national territories. ADCP were first theorized in the 19th century to serve emerging empires and nation-states (Roscher, 1856), or to remedy the effects of industrialization (Owen, 1841; Huber, 1848; Oppenheimer, 1896). Large scale ADCS were attempted in Europe from the late 19th century (Caballero, 1864; de Oliveira Martins, 1887), with major experiments conducted within the frame of post- WWI and WII reconstructions. ADCP were then adopted in former colonies after independence (Déry, 2014), inspiring much development aid and land reform policies exported to the developing world (Lipton, 2009). The modern concepts of planning and calculation were central to ADCP; they were a testing ground for experts in new scientific disciplines dealing with improved agriculture and the shaping of the built environment, where new ideas and techniques were confronted. Their implementation invoked different pasts by modernist landscape/architects, designers, planners, and artists, which invented new forms of rural life to compete with the modern industrial city’s increasing attractiveness. As a result, the implementation of ADCS produced unprecedented modernist rural landscapes (MRL) in number of countries and regions, which today present tangible evidence of recent European history as well as an emerging cultural heritage. This paper presents a recently started postdoctoral research project, focused on the case of the Fascist Pontine Marches, the Francoist Ebro Valley, and the Zionist Jezreel Valley. It poses some elements for a genealogy of the ADCP, the theoretical planning background for ADCS, the features of MRL, and questions the possibility and tools to compare such cases. It discusses their heritage value, both in physical and ideal terms. Finally, it questions their present-day challenges, asking whether or not they should be considered as generic rural landscapes?