Set in stone? tracing changing cultural & natural landscapes on the Isle of Portland

Key research questions

1. How do local communities and individuals understand post-industrial/mining environments and how does this relate to the physical form of the landscape?

2. What narratives about landscapes are passed across generations and socio-economic/cultural boundaries, how does this occur, and what influence do they have?

3. Where are there overlaps/disconnects between knowledge and memories preserved in communities and the landscape itself, and how might these be blended and harnessed to positively impact communities?

Specifically, the research topic is the interrelation of cultural and natural (post)industrial landscapes on the Isle of Portland. The research will examine the way cultural and social memories are linked to the landscape and the way the landscape preserves "memories" of its natural evolution and human influence in its topography. The Isle of Portland (Dorset) offers rich insight into a long history of mining and quarrying and is thus an ideal case study for examining the interrelation of human activity and natural landscapes.

A mixed methodological approach, spanning several scientific disciplines, will be applied to ensure an extensive analysis of community and individual understandings of post-industrial and mining environments and future imaginaries of life in these landscapes. Archival research, oral history interviews, ethnographic fieldwork, and GIS techniques for mapping the topography of significant sites on Portland will be

employed in conjunction. The research project aims to develop scalable theoretical and methodological approaches to similar post-industrial landscapes and their communities, to examine the ecological, economic, social and cultural values of such spaces and how these can be extracted and turned into positive impacts for the communities inhabiting them.