There are complex issues concerning the goals of such programmes, in particular the identification of appropriate baselines and targets for restoration or rehabilitation. See the section above on Carrying Capacity, Ecosystem Health and Sustainability. The following references tend to take a more practical focus. They are followed by ones about landscape planning and estate management. Urban and rural landscapes gives physical expression to society's values, structures and goals.
Uniformity increasingly bulldozes over local diversity, be it physical, biological or cultural.
Some of the costs are tangible, not least those associated with the pollution from the transportation systems that now dominate many areas. Less tangible but no less important is a sense of 'placelessness', with a loss of identity and, in turn, decreased loyalty and commitment to specific places and communities. As a pop song once put it, 'everyone knows this is nowhere'. Obviously, different uses generate their specific effects on the landscape. See also the references in the sections on mining, agriculture, forestry, water supply, energy supply, transportation, tourism as well as architecture and urban studies.