As climate change intensifies, it threatens not only physical landscapes but also the natural and intangible heritages tied to them. Communities linked to place-based cultural knowledge are particularly vulnerable—not only to climate variability itself, but also to the unintended consequences of poorly contextualized adaptation strategies.
Recognizing and integrating traditional ecological knowledge into spatial planning offers a pathway towards more inclusive and adaptive responses to environmental and socio-cultural challenges.
Examples in Mozambique and Georgia
Traditional Ecological Knowledge, alongside spatial planning, can allow us to understand the climate-related vulnerabilities that some regions and cities have and know best to address them.
At TSPA, we work to demonstrate how spatial planning can serve as a vessel to preserve and evolve cultural memory by safeguarding traditional livelihoods and fostering regional identity in two entirely different regions: Mozambique and Georgia.
Mozambique
During our work in Mozambique's Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago, we supported one of the first regionally led development plans co-created alongside a local planning office.
The region faces increasing risks of cyclones, coastal erosion, and mining-related deforestation, all posing potental threats to the ecosystems and livelihoods rooted in fishing, small-scale agriculture, and oral governance traditions.
The plan created reframes environmental protection as recovery rather than restriction and is heavily rooted in local prorities and practices. The plan incorporates strategies assessed against mapping climate risks and creating zoning strategies to reduce settlement in hazardous zones.
Georgia
In the Borjomi region of Georgia, we developed a spatial vision for Bakuriani and surrounding towns, balancing sustainable tourism, economic growth with local needs in a fragile mountainous ecosystem.
Here, landscape and heritage intersect through seasonal agricultural traditions, architectural relics, and unique landscapes.
The area’s highland farming traditions, mineral springs, and seasonal land-use patterns are under threat from chaotic construction and climate-driven hazards like floods and landslides.
The plan integrated protection of the Emerald Network and other ecological corridors with a strategy to revitalize depopulating villages through cultural and nature-based tourism.
It proposed development boundaries, infrastructure improvements, and the reactivation of traditional uses of land and landscape as part of a broader regional identity.
Heritage isn’t frozen in the past; it is a framework for managing the future.
These projects demonstrate how spatial planning can be more effective and legitimate when it draws on local, intangible knowledge systems.
Spatial urban planning is the key to integrating environmental, cultural, and socio-economical objectives across regions because, with this approach, planning is seen not as a barrier but rather an opportunity.
