Demarcating, modeling, mapping: On the interactions between forward-looking perspectives and two contrasted geographical objects, the Landes of Gascony forest and the Garonne-Gironde river-estuarine environment
Through the comparison of two exercises led by the authors, this paper offers an exploration of the tradeoffs between expertise and creativity that are inherent to the creation of forward-looking scenarios. Both geographical objects whose futures are considered in our cases are located in southwestern France. These two objects present contrasted features: the forest area of the Landes of Gascony and the Garonne river and its estuary. Considering the interlinkages between the construction of these objects and the foresight process, we highlight and discuss three key dimensions in the potential reshuffling of the relationships between expert and creative perspectives: the boundaries of the object, the use of modeling and the role of mapping.