SCOPE AND SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES The PhD programme is geared towards the cultural and operational training of researchers in the field of landscape design and interpretation. Actions aimed at the active conservation of existing landscapes and the development of widespread quality in open spaces and their uses, in accordance with the principles of sustainability, sharing and innovation, represent responses to the increasingly broad and diverse challenges of the contemporary world. Complex project planning that gives shape and meaning to everyday spaces and contributes to climate, environmental and social crises and changes, not with technical and sectoral responses, but by highlighting the growing and cross-cutting value of landscape design in all transformations. Complex global challenges highlight the need for a change of perspective in human/nature relations, which are shaping both international policies and new widespread sensibilities regarding the configuration and use of places. The right to landscape is emerging as a key to the widespread improvement of habitat quality, access to fundamental rights and the reduction of inequalities, and the development of the terrestrial environment as a space for cohabitation and coexistence. A Green New Deal is transforming policies on climate, biodiversity, agriculture, forests, energy, transport and society in line with shared sustainability objectives. RESEARCH TOPICS The PhD programme promotes constant updating of topics and experiments, balancing critical and operational content. The identification of research topics and their development requires collaboration and cross-fertilisation between different disciplines through transdisciplinary dialogue, which is a means to an end rather than an end in itself. This working method is in line with the National Research Plan, which brings together different approaches, skills and methods to enable action on complex problems. - quality of open spaces and habitats - landscape and cultural heritage - health and well-being - social transformations and inclusive society - historical-critical interpretations - project configurations and languages - safety and risk reduction - climate, energy, sustainable mobility - environment, agricultural production, bioeconomy, natural resources COLLEGIAL BODIES The Bodies consist of the Coordinator, the Teaching Board and a Committee of scholars and experts on landscape issues from Italian and foreign universities and research institutions. Theoretical, critical, methodological and experimental training activities, both within and across disciplines, include participation in cultural initiatives, conferences, congresses, seminars and design workshops in Italy and abroad, promoting dialogue with public bodies and institutions.