Costa, Miguel ReimãoBatista, Desidério2012-06-092012-06-092012-052227-4359AUT: DBA01766; MRC01698;http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/1228Traditional rural settlements and various landscape structures are increasingly thought to be valuable heritage as part of cultural landscapes. This paper examines questions related to the conservation and rehabilitation of this heritage, highlighting the contrasting circumstances in urban regions and depopulated interior zones. To this end, this paper looks at the central zone of the Algarve in the south of Portugal, which is notable for its remarkable diversity of typology in rural settlements and in landscape units. Based on a brief description of the traditional economy in these diverse regional areas, the principles for preserving built rural heritage are presented in the context of contemporary landscape transformation.engRural settlementHeritageDesertificationUrban regionsLandscape unitsVernacular architecturejournal article