Transmission corridors as multifunctional landscapes: New vision and transdisciplinary approaches to shape energy futures

Electricity transmission corridors are among the most extensive linear infrastructures shaping contemporary landscapes, yet they are typically managed as single-purpose technical spaces focused primarily on grid reliability and vegetation clearance. Despite their vast spatial footprint, their broader landscape potential remains largely overlooked in planning and design scholarship. This perspective article addresses this gap by advancing a transdisciplinary framework that conceptualizes transmission rights-of-way as multifunctional landscape systems capable of supporting community recreation, ecological restoration, and climate-adaptive land management. Drawing on literature across landscape planning, infrastructure governance, and conservation science, the article examines corridor opportunities through three complementary lenses: recreation and public access, biodiversity-oriented vegetation management, and fire-adaptive landscape design. As wildfire risks intensify across many regions, proactive and integrated fuels management within transmission corridors can reduce ignition and fire spread while simultaneously supporting regional recreation networks and ecological connectivity at scale. International examples—including the Meadoway in Toronto, Canada, the ELIA LIFE + Biodiversity project in Belgium and France, the Ecological Energy Network in the Netherlands, and emerging fire-adaptive corridor design cases in the United States and China—illustrate how coordinated planning, integrated vegetation management, and cross-sector partnerships can transform transmission rights-of-way into community greenways, ecological networks, and strategic landscape buffers. By positioning transmission corridors as multifunctional landscapes, this article highlights how landscape planning and design can help guide the spatial governance, ecological performance, and public value of future energy landscapes.