Table Of ContentCities and Nature
Francesca Di Pietro
Amélie Robert Editors
Urban
Wastelands
A Form of Urban Nature?
Cities and Nature
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Australia
CherylDesha,SchoolofEngineeringandBuiltEnvironment,GriffithUniversity,
Nathan,QLD,Australia
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·
Francesca Di Pietro Amélie Robert
Editors
Urban Wastelands
A Form of Urban Nature?
Editors
FrancescaDiPietro AmélieRobert
UniversityofTours UniversityofTours
Tours,France Tours,France
ISSN2520-8306 ISSN2520-8314 (electronic)
CitiesandNature
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Urban Wastelands as a Form of Urban Nature:
An Introduction
Whatareurbanwastelands?Howtodefinethem?Wastelandsareparticularspaces
insideandhighlyassociatedwiththecity.“Wastelands,”“brownfields,”“vacantlots,”
“vacantland,”“terrainsvagues”…Underdifferentnamesanddefinitions,common
characteristics emerge: these spaces have no official use, they are temporary, and
theyarelocatedinurbanareas.Highlyvariableinshapeandsize,intheirplaceon
the urban gradient, in their longevity and history, in their uses by residents, urban
wastelandsaregenerallypresentinallcities,whatevertheirsize.Urbanwastelands
areformerresidential,industrial,orserviceareasinvolvedinurbanrenewalorlocated
in shrinking cities, or former cultivated fields encompassed in the city by urban
sprawl.Inallcases,theexistenceofurbanwastelandsiscloselylinkedtotheevolution
ofcities:theyareanintegralpartofthem.
Growing attention is nowadays paid to nature in cities. The literature on this
topic is abundant, and the benefits of attendance and proximity to nature for the
well-beingandmentalandphysicalhealthofcitydwellersarewidelystudied.The
public authorities’ answer to this social demand for urban nature is the system of
public green spaces. Scarce in quantity and normative in quality, this answer is
todayunderdiscussionasthenatureusedbyresidentsencompassesmultipleforms:
woodland,streettreesandplantedsquares,cemeteries,privategardens,community
andallotmentgardens,outdoorsportscenters…andwastelands.
Over the last 20 years, research work on urban wastelands has been constantly
increasingandconcernsseveralscientificfields,suchasurbanplanning,geography,
socialsciences,andmorerecentlyurbanecologyandsoilscience.Thedisciplinary
fieldthathasbestdealtwithurbanwastelandsisurbanplanning,fromtheperspective
ofbuildingdevelopment.Morerecently,researchhasfocusedonurbanwastelands
in their present state, as informal spaces of nature, mainly in the social sciences
and urban ecology. However, there is a lack of a book dealing specifically with
urbanwastelandsassemi-naturalspaces.Theresearchstudiespresentedinthisbook
highlightthemultiplevaluesofurbanwastelands:valuesperse,asurbannature,and
comparativevalue,inthesenseofanalternativetopublicgreenspaces.Moreover,
weobservethatincertainpublicgreenspaces,somepieceoflessregulatednatureis
sometimesleft.Theseportionsof“wild”vegetationareoftencalled“wasteland”by
greenspacedesignersandusers.Thischoice,drivenbybothecologicalandaesthetic
v
vi UrbanWastelandsasaFormofUrbanNature:AnIntroduction
concerns,showsthatinourhighlyartificialcitiesthereisemergingapreferencefora
freerinformalnature—atdifferentlevelsaccordingtosocieties—thisuntamednature
whoseattributesarepointedoutbythephilosopherVirginieMaris:itsexteriority,its
otherness,anditsautonomy(Maris2018).
Gradually,urbanwastelandsareevolvingfromthe“mistake”thattheyoncewere
intonotonlyanalternative,butamodelofnature.
Urbanwastelandsbeingspontaneouslygreened,theyconstituteontheonehand
novel ecosystems, or emerging ecosystems (Hobbs et al. 2006), and on the other
handinformalgreenspacesinthecity.Towhatextentcanweconsiderthesespaces
asaformofnatureincities,albeittemporary?Andhowcanweprotecttheseurban
biodiversityhotspotsandtheirinformaluses?Tofullyanswerthesequestions,itis
essentialtoconsidertheecological,social,andurbanplanningpointsofview.This
bookthusexaminesthesethreedimensionsofgreenurbanwastelands,byconsidering
theirecology,thepracticesandperceptionsoftheirusersandotherinhabitants,and
thewaytheyareincludedinurbanplanning.
UrbanWastelandsasBiodiversityHotspots
Recentresearchinurbanecologyispayinggrowingattentiontourbanwastelandsand
considersthemasvaluableplacesforurbanbiodiversity.Duetotheirspontaneous
vegetation, urban wastelands occupy a special place in the range of semi-natural
spaces in cities: their management, if any, is generally rare and irregular. Urban
wastelandsarethustheleastmanagedgreenspaceinthecity.Theweakmanagement
oftheseareasmakesthemthebestindicatorsofthediversityandhistoryoftheurban
landscape,bothbeingpotentiallyincludedinthesoilseedbank(Johnsonetal.2017).
Overaperiodofyears,suchsitescandevelophabitatstructuresuniquetourban
areas(Kowarik2013),providingvaluableretreatsaswellassubstituteorstepping-
stonehabitatsforanimalandplantspecies.Asaresult,plantandanimalcommunities
developasafunctionofthecharacteristicsofthewastelanditself(itssurfacearea,
period of abandonment, type of soil, microclimate, kind of previous use, etc.) and
oftheareasurroundingit:contiguitywithothervegetatedareasorotherwastelands,
adjacentlanduse,heightofadjacentbuildings,etc.(Bonthouxetal.2014).
Due to their highly variable longevity and local and landscape characteristics,
urban wastelands may potentially host a high biodiversity. As a result of the little
intensemanagement,theymay,however,alsoprovidehabitatsforalien,sometimes
invasivespecies,arrivingthereinaspontaneousmannerorhavingbeenintroduced
into surrounding spaces. This is stressed by Machon (Chapter “Urban Wastelands
CanBeAmazingReservoirsofBiodiversityforCities”),whounderlinessomefactors
andconditionsofthisecologicaldiversityandhighlightsthattheirdiversityisoptimal
when their size exceeds a few thousand square meters, when their age is between
15 and 20 years, and when they are connected to other biodiversity reservoirs by
vegetatedlinearinfrastructures.
UrbanWastelandsasaFormofUrbanNature:AnIntroduction vii
Urban wastelands are novel ecosystems, which bring together species unlikely
to be found in other “historical” environments, as the result of human action.
Gallagher(Chapter“NaturalTransformationofPost-industrialLands:LibertyState
ParkinJerseyCity,NJ(USA)”)showsaninterestingexampleofanovelecosystem
with an urban wasteland on metal-contaminated soils (a former railyard that has
developed into a mix of urban forest shrubland and meadow, with its legacy of
metalcontaminants),wheretheplantcommunitiesareanovelmixofoldandnew
worldspeciesanddonotfollowthetraditionalpathsofsuccession.Thecontaminant
transferthroughoutthefoodweb,examinedatseveraltrophiclevels,appearstobe
minimal; exotic species better tolerate high levels of metals in the soil, and even
provideecosystemservices,asbioremediation.
Local and landscape factors contribute to urban wasteland biodiversity, as
confirmedbyMcKinney(Chapter“StrategiesforIncreasingBiodiversityConserva-
tioninCitiesUsingWastelands:ReviewandCaseStudy”),whounderlinesthebiodi-
versityfactorsofurbanwastelandsincomparisonwithothersemi-naturalspaces.In
order to increase public exposure to biodiversity, he suggests strategies to include
urbanwastelandsinurbanplanning,onthebasisofalocalprojectcarriedoutwith
manystakeholdergroups.Thisprojectledtotheacquisitionofmanyparcelsofvacant
landwithspatialhabitatdiversity,andtotheirmanagementinmaintainingdifferent
stagesofecologicalsuccessionandincreasingconnectivity.
Towhatextentarewastelandplantcommunitieslinkedtotheurbanlandscape?
Wasteland plant communities are influenced by spatial proximity, and especially
urban similarity: increasingly different urban characteristics result in increasingly
dissimilar plant communities, as stressed by Brun & Di Pietro (Chapter “Urban
Wastelands’ContributiontoEcologicalConnectivity”),whoshowthatplantcommu-
nitiesaremoresimilarinlowurbanizationcontextsandmorediversifiedinhighly
urbanizedareas.
Muratet and co-authors (Chapter “Wasteland, a Refuge for Biodiversity,
forHumanity”)alsoquestionthemigrationofplants,showingthatthespeciesmigrate
betweenlargehabitatpatches,whichthusformafunctionalnetwork,whereassmaller
sitesareisolatedintheurbanmatrix.Theyshowthaturbanwastelandsarearefuge
for non-urbanophile species of plant and insects. Moreover, linking plant commu-
nities with human practices in wastelands used as temporary housing, through an
originalstudyofobjectsfoundinurbanwastelands,theyhighlightwastelandsasa
refugeforapluralityofhumanandnon-humanspecies.
NatureandPeople:UsesandPerceptionsofUrban
Wastelands
This form of urban nature questions the residents’ perceptions. Sometimes, these
bushy,disorderedspacesarenotassimilatedtonature;sometimestheresidents’view
ofthemisnegative:theyareseenasafailureofurbanplanning.Onthecontrary,other
viii UrbanWastelandsasaFormofUrbanNature:AnIntroduction
residentsmayseeandexperience themasresources,and/or asaspace offreedom
inthecity,asapieceofurbannature.Ifso,wastelandsareinformalgreenspacesin
thecity.
Urbanwastelandsaresometimesusedasplacesforwalking,forsportingactiv-
itiesorsimplyforpassingthrough,playgroundsforchildren,areasofisolationfor
teenagers…Theseuseshaveevolvedinrecentdecades,inrelationtochangesinthe
useofpublicspacesbycitydwellers:theuseofurbanwastelandsasaplaygroundfor
children,forexample,hasbecomemarginalduringrecentdecades(Rivière2016).
Moreover, the use of these spaces, especially when they are in former industrial
areas, is not free from threats to human health (Bambra et al. 2014). Meanwhile,
urbanwastelandsareoftenimportantforresidentswhousewastelandsregularlyin
aninformalmanner.
What kinds of resources do wastelands represent for residents, and how do
local authorities interact with them? Two types of uses can be distinguished: vital
uses, as food and housing (Chapters “Dwelling in an Urban Wasteland: Struggles
forResources”and“Long-StandingWastelands”),andrecreationalactivities(Chap-
ters“LetItGrow?SocialRepresentationsofNatureonContaminatedBrownfields,”
“GettingtoKnowUrbanWasteland—ALookatVacantLandsasUrbanGreenSpace
inJapan,”“WastelandsatPort-CityInterfaces.TheSearchforWaterSpacestoEvade
theConstantHustleandBustleofCityLife”).
Through two ethnographic surveys, Mattoug (Chapter “Dwelling in an Urban
Wasteland:StrugglesforResources”)highlightsthatgreenurbanwastelandscanbe
importantresourcesforresidentsandinformalusers:gardens,farms,andsettlements
withoutalegalstatus,aswellastrafficforgrayeconomies. These temporaryuses
transform urban wastelands into self-organizing niches not only for recreational
needs,butalsoforsubsistence.Atthesametime,localauthoritiesdevelopinnovative
management plans for these areas and are willing to delegate urban open space
managementtoNGOs.
MuçiandDorso(Chapter“Long-StandingWastelands”)questionaparadox:how
to explain the long-term existence of inner-city wastelands in cities characterized
by densification, sharp land pressure, and large-scale urban projects? The lack of
official management is in no way an abandonment, and their work highlights the
informalusesandpoliticalarrangements.Oneofthefactorsthathelpstoexplainthe
longtimescalehererelates,inpart,totheplaceandroleofvegetation:thepractical
andprotectiveaspectsofnatureperformimportantservices.
Tendero and Bazart (Chapter “Let It Grow? Social Representations of Nature
onContaminatedBrownfields”)focusonakindofwasteland,contaminatedbrown-
fields, to question their representations by city dwellers. Residents link different
forms of nature to contaminated brownfields, from the wild garden to the more
domesticatedformssuchasvegetable gardensandcropfields.Alinkissuggested
between the lack of perception of contaminated urban wastelands and the lack of
identificationofurbanwastelandswithnature,althoughthemainorientationwished
fortheregenerationofurbanwastelandsisthatofpublicgreenspaces.
UrbanWastelandsasaFormofUrbanNature:AnIntroduction ix
Kim and Rupprecht (Chapter “Getting to Know Urban Wasteland—A Look
at Vacant Lands as Urban Green Space in Japan”) review the potential of vacant
landsasurbangreenspaces.Theyhaveinvestigatedtheperceptionofurbanvacant
landsandshowthatresidentswithhigherexposuretotraditionalgreenspacesintheir
dailylivesweremoreawareoftheexistenceofvacantlands.Asaresult,vacantlands
mayhaveahightendencytobeperceivedbyresidentsasanintimate,localspace,
suggestingusability.Theauthorshighlightthatvacantlandscanserveanalternative
or supplementary role in cities limited in opportunities to create new urban green
spaces.
Mazy(Chapter“WastelandsatPort-CityInterfaces.TheSearchforWaterSpaces
toEvadetheConstantHustleandBustleofCityLife”)exploresthepointsofviewof
usersofcity-portinterfaces,mostlyresidentsoftheseneighborhoods,groundedina
studyofterritorialrepresentations.Theserepresentationsareclearlydifferentfrom
theconflictualenvironmentofdecision-making.Theimageofapeaceful,breathing
space, capable of stimulating the senses, combined with moments of relaxation or
retreat,dominatesthecommentsofresidents.However,somecitizensbegformore
“controlled”naturetotransformanareathatisseenasdirty,gray,orpolluted.
PlanningNatureWith UrbanWastelands
This part of the book raises issues of power in urban wastelands, of relationships
betweenusersandpublicauthorities,andofintegrationofinformalspacesasurban
wastelandsintheformalurbanfabric,inaperspectivethatprogressivelybroadens
thespatialandtemporalfieldofview.
In shrinking cities, the quantity of urban wastelands is increasing sharply.
Conversely,inacontextofurbangrowth,wastelands,waitingtobeused,aregener-
allyscheduledtobebuiltupon.Theinjunctiontodensifycities,inordertolimiturban
sprawl,leadsurbanplannerstosystematicallyrecommendtheurbanizationofthese
“emptyplaces.”Facedwiththeuncertaintiesofurbanizationinacontextofcrisis,
this vision of urban wastelands has been renewed by the emergence of temporary
urbanism,or“tactical”urbanism(Webb2018).
Withthegrowingattractivenessofurbannature,somewastelandscanbetrans-
formedintourbanparks.Buttheregenerationofwastelands,incorporatingnewenvi-
ronmentalamenities,canleadtogentrification,asshownbyCarrièreandFarthing
(Chapter “The Regeneration of Urban Riverbanks: A Dilemma Between Environ-
mentalandSocialIssues”).Theyhighlightthattherecyclingofwastelandsinurban
riverbanksandwaterfrontshasbecomeapolicypriorityinmetropolisesaswellasin
medium-sizedcities.However,theimplementationofsuchplanningstrategiesrein-
forcesurbansocio-spatialsegregationandrevealssignificantconflictswithinlocal
planningpolicies,particularlyinrelationto“therighttothecity,”followingHenri
Lefebvre,foralltheirinhabitants.
