Recycling our view on wastelands

[en] A wasteland is a category of urban open space widely recognised as a resource. An apparently abandoned piece of land primarily serves as a space for discovery. Even if this is evident, a wasteland is generally considered from a mono-functional perspective. Research on the subject of wasteland is usually oriented towards the application of a single analysis, which this contribution examines for its limitations. This paper reflects on how to fill this gap, taking ‘En Ster’ wasteland in Liège as a laboratory. It assumes that a wasteland contains more than one meaning that may support a planning and design process, and by activating a dialogue between different landscape analyses on the same wasteland, it reveals multiple meanings. Rethinking a wasteland beyond its boundaries could support the protection and valorisation of the city's ecological and social dimensions.

Research Center/Unit :

Laplec
Lepur : Centre de Recherche sur la Ville, le Territoire et le Milieu rural - ULiège
SPHERES - ULiège

Disciplines :

Human geography & demography
Architecture

Author, co-author :

Dallatorre, Giacomo ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géographie > Service de géographie rurale (Laboratoire pour l'analyse des lieux, des paysages et des campagnes européennes LAPLEC) ; Landscape Design Lab, DIDA, Department of Architecture, University of Florence

Schmitz, Serge ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géographie > Service de géographie rurale (Laboratoire pour l'analyse des lieux, des paysages et des campagnes européennes LAPLEC)

Language :

English

Title :

Recycling our view on wastelands

Publication date :

04 February 2026

Journal title :

Landscape Research

ISSN :

0142-6397

eISSN :

1469-9710

Publisher :

Informa UK Limited

Pages :

1-18

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Development Goals :

11. Sustainable cities and communities

Additional URL :

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/01426397.2026.2616502

Name of the research project :

PAVU: Recherche transversale sur les rôles des Paysages-Versants dans le métabolisme Urbain,

Funders :

ULiège - University of Liège

Funding number :

FSR 2022

Available on ORBi :

since 06 February 2026

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3 (3 by ULiège)

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