Hiding in plain view: Vacancy and prospect in Paris’ Petite Ceinture

Abstract

Vacant lands present rich areas for inquiry not only into the uses of urban space, but also the experiences, aesthetics and biophysical evolution of cities. These spaces often host socio-ecological formations and functions that are both irregular and unexpected in urban settings, rendered invisible by the disciplining of modern Western aesthetic expectations concerning what is desirable and appropriate in cities. These lands may be vacant, but they are not uninhabited. They enable forms of inhabitation that disrupt the logic of urban development and provide social and ecological prospects otherwise unavailable in cities. The concept of terrain vague is engaged in this paper to probe vacant lands as interstitial spaces that are peripheral to mainstream, dominant urban experiences in Paris, France. The case of the Petite Ceinture railway encircling Paris is explored as an outstanding example of terrain that is rendered physically, socially and ecologically invisible yet provides astounding ecological connectivity and relatively undisturbed habitat for countless species in the midst of one of the world’s cultural capitals. It enables alternate experiences of urbanity for many people, including different types of mobility, novel aesthetic encounters, and social engagement outside urban surveillance infrastructure. As the Petite Ceinture provides unique home for wildlife populations such as mid-size mammals and rare bat colonies, it also hosts undocumented migrant groups, assemblages of youth, urban flaneurs, homeless labourers, artists, and groups conducting prohibited activities. These types of inhabitations are possible because the Petite Ceinture has been fully decommissioned since 1993, unmanaged and left largely to successional processes. This paper investigates terrain vague as a critical dimension of urban sustainability and ends by suggesting key ways that the conceptual and material underpinnings of terrain vague could be channeled through progressive urban planning and design.