“It should be treated in a better way” – Perceived topovacancy in the participative urban planning

Abstract

Urban vacant and abandoned land has significant development potential in towns and cities around the world. In this study, we argue that a bottom-up-oriented approach is necessary in order to map urban vacancy. A pilot case study including answers from 133 participants from a small town in Central Europe demonstrates how vacant places can be defined using sketch mapping as a participation technique. The method is based on well-known concepts of topophilia and topophobia. We see the novelty of the paper in two respects: (i) we coin the term perceived topovacancy with regard to urban vacant areas, and (ii) we employ residents' knowledge as the major source of information for spatial definition of such areas. The results revealed important insights into the spatial distribution of the vacant hotspots in the town of Šternberk. They were found not only in former industrial areas but also in the town's center referring to derelict site type of vacancy. The findings are further analyzed based on the residential origin of the participants – natives and non-natives as well.