Vacancy as a laboratory: design criteria for reimagining social-ecological systems on vacant urban lands

Abstract

The complex socio-economic conditions underlying (temporary) vacant urban landscapes have produced a wide range of spatial outcomes. Solutions to address these diverse spatio-temporal conditions inherently call for a range of design approaches. This paper, through literature and project review, introduces a conceptual design framework consisting of four criteria integral for developing sustainable solutions for repurposing vacant urban lands: (1) environmental justice and ecological democracy; (2) ecosystem services and urban biodiversity; (3) aesthetic experiences, and; (4) programming. By examining five case studies, I reveal a number of different and innovative ways in which these criteria can be integrated and deployed to transform urban vacant lands. Here, vacancy becomes a laboratory for testing and implementing new social-ecological systems across a range of spatial and temporal scales. This requires experimentation in the development of alternative planning and design strategies, including new public participation models, policy frameworks and funding mechanisms.