Sustainable urban wasteland regeneration
Quartier Ecoparc © Bauart 2011
In a context of urban densification, disused areas constitute an interesting potential to regain surfaces for new functions in the built-up environment. Their regeneration indeed allows foreseeing simultaneously an increasement of built density and a revitalization of certain portions of cities. By synthesizing research results published recently in a book, an interview of Prof. Emmanuel Rey of the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) published in the newspaper "Le Temps" enables an update on key issues inherent to these particularly strategic sites.
The notion of urban wastelands designates rather large areas of at least 5000 m2, unused or under-used, of which the former industrial, railway, infrastructural or military purposes no longer correspond to the evolution of the area concerned. The book published recently by the "Presses universitaires of Louvain" shows that regenerating these urban wastelands is a solution to densify qualitatively the city, to minimize land consumption and to limit the impacts generated by urban sprawl. In fact, we are now witnessing an urban turnaround: the specialists putting in evidence the necessity, in a sustainability perspective, to concentrate housing and activities around the vital polarities of the city.
"Sustainable building is planning for the future, thinking of the next thirty to fifty years. However, we are already in a so-called "long life society". In this context, there is awareness that future needs would be better addressed in urban areas, which leads to the emergence of a target group ready to live in cities if attractive housing and services are available. In that perspective appears the potential of wastelands as abandoned sectors next to the heart of cities. Their regeneration can precisely offer an adapted potential to meet this evolution" underlines Emmanuel Rey.