Urban Wastelands: A Form of Urban Nature? [Hardcover]

Faced with the growing demand for nature in cities, informal greenspaces are gaining the interest of various stakeholders - residents, associations, public authorities - as well as scientists. This book provides a cross-sectorial overview of the advantages and disadvantages of urban wastelands in meeting this social demand of urban nature, spanning from the social sciences and urban planning to ecology and soil sciences. It shows the potential of urban wastelands with respect to city dwellers well-being, environmental education, urban biodiversity and urban green networks as well as concerns regarding urban wastelands in relation to conflicts, and urban marketing. The authors provide a global insight through case studies in nine countries, mainly located in Europe, Asia and America, thus offering a broad perspective.

PART I: Uses, rules and conflicts about nature in urban wastelands.- Chapter 1. The urban wasteland, spatial expression of a transition of uses: cross-media contributions art, ecology and geography (Cieslik).- Chapter 2. Recent developments in the legal framework of urban wastelands: to better take into account nature in the city (Chapouton).- Chapter 3. Dwelling in urban wastelands: a disputed nature (Mattoug).- Chapter 4. Between privatization and publicising, which place for nature in the frame of urban wastelands' reconversion? (Lotz).- Chapter 5. Long-standing wastelands: transactions, publicising Vs privatising and green settings on two urban wastelands in Tirana and Istanbul (Dorso & Muci).- PART II: Contaminated soils in urban wastelands.- Chapter 6. Ecological restoration of contaminated brownfield sites in urban areas: what perspectives in the context of European policies and national regulatory contexts? (Limasset).- Chapter 7. Social representations of nature regarding (soil-)contaminated brownfields in France (Tendero).- Chapter 8. Brownfield gardens and lã,