Recovering unused urban spaces

Description

Recovering unused urban spaces involves identifying, reclaiming, and repurposing neglected or abandoned areas within cities for productive community use. This strategy addresses urban blight, safety concerns, and inefficient land use by transforming vacant lots, derelict buildings, and underutilized infrastructure into parks, gardens, cultural venues, or affordable housing. Practical actions include site assessment, stakeholder engagement, cleanup, and adaptive redevelopment, thereby revitalizing neighborhoods, fostering social cohesion, and enhancing urban sustainability.

Claim

As cities expand, free space, and even free air, are engulfed by urban equipment. Increasing numbers of high-rise buildings, with their numerous residents, keep changing the relationship between people and the land. Wise planning for the full enjoyment of free time can help recover the lost spaces and enliven neighbourhoods, adding to the quality of life. In crowded cities, particularly, advantage should be taken of all possible facilities, from schoolyards, churchyards, clubhouses, public squares and parks to spaces in shipping centres and the like. Friends and neighbours can then find the available social space to have fun together, near home at all times of the day, in the security of a known community.