The sociocultural construction of urban wasteland
Mapping of the Antwerp Southside
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Abstract
Any process of growth, decline and transformation can be understood from a spatial reading, unraveling the traces left on the ground and observing elements temporarily unable to adapt to the flow of time: wasteland. The concept of wasteland is an artificial ‘construction’ usually linked to the idea of (un)productivity. As society changes, the productive use of land changes through time. This chapter aims to reveal the cumulative alternation of western perception in land use value. The means to read this shift is the historical cartographic analysis on the Southside of Antwerp (Belgium). As constructions of reality, maps are loaded with intentions and interpretations of the culture in which they are produced. In particular, the historical mapping of wastelands generated by industrial and agricultural production focuses on understanding the evolution in interpreting fundamental issues such as time, processes and changes related to land ownership.