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Rediscovering the Ruderal: An Alternative Framework for Post-Industrial Sites of Accumulation

Burdick, Elizabeth

Abstract Details

2011, Master of Landscape Architecture, Ohio State University, Landscape Architecture.

Ruderal is a term primarily used to describe emergent plant communities. Ruderal references the disused and vacant as a typology as well as a signal for growth; it is a concept of space based upon its potential to generate value. Ruderal species are weedy and rough, best adapted to the hostile conditions of disturbed ground. But plants are not the only species which flourish in ruderal sites. Human activities also come to fruition within ruderal sites, from the illicit and subversive to the formal and productive and many variants between. For this reason ruderal spaces are an important engine of the urban condition. They are charged with meaning, history, and contain great generative force. Ruderal sites are complex in nature, conflicted by a tendency to be labeled as empty or vacant, representing heterogeneous experiences of space. Understanding a ruderal site's history and its future potential is critical to projecting how these spaces may play a more explicit role in urban revitalization. A growing body of literature exists about ruderal space but its authors do not use the term specifically. The work does not proffer consensus among its writers and employs diverse terminology, pointing to the fact that a thorough undertaking of ruderal space has not yet been accomplished despite growing awareness of its role in our changing cities. This thesis brings together diverse voices as a foundation to propose a new framework of action and emerging mentalities for optimizing ruderal space without extinguishing its innate characteristics.

Two essential factors to understanding the potential of ruderal space include: a) top-down versus bottom-up actors, and b) levels of formality of action. While top-down actors are legitimized by political, financial and social policy, their actions have an array of associated issues. Bottom-up ruderal use is concurrently evolving with top-down forces, but the two are in conflict around demand for the same sites. Within the urban fabric, the two forces are linked; the economic gain of one influences the other although bottom-up forces are typically marginalized.

This thesis evaluates the prevailing mentalities of ruderal space, examines top-down/bottom-up paradigms and levels of formality of actions, and suggests a new framework based upon case studies and literature. The thesis proposes five emerging mentalities of ruderal space as a generator of urban revitalization which combine top-down tools with bottom-up agglomerations: exploring history, the living city, open house, location as an incubator, and long-run ruderal. The extent to which these emerging mentalities are beneficial has yet to be fully understood; they open a discussion to more empirical research. The newly constructed mentalities engage a depth of discussion not previously undertaken, and serve to open a line of inquiry.

Jane Amidon, MLA (Committee Chair)
Edward Malecki, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Jason Kentner, MLA (Committee Member)
129 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Burdick, E. (2011). Rediscovering the Ruderal: An Alternative Framework for Post-Industrial Sites of Accumulation [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1306868718

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Burdick, Elizabeth. Rediscovering the Ruderal: An Alternative Framework for Post-Industrial Sites of Accumulation. 2011. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1306868718.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Burdick, Elizabeth. "Rediscovering the Ruderal: An Alternative Framework for Post-Industrial Sites of Accumulation." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1306868718

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)