Dysfunctional Spaces in Less Resilient Places

Some cities across the UK are disfigured by areas of idle pockets of land, that remain undeveloped or ignored. This can occur due to the interaction between several factors including population loss, economic downturn, employment decline and social problems. These areas can have a negative impact on neighbourhoods; attracting anti-social behaviour or fly tipping, becoming overgrown, or simply being an eyesore. It is also possible that positive attempts to enhance the fortunes of an area, through improving the infrastructure, building houses or areas for business investment opportunities can have the unintended consequences of creating additional idle pockets of land.

These areas either no longer have a function, or have never had one and so could be considered dysfunctional. This research will aim to provide a definition of these various areas and understand why they have occurred, the impact that they have on surrounding areas and how they can be brought into use. A business model will be constructed, based on sustainable development principles, to enable a case to be made and to inform policy developments in the future.

Evolutionary economic geography and cultural landscapes, underpinned by landscape ecology will be used to frame the approach, utilising a mixed method case study approach consisting of both qualitative and quantitative methods.