Hidden Potential: Transforming Leftover Space Into Thriving Community Spaces

How leftover space is created in the city?

Public space is a significant part of the urban context, the residents of the city use different urban spaces to satisfy their requirements for public space. As Carmona (2019) points out public space is an important physical place that carries urban resilience, social well-being and cultural vitality. However, the fast growth of cities has resulted in changes in the use of urban space and people’s lifestyle behaviour, and this change has been negative for some public spaces (Orhan, 2022). For example, as can be seen in Fig.1, this is part of a skywalk in Newcastle, which was originally intended to provide a safe and comfortable environment for pedestrian movement.

Fig. 1 – One of Newcastle’s ignored urban spaces, by Bingchuan Wang, 2023.

However, the space was abandoned gradually for political and economic reasons, and as a result, it has been identified by some critics, such as Oil (2021), as a space to get lost and feel uncomfortable. This greatly leads to the space being minimally used, thus making it become one of the neglected spaces in the city.

Why utilise leftover space in the city?

In fact, although these spaces are a threat, they are also an opportunity to improve the quality of the urban environment and the well-being of its residents, as Azhar, Gjerde and Vale, B. (2020) emphasise the great strategic value of leftover spaces in cities for urban regeneration. This strategic value is primarily reflected in the contribution of public space to the promotion of urban sustainability, equity, social and cultural inclusion and revitalisation, efficiency and local economic development (Perrone, 2024).

Successful precedent

Currently, there are a great number of successful examples of the renovation of leftover space in a city around the world. For example, the Castlefield Viaduct project in Manchester, UK, built in 1891, has seen the splendour of the Castlefield area, however, with the development of the ages, it was finally closed in 1969, and then abandoned for many years, as can be seen in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 – The derelict Castlefield Viaduct, National Trust, n.d..

Until 2022, it has been redesigned by designers as the city’s Sky Garden (Fig. 3), which responds to Manchester’s urgent requirement for green space and open space (Mell, 2022).

Fig. 3 – Castlefield Viaduct was redesigned as an open green space. National Highway, n.d..

Furthermore, according to Kate Picker, Visitor Operations and Experience Manager at Castlefield Viaduct: “This is already a much-loved place on Manchester’s cultural landscape and there will be different ways to experience the viaduct in the coming year” (as cited by Lorenzato-Lloyd, 2023). Consequently, the activation of urban leftover space will largely enhance the livability of cities, promote inclusive and diverse social interactions, and contribute to environmentally sustainable development.

References

Fig. 1 – One of Newcastle’s ignored urban spaces, by Bingchuan Wang, 2023.

Fig. 2 – The derelict Castlefield Viaduct. Take form: Combatting climate change at Castlefield Viaduct. National Trust, n.d.. Available at: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/cheshire-greater-manchester/castlefield-viaduct/combatting-climate-change-at-castlefield-viaduct. (Accessed: 9 April 2024)

Fig. 3 – Castlefield Viaduct was redesigned as an open green space. Take from: Project profile: Castlefield viaduct. National Highway, n.d.. Available at: https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-work/historical-railways-estate/historical-railways-estate-project-profiles/project-profile-castlefield-viaduct/. (Accessed: 9 April 2024)

Azhar, J., Gjerde, M., Vale, B. (2020). “Re-imagining Urban Leftover Spaces”. In: Roggema, R., Roggema, A. (eds) Smart and Sustainable Cities and Buildings. Online: Springer, Cham, pp.307-318. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37635-2_21. (Accessed: 8 April 2024)

Carmona, M. (2019). “Principles for public space design, planning to do better”. Urban Design International, 24, pp. 47–59. Available at:  https://doi.org/10.1057/s41289-018-0070-3. (Accessed: 9 April 2024)

Lorenzato-Lloyd, A. (2023). Manchester’s Much-Loved Sky Park Castlefield Viaduct Will Remain Open For Another Year. [online] Secret Manchester. Available at: https://secretmanchester.com/castlefield-viaduct-high-line/. (Accessed: 9 April 2024)

Mell, I. (2022). Castlefield Viaduct: Manchester’s new park in the sky could transform the city – but who will benefit? The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/castlefield-viaduct-manchesters-new-park-in-the-sky-could-transform-the-city-but-who-will-benefit-188169.  (Accessed: 9 April 2024)

Oli (2021). A line of flight? A Psychogeographic venture on Newcastle’s Skywalks. Online: taCity. Available at: https://tacity.co.uk/2021/08/09/a-line-of-flight-a-psychographic-venture-on-newcastles-skywalks/. (Accessed: 9 April 2024)

Orhan, M. (2022). “The Use of Semi-public Spaces as Urban Space and Evaluation in Terms of Urban Space Quality”. In: Alberti, F., Amer, M., Mahgoub, Y., Gallo, P., Galderisi, A., Strauss, E. (eds) Urban and Transit Planning. Online: Springer, Cham, pp. 203-212. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-97046-8_16. (Accessed: 9 April 2024)

Perrone, F. (2024). “Public Space-Led Urban Regeneration. The Identity and Functional Role of Rocco Petrone Square”.  Lecture notes in civil engineering, pp.373–382. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54096-7_33. (Accessed: 9 April 2024)