The Waste/Land/Futures research project is interested in what flourishing and sustainable European futures might look like in places once shaped by industry and now undergoing both ongoing abandonment and regeneration.
We are seeking answers through four European locations. Though very different, our four sites have shared histories of industry, and are now living with the effects of industrial abandonment.
Eisenerz, Austria’s iron-ore town
In the Austrian state of Styria, sits Eisenerz, a former iron-ore mining town nestled beneath the Erzberg mountain. Against the backdrop of the iron mountain, the residents of Eisenerz look to tourism and sports to revive the economic prospects of this former iron-ore mining town.
Nalbach and Schiffweiler, Germany’s coal towns
In Germany’s Saarland, a region born from coal and steel, following the closure of the mines, local communities are searching for futures for a region whose identity has been rooted in coal.
Caraorman and Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania’s fishing villages
In Romania, we are working in two former fishing villages, Caraorman and Sfântu Gheorghe, located in the beautiful Danube Delta. Once a hub of Romania’s fishing industry, Caraorman and Sfântu Gheorghe are reinventing themselves as eco-tourism destinations.
Glasgow and Rutherglen, Scotland’s centres of industry
In Scotland, the city of Glasgow and neighbouring town of Rutherglen, two hubs of the British Empire, were home to a broad range of industries from chemical works to shipyards, and coal mines. But with these industries gone, the area’s once most dependent on and shaped by these industries are seeking to regenerate sites of abandonment for a brighter future.