Waste Landscapes: Permissible Metaphors in Landscape Architecture

Abstract

Urban waste disposal and treatment “institutions”—facilities and systems built to store and manage solid waste, wastewater, and toxic waste—have been commonly ignored by the public and disguised by design professionals. This article reviews public attitudes toward waste and design practice of waste landscapes. It highlights the fulcrum of change, the shift that braced the emergence of contemporary art and design projects dealing with waste landscapes Through an analysis of current waste-related design projects, innovative approaches that transform existing waste disposal and processing sites into productive, inviting, and publicly accessible places are emphasized. This essay advocates ways to bring people closer to waste sites and facilities by integrating waste management activities with parks and the everyday environment throughout the city fabric and ways to develop a workable urban scheme that transforms the burden of waste management into a normal and routine activity in which everyone participates.