Prioritising the places and people that need it the most
(RE)OCCUPY THE RUIN
The regeneration of depopulated settlements in mountain territories under transformation
This project investigates the recent recovery experiences of formerly depopulated settlements in the mountainous territory of the Spanish Pyrenees. Through an exhaustive study-case analysis, this research identifies the initial conditions and the strategies developed by diverse communities to re-occupy these places. These replicable strategies contribute to the sustainable regeneration and management of challenged and transforming rural territories.
Spain
Regional
Aragón Pyrenees
Mainly rural
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
Yes
2024-07-05
No
No
No
As an individual
Rural mountain areas in Europe, particularly the Spanish Pyrenees, have undergone significant changes in recent decades due to both external pressures and internal decline. While traditional practices have been abandoned and local populations have decreased, these regions are facing increasing demands for resources, tourism, and environmental preservation.
In this area many settlements have become depopulated due to the decline of local communities, leading to significant cultural and environmental losses. While this abandonment harms the remaining residents and their economy, there has been a rise in efforts to reoccupy these areas. These reoccupation processes involve various stakeholders, including former residents, tourists, authorities, newcomers, and wildlife, each reshaping the region to serve their own interests. The challenges faced in these areas require tailored strategies that prioritize the well-being of local communities and the environment.
This research uses a socio-spatial methodology to study six selected cases within a specific area, at multiple scales: territory, settlement, and built space. By combining spatial analysis, field observations, and semi-structured interviews, the study investigates the initial conditions and the actions and interests of various communities in reusing depopulated settlements. It examines aspects such as the settlement's location within its broader territorial network, the surrounding land's usage, the adaptation of landscape resources, and the spatial reorganization of settlement structures. At the built-space level, the research explores the reuse and adaptation of both tangible and intangible rural heritage.
This project highlights how the decline of certain areas presents an opportunity to reclaim and reimagine these spaces in new ways. The varying locations (nearby, remote, isolated) and conditions (pressured, shrinking, depopulated) lead to different approaches that enhance the region's territorial diversity.
In this area many settlements have become depopulated due to the decline of local communities, leading to significant cultural and environmental losses. While this abandonment harms the remaining residents and their economy, there has been a rise in efforts to reoccupy these areas. These reoccupation processes involve various stakeholders, including former residents, tourists, authorities, newcomers, and wildlife, each reshaping the region to serve their own interests. The challenges faced in these areas require tailored strategies that prioritize the well-being of local communities and the environment.
This research uses a socio-spatial methodology to study six selected cases within a specific area, at multiple scales: territory, settlement, and built space. By combining spatial analysis, field observations, and semi-structured interviews, the study investigates the initial conditions and the actions and interests of various communities in reusing depopulated settlements. It examines aspects such as the settlement's location within its broader territorial network, the surrounding land's usage, the adaptation of landscape resources, and the spatial reorganization of settlement structures. At the built-space level, the research explores the reuse and adaptation of both tangible and intangible rural heritage.
This project highlights how the decline of certain areas presents an opportunity to reclaim and reimagine these spaces in new ways. The varying locations (nearby, remote, isolated) and conditions (pressured, shrinking, depopulated) lead to different approaches that enhance the region's territorial diversity.
mountain communities
rural development
landscape regeneration
depopulated settlements
vernacular heritage
This project aims to understand the existing spatial conditions and developed strategies stimulating the recovery of declining rural locations by different local communities. These strategies respond sustainably to the diverse social, environmental, economic and cultural territorial conditions.
In lower and pressured areas, these strategies aim to restore the environment, which large-scale infrastructures and urbanisation processes have deterioration. Local communities reclaim their land that tourism gentrification, second residences and public projects had grabbed from them. Returning communities re-establish economic activities, and recover and enhance their local culture, as a symbol of resistance against external pressures.
In intermediate-valley areas, where declining communities can be found, newcomers find in vacated settlements an opportunity to live closer to nature, by establishing a connected lifestyle with their environment. The rediscover local structures, knowledge and practices as tools that facilitate their settling with limited economic resources. Their productive and everyday activities make a responsible use of the available resources in their surrounding environment. Based on a collective and participatory organisation, newcomers are able to sustain other ageing and declining communities in the valley.
In high, remote and depopulated areas, the efforts of former inhabitants focus on visiting their valued memory places. While the rewilding environment regenerates the former productive landscape, the maintenance of extensive farming practices contributes to stimulate bio-diversity, while socio-economically sustaining local communities. From a cultural perspective, former inhabitants consolidate the most valued places, preserving and transmitting local tradition.
These replicable strategies support the socioeconomic well-being of local communities, enhance local culture and identity, and protect the environmental values of mountain territories.
In lower and pressured areas, these strategies aim to restore the environment, which large-scale infrastructures and urbanisation processes have deterioration. Local communities reclaim their land that tourism gentrification, second residences and public projects had grabbed from them. Returning communities re-establish economic activities, and recover and enhance their local culture, as a symbol of resistance against external pressures.
In intermediate-valley areas, where declining communities can be found, newcomers find in vacated settlements an opportunity to live closer to nature, by establishing a connected lifestyle with their environment. The rediscover local structures, knowledge and practices as tools that facilitate their settling with limited economic resources. Their productive and everyday activities make a responsible use of the available resources in their surrounding environment. Based on a collective and participatory organisation, newcomers are able to sustain other ageing and declining communities in the valley.
In high, remote and depopulated areas, the efforts of former inhabitants focus on visiting their valued memory places. While the rewilding environment regenerates the former productive landscape, the maintenance of extensive farming practices contributes to stimulate bio-diversity, while socio-economically sustaining local communities. From a cultural perspective, former inhabitants consolidate the most valued places, preserving and transmitting local tradition.
These replicable strategies support the socioeconomic well-being of local communities, enhance local culture and identity, and protect the environmental values of mountain territories.
The investigated rural settlements in this project are highly qualitative spaces. Due to their sudden abandonment, and the lack of transforming interventions during decades, has allowed to maintain their traditional configuration, which is very particular from this region. The reactivation of these settlements allows keeping and enhancing these places of high cultural value, while enabling visitors and local inhabitants experiencing them.
The strategies applied by local communities to recover and reoccupy the settlements responds to different reasons and imply a different spatial transformation, revealing that diverse approaches for intervening and preserving these places are required.
In evicted and destroyed settlements, the intervention strategies focus on rebuilding and recovering what local communities lost. Their recovery becomes a symbol of local identity.
In vacated settlements, the remaining local structures are recycled and adapted by newcomers, as new upgraded spaces to be sustainably re-inhabited.
In depopulated settlements, the ruining spaces are consolidated and maintained by former inhabitants, as places of memory and of high cultural and historical value.
The strategies applied by local communities to recover and reoccupy the settlements responds to different reasons and imply a different spatial transformation, revealing that diverse approaches for intervening and preserving these places are required.
In evicted and destroyed settlements, the intervention strategies focus on rebuilding and recovering what local communities lost. Their recovery becomes a symbol of local identity.
In vacated settlements, the remaining local structures are recycled and adapted by newcomers, as new upgraded spaces to be sustainably re-inhabited.
In depopulated settlements, the ruining spaces are consolidated and maintained by former inhabitants, as places of memory and of high cultural and historical value.
This project focuses on rural local communities, integrating all kinds of users. It seeks to enhance a sustainable balance between different age groups, by considering their needs and limitations: children and teenagers, young families, elderly people… The research not only looks at native inhabitants, but explores the potential benefits that the integration of newcomers, or the sustainable balance of temporary visitors could have for the territory. It considers not only humans, but searches for coexistence and establishes synergies with other-than-humans.
This project has been developed in collaboration with local inhabitants, experts and the administrations. A close understanding of the everyday practices, challenges and needs of the residents were obtained through the development of in-depth interviews, spatial observations and group discussions. Local stakeholders were informed and provided feedback on the intermediate and final results of the projects, through public presentations and meetings on site.
The investigation of these pioneer experiences has given public visibility to the local communities engaged in developing them. This has the potential of attracting the interest of other potential members, or of inspiring and replicating the successful strategies in other nearby or similar areas.
The close assessment of the applied strategies and the exploration through design of other spatial interventions provide alternative solutions to deal with some ongoing challenges that local communities still face.
The investigation of these pioneer experiences has given public visibility to the local communities engaged in developing them. This has the potential of attracting the interest of other potential members, or of inspiring and replicating the successful strategies in other nearby or similar areas.
The close assessment of the applied strategies and the exploration through design of other spatial interventions provide alternative solutions to deal with some ongoing challenges that local communities still face.
Regional administrations and members of the municipalities within the study area were interviewed, to know the current issues identified by the administrations, as well as the different policies and strategies that are being implemented to deal with them. In most of the cases, they showed their interest in the results of the project and participated in the presentations and discussions, together with local citizens. They facilitated the organisation of local workshops and public discussions.
Local experts on different disciplines have been interviewed and consulted during the process. Members of cultural organisations, historians, anthropologists, ethnographers, geographers, urban planners, architects, biologists and forest rangers, among others, shared their specialised knowledge and perspective on the issues investigated. Although each specialist was individually interviewed, the insights of the conversations with other stakeholders were exposed and discussed.
This project provides an innovative approach to declining rural territories. It not only manifests the importance of looking at small rural communities, often left behind. It also identifies successful pioneer experiences and gets inspired by the sustainable strategies developed. Furthermore, it unveils other qualities and opportunities in decline, not as a catastrophic end, but as the start of new processes. This way, this research aims to transmitting a message of hope for rural territories and the communities who inhabit them.
The project identifies the diverse territorial conditions and challenges that can be found within short distances. It acknowledges the need of tackling these areas with an integrating look, developing interconnected strategies that respond to the specific territorial conditions.
The project identifies the diverse territorial conditions and challenges that can be found within short distances. It acknowledges the need of tackling these areas with an integrating look, developing interconnected strategies that respond to the specific territorial conditions.
This research applies a socio-spatial research and design methodology at multiple scales (territory, settlement, built space) in six selected study cases within the study area. Through a combination of spatial analysis, field observations and semi-structured interviews, the initial spatial conditions, as well as the interests and interventions developed by the diverse communities for the reuse of the depopulated settlements, are investigated. It scrutinises several aspects of the territory, such as the location of the settlement in relation to its functional territorial network or the use of the land in the surrounding areas. On the scale of the settlement, it analyses the use of the landscape resources and the spatial reorganisation of the settlement structure. Finally, at a built-space level, the reuse and adaptation of the remaining -tangible and intangible- rural heritage are explored.
The information obtained goes beyond the mere comprehension of the specific local cases. Some of the identified strategies can be applied in other mountain areas with similar conditions to those of the Aragonese Central Pyrenees. Many other rural territories in Spain, Europe -France, Italy, Austria, Portugal, Flanders…- and even other continents are currently facing related processes of rural decline, and the lessons learned could help local communities and administrations dealing with them. The successfully tested strategies can be adapted to the local contexts and reapplied, anticipating the detected restraints by proposing alternative approaches.
The applied research and design methodology has also proved to provide a close picture of the needs and opportunities of rural areas. An interscalar and multi-case investigation, which understand rural territories as interconnected systems is required. Combining social and spatial methods, and working in interdisciplinary teams is a crucial tool to analyse and provide efficient intervention strategies.
The applied research and design methodology has also proved to provide a close picture of the needs and opportunities of rural areas. An interscalar and multi-case investigation, which understand rural territories as interconnected systems is required. Combining social and spatial methods, and working in interdisciplinary teams is a crucial tool to analyse and provide efficient intervention strategies.
This research and design project deals with many ongoing societal challenges identified in rural territories.
Economic pressures, like the mechanisation and intensification of economic activities, the lack of job opportunities for young people, or the impact of mass tourism and gentrification.
Environmental pressures, like bio-diversity loss, landscape homogenisation, massive extraction of natural resources, rising temperatures, water scarcity and extreme weather events are particularly visible in rural environments.
Social and demographic changes also result from these transformations. Social inequalities like uneven access to basic services, population ageing and decline or social displacement, are some of them.
Local culture is severely affected by the disappearance of native communities, and the intrusion of global practices that do not respond to the local context.
As it can be perceived through this research and design project, most of these issues are being tackled by practices of resistance developed by local communities, mobilising the locally available resources and knowledge.
Economic pressures, like the mechanisation and intensification of economic activities, the lack of job opportunities for young people, or the impact of mass tourism and gentrification.
Environmental pressures, like bio-diversity loss, landscape homogenisation, massive extraction of natural resources, rising temperatures, water scarcity and extreme weather events are particularly visible in rural environments.
Social and demographic changes also result from these transformations. Social inequalities like uneven access to basic services, population ageing and decline or social displacement, are some of them.
Local culture is severely affected by the disappearance of native communities, and the intrusion of global practices that do not respond to the local context.
As it can be perceived through this research and design project, most of these issues are being tackled by practices of resistance developed by local communities, mobilising the locally available resources and knowledge.
“Prioritising the places that need it the most”: This project looks at rural territories, often left behind, as compared to the research and production that has been made on cities in the last decades. It aims to give voice to small marginalised communities, and create awareness of the many important challenges that they are facing.
The identified experiences, the analysed successful intervention strategies, and the potential alternative solutions to deal with the remaining challenges, aim to attract interest, stimulate their replication, and provide tools to local residents and public authorities.
The identified experiences, the analysed successful intervention strategies, and the potential alternative solutions to deal with the remaining challenges, aim to attract interest, stimulate their replication, and provide tools to local residents and public authorities.
