Integration of Sustainability Issues into the Regeneration of Urban Wasteland: From Theoretical Framework to Operational Monitoring Tool

Regeneration of urban wastelands can contribute to revitalize and densify some portions of post-industrial European cities. A growing number of urban wasteland regenerations is now promoted by diverse territorial measures. However, it must be recognized that they mostly focus on “green constructions”, leaving aside holistic aspects of the concept of sustainability. Indeed, due to the inherent complexity of these projects, achieving the objectives of sustainable development is not spontaneous. It depends upon a proactive search for global quality, integrated into the project dynamics, and a continuous assessment of sustainability tailored to these sites. In reaction, this paper presents how a strategic integration of sustainability issues into urban wasteland regeneration projects can answer these targets. Preliminary research led to the creation of a theoretical framework, validated by a test application. Consequently, steps to transform this framework into an operational monitoring tool are presented. The resulting tool aims to concretely facilitate the regeneration of urban wastelands into truly sustainable neighborhoods. Urban strategy, wasteland regeneration, sustainable neighborhood, sustainability assessment, indicator system, monitoring tool. Introduction As part of the polycentric and compact city model [1,2], the regeneration of urban wastelands is identified as a strategy to counterbalance the negative effects of urban sprawl. Indeed, it contributes to the densification and revitalization of the existing built fabric [3]. In this sense, several national European governments have developed policies and incentives to foster these projects [4,5]. Although increasing the number of wasteland regenerations is generally seen as a sustainable land take solution, these projects are not in themselves inherently sustainable [6]. Their revitalization and their densification is a “necessary but not sufficient condition” to encompass the environmental, economic and social dimensions of sustainability [7,8]. In addition, these projects must aim for a sound management of the process, in a holistic vision of sustainability. This fourth dimension facilitates a linkage between other dimensions and complements them [9]. With a land management perspective, recent tools propose ex ante approaches to wasteland regeneration in order to compare and prioritize sites for development or assess their potential [10,11]. Other studies have developed methods to assess the sustainability of urban wasteland