Post-Industrial Landscapes: Are They Threats or Opportunities?

Abstract: Even if it is widely acknowledged that the values connected with sustainable development are significant for people’s daily life and that built and cultural heritage are an integral part of it, landscape is progressively coming under threat of new development. The impact of new construction is noticed not only at nationally important sites, but also in local areas, where small changes can be very significant, diminishing landscape character and local distinctiveness. Still, the idea of sustainable development is more frequently associated with protecting the natural environment than with preserving the built and cultural heritage. This fact added to the necessity of reusing previously developed landscapes in detriment of consuming new ones, increases the need to enlarge the interpretation of the term “redevelop”, and to analyse and interpret the value and significance it should have on the particular case of post-industrial landscapes in order to preserve them. Considering this objective, this paper presents a cost benefit analysis for a set of landscape redevelopment projects implemented on six different postindustrial landscapes with different cultural and social values with the objective to put forward the main advantages and disadvantages of redeveloping this type of landscape, that may be used future interventions, thus helping to protect and redevelop relevant resources created and deposited by the industrial society, contributing for increasing the sustainability of our cities. Throughout this research, it was possible to identify a number of advantages and disadvantages of redeveloping post-industrial landscapes, in detriment of consuming new ones, associated to the three pillars of sustainability