Urban Fallows

Territories of Imagination and Oblivion

Abstract

The article introduces the concept of urban fallows as specific intermediate territories within contemporary city, which combine cultural, social, and ecological density, despite their apparent abandonment. The term fallows is derived as a metaphor borrowed from agriculture, which acquires a new meaning in an urban context: a temporary retreat from capital-centric productivity, which makes possible the emergence of alternative social and ecological processes. The text analyzes fallow lands as territories of imagination, oblivion, examining how memory and potential, nature and culture, as well as civic participation and institutional inaction, intertwine in them. The analysis combines a theoretical discussion of contemporary urban, cultural, and philosophical perspectives with empirical observations and field-based research. A central case study focuses on the area surrounding Stochna Gara in Sofia, examined through the research and practice of the multidisciplinary collective GRADOSCOPE, of which the author is a member. Situated within broader European tendencies toward temporary use and cultural reactivation of disused sites, the case serves as a basis for critically reflecting on the possibilities and limitations of integrating urban fallows into long-term, resilient urban strategies.

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