Ambiguous Liminalities – Emotional Attachments and Socially Contested Potentials of Vacant Spaces in a Structural Change Region

Within the framework of my JTC project and doctoral research, I investigate the significance of vacant buildings and sites in the Central German Mining District (Mitteldeutsches Revier). The focus is on places that are often considered “abandoned” yet exist in complex transitional states between former use and potential future repurposing. Particularly in structural change regions such as southern Saxony-Anhalt, which have already been shaped by earlier transformations and disruptions, vacancy manifests in diverse forms: ruins reduced to their foundations along rural paths, (formerly) imposing industrial complexes in small towns, partially empty residential blocks in once-vibrant housing estates, or seemingly untouched buildings lying dormant like in a “Sleeping Beauty” state in city centers.

Starting from the premise that vacant spaces are more than mere problem sites, general open spaces, or development reserves of a capitalist city, the project asks how emotional attachments, ascribed meanings, and informal practices of appropriation unfold around these places. A wide range of actors is considered, including nearby residents, former users such as industrial workers, urban explorers, artists from graffiti or photography scenes, socio-cultural initiatives, and precarious users. Despite the diversity of access, expectations, and uses, many of these actors engage with vacant spaces beyond formal planning processes – often “under the radar” – and inscribe them with new, sometimes contradictory meanings in the “in-between.”