From landscapes of abandonment to tourist experiences: Shifting imaginations and practices of modern ruins

Abstract

Over the last fifteen years, landscapes of abandonment have proliferated in everyday visual culture. This phenomenon is caused by the development of a contemporary aesthetics of modern ruins in the medias and art galleries, along with the popularization of the practice of urban exploration. This increasing visibility of abandonment both reveals and fosters deep transformations of how modern ruins are perceived, practiced and valued in Western societies.

This presentation aims to analyze this shift in spatial representations and practices through the lens of abandonment tourism, which is the commercial exploration of abandoned spaces organized by private companies. What does abandonment tourism reveal about current shifts in material and symbolic appropriations of landscapes of abandonment?

This presentation draws on the results of a doctoral dissertation in geography in which we studied tourist appropriations of abandoned places. This work is based on a cross-case analysis of Berlin (Germany) and Detroit (USA). Its methodological framework is based on a mix of qualitative methods including a comprehensive literature review, participant observation, formal and informal interviews with participants, organizers, institutional actors and inhabitants as well as an analysis of online material.

First, we discuss three main reasons for the evolution of the collective imaginations and values associated with landscapes of abandonment. The broad circulation of a photographic corpus dedicated to contemporary ruins increases their aesthetic value; the popularization of urban exploration gives them an experiential value; and the promotion of a frontier imaginary makes exploring abandoned sites a socially distinctive activity and thus gives these places social value. All three elements contribute to redefining abandoned spaces, previously considered unattractive, as desirable.

Then, we show that these shifting imaginations foster the development of new ways of using abandoned spaces. Focusing on abandonment tourism, this paper offers a geographical definition of such practices. It particularly stresses the physical and emotional dimension of the relationship to space specific to this form of tourism. In this section, we also show that abandonment tourism embodies a convergence between subversive practices such as urban exploration on the one hand and the trendy off-the-beaten-tracks urban tourism on the other hand.

Finally, this paper critically discusses the consequences of such practices on abandoned spaces. It suggests that abandonment tourism can be considered as a way of neutralizing subversive forms of experiencing and using space developed in modern ruins and of making them comply with normative urban standards. Thus, the case of abandonment tourism ultimately shows that landscapes of abandonment, initially considered repulsive, are increasingly seen as resources for market-oriented modes of producing urban space.