ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with the positive values and functions that local residents attributed to the officially derelict sites. The conventional perception of derelict land is almost wholly negative, and there are very good and powerful reasons for this. The negative aspects of derelict land are emphasized in the definition used by the Department of the Environment and local planners, that is, 'land so damaged by industrial or other development that it is incapable of beneficial use without further treatment'. Derelict land that had a relatively open aspect was seen by many as preferable to continuous buildings and it was valued for it role in breaking up a high density urban landscape. In the vacuum created by the decline of traditional industrial land uses, and the inability of planners and politicians fully to cope with the changes, there has been a tendency for some communities to take matters into their own hands.
