A vacant lot by any other name.

Unused and empty, forgotten, and unloved spaces: what should be done with vacant lots?

As defined in the Sheffield Forgotten Spaces competition these "unused and neglected areas... could be a small plot of land, an underpass, or an empty building." Each of these "gaps within the urban fabric both detach and isolate communities," as stated by London development organisation Urban Matters. How then can these "wasted spaces" be used for the good of the community?

Community gardens: Urban Matters builds allotment gardens in vacant lots to fill "the basic need for food and outside space for socialising and recreation." Removable structures leave land owners future options while providing locally grown food in the present. The Community Space Challenge led by Catch 22 brought young people to green spaces across England, teaching valuable stewarding skills while bringing life into local gardens.

Art work: The Wasted Spaces Project brought art displays into empty shops in Brent in 2009. Today the Wasted Spaces art organisation continues to "bring quality art to new places and people" through creative urban installations.

Creative outlet: The Come to Your Senses project mapped visitor emotions and ideas for empty spaces across Cardiff and discussed these ideas at the Cardiff Design Festival. Forgotten Spaces competitions in London and Sheffield gave designers cart blanche to create new uses for empty spaces, resulting in designs for cafes, museums and parks to name a few.

How do you think we should bring life back to these spaces?

Tale of the gap

Once upon a time, in the Bristol Harbourside, there stood an old warehouse on Narrow Quay. Then along came a demolition team who knocked down the old warehouse in the 1970s and left the space empty. Buildings rose and grew around the space leaving only an empty gap.

Grass began to grow and the Arnolfini arts centre moved in on the southern side in 1975, but still the space remained empty of people.

Thistles and nettles began to grow and the Architecture Centre moved in on the northern side in 1996, but still the space remained empty of people.

Charmed by this rural "garden" the artists Lois and Franzizka Weinberger placed a plaque on the forbidding gate in 2006, but still the space remained empty of people.

Today the gap space remains an urban wilderness growing in the gap space between its grand neighbouring buildings. It has such potential, it has such high aspirations, but still remains empty of people. Can you help bring people back to the gap space?

This blog aims to raise awareness about this forgotten space and make it a vibrant part of Bristol Harbourside, but we need your ideas, your enthusiasm and you to bring the people back to the gap. Please share your comments below or speak with Ms. M. T. Space directly on her Twitter, and most of all- watch this space!