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Post- cultural town: urban wilderness in shrinking Vimperk
Singer, Kateřina
607 urban structures labelled with a city status were registered in the Czech Republic in 2019. 187 of them experienced a population decline of more than 3% between 2009 and 2019. The project presents a former important Golden Path centre, South Bohemian town of Vimperk, with a decrease of 5.9%, also showing other signs of a shrinking city in the post-revolutionary period. The study investigates one of the consequences of the process of shrinkage, gaps in the urban structure. A mosaic of indeterminate neglected spaces in various stages of decay are absorbed by the urban wilderness. The research explores the return of the landscape element to the forgotten places of the built environment and the symbiosis of this new urban landscape and local residents. Based on a personal analysis and discussions with local experts, the research identifies, documents and then subjectively evaluates 30 forgotten places. The criteria are historical and cultural value, overall character of the location, location in relation to the town, owner’s interest, technical condition and current operation. A scenario and a level of management are proposed for the selected locations, underlining the respect of the new wilderness and the birth of the post-cultural town. The popularisation of research results changes the perspective on neglected or negatively perceived outbreaks of natural life within the cultural landscape. The question remains how the new landscape will change the town planning strategy of non-growing or shrinking towns in general.
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