STITCHING THE CITY: Reimagining a Post-Industrial District through Green Infrastructure and Mixed-Use Development
(2025) ASBM01 20251Department of Architecture and Built Environment
- Abstract
- Across Europe, post-industrial cities are under increasing pressure to grow sustainably while repairing the spatial and ecological damage of past industrialization. Disused railway yards, brownfields, and fragmented urban voids offer potential for densification-but also pose deep challenges in connectivity, identity, and livability. This project explores how these in-between spaces can be reactivated as a framework for resilient urban regeneration.
Set in Southern Kirseberg and Östervärn, an inner-edge district just 3 km from Malmö’s city center, the project responds to an area historically shaped by railway infrastructure and industrial activity. Despite its proximity to key destinations-including Lund, Malmö Airport, and Copenhagen-it... (More) - Across Europe, post-industrial cities are under increasing pressure to grow sustainably while repairing the spatial and ecological damage of past industrialization. Disused railway yards, brownfields, and fragmented urban voids offer potential for densification-but also pose deep challenges in connectivity, identity, and livability. This project explores how these in-between spaces can be reactivated as a framework for resilient urban regeneration.
Set in Southern Kirseberg and Östervärn, an inner-edge district just 3 km from Malmö’s city center, the project responds to an area historically shaped by railway infrastructure and industrial activity. Despite its proximity to key destinations-including Lund, Malmö Airport, and Copenhagen-it remains isolated, underutilized, and environmentally fragmented. As Malmö considers expanding into surrounding farmland, this site offers an alternative: to grow inward by transforming post-industrial voids into cohesive, inclusive urban fabric.
The design proposes a layered strategy of stitching, greening, and programming, guided by four core interventions:
1. Green Network as Urban Spine – Establishes a continuous ecological framework by linking existing green spaces and brownfields, prioritizing landscape first before introducing built development;
2. Soft Mobility & Urban Repair - Restores movement across the fragmented site through walkable, bikeable connections that dissolve infrastructure barriers;
3. Activating Voids through Programmed Density - Injects diverse public programs and housing into urban voids, supporting everyday life and flexible activity.
4. Reinterpreting the Industrial Past - Retains and adapts spatial traces to embed cultural and ecological memory, while activating them with new contemporary uses.
Rather than erasing the site’s past, the proposal embraces it as a foundation for future resilience. Green space acts as both ecological infrastructure and a cultural mediator. Through this site-specific, memory-aware approach, the project contributes to broader discussions
on how European cities can densify from within-repairing their fabric, reconnecting communities, and building more adaptable urban futures. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9192304
- author
- Qian, Yaxuan LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- ASBM01 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- language
- English
- id
- 9192304
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-05 10:21:47
- date last changed
- 2025-06-05 10:21:47
@misc{9192304,
abstract = {{Across Europe, post-industrial cities are under increasing pressure to grow sustainably while repairing the spatial and ecological damage of past industrialization. Disused railway yards, brownfields, and fragmented urban voids offer potential for densification-but also pose deep challenges in connectivity, identity, and livability. This project explores how these in-between spaces can be reactivated as a framework for resilient urban regeneration.
Set in Southern Kirseberg and Östervärn, an inner-edge district just 3 km from Malmö’s city center, the project responds to an area historically shaped by railway infrastructure and industrial activity. Despite its proximity to key destinations-including Lund, Malmö Airport, and Copenhagen-it remains isolated, underutilized, and environmentally fragmented. As Malmö considers expanding into surrounding farmland, this site offers an alternative: to grow inward by transforming post-industrial voids into cohesive, inclusive urban fabric.
The design proposes a layered strategy of stitching, greening, and programming, guided by four core interventions:
1. Green Network as Urban Spine – Establishes a continuous ecological framework by linking existing green spaces and brownfields, prioritizing landscape first before introducing built development;
2. Soft Mobility & Urban Repair - Restores movement across the fragmented site through walkable, bikeable connections that dissolve infrastructure barriers;
3. Activating Voids through Programmed Density - Injects diverse public programs and housing into urban voids, supporting everyday life and flexible activity.
4. Reinterpreting the Industrial Past - Retains and adapts spatial traces to embed cultural and ecological memory, while activating them with new contemporary uses.
Rather than erasing the site’s past, the proposal embraces it as a foundation for future resilience. Green space acts as both ecological infrastructure and a cultural mediator. Through this site-specific, memory-aware approach, the project contributes to broader discussions
on how European cities can densify from within-repairing their fabric, reconnecting communities, and building more adaptable urban futures.}},
author = {{Qian, Yaxuan}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{STITCHING THE CITY: Reimagining a Post-Industrial District through Green Infrastructure and Mixed-Use Development}},
year = {{2025}},
}