The social regeneration of brownfields as an activator of peri-urban development. The Añana salt valley in Spain as good model of brownfield regeneration

Productive and extractive districts in a state of neglect are in dire need of regeneration, especially brownfields that are in rur-urban sites and could disfigure the landscape. These elements should be considered as resources to define a new territorial value. The present paper shows an empirical example of brownfield re-cycle that produce social innovation in rur-urban sites, this case study is the Añana salt valley and it is situated in Spain. Brownfields, in fact, are catalysts of social, economic, cultural, and ecological revitalization. This aspect assigns to these elements a value of peri-urban resource for a sustainable and participatory multi-scale enhancement. The paper focus the attention on the involvement of citizens and local authorities in the re-cycle process in order to rediscover memories, avoid tensions between developers and the community, and promote integrating multiple perspectives. This paper is a partial result of a scientific research funded by Goria and CRT Foundations and INCUNA Association for the project “Master dei Talenti della Società Civile”.Brownfield re-cycle, social innovation, rural-urban redevelopment, Añana salt valley (Spain)