Re-emerging landscapes: militarised territories from the Cold War period

This paper is part of my research that investigates the large-scale remains of military activities from the Cold War period. The aim of the research is to provide a meta-perspective on the post-militarised spaces and their different developmental trajectories, that may lead to various outcomes, such as heritage status, requalifiaction or destruction. I am conducting the research on the evolution of the remains, the discourses concerning their transformation and the relevant heritage policies. Different case studies from the Belgian and the European mainland context are taken into account, where artefacts of Cold War military spaces are found within or in the immediate proximity of inhabited areas. Throughout the history of the modern military, different warfare techniques have created a non-linear succession of distinct military spaces. Such large-scale military heritage from the past has been subject to preservation efforts as well as thorough redevelopment. This led to structures becoming urban heritage in their original form, or by undergoing subsequent transformations. However, the transformation process of the large scale Cold War military structures brings particular challenges, due to the dual nature of the military institutions in this period, that is being both 'invisible' and 'omnispresent'. Looking at the various case studies in my research, the artefacts of Cold War military spaces are being (re)interpreted in the frameworks of different landscape transformation processes. Relating to the overall topic of this seminar, my research is presented in the light of the relevance of this research for the nowadays state of urbanism as a discipline. The paper is discussing the complex situation that arises from the perceived ‘vacant’ spaces and the ‘disappearance’ of a powerful agent such as the military. Namely, the transformation of the post-militarised structures comes in part as a result of the neo-liberal tendencies (‘less state’). Furthermore, the very transformation process is a result of negotiations performed within networks that involve a myriad of actors and agencies, with often conflicting views and agendas. The main working hypothesis is that the 'non-human' agency of the material artefacts, renders these networks as flat, rather than hierarchical structures. This in turn allows both for multiple meanings to be ascribed to the artefacts, coming from actors and agencies that are usually perceived as acting from different 'levels' (local, national, global). As a consequence, the transformation policies come as a result of the process, rather than a predefined guideline. The paper takes closer look at the transformation of the military domain in Koksijde. There, a vast area has been used by the military during few decades, resulting in significant changes to the surrounding system of settlements, while preserving certain landscape elements that were otherwise lost outside of the domain. At the present moment, there is an ongoing procedure for defining a vision as well as legal framework for the transformation of the domain that would include various non-military activities.