The “Third Landscape” and the Rural–Urban Spaces in the South of the Community of Madrid, in the Field of Sustainability: A Case Study

Aranjuez, Spain's UNESCO-listed cultural landscape, faces significant challenges from urban expansion and rurbanization, leading to the proliferation of marginal spaces like vacant lots and roadside ditches. This study introduces a novel methodology using 'Third Landscape' concepts and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to analyze these residual areas, revealing their potential for ecological design, urban regeneration, and socioeconomic enhancement. By examining formal, socioeconomic, functional, and environmental paradigms, the research identifies 'Lost Spaces,' 'Garbage Spaces,' and 'Shadow Places'—formless, unused anti-spaces—that dominate Aranjuez's rural-urban interface. The findings underscore the need for adaptive territorial planning to transform these marginal areas into sustainable development models, offering a blueprint for balancing urban growth with ecological and social resilience in expanding cities.

Sotelo Pérez, I., Sotelo Pérez, M., & Sotelo Navalpotro, J. A. (2025). The “Third Landscape” and the Rural–Urban Spaces in the South of the Community of Madrid, in the Field of Sustainability: A Case Study. Land, 14(11), 2281. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14112281