As contemporary governments and citizens increasingly demand that reclaimed landfills be many things to many people — energy producers, social nodes, memorials — and also that they interface with local infrastructure, we would do well to study the historical precedent of Monte Testaccio... [whose] longevity and vitality make it an ideal model of what a landfill can become: an agent of civic engagement and an urban catalyst. This is the promise of landfill reclamation. — Places Journal
The reuse of waste and remediation of landfills have inspired some of the most innovative contemporary landscape and urban design projects. On Places, Michael Ezban looks back two millennia and explores Monte Testaccio, the great garbage dump of imperial Rome. In this enduring landform — "a mountain of detritus in a city of storied hills" — he finds a dynamic precedent for landfill reclamation.
2 Comments
Despite the great resource that is the historical precedent of Monte Testaccio, I'm sure the chemical compositions that make landfills today in contrast to two millenia ago will be a key factor in determining how a locality will deal with it.
Regardless, the case study must be paired with contemporary technologies and developments in symbiosis to more fruitfully return a landfill to a natural and usable state.
I spent a memorable evening in Testaccio last time I was in Rome. Nothing like driving back home at sunrise with an Italian behind the wheel!
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