{
  "abstract": "Our interdisciplinary study, bridging the social and environmental sciences, analyzes the impact of material flows generated by major infrastructure projects on peripheral areas: aggregate extraction and the disposal of construction waste in gravel pits radically transform rural landscapes and land use. Drawing on the case of the Toulouse third metro line project and social activism surrounding gravel pits in the Lower Ariège region, we examine the interdependence and unequal metabolic relationships underpinning the gravel pit–construction site–gravel pit flow cycle. A volumetric analysis of material flows and stocks allows us to challenge the notion of a simple circular economy often touted in regional planning documents. This approach also enables us to critique the portrayal of public works operators as virtuous developers of extractive sites—areas often viewed merely as empty voids to be backfilled for any future use. By adopting a three-dimensional perspective on infrastructure-related land—encompassing surface flows and construction material stocks both above and below ground—we can shed light on the social and political injustices arising from these inter-territorial flows, spanning the entire process from initial excavation to backfilling with cubic kilometers of waste.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Hélène Blaszkiewicz"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jérémie Cavé"
    },
    {
      "name": "Léa Sébastien"
    },
    {
      "name": "Hélène Guétat-Bernard"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sylvain Kuppel"
    },
    {
      "name": "Astrid Avellan"
    },
    {
      "name": "Laure Laffont"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6tgn35gyjn0mp.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3917/flux1.144.0055",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "6tgn35gyjn0mp",
  "issns": [
    "1154-2721",
    "1958-9557"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05753679v1",
  "language": "fr",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "hal",
      "0.sde"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "0.shs"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "1.sde.es"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "1.shs.archi"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "1.shs.geo"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3312|French Urban and Social Studies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7203628337",
  "pdf_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05753679/document",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-08-17",
  "publisher": "Metropolis / Université Paris-Est Marne la Vallée",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6tgn35gyjn0mp.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:36Z",
      "native_id": "hal-05753679",
      "source": "hal",
      "url": "https://hal.science/hal-05753679v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "hal:0.sde",
      "subfield": "environmental-science"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Land, now in 3D! Dig and Backfill: a Zero-Sum Game?",
  "title_text": "Land, now in 3D! Dig and Backfill: a Zero-Sum Game?",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:36Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6tgn35gyjn0mp",
  "venue": "Flux - Cahiers scientifiques internationaux Réseaux et territoires",
  "versions": []
}