Land, now in 3D! Dig and Backfill: a Zero-Sum Game?
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.
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BibTeX
@article{blaszkiewicz2026land,
title = {{Land, now in 3D! Dig and Backfill: a Zero-Sum Game?}},
author = {Hélène Blaszkiewicz and Jérémie Cavé and Léa Sébastien and Hélène Guétat-Bernard and Sylvain Kuppel and Astrid Avellan and Laure Laffont},
journal = {Flux - Cahiers scientifiques internationaux Réseaux et territoires},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.3917/flux1.144.0055},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05753679v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Land, now in 3D! Dig and Backfill: a Zero-Sum Game?
AU - Hélène Blaszkiewicz
AU - Jérémie Cavé
AU - Léa Sébastien
AU - Hélène Guétat-Bernard
AU - Sylvain Kuppel
AU - Astrid Avellan
AU - Laure Laffont
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/17
JO - Flux - Cahiers scientifiques internationaux Réseaux et territoires
DO - 10.3917/flux1.144.0055
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05753679v1
AB - 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.
SN - 1154-2721
SN - 1958-9557
ER -