“a conceptual framework consisting of four factors: (1) qualities of the space; (2) types of activity; (3) time and duration of activities; and (4) originator of the activity.” (Franck, 2013, p. 154)
Franck focuses on activities carried out within the space:
“Activities, not only spaces, are prominent in the framework I have outlined, for it is through their actions that people produce a space, often regardless of its name or intended purposes” (Franck, 2013, p. 168)
Franck singles out the wild and overgrown for signs of abandonment:
“Whether the sites are empty buildings, remnants of buildings, empty land, or some combination, they are frequently derelict and deteriorated, possibly wild and overgrown. The wildness, the strange configurations of building remnants and overgrown trees and plants and mysterious clues to past uses all make such sites extremely interesting to explore” (Franck, 2013, p. 154)
Terrain vague space is unoccupied and free like many public spaces:
“Curiously enough, this is a quality of most traditional public spaces as well: sidewalks, squares, and parks are highly accessible and easily appropriated for activities they were not intended to accommodate, activities that may then be contested by the authorities.” (Franck, 2013, p. 156)
Some public spaces do not have any uses:
“Some leftover public spaces, often next to transit routes or at the edges of bodies of water, have no intended use whatsoever, being then even emptier and more available for appropriation than other public spaces”
Terrain vague spaces “exist outside the city’s effective circuits and productive structures”:
“This marginality could be geographic, economic, social, or temporal. Abandoned industrial sites may be geographically remote from the current everyday life of the city and not easily visible or controllable. They may also be socially and economically marginal, as they are remote from daily life and produce no revenue.” (Franck, 2013, p. 157)
Franck, K. A. (2013) ‘Isn’t All Public Space Terrain Vague?’, Terrain Vague: Interstices at the Edge of the Pale, p. 153.