The naturalization of the urban and corporate logic : how the sacred waters of Lund, Sweden, progressed into a toxic sludge hole

Abstract: In this study a landscape is interpreted from an analytical and binary theoretical framework in order to contrast and extract different social formations that have been conducive to its creation. The landscape in question is a contemporary park found in Lund, Sweden, in the province of Skåne. Lurking beneath the spatial scenery of the park, histories of transgressed and repressed social formations are found. Stories that are buried in the depth of this landscape include a landfill, a commons, that was enclosed, and a sacred water that later was transformed into something very close to a flush toilet for the globally expanding local industries. According to some philologists this toxic sludge hole is synonymous with the wellspring of Lund. The crucial point of this study is that ideas materialize in the landscape. Some of these are seemingly prone to stability and justice, whilst others are seemingly prone to risk and unfettered capital accumulation. History has morally vilified both types.