On Becoming an Edgelander
Countless systems continue to unfold as we move through places, often remaining unnoticed due to their relatively small scale or because they operate above or below the threshold of human perception- like airborne pollen carried by the wind or mycelial networks extending underground. At the same time, large-scale human-induced processes stretch across thousands of kilometres, linking local phenomena to distant regions worldwide. While both the microscopic and the global perspectives stimulate the imagination, they can divert attention from the spatial domain that exists in our midst. This raises the question: what defines and includes this immediate domain between those two extremes?
In my research, I define the mesoscale as the spatial and experiential layer mediating between the microscopic and macroscopic. My central argument is that this overlooked middle domain is crucial for understanding landscapes in transition. Therefore, I investigate how these in-between spaces may be recognised, understood, and articulated.
The research is situated between the city of Groningen and Meerstad. A 170-hectare vacant area called the Eems. I reside here during my master's program. This transitional landscape, shaped by ongoing urban expansion, forms a site where the former absence of development is gradually being replaced. As such, it exemplifies a condition of spatial in-betweenness, in which the old is no longer present, and the new has not yet arrived.
