Urban landscapes formerly shaped by heavy industry are evolving all over the world. The associated processes enhance the evolution of a new kind of wilderness. In regions such as the German Ruhrgebiet, vast post-industrial areas have already been re-colonised naturally by forests. These new types of urban woodlands are often overlooked by ecologists, foresters and planners. The book provides a first concise overview of ecological features and potential social functions of this new kind of urban wilderness. The general chapters provide introductions and conceptual approaches from the perspectives of ecology, environmental sociology, forestry, nature conservation and landscape architecture. They are illustrated by a broad array of case studies from England, Germany and Japan.