wasteland

 
Pronunciation: /ˈweɪs(t)land, -lənd/

noun

[mass noun]
  • an unused area of land that has become barren or overgrown: we’d creep through a hole in the fence on this bit of wasteland and play games in the bushes
  • (also wastelands) a bleak and unused or neglected urban or industrial area: the restoration of industrial wasteland [count noun]: figurative the mid 70s are now seen as something of a cultural wasteland