Urban Gardens Integration
The aim of the project is to contribute to the sustainable development of allotment and community gardens in Poland and Germany. Our intention was to examine both forms of urban gardening and the process of transforming them into open spaces, available for residents and meeting needs of different local groups.
Based on our surveys conducted between 2019-2021 in Warsaw and Berlin, we sought to systematise the complex facets of integration processes in three different forms of integration that contribute to the transition of allotment gardens to open and inclusive structures by means of their protection. These are understood as practices performed by gardeners, which gradually result in the production of new multifunctional urban landscapes. The first form is dialogue and cooperation among gardeners of different types and it represents the intangible dimension of integration based on common interests and practices. The second refers to the opening of allotment gardens, understood as the reinforcement of boundary activities (i.e., the negotiation between external actors and gardeners and the physical opening of the gates). The third relates to the design of a common space by establishing community gardens within the allotments - conversion of an allotment plot from individual to community use.
The research has been conducted using participatory action research, which assumes close cooperation of researchers with gardeners and people living in the vicinity of the gardens. Our aim was to initiate cooperation between garden representatives, moderating focus groups and workshops conducted using the VISIS method. An important part of the project was the exchange of experience between gardeners from Germany and Poland.
The project was coordinated by Humboldt University of Berlin and University of Łódź with funding from Deutsch Polnische Wissenschaft Stiftung. Gefördert aus Mitteln der Deutsch-Polnischen Wissenschaftsstiftung. Projekt wspierany przez Polsko-Niemiecką Fundację na rzecz Nauki.
Project's website: https://www.integrationgardens.com/
