Secret Gardens?
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a garden?
Maybe, you would think of the countryside, the smell of blossom in the air,
and flower beds next to a rural homestead? An activity people engage in on
the weekend when they visit their cottage houses? Indeed, this is a very
common view of gardens we're used to in our cultures.
But have you ever thought of gardens as potential public spaces that serve as meeting points for people of various social backgrounds and nationalities? and which city-dwellers can use daily to go for walks, grow their own fruit and vegetables and attend various events?
How much do we acknowledge the role green spaces like gardens play in our cities, daily lives, and communication habits? Are they just suited for growing flowers, or can they be used for other activities? Can they be made more accessible, liveable places for all and benefit more urbanites? What is their potential for social inclusion?
These were the questions my colleagues and I were addressed with by the Lund Municipality in an attempt to rethink the role of allotment gardens in Lund and what their future might look like.
Keywords: urban gardening, liveability, accessibility, inclusion
APPROACH
Here are the specific methods we used in our field research:
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Urban analysis of the physical layout of allotment gardens in terms of their accessibility, location, openness, environment, etc.;
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Participant observations of activities taking place in allotments;
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Semi-structured interviews with allotment owners;
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Autoethnographies.
RESEARCH SITE
Lund is a small student town known throughout the world for its sustainability initiatives and projects. It was a good spot to look into the topic of urban gardening, as it has a long tradition of allotments, known here as Kolloniområde (which can be translated as "colony lots"). These are small plots of land where people can grow flowers, fruits and vegetables, thereby maintaining an eco-friendly lifestyle. In the middle of the site, you can normally find huts of almost human height, where equipment for working on the ground is stored. Some have small bedrooms for overnight stays in the summer. The plots of land belong to the city, while the houses are rented privately.
History of allotment gardens
The first allotments appeared in Lund in 1905. At the beginning of the 20th century, the population of the city grew rapidly, and it became increasingly difficult for the townspeople to obtain fresh food. Initially, kolloniområde were intended to improve the living conditions and health of ordinary workers so that they could get out of crowded residential areas and breathe in some fresh air, get access to their plot of land and grow organic products. Allotments played an important role during the food shortages in WW1 and WW2.
INSIGHTS
Allotment gardens today: more than just growing plants
Swedish culture and values
One of our most interesting revelations was that allotments give you the chance to discover the life and values of Swedes from the inside and become involved, especially through open days and cultural events. For example, every year at the end of September there is an autumn festival (Höstfest) taking place in allotment gardens, which is free to attend. Here you can listen to live music, buy homemade cakes, visit locals and have a cup of tea with them in the garden and learn the history of kolloniområde in Sweden and how they came into being. For us, as researchers, this was a good opportunity to take a look inside and do some fieldwork.
As we found out, these half-hidden, half-secret places reflect a lot about Swedish nostalgia for village life, love of growing one's own food, community spirit and worship of nature. One of our informants said she felt particularly proud of being able to work on the ground and grow food with her own hands, just like her ancestors did, not being dependent on the mass food industry. This allowed her to find a balance between intellectual and physical work and get closer to the soil.
Relaxation
Allotments are often seen as a compromise for city-dwellers who wish to have a change of environment without leaving the city. They allow one to take a break from ordinary daily life, slow down a little and do things at one's own pace. Some informants compared gardening work to meditation, as digging in the ground and pulling plants let them feel more present in the here-and-now.
Socialization
People who live in apartments say they notice a huge difference in their social habits when they come to their allotments, as here they have the chance to meet people of different backgrounds and age groups that they normally don't encounter in their everyday life. Besides, they find it easier to approach others and organize something together: people feel more free and relaxed, and don't need to worry about how they look or what they wear etc. For elderly and retired allotment users, who usually spend a lot of time at home, allotments are especially valuable as a way to hang out with friends, visit neighbours and get a sense that they belong to a community of like-minded people.
Liveability
The greatest value of Lund's allotments is that they are an example of a truly liveable environment.
Liveability is a concept that is widely used in urban studies and architecture and is closely connected to the idea of what makes a happy city. A liveable place is one where common areas are hubs for social life, the environment is human-centric, accessible, safe and walkable, where people have the opportunity to take part in community life and discuss topics of common interest.
Indeed, allotments in Lund fulfil many of the liveability criteria, even though this isn't really publicly acknowledged: they offer a lot of space for walking and interacting with others; they are relatively accessible; the environment is human-centric and cosy (there are lots of benches to sit on, the houses and fences are low and covered with greenery, the paths are narrow and pleasant/inviting to stroll down). At the same time, there is still a certain degree of confusion regarding privacy, as the territory is both private and public at the same time.
RESEARCH IMPACT
Based on these findings, we worked out a set of practical recommendations for the Lund Municipality on the following topics:
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how they can work with the image of allotment gardens;
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how to make allotments more meaningful and accessible public spaces for urbanites, respecting the privacy of the locals at the same time;
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how to make allotments publicly acknowledged as an important part of Swedish cultural heritage.
To read more about allotments in Lund:
https://www.touristinformationlund.se/attractions/allotments/