Research project

The aim of the project is to contribute to the sustainable development of allotment and community gardens in Poland and Germany. Our intention is 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. By creating spaces for work, education, integration in gardens, as well as increasing biodiversity, the level of social dialogue and living standards of urban residents can increase.

In the next months we will analyse existing activities which are bringing allotment and community gardens together. We want to develop potential paths for integration of both forms of urban gardening on the example of Warsaw and Berlin, as well as to strengthen the position of allotment and community gardeners in negotiations with local authorities and investors planning to allocate gardens for the new development.

For this research, ‘integration’ is also defined as the process of creating a space for the exchange of experience between allotments and community gardens, which will enable the joint rethinking of the essence and function of urban gardens. The result of such integration would be the creation of a new model of urban gardens, reaching different age, gender, education, social background, as well as highlighting important social functions by showing their impact on the improvement of the quality of life in the city. Integration can take place at a material or conceptual level. In the first case, integration is tested in the field and concerns the implementation of instruments specific to one type of garden in another (e.g. a greater order characterizing allotment gardens or the use of one plot of land in an allotment garden for community use). The conceptual dimension relates primarily to joint development, discussion space and integration activities (cooperation with social organizations, joint learning, discussion forum, joint celebration).

The research will be conducted using participatory action research, which assumes close cooperation of researchers with gardeners and people living in the vicinity of the gardens. We will be responsible for initiating cooperation between garden representatives, moderating focus groups and workshops conducted using the VISIS method. An important part of the project will also be the exchange of experiences between gardeners from Germany and Poland.

The project is 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