Stadsjord – urban agriculture
13th August, 2013
Contributor: City of Gothenburg
Stadsjord (“urban agriculture”) is a three year project built on multistake-holder engagement in sustainable small scale food production. The aim is to reach the development of socially, ecologically and economically resilient and create more fun in urban life.
Picture source: Älvstranden utveckling and Stadsjord, Kvillebacken.
The aim is to reach the development of socially, ecologically and economically resilient and create more fun in urban life.
Results
The key person for Stadsjord, Niklas Wennberg, (member of the Local Support Group) has been working with these issues for twenty years and today he finally sees some results. The urban farming (small-scale) has increased. More people grow in the city, small growing-boxes pops up everywhere in the city.
Benefits
People feel empowered and people think more about and are interested in what they eat. When you start small-scale you get interested and engaged inhabitants and in the future you can scale up and get a business, more self-supportive, you grow your own vegetables. In the future the city is more resilient in case of crises or unseen event.
Pro and Contra
Pro: In Sweden the growing season is rather short.
Contra: Don´t make it too complex, just dig where you stand. You don’t need particular boxes to start growing! One example: A quarter couldn’t start qrowing because the soil-boxes were not delivered in time!
Stadsjord only works on demolition areas, when new buildings are finished, then these small organisations have to move, and the work has to continue in another place, if even possible. The work needs following- up.
What are the lessons learn to be used/transferred/implemented in the other partner cities?
How do you make this successful without too much administration, and complexity? Sometimes the architects (cityplanning), when they build the new area they forget the green areas, even if the small-scale growing was working there before!
Question to the network
Is there a guideline or a manual, how to write about what was easy to do, administrate and implement this work? Examples from when you don’t have to call the government for every step, just do it, do it like this. An easy index to follow without being forced to read paragraphs, laws and take advice from a solicitor, being afraid from doing the wrong step. This often limits you/them.
References:
Niklas Wennberg, Stadjord.