Abstract
Urban gardening has never been a tradition in Greece. Their recent growing number is mainly linked to the economic crisis affecting particularly urban households. The deepening crisis and the increasing urban (neo)poverty began to challenge local authorities to search for alternative ways of food (fresh and affordable) provisioning. Municipal Allotment Gardens, the prominent type of institutional response, are embraced by both the local authorities and citizens as alternative spaces within city neighborhoods for ensuring livelihoods and providing a way out of the multiple effects of the recent crisis. Drawing on empirical fieldwork from three different municipal allotment gardens, this study explores the institutional and political context of their establishment and local authorities’ aspirations. In addition, through interviews and focus groups investigates motivations for applying for a municipal plot as well as lived experiences of gardeners shedding light on sustainability issues and future perspectives of these “crisis gardens”. Either driven by the economic crisis, or other motivations such as community building, psychotherapy, re-connection with nature and greening the city, these projects play an important role in the city as well as in the creation of new identities and a sense of belonging for urban dwellers. However, despite their success and their growing popularity, municipal allotment gardens are considered a short-term action of social policy rather than a long-term sustainable urban planning strategy challenging the conventional modes of land management and governance in Greek cities.
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- 1.
In 2013, 23.1% of the total population was at risk of poverty; the unemployment rate was 27.2% and people living in households with very low work intensity amounted to 19.6% of the population aged 18–59 years old, according to “Statistics on Income and Living Conditions 2013”, Hellenic Statistical Authority, Press Release, 13 October 2014. In 2013, Greece holds the third highest rate of poverty and social exclusion in the EU-28 after Bulgaria and Romania (Ziomas 2014).
- 2.
The whole domain is considered as the last unbuilt big public land in Greater Athens (620 ha) in the southeast coastline of Attica. Initial government plans during 2000s was the creation of a high green Metropolitan Park but debt crisis in 2009 foiled this perspective. The whole domain has been internationally promoted through fast track procedures as one of the largest planned real estate development project in Europe. The basic aim of the collectivity of about 100 growers and volunteers is not food production per se but an educational and demonstrative social farming project; namely based on organic farming within agro-ecology principles, maintenance of seed bank and free exchange of traditional seeds to interested individual growers and urban collectivities and support to school gardens and other community gardens . http://agroselliniko.blogspot.gr/
- 3.
PERKA was initiated by urbanites who share community volunteer work and benefits of “growing your own food organically” inspired by the principles of collectiveness and biodynamic farming. The first group began cultivating a small part for members’ needs and supporting vulnerable social groups. As more interested people are joining the initiative, nowadays there are five PERKA groups of 30–40 gardeners each in individual and common plots and about 200 people in total. http://perka.org/
- 4.
- 5.
The allotment gardens in AUTh are considered as a very successful initiative covering a huge demand of urban dwellers in the big center of Thessaloniki. It is worth mentioning that during the first open public call for a plot the registrations came up to 4.700 applications. Gardeners pay a minimum annual fee and everyone is eligible to apply without any social criteria. The principles of organic production are followed and users are obliged to have a series of seminars in regards to sustainable practices. Students and staff from the School of Agriculture provide everyday agronomical advice and support the gardeners with the help also of a bio-agronomist. People are responsible of bringing their own tools but are provided with free water by the University, which must be conserved. Seeds can also be provided, by the School, at a very low price. Today, more than 620 plots (of 100 m2) provide almost 1000 urban dwellers with the joy and fulfillment of “getting your hands dirty” as well as a great amount of fresh vegetables for their family and friends. http://eco.auth.gr/wordpress/?page_id=3425
- 6.
More precisely, municipal allotment gardens are one of the eligible categories of public supported social structures -in addition to social groceries, homeless care, social dispensaries and pharmacies, and time exchange banks- to combat crisis stress and social exclusion aiming at promoting all citizens’ integration into a society of equal opportunities.
- 7.
See indicatively the New York Times article: Αlderman (2013) “More children in Greece are going hungry” on http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/world/europe/more-children-in-greece-start-to-go-hungry.html?ref=global-home&_r=2&
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Anthopoulou, T., Nikolaidou, S., Partalidou, M., Petrou, M. (2017). The Emergence of Municipal Allotment Gardens in Greece in Times of Crisis. Governance Challenges for New Urban Gardening Practices. In: Soulard, CT., Perrin, C., Valette, E. (eds) Toward Sustainable Relations Between Agriculture and the City. Urban Agriculture. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71037-2_11
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