Gardening in Public Spaces

From Comfort to Care

Abstract

In recent years, many cities in Germany have reevaluated the role of urban gardening projects in the context of broader concerns with the sustainability of food systems. Using the example of three different urban gardening projects in Munich we take a look at obstacles, resistances and conflicts that urban gardening encounters when moving into open public spaces. Our inquiry seeks to address the following questions: What challenges do urban gardening projects face? Can they be integrated into open urban spaces? And, if so, what challenges do these projects pose to design ideals of urban public space? Gardening contradicts current norms and imaginaries of what constitutes a “good” public space, which is supposed to be designed for (human) comfort. We suggest that comfort in public spaces must be re-imagined as the outcome of active engagement in the production and maintenance of urban gardens and should include the production of a comfortable space for non-human urban inhabitants. We conclude that urban gardening promotes a careful and caring use of public space.