<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Despite rising enthusiasm for food growing among city dwellers, local authorities struggle to find space for urban agriculture (UA), both literally and figuratively. Consequently, UA often arises, sometimes temporarily, in marginal areas that are vulnerable to changes in planning designation. In the literature, spatial issues in relation to UA have either addressed structural questions of land use, governance and planning, or have highlighted social and personal benefits of UA. This paper aims to revisit and combine both streams of inquiry, viewing them as two co-constitutive forces that shape places through UA. The paper analyses three case studies in Brno, Ghent and Bristol, using a spatial lens that exposes important tensions as inherent characteristics of UA and conceptualises them as tensions within two space-narratives, namely abstract space and concrete place. It is suggested that UA, as a collective socio-cultural process, can transform functionally replicable spaces into unique places and thus contributes to place-making. This function should be recognised within urban planning circles, which should not only secure physical spaces to develop urban agriculture, but also create possibilities for local autonomous governance.</p></abstract>

Despite rising enthusiasm for food growing among city dwellers, local authorities struggle to find space for urban agriculture (UA), both literally and figuratively. Consequently, UA often arises, sometimes temporarily, in marginal areas that are vulnerable to changes in planning designation. In the literature, spatial issues in relation to UA have either addressed structural questions of land use, governance and planning, or have highlighted social and personal benefits of UA. This paper aims to revisit and combine both streams of inquiry, viewing them as two co-constitutive forces that shape places through UA. The paper analyses three case studies in Brno, Ghent and Bristol, using a spatial lens that exposes important tensions as inherent characteristics of UA and conceptualises them as tensions within two space-narratives, namely abstract space and concrete place. It is suggested that UA, as a collective socio-cultural process, can transform functionally replicable spaces into unique places and thus contributes to place-making. This function should be recognised within urban planning circles, which should not only secure physical spaces to develop urban agriculture, but also create possibilities for local autonomous governance.

Urban agriculture and place-making: Narratives about place and space in Ghent, Brno and Bristol

Countryside and Community Research Institute

Department of Environmental Studies, Faculty of Social Studies

Moravian Geographical Reports

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Despite rising enthusiasm for food growing among city dwellers, local authorities struggle to find space for urban agriculture (UA), both literally and...

Urban agriculture and place-making: Narratives about place and space in Ghent, Brno and Bristol

Published Online: Oct 27, 2017

Page range: 154 - 165

Received: Jan 24, 2017

Accepted: Jun 08, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mgr-2017-0014

Keywords
Urban agriculture, space, place, place-making, urban planning, governance, Ghent (Belgium), Brno (Czech Republic), Bristol (England)

© 2017 Marlinde E. Koopmans et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Urban agriculture and place-making: Narratives about place and space in Ghent, Brno and Bristol

Published Online: Oct 27, 2017

Page range: 154 - 165

Received: Jan 24, 2017

Accepted: Jun 08, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mgr-2017-0014

KeywordsUrban agriculture, space, place, place-making, urban planning, governance, Ghent (Belgium), Brno (Czech Republic), Bristol (England)

© 2017 Marlinde E. Koopmans et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Urban agriculture, space, place, place-making, urban planning, governance, Ghent (Belgium), Brno (Czech Republic), Bristol (England)