Polish Urban Allotment Gardens as ‘Slow City’ Enclaves

Maciej Kowalewski,Robert Bartłomiejski

doi:10.3390/su11113228

Abstract

In this article, urban allotment gardens (UAGs) are discussed as one of the alternative urban development frameworks - Slow City. The UAG concept as well as the Slow City agenda aims to protect and enhance strong community relationships, decision making, civil engagement, group learning, and leisure practices for people of all ages in close proximity to green spaces. The authors argue that the statutory aims, organizational culture, and governance rules of UAGs are largely coherent with the formal Slow City agenda. The authors analyze the threats to sustainable cities and the alternative urban development agendas in the context of Polish allotment gardens. With increasing problems of soil pollution, abandoned gardens, informal housing, and limitation of access to the green areas of the UAGs for other inhabitants, the pressure to reduce the number of UAGs is reinforced.

Highlights

The role of urban allotment gardens (UAGs) in ensuring urban sustainability has been discussed in recent studies [1,2,3]
The gardens are a preserve of green space, improving the quality of urban air, contributing to the preservation of fauna species, etc., their impact may be overestimated
We argue that allotment gardens located inside cities can be perceived as a lens that concentrates a beam of sustainable urban development at one point and reflects alternative urban development frameworks, especially the Slow City concept

Summary

Introduction

The role of urban allotment gardens (UAGs) in ensuring urban sustainability has been discussed in recent studies [1,2,3]. The position of UAGs, in Central and Eastern European countries, is related both to the heritage of sociable city planning and to the attitudes of gardeners resisting economic pressures This particular situation requires more careful analysis. For this purpose, we refer to the concept of Slow City [9,10,11,12], which we argue, addresses at least some of the challenges associated with sustainable and alternative urban development frameworks. Slow City is a term describing the strategy for preserving sustainable urban development [13] or making alternative urban development strategies and regimes [9] In this sense, the concept of Slow City is a reference point, a postulate to be implemented in the whole city, and in selected spheres of its functioning or in particular areas. That the differences between UAGs and other functional and social areas of the city are due to the ‘Slow City’ concept which comprises a distinct organization, an ecological approach, principles of spatial management, and ownership relations

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion