The Emergence of Municipal Allotment Gardens in Greece in Times of Crisis. Governance Challenges for New Urban Gardening Practices

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.