Urban garden as lived space: Informal gardening practices and dwelling culture in socialist and post-socialist Belgrade

Abstract

This paper considers urban gardens as lived spaces which have an important role in reconnecting with nature in an urban environment, but also as an archive of concepts related to culture and everyday life. In this context, the paper studies the character of three of Belgrade’s urban gardens and their contribution to the quality of everyday life in the large-scale socialist residential settlements built during the 1970s. Focus is placed on establishing relations between the dwelling culture, social and cultural needs and changes, and the dominant architectural and planning paradigms of modernism and post-modernism. Belgrade’s urban gardens were created and developed spontaneously (most often non-legally) as self-organized citizens’ acts. Research presented in our case studies confirms the paper’s initial assumption that the urban gardens in Belgrade are still considered marginal and certainly not representative urban practices, overshadowed by the planned urban conceptions and socio-political actions. In this sense, we may notice the lack of a systematic approach to managing these gardens, and complete absence of legislation either provided by authorities, private or public bodies or even associations. Although the urban gardens emerged in socialism outside of any rules and regulations, they promoted the values of an active relationship between the user, dwelling culture and immediate residential surroundings, and contributed to improving the dwelling culture of the “new working class” in the socialist dwelling units. Also, the gardens were not only a place for producing food in financially difficult times, especially during the post-socialist transition of the 1990s, but above all a place associated with socialization and a “sense of home”. Recognizing the benefits of urban gardens and accordingly raising awareness about this concept in the city, together with the adoption of appropriate regulations, would certainly be of immense relevance to urban gardening and generally landscape quality in Serbia.