1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Bielefeld
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Transition Town Gemeinschaftsgarten
Short description of the intervention
Along the 'Green Belt' (Grünen Band) in Bielefeld, which connects several urban grave lands with a continuous path, the organisation of Transition Town Bielefeld created a community garden to replace the permaculture garden in Bleichstrasse. (8) Thanks to its location, apart from the food production, the garden increases the environmental quality of the site serving as a green transition between the grey areas and the city. This function is in line with the overarching mission of Transition Town Bielefeld to promote energy and cultural transition in the city through different initiatives. (7) The community garden initiative was started in 2013 and welcome citizens to take part in the maintenance, planting and other gardening work of the garden or simply to enjoy its beauty since its launch in 2015. The project has a bigger goal towards sustainable development of urban infrastructures and social equity (1,2).
Address

Heeper Str. 145
33607 Bielefeld
Germany

Area boundary
POINT (8.558925 52.023658)
POINT (8.558914 52.023724)
POINT (8.55922 52.023765)
POINT (8.55951 52.023616)
POINT (8.559456 52.023548)
Total area
500.00m²
NBS area
500.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2013
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2014
End date of the intervention
2015
Present stage of the intervention
Goals of the intervention
1. Self-sustaining food production (1);
2. Regeneration of the areas near the grey infrastructure (2);
3. Establishment of an urban garden as one of the core activities of the local community (1);
4. Creation of alternative ways of communal recreation (1);
5. Non-commercial food production (1).
Quantitative targets
Unknown
Monitoring indicators defined
Unknown
Implementation activities
Unknown
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Grey infrastructure featuring greens
Railroad bank and track greens
Community gardens and allotments
Community gardens
Please specify the number of plots or allotment gardens
Unknown
Vegetation Type
Amenities offered by the NBS
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Provisioning services
Food for human consumption (crops, vegetables)
Cultural services
Recreation
Social and community interactions
Scale
Spatial scale
Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Governance
Governance arrangements
Non-government actors
Non-governmental organisation (NGO) / Civil society / Churches
Citizens or community groups
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
The Transition Town Bielefeld movement rents out space of ca. 500 square meters for the community garden from the local municipality (2,9).
Key actors - initiating organization
Land owners
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Non-government organisation/civil society
Citizens or community group
Land owners
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
Unknown
Please specify the "Regional Directive/Strategy"
The foundational concept of the German Permakultur-Akademie was included in 2006 in the UN Decade Program "Education for Sustainable Development" (6). Permaculture is a key concept for the development and application of ethically based guidelines and principles for the planning, design, and maintenance of viable habitats (including community gardens). The focus is on food production, energy supply, landscape planning and the design of social (infra) structures.The basic idea is an economy with renewable energies and near-natural material cycles in the sense of an ecologically, economically and socially sustainable use of all resources. (3).
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Unknown
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify the general plan with GI/NBS section
Since 2015 Bielefeld municipal government started to officially develop community gardening as a part of the city development strategy "Social City". Example: Sieker Garden built in 2015. (6)
If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Please specify
A Network "The Solidarity of Agriculture" aims to create a balanced producer-consumer community by means of introduction of urban gardening initiatives. It is a network with numerous Initiatives in Germany (5).
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Please specify
Transition town Bielefeld receives funds only through crowdfunding (1). The city of Bielefeld subsidies only its own "Social City" project - a government-led initiative inspired by the community gardening idea.
Co-finance for NBS
Yes
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Financing
Total cost
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Unknown
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
Unknown
Type of fund(s) used
Non-financial contribution
Yes
Type of non-financial contribution
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
Business models
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Type of innovation
Please specify social innovation
A community garden "Transition Town Bielefeld" is a space for local production of food and goods, local possibilities for repair and conversion and the support of social life and community. In order to support this kind of social network, players both from bottom-up as well as top-down approaches are needed. The initiative group of "Transition Town Bielefeld" follows the principles of a post-growth society and plays an important role enhancing a green civil movement. On the contrary, the urban planning regulations and local government interests are defining the development of spatial structures in the city. The collaboration of these players is of prime importance and creates unique governance scheme (4).
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
The NBS is a part of the transnational Transition Cities movement. It derives the experience from Transition Town Totnes (TTT), a community-led and run local charity in Totnes, England, that exists to strengthen the local economy, reduce our environmental impact, and build our resilience for a future with less cheap energy and a changing climate. (5)
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
The formal intervention was copied in the Sieker community garden realized within the government-led program "Social city" (4)
Impacts, benefits
Description of environmental benefits
The Community Garden is part of a Green Belt created along the railroads to increase green space in the area and restore previously derelict areas. (7)
Economic impacts
Description of economic benefits
Unknown
Social and cultural impacts
Description of social and cultural benefits
Unknown
Type of reported impacts
Indicators
Unknown
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
Many of the community garden and sustainable food production and consumption events of the Transisiton Town Bielefeld has been cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic, however, data on how the pandemic has affected the Transition Town Garden is not available as of August 2020.
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Unknown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Yes
Mode(s) of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment
Please specify other modes of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment
Informal communication, community meetings for opinion exchange (7)
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Yes
Please specify
Collective decision-making
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Documents relevant to the intervention
Attachment Size
Bielefeld Post-Growth Society Research (70.94 KB) 70.94 KB
Community Gradening Brochure (7.85 MB) 7.85 MB
Transition Town Initiatives (2.99 MB) 2.99 MB
List of references
1. (2017). Transition Town Bielefeld | Transition Town Bielefeld. Accessed August 24, 2020, http://www.ttbielefeld.de/.
2. (2017). Urbane Oasen - Transition Town Gemeinschaftsgarten Am Grünen Band, Bielefeld, Accessed August 24,2020 , https://www.urbaneoasen.de/project/transition-town-gemeinschaftsgarten-am-gruenen-band-bielefeld/.
3. Westerkowski, J. (2014). Transition Netzwerk. Degrowth. Accessed August 24, 2020 http://programme.leipzig.degrowth.org/en/degrowth2014/public/speakers/334.html.
4. Stierand, P. (2016). Broschüre: Gemeinsam Gärtnern in NRW. Speiseräume: Stadt/Ernährung, http://speiseraeume.de/broschuere-gemeinsam-gaertnern-in-nrw/.
5. Transition Town Initiatives. (2010). Resilient Communities Forum Harrison Hot Springs, BC.
6. Transition Town Bielefeld. (2017). Permaculture, Accessed August 24, 2020. http://www.ttbielefeld.de/node/73.
7. Maurnic, A. (n/a). Einfach jetzt machen! Twanzig-GG. Accessed on August 24, 2020, http://www.zwanzig-gg.org/index.php/2019/09/06/unser-garten/
8. Urbane Gemeinschafts Garten. (2020). Transition Town Gemeinschafts Garten am Grünen Band, Bielefeld. Accessed on August 24, 2020, https://urbane-gaerten.de/community/seiten/33-transition-town-gemeinschaftsgarten-am-gruenen-band-bielefeld
9. Urbane Gemeinschafts Garten. (2020). Die Urbanen Gemeinschaftsgarten im Überblick, Accessed August 24, 2020, https://urbane-gaerten.de/urbane-gaerten/gaerten-im-ueberblick
Comments and notes
Public Images
Image
Transition Town Garden Bielefeld
Source: https://get.google.com/albumarchive/115414478547598988269/album/AF1QipOASlVZ5zmr4F1lu26eY4m7aD5hGcA8WnoLwiQv?source=pwa
Image
Transition Town Garden Bielefeld
Source: https://get.google.com/albumarchive/115414478547598988269/album/AF1QipOASlVZ5zmr4F1lu26eY4m7aD5hGcA8WnoLwiQv?source=pwa
Image
Transition Town Garden Bielefeld
Source: https://get.google.com/albumarchive/115414478547598988269/album/AF1QipOASlVZ5zmr4F1lu26eY4m7aD5hGcA8WnoLwiQv?source=pwa
Image
Transition Town Garden Bielefeld
Source: https://get.google.com/albumarchive/115414478547598988269/album/AF1QipOASlVZ5zmr4F1lu26eY4m7aD5hGcA8WnoLwiQv?source=pwa
Image
Transition Town Garden Bielefeld
Source: https://get.google.com/albumarchive/115414478547598988269/album/AF1QipOASlVZ5zmr4F1lu26eY4m7aD5hGcA8WnoLwiQv?source=pwa