Social cohesion

‘Odla i stan’ aims to spread and develop urban farming in a long-term and sustainable manner with residents, associations, property owners and city administrations. The company also works with educational farming at schools and in Malmö Museums (Malmö Museer). Furthermore, “urban farming is an excellent method for increasing social community while providing self-produced food. ‘Odla i stan’ works to organize and coordinate organic farming in the urban environment.” This is done by only working with organic methods and trying to use only local resources.
(ref. 1, 3)

Organic Without Borders (OWB) is an NGO (ideell förening) that works to develop and support methods for a sustainable future anywhere in the world. The NGO develops methods through socio-ecological city farming and working pedagogically with children and adults and their relationship to food and farming in Sweden and other countries (ref.1).

The Nature Island Pennenfeld-Bonn ("Naturinsel Pennenfeld") is a community garden project of the Lebensqualität im Alter - LeA (Quality of Life in Old Age) Association, the District Management (QM) of Pennenfeld and the municipal housing company VEBOWAG (9). The project started in 2012 and its aim was the transformation of a 1,800 sqm large tree-lined lawn area (9). The lawn was to be transformed into a park-like natural community garden for recreation where elderly residents have more opportunity to experience nature, while at the same time it is a place of encounter that promotes social stability by encouraging all other residents to get engaged in the planning, implementation and maintenance processes (1,3,9). Besides enhancing the quality of life for residents and elderly people living with dementia, other project objectives were to foster and increase the local biodiversity as well as to strengthen community building and mutual support in the neighbourhood (2).

The city of Malmö works for a sustainable urban environment, e.g. through planning the city's new construction, working on existing buildings and at the same time striving to reduce the environmental impact. Västra Hamnen (Western harbour) is a new and ultra-modern district in Malmö. It is located on a former shipyard area right beside the sea, only less than a kilometer north-west of the medieval old town of Malmö (ref. 10). In the Western Harbour where land was available after the shipyard’s closure, high sustainability has been sought from the beginning. In dialogue with builders and other actors, Malmö City has developed guidelines for energy use, green structure, waste solutions and a healthy indoor environment. (Ref. 1)

The square is located in the most stigmatized area of Budapest, in the 8th district. The project was part of the third phase of the socially sensitive urban regeneration programme of the neighbourhood, the so-called Magdolna Quarter Programme III. Within the renovation of the park, 12,000 plants were planted and 8,125 square metres of grassland was created, which has its own irrigation system. During the rehabilitation, the green area was expanded to one hectare. The park was renovated with the involvement of local people. The local participants later established an association that provides them a legal framework for taking care of the park. The aim of the project was to strengthen social cohesion, sense of security, and to ensure the sustainability of the newly renovated park. (Reference 3)

Ekostaden Augustenborg is the collective name for a program to aims to transform Augustenborg into a more socially, economically and environmentally sustainable neighborhood. Ekostaden Augustenborg is one of Sweden´s largest urban sustainability projects. Aims and implemented measures were based on the wishes of local stakeholders and residents: No more flooding, green roofs, a musical theme playground, an open stormwater system (ref. 1).

Located in the neighborhood of Pla del Bon Repòs com, Carolines Altes, Carolines Baixes and Campoamor, the community orchard of Carolines is an initiative to transform an abandoned lot into a sustainable garden and a community orchard (Ref. 2). "The place where this orchard is located was an abandoned space for 20 years where a large amount of garbage accumulated. The neighbors decided to clean the area by giving it a use with an orchard area, meeting area, gardening. The people responsible for it are the assembly of neighbors. It is also an action to combat the physical and psychological degradation of the neighborhood, being the community garden an excuse for this, but also a fundamental pillar where these ideas are based." (Ref. 2)

"After the intervention, the 530 square metres of the block of land have been turned into a new public square with a metal structure over fifteen metres high which is the support of a hanging garden. The structure is attached to the two flank walls facing on to the square in such a way that it completely conceals them. Beneath the ground level of the square, there is a basement housing the new offices of the neighbourhood association, which is responsible for the environmental management of the garden and its use as an educational space." (Ref. 2)

The project is a community garden hosted by the first humanitarian NGO in post communist Romania, Fundaţia ’89 (1). It serves as a permanent sustainable source of the NGO in order to feed its employees and to engage in community work homeless people, itinerant workers, evacuated families, drug abusers. (1)

The River Alt Restoration Project at Stonebridge started in 2013 with an initial goal to remove culverts in order to create re-naturalised watercourses and maintain watercourses easier. It also involved the removal of rubbish and other obstructions to reduce the risk of flooding in the wider catchment (Reference 2). The project then evolved with a bigger goal to divert River Alt into a new 900-meter long linear park named Alt Meadows. Relevant engineering works were employed in the area. In addition, accessible paths and meadow, wetland and woodland habitats were created. The park was also linked into surrounding areas (like housing, shops, schools, etc.). The project benefits include the expected increase in wildlife biodiversity and improved water quality and flood protection (Reference 1, 3).
The project was led The Cass Foundation, in partnership with the Community Forest Trust, with funding from DEFRA’s Catchment Restoration Fund (via Environmental Agency) and Liverpool City Council. The Foundation remains responsible for maintaining Alt Meadows on behalf of the city council (Reference 3).