The Urban Forest by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

Sometimes the utilization of underused or brownfield land for community access is enabled on a temporary basis. For example, among several projects in the UK surveyed by Jones and Baines (2006) was an initiative providing access to land in Warrington, where a factory had previously been and where some woodland and tree planting was allowed on the site for 5 years until new housing was developed. In Barcelona, the temporary use of vacant land was allowed for a community allotment, and in the city of Ghent (Belgium) the use of temporary public spaces for urban farming is included in the local food strategy as a means to stimulate sustainable and short-chain food production (Crivits et al. 2016).

Urban areas are often characterized by dynamic land use, derelict infrastructure or empty urban space (e.g. for speculative reasons). Natural succession can result in new urban GI, which may prove valuable for people with limited access to green areas to use as semi-public green space or for ‘guerrilla gardening’4. Frequent and prolonged use by the public leads to public appropriation of the site and communalization (as opposed to privatization) of the site. New development by private owners impacting this semi-public greenspace can lead to conflicts with the public. Similar are semi-public or shared greenspaces such as private land intentionally opened to the public or where public access or use is tolerated, such as in the case of permissible access in England. Another issue is privatization of public land. Atmiş et al. (2007) documented how since 1983 approximately 150,000 ha of urban forest have been allocated to the tourist industry in the Turkish regions of Marmara, the Aegean, and the Mediterranean. Tourism investors have built tourist facilities such as hotels, holiday villages, golf courses, and sports facilities in these allocated lands and closed the forest off for people living around the forest.

Box 15.3 outlines an approach in Ballymun, Ireland, a deprived area where the community can join together to donate a tree and contribute to the future of their local area. It specifically gives agency (i.e. what type of trees do we put in and where?) to local residents during the physical reorganization of their neighbourhood. A sustained mediated effort was made to reach out to local schools, youth groups and households.

Box 15.3 Ballymun, Ireland

Name of intervention: Amaptocare (A Map to Care) commissioned by Dublin City Council

Aim/objective

The aim was to invert the routine of social housing and institutional urbanism by encouraging residents to make a public, financial investment in their own area, and thus exercise agency with regard to their immediate environment. With an emphasis on public authorship and ownership of public space, the local residents, as well as people from other areas, were invited to donate (i.e. purchase) a tree for Ballymun and thereby contribute to the future prosperity, beauty and greening of the area (Fig. 15.8).

Fig. 15.8Inscription on tree bought by local resident in Ireland – see Box 15.3 (Source: M. Brennan)

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