GeSiGa

Guide to social activation for community gardening
In five practical steps, the guide leads through a social activation process for community gardening. Based on the experiences and findings of the participatory activation process in Bottrop, participatory methods for planning and implementing new gardening projects are described and recommendations are given for the continuation of the activation.

The guide is aimed at city administrations and civil society organizations and actors who want to promote community gardening in their city.

To download the guide click here https://www.fh-dortmund.de/de/fb/8/forschung/GeSiGa/MEDIEN/Schmies__Hunecke_2016_Soziale_Aktivierung_zum_gemeinschaftlichen_Gaertnern_Leitfaden.pdf(Opens in a new tab) 

Project description:

The transdisciplinary project "GemeinSinnschafftGarten" by the City of Bottrop and Fachhochschule Dortmund aims to harness the value of urban community gardens for Bottrop and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the "Science Year 2015 - City of the Future". Urban community gardens bring a piece of nature back into sealed city centers. Through their communal use in public spaces, they are also a meeting place for different population groups and a testing ground for participatory approaches to urban development. As part of the project, a social activation process is taking place with the aim of initiating and permanently consolidating community gardens in Bottrop's multicultural city center. Fachhochschule Dortmund is developing a culturally sensitive activation concept under the direction of Prof. Dr. Marcel Hunecke, which will be applied and scientifically monitored and evaluated over the course of the project. Extensive networking and targeted dialog with multipliers provide access to the diverse communities and population groups in the project area. Regular citizens' workshops and hands-on activities enable interested Bottrop residents to participate in the planning and communal construction of the gardens in the spirit of empowerment.