A graphic presentation of Orto diffuso
A presentation of Orto diffuso (on Prezi) held at
THE HEURISTICS OF MAPPING URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE/
DIALOGUES ON THE MOVE/
Project promoted by:
Adriana Allen, Alexandre Apsan Frediani, Rita Lambert
Environment & Sustainable Development programme/ Development Planning Unit/ The
Bartlett/ University College of London
In collaboration with:
Francesca Cognetti, Beatrice De Carli
Department of Architecture and Planning (DIAP)/ Politecnico di Milano
Paola Bellaviti, Costanza La Mantia, Antonio Tosi
Laboratory of International Cooperation/ DIAP/ Politecnico di Milano
May al-Ibrashy
Megawra (Built Environment Collective)
Orto errante-Rome
Orto Errante is the vegetable garden of Occupy Rome. Like other Occupy sites (New York, Toronto, Barcelona) people involved decided to create a vegetable garden because it is a symbol of self determination, of economical independence and a way to reconnect with our biological and cultural roots. The garden is a mobile one, since the Occupy will move in other places in the future. The first was made in november 2011 in S. Croce in Gerusalemme. Then followed Occupy in the new site near the Fao building.
Huerto el Xino-Barcelona
El Xino it is a very low income neighborhood, located in the inner center of Barcelona, in the harbour area. A gentrification is gooing on and many old houses are pull down. Since the economical crisis there is no project of rebuilding. Huerto el Xino, was born in 2009 where a squatted house was destroyed and a social carpentery was in action for a while. It’s a private land, but nobody is reclaiming it. And the Ayuntamento, the municipality, is only worried for a risk of fire. A group of people living in the Rambla decided firt of all to clean the area which was full of garbage. Then they decided to cultivate lang and create a vegetable garden. Now they are open every saturday a sunday, many people (and many children) are going there, since there is no green area in the neighborhood. They organize parties, workshops, sharing of seeds, and since is also a touristic area, many visitors are coming.
Falbala-Paris
Falbala is a courtyard of around 70 square meters inside a social houses building, in a very popular neighborhoods. It was a garden, but nobody went there before: they were afraid of a small group of drug sellers. A group of women living there decided to open a community garden in 2007, reclaiming the common ground. And all changed: people went downstep, the drug sellers became less violent, and the garden is now a place where everybody can meet other people, share, grow vegetables. They have also a room where they can meet and organize workshops.
London City harvest Festival
London urban farms and community gardens gather every year at the City harvest festival, Capel manor. This video is about the festival of 2011. Thanks to the Federation of urban farms and community gardens.
Community gardens in Europe
Here you can find all the community gardens I have visited all over Europe. In a while photos, video and reports…
Allmende Kontor – Berlin
Allemende Kontor, a Berlino, it’s in a public space, in a wide area. The vegetable gardens anyway are not in the ground, but in container, pot, baskets…. 
Tempel Hof the public park where Allmende contor (which means public office) is, it was an old airport. It was the oneo which was used at the end of World war II, starting cold war, to bring aid to western Berlino isolated by sovietic army. The access to the garden is totally free: you can go there, build your container, put your name in it, and share your knowledge with other people. There is an association, wich signed a contract with the council, but everyone can go, do and help.
Potager 8 mq – Bruxelles
Potager 8 mq/ autosuffisance, Rue de la Retorique, Bruxelles, it’s a small garden inside a school yard. It is not a ground garden: vegetables grow in wheeled container. Each container has an interesting mix of plants which mimic bioversity. More interesting, each container can be transported everywhere, for example in a parking area, to protest against the invadence of cars.
More or less 20 people take care of the garden, but everyone can go for a drink in the late afternoon. Sharing seeds is also a good thing to do.
orto diffuso in english
This the english page for orto diffuso website.
Here you cannot find every post translated.
This page is dedicated to the multimedia project of European community gardens: a book and videos on the community garden all around Europe.
The contents will be on creative commons.
But if you have any suggestion on
-an international publisher for the book (now the book it will be made only for Italy),
-grants and funding (for example, from European Union), to do a movie on Europan gardens,
please contact orto diffuso (at) inventati.org
Orto diffuso (which more or less means “spread vegetable gardens”) is a project of mapping and improving vegetable gardens (i.e. community gardens) in Milano, Italy.
Town are a mix of culture, people, hardware and nature that at least become like a very good vegetable soup if we respect each diversity/biodiversity.
Improving our vegetable gardens improve also people self confiance and resiliance, sustainability and their power to change the cities letting them to evolve instead becoming Nineteen century dinosaurs.