Chiara Tornaghi

Critical geography of urban agriculture

Urban agriculture is a broad term which describes food cultivation and animal husbandry on urban and peri-urban land. Grassroots as well as institution-led urban agricultural projects are currently mushrooming in the cities of the Global North, reshaping urban landscapes, experimenting with alternatives to the capitalist organization of urban life and sometimes establishing embryonic forms of recreating the Commons. While this renewed interest in land cultivation and food production is attracting increasing interest in a wide range of disciplines – from planning to landscape and cultural studies – it remains a very marginal and almost unexplored field of human geography. Nonetheless, beyond the rhetoric of sustainability and health, urban agriculture raises several relevant questions of interest for a critical geographer. Starting by drawing a map of concepts and theories available in an interdisciplinary literature, and highlighting fields of possible inquiry, this paper aims to define the scope of and an initial agenda for a critical geography of urban agriculture.

Political gardening. Transforming cities and political agency

In the last decade, a large variety of grassroots actors – urban harvesters, guerrilla gardeners, community growers and landsharers – have been promoting a diversified set of projects that, while interstitial and very often considered “residual”, are nonetheless significantly challenging the mainstream place-making of cities in the Global North, and sometimes changing the face of the neighbourhoods in which they are located. These initiatives unfold in a variety of forms: the spontaneous appropriation and rehabilitation of marginal and neglected spaces at the city periphery, new bilateral agreements for sharing private land, community stewardship of urban greens and parks in well-maintained city centres are just a few of the arrangements through which gardening in both public and private spaces is taking place in various urban settings. While most of the existing literature on community gardens and urban agriculture share a tendency towards either an advocacy view or a rather dismissive approach on the grounds of the co-optation of food growing, self-help and voluntarism to the neoliberal agenda, this collection aims to investigate and reflect on the complex and sometimes contradictory nature of these initiatives, by questioning and interrogating them as forms of political agency that contest, transform and re-signify “the urban”. While as editors of this special issue, we are interested in understanding the potential of urban gardening practices as agents of counter-neoliberal urban transformation, we do not take the progressive political stance as a starting point, but as a working question. We are interested in exploring what ideas about the city and belonging these practices embody and bring forward, how they make use of biological material as a means of political expression, what innovative relations of care, decision-making and politics of place they build, and what weaknesses, contradictions or emancipatory potentials they carry with them. Our aim is to populate the link between political gardening and the politics of space with a range of reflections that, seen in their complexity, constitute the basis for furthering urban politics from the ground up. As readers will be able to appreciate in this special issue, the claims expressed in the micro-politics of garden activism are quite diversified: DIY landscaping and engaged ecology, “digging for anarchy” and counter-neoliberal development, food sovereignty and the reconstruction of the urban commons, community empowerment and the “right to the city”. The social solidarities and divisions, empowerment and learning, conflict and negotiation of which these projects are fraught, are discussed in the seven papers in this collection. The analysis is largely based on empirical research and analysis of the forms, means and practices of urban gardening in 11 cities: Dublin (Ireland), Belfast (Northern Ireland), Leeds (England), Plymouth (England), three undisclosed locations in the West Midlands (England), Cologne (Germany), Toronto (Canada), Los Angeles and New York (USA). We selected these cases on the basis of the distinctive character of urban gardening

Public space and relational perspectives: New challenges for architecture and planning

1. Relational Public Space. New Challenges for Architecture and Planning (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi), Part I. Conceptual Challenges. Re-addressing public space in a relational perspective (Chiara Tornaghi and Sabine Knierbein), 2.Relational Ontology of Public Space and Action-orientated Pedagogy in Action: Dilemmas of Professional Ethics and Social Justice (Chiara Tornaghi), 3.Public Space as Relational Counter Space - Scholarly Minefield or Epistemological Opportunity? (Sabine Knierbein), Part II. Practical Challenges. Exploring Innovative Tools in Teaching Architecture and Planning (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi), 4. Creating Mobile Media and Social Change? (StefanieWuschitz), 5. A Gaming Layer Entwined into the Everyday Life of Public Space (JorgHofstatter, JochenKranzer and TihomirViderman), 6. Playfully Creating Public Spaces of Opportunity (Wolfgang Gerlich and EmanuelaSemlitsch), Part III. Research Challenges. Innovating Curricula by Learning from Lived Space (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi), 7. Public Spaces, Experience and Conflict: The Cases of Helsinki and Tallinn (Panu Lehtovuori, Andres Kurg, Martina Schwab and Siri Ermert), 8. Cultural Interventions in Urban Public Spaces and Performative Planning - Insights from Shrinking Cities in Eastern Germany (Uwe Altrock and Sandra Huning), 9. From Classrooms to Learning Landscapes. New Socio-spatial Imaginaries of Learning and Learning Spaces (Ian Banerjee), Conclusion 10.Educational challenges (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi

Edible public space. Experimenting with a socio-environmentally just urbanism

This paper presents an English case of urban agriculture, the Edible Public Space Project in Leeds, contextualised in a context of urban agriculture initiatives committed to social-environmental justice, to the reproduction of common goods and the promotion of an urban planning which promotes the right to food and to the construction of urban space from the bottom up. The case study emerged as the result of action-research at the crossroads between urban planning policies, community work and critical geography. As opposed to many similar initiatives, the Edible Public Space Project is not intended merely as a temporary initiative hidden within the tiny folds of the city, but rather as an experiment which imagines and implements alternatives to current forms of urban planning within those folds and it contextualises them in the light of the ecological, fi nancial and social crisis of the last decade.

Practical challenges: Exploring innovative tools in teaching architecture and planning

1. Relational Public Space. New Challenges for Architecture and Planning (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi), Part I. Conceptual Challenges. Re-addressing public space in a relational perspective (Chiara Tornaghi and Sabine Knierbein), 2.Relational Ontology of Public Space and Action-orientated Pedagogy in Action: Dilemmas of Professional Ethics and Social Justice (Chiara Tornaghi), 3.Public Space as Relational Counter Space - Scholarly Minefield or Epistemological Opportunity? (Sabine Knierbein), Part II. Practical Challenges. Exploring Innovative Tools in Teaching Architecture and Planning (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi), 4. Creating Mobile Media and Social Change? (StefanieWuschitz), 5. A Gaming Layer Entwined into the Everyday Life of Public Space (JorgHofstatter, JochenKranzer and TihomirViderman), 6. Playfully Creating Public Spaces of Opportunity (Wolfgang Gerlich and EmanuelaSemlitsch), Part III. Research Challenges. Innovating Curricula by Learning from Lived Space (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi), 7. Public Spaces, Experience and Conflict: The Cases of Helsinki and Tallinn (Panu Lehtovuori, Andres Kurg, Martina Schwab and Siri Ermert), 8. Cultural Interventions in Urban Public Spaces and Performative Planning - Insights from Shrinking Cities in Eastern Germany (Uwe Altrock and Sandra Huning), 9. From Classrooms to Learning Landscapes. New Socio-spatial Imaginaries of Learning and Learning Spaces (Ian Banerjee), Conclusion 10.Educational challenges (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi

The relational ontology of public space and action-oriented pedagogy in action: Dilemmas of professional ethics and social justice

1. Relational Public Space. New Challenges for Architecture and Planning (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi), Part I. Conceptual Challenges. Re-addressing public space in a relational perspective (Chiara Tornaghi and Sabine Knierbein), 2.Relational Ontology of Public Space and Action-orientated Pedagogy in Action: Dilemmas of Professional Ethics and Social Justice (Chiara Tornaghi), 3.Public Space as Relational Counter Space - Scholarly Minefield or Epistemological Opportunity? (Sabine Knierbein), Part II. Practical Challenges. Exploring Innovative Tools in Teaching Architecture and Planning (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi), 4. Creating Mobile Media and Social Change? (StefanieWuschitz), 5. A Gaming Layer Entwined into the Everyday Life of Public Space (JorgHofstatter, JochenKranzer and TihomirViderman), 6. Playfully Creating Public Spaces of Opportunity (Wolfgang Gerlich and EmanuelaSemlitsch), Part III. Research Challenges. Innovating Curricula by Learning from Lived Space (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi), 7. Public Spaces, Experience and Conflict: The Cases of Helsinki and Tallinn (Panu Lehtovuori, Andres Kurg, Martina Schwab and Siri Ermert), 8. Cultural Interventions in Urban Public Spaces and Performative Planning - Insights from Shrinking Cities in Eastern Germany (Uwe Altrock and Sandra Huning), 9. From Classrooms to Learning Landscapes. New Socio-spatial Imaginaries of Learning and Learning Spaces (Ian Banerjee), Conclusion 10.Educational challenges (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi

Relational public space: New challenges for architecture and planning education

1. Relational Public Space. New Challenges for Architecture and Planning (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi), Part I. Conceptual Challenges. Re-addressing public space in a relational perspective (Chiara Tornaghi and Sabine Knierbein), 2.Relational Ontology of Public Space and Action-orientated Pedagogy in Action: Dilemmas of Professional Ethics and Social Justice (Chiara Tornaghi), 3.Public Space as Relational Counter Space - Scholarly Minefield or Epistemological Opportunity? (Sabine Knierbein), Part II. Practical Challenges. Exploring Innovative Tools in Teaching Architecture and Planning (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi), 4. Creating Mobile Media and Social Change? (StefanieWuschitz), 5. A Gaming Layer Entwined into the Everyday Life of Public Space (JorgHofstatter, JochenKranzer and TihomirViderman), 6. Playfully Creating Public Spaces of Opportunity (Wolfgang Gerlich and EmanuelaSemlitsch), Part III. Research Challenges. Innovating Curricula by Learning from Lived Space (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi), 7. Public Spaces, Experience and Conflict: The Cases of Helsinki and Tallinn (Panu Lehtovuori, Andres Kurg, Martina Schwab and Siri Ermert), 8. Cultural Interventions in Urban Public Spaces and Performative Planning - Insights from Shrinking Cities in Eastern Germany (Uwe Altrock and Sandra Huning), 9. From Classrooms to Learning Landscapes. New Socio-spatial Imaginaries of Learning and Learning Spaces (Ian Banerjee), Conclusion 10.Educational challenges (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi

Conceptual challenges: Re-addressing public space in a relational perspective

1. Relational Public Space. New Challenges for Architecture and Planning (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi), Part I. Conceptual Challenges. Re-addressing public space in a relational perspective (Chiara Tornaghi and Sabine Knierbein), 2.Relational Ontology of Public Space and Action-orientated Pedagogy in Action: Dilemmas of Professional Ethics and Social Justice (Chiara Tornaghi), 3.Public Space as Relational Counter Space - Scholarly Minefield or Epistemological Opportunity? (Sabine Knierbein), Part II. Practical Challenges. Exploring Innovative Tools in Teaching Architecture and Planning (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi), 4. Creating Mobile Media and Social Change? (StefanieWuschitz), 5. A Gaming Layer Entwined into the Everyday Life of Public Space (JorgHofstatter, JochenKranzer and TihomirViderman), 6. Playfully Creating Public Spaces of Opportunity (Wolfgang Gerlich and EmanuelaSemlitsch), Part III. Research Challenges. Innovating Curricula by Learning from Lived Space (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi), 7. Public Spaces, Experience and Conflict: The Cases of Helsinki and Tallinn (Panu Lehtovuori, Andres Kurg, Martina Schwab and Siri Ermert), 8. Cultural Interventions in Urban Public Spaces and Performative Planning - Insights from Shrinking Cities in Eastern Germany (Uwe Altrock and Sandra Huning), 9. From Classrooms to Learning Landscapes. New Socio-spatial Imaginaries of Learning and Learning Spaces (Ian Banerjee), Conclusion 10.Educational challenges (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi

Research challenges: Innovating curricula by learning from lived space

1. Relational Public Space. New Challenges for Architecture and Planning (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi), Part I. Conceptual Challenges. Re-addressing public space in a relational perspective (Chiara Tornaghi and Sabine Knierbein), 2.Relational Ontology of Public Space and Action-orientated Pedagogy in Action: Dilemmas of Professional Ethics and Social Justice (Chiara Tornaghi), 3.Public Space as Relational Counter Space - Scholarly Minefield or Epistemological Opportunity? (Sabine Knierbein), Part II. Practical Challenges. Exploring Innovative Tools in Teaching Architecture and Planning (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi), 4. Creating Mobile Media and Social Change? (StefanieWuschitz), 5. A Gaming Layer Entwined into the Everyday Life of Public Space (JorgHofstatter, JochenKranzer and TihomirViderman), 6. Playfully Creating Public Spaces of Opportunity (Wolfgang Gerlich and EmanuelaSemlitsch), Part III. Research Challenges. Innovating Curricula by Learning from Lived Space (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi), 7. Public Spaces, Experience and Conflict: The Cases of Helsinki and Tallinn (Panu Lehtovuori, Andres Kurg, Martina Schwab and Siri Ermert), 8. Cultural Interventions in Urban Public Spaces and Performative Planning - Insights from Shrinking Cities in Eastern Germany (Uwe Altrock and Sandra Huning), 9. From Classrooms to Learning Landscapes. New Socio-spatial Imaginaries of Learning and Learning Spaces (Ian Banerjee), Conclusion 10.Educational challenges (Sabine Knierbein and Chiara Tornaghi