India’s IT-capital Bangalore is experiencing rapid urbanization causing diminishing greenery and biodiversity. Urbanization contributes to disconnecting humans from nature, further contributing to environmental degradation, since connecting with nature is crucial for fostering pro-environmental behaviour and stewardship which is required for urban resilience. The city’s long legacy of home gardening has been threatened by the city growth, however, Bangaloreans are finding new ways of engaging in gardening. This study gives an inside perspective of how and why middle class Bangaloreans choose to engage in gardening, building on interviews with 24 terrace and community gardeners, and identification of 6 community garden initiatives. The terrace gardening movement emerged during the 1990s, and have now spread to engage several thousands of citizens, growing on their rooftops across the city, however, community gardening is a ‘new’ phenomenon. The motivations expressed by gardeners are, in this study, categorised in motivational drivers and direct benefits. Motivational drivers affect the gardener’s desire to engage and these drivers are identified as memories, cultural values and beliefs, experiences of urbanization, perception of risk and external influence. Direct benefits are the benefits they get from gardening, identified as material, psychological and social benefits. The main motivations stated were the benefits of healthy food and connecting with nature. Terrace gardeners have a strong network and the main platform for interaction is social media, and many community gardeners are also part of that forum, where experiences and knowledge are shared. Gardeners use natural and organic practices and many have a desire to preserve traditional species and methods. This indicates that urban gardening is a way of stewardship of urban (agro)biodiversity and thus requires increased attention, for overcoming challenges related to management and lack of perseverance, and for contributing to city resilience through human and nature connections through gardening. / FOR 2432

Abstrakt   Nyckelord: Web of Things, Tillsammansodling, Ting, Entitet, Kultur   I undersökningen går vi igenom hur ting kan existera inom olika plan av vårt medvetande och även hur teknologin inom Web of Things (WoT*) kan agera som en entitet inom ett fenomen såsom tillsammansodling. De metoder som valts för att undersöka fenomenet är Brainstorm, Att flytta gränser och De sex tänkarmössorna. Dessa tre metoder är våra huvudmetoder som ansågs vara bästa valen för ändamålet medan alternativa metoder som Kanban*, funktionsanalys och ett agilt tänkande var för att kunna ge vår design det extra stöd som behövdes för att utvecklas. Metoderna för att kunna undersöka detta fenomen har utgjorts av olika delar från boken Design av informationsteknik av Jonas Löwgren och Erik Stolterman där vi utgått från att skapa en design med hjälp av de tre delarna vision, den operativa bilden och specifikationen (Löwgren & Stolterman, 2004). Dessa tre delar har använts i fem olika iterationer för att kunna använda metoderna i olika plan av designen. Resultatet påvisas genom att gå igenom designprocessens fem iterationer och med stöd från tidigare och aktuell forskning medan diskussionen presenteras genom att gå igenom de fyra hypoteser vi själva arbetade fram genom att undersöka tidigare och aktuella forskningstexter, de fyra hypoteser är som följer.   Hypotes ett: Fenomenet tillsammansodling i stadsmiljöer med kopplingar till Web of Things (WoT) skapar ett ting som består av både fysiska och psykiska relationer till de som befinner sig i det. Hypotes två: Tillsammansodlingar är till förmån för hållbarhet och sociala möten. Hypotes tre: WoT är inte bara ett fysiskt ting utan även psykiskt och kan beblanda sig med både människa och maskin på olika plan. Hypotes fyra: WoT som sociala medier kan få människan att vilja börja ta del av tillsammansodlingar i stadsmiljöer och påtrycka ändringar hos maskiner och hur människor arbetar tillsammans med dem. / Abstract   Keywords: Web of Things, Community gardening, Things, Entity, Culture   In this Bachelor thesis we go through how things can exist within different planes of our mind and further how technology within Web Of Things (WoT) can act as an entity within a phenomenon like Community gardening. The methods that was chosen for the survey of the phenomenon are Brainstorm, To move the border and The six thinkingcaps. This three methods are our main methods that was considered to be the best choice for our purpose while alternative methods like Kanban, Function analyses and an agile thinking was considered to be the extra structure our design needed to evolve. The methods to maintain this survey of the phenomenon has been consisted of different parts from the book Thoughtful interaction design written by Jonas Löwgren and Erik Stolterman where we extracted three parts from it where the parts was vision, operative image and specification in order to create our design (Löwgren & Stolterman, 2004). This three parts has been integrated in five different iterations in order to use the methods of choosing in different parts of the design. The result is manifested from the design processes five iterations and the support from earlier and current researches while the discussion is presented through four hypotheses we manifested from the work from earlier and current research papers, the four hypotheses are as followed.   Hypothesis s one: The phenomenon Community gardening in urban environments with relations to Web of Things creates a thing that coexist within both the physical and psychological in the relationships of what is inside of the phenomenon. Hypothesis two: Community gardening is beneficial for sustainability and social encounters. Hypothesis three: Web Of Things is not just a physical thing but also a psychical and can exist in different planes of both mankind and machines. Hypothesis four: Web Of Things as social media can make the mankind want to integrate with Community gardening in urban environments and push changes in how humans and machine works together.

The chosen project originated as a response to humanity’s need to eat, and the agricultural processes necessary to feed the global population. The proposed solution will investigate the connection of physically and meta-physically dissociated elements, in order to create responsive architecture. The aim is to steer away from a mono-functional building and design typologies and to strive towards creating architecture that will address the needs of the public. The chosen project investigates future and current solutions for the production of food in urban environments. The scales of investigation range from microscopic research to the implementation and monitoring of skills transferred into the community. The proposed facility is thus composed out of various different programs, each with its own specific requirements. The composition can broadly be divided into scientific research facilities, a greenhouse complex and a public exhibition centre. It is unnecessary for the pragmatic and complex nature of the building to undermine the spatial expression. In the proposed facility, pragmatic limitations informed the design process, but did not govern the outcome. Instead, the limitations fuelled alternative problem solving, which in turn produced creative solutions. Thus, the building accepts that it is pragmatic in program, and compensates accordingly in order to create inviting spaces for people using the facility on an everyday basis. Copyright / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Architecture / unrestricted

Nearly two decades after the cessation of hostilities, traces of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995) are still present throughout the landscape. Ruins resulting both directly and indirectly from the military actions remain scattered throughout urban and rural landscapes. Above the city of Bugojno, stands the shell of a hospital that was never completed and never opened. It is a visceral image full of unfulfilled hope and promise, and a reminder of the catastrophic events of the Bosnian Conflict. With unused and derelict infrastructure of that magnitude, loaded with symbolic meaning, it begs the question, how can it come to be used for the benefit of the local residents? The purpose of this practicum is to effectively design a redevelopment plan for the site of this former regional hospital, producing community space that promotes peace and reconciliation between the ethnic groups affected by conflict utilizing landscape processes and a program of socially based activities such as community gardening and food production. It will explore alternative uses and understanding of ruined infrastructure through investigation of traditional and contemporary landscape design theory pertaining to the picturesque, the aesthetic understanding of ruins in the landscape and the aesthetics of decay.

Problem - Ponava is an area with relatively large areas of brownfield sites. Ponava should be territory with clearly defined texture blocks, mixed functions , high proportion of total housing and urban character. The area solved in this work was selected as most suitable for the creation of the initiation core, ie core starting as development of the whole territory. Uncertainty about the future, including needs to be in 5, 10, 20 years doing the classic urban planning dysfunctional method of working with the territory. Solution - My urban concept seeks to provide sufficient flexibility in terms of use of buildings and open spaces. It is particularly advantageous because it can hold more small investors, who can work independently. Each part of the territory may work alone, just under the current situation and needs of society. The concept is simple division of the area in a regular rectangular network by the same part of the individual and their subsequent filling. Placing buildings is chessboard, thus ensuring their adequate sun and at the same time easy permeability of territory in all directions. The spaces between buildings have in the outer parts character of living square with a strong influence of the adjacent street. Inside these areas is the interspace quiet and mainly serves the local population.

No description available.

In this study I explore the social organization of community gardening in Toronto. I have done this by: exploring (a) the experiences of community garden coordinators hired by non-profit organizations do to improve poor Torontonians’ access to food, and how this work occurs within and is affected by the larger framework of (b) the City of Toronto’s Community Gardens Program. This inquiry was carried out using institutional ethnography, with data collection occurring through open-ended interviews with garden coordinators and the analysis of non-profit and municipal documents. The results of the study are that garden coordinator’s work to improve access to food for poor Torontonians is at odds with the municipal understanding of community gardens and park space existing to attract economic investment to Toronto via “creative professionals.”

In this study I explore the social organization of community gardening in Toronto. I have done this by: exploring (a) the experiences of community garden coordinators hired by non-profit organizations do to improve poor Torontonians’ access to food, and how this work occurs within and is affected by the larger framework of (b) the City of Toronto’s Community Gardens Program. This inquiry was carried out using institutional ethnography, with data collection occurring through open-ended interviews with garden coordinators and the analysis of non-profit and municipal documents. The results of the study are that garden coordinator’s work to improve access to food for poor Torontonians is at odds with the municipal understanding of community gardens and park space existing to attract economic investment to Toronto via “creative professionals.”

No description available.

La recherche qui suit porte sur l’expérience du jardinage communautaire à Montréal à partir de l’exemple de l’un des arrondissements. Au cours des dernières années, à l’échelle globale, la popularité des jardins communautaires est allée en grandissant. Comment interpréter cela à partir du point de vue des participants? Quelle est l’expérience vécue par les jardiniers communautaires et quelle signification accordent-ils à ces pratiques sociales? Afin de répondre à ces questions, j’ai fait appel à une démarche qualitative, combinant l’observation et entretiens en profondeur avec des participants. Les résultats de l’étude découlent de 30 entretiens semi-directifs. Des participants avec des profils sociaux divers ont été recrutés. En faisant appel à la théorie ancrée, la recherche met en lumière des contextes spécifiques à partir desquels les jardiniers communautaires fournissent des significations à leur engagement dans ce type de jardinage. Considérée à partir de trois dimensions – économique, sociale et culturelle – cette étude met en lumière le fait que les significations que les acteurs accordent à leurs pratiques dépendent du contexte, mais découlent aussi de leur subjectivité. Ressort aussi l’importance de la dimension émotionnelle. Le jardinage communautaire est décrit sous l’angle d’une pratique transformatrice – en convergence avec d’autres formes d’action collective – qui permet aux citoyens en tant que jardiniers de mieux faire face aux défis de la vie quotidienne, que ce soit sur le plan financier, social, culturel ou environnemental. Par le biais du jardinage, les participants soutiennent qu’ils approfondissent leur identité personnelle, tout en construisant de nouvelles relations avec les autres ainsi qu’avec la nature. La recherche confirme qu’en ce qui concerne l’expérience subjective de jardinage, les participants parlent de retombées positives. / The present research addresses the subjectivity of the community gardening experience in the case of a Montreal borough. Community gardens have regained popularity worldwide. How to interpret this phenomenon from the perspective of participants? And how do they experience (community) gardening and make sense of their social practices? To answer these questions, this study takes a qualitative approach that combines observations and in-depth interviews. The findings drawn from this study are based mainly on 30 semi-structured interviews. Participants from diverse social strata were recruited. Guided by grounded theory, this research stresses the specific contexts under which community gardeners generate meanings from their community gardening experience. Examined from three dimensions – economic, social, and cultural – this study reveals that meanings and significance are context-sensitive, personalized, and fluid. The emotional dimension emerges as of particular importance. Community gardening is viewed as a transformative practice – converging with diverse forms of collective action – that allows citizen gardeners to address everyday life challenges, whether financial, social, cultural, or environmental. Through gardening, participants claim that they are reconnecting with themselves, with other people, and with nature. This research confirms that with respect to the subjective experience of gardening, participants generally claim positive outcomes.