The Elephant and the Castle; towards a London Edible Landscape

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22. Building Resilient Cities pp. 37-38 June 2009

Abstract: The concept of resilient cities is increasingly heard today. Whereas in southern countries access to food is a major motivation for people to engage in urban agriculture, in northern cities, such as London, people are driven more by environmental reasons such as the damaging effects of excessive food miles. Regardless of the motivation, urban agriculture is a positive step toward greater resilience.

The paper can be read here www.ruaf.org/book/

The PhD research subject is community food gardening on six London housing estates. The work is participatory, meaning that I spend time with food growers in their gardeners, working along side them to gain an understanding the practice they are involved in. The main research happened 2010.

In a series of interviews, estate residents explicitly expressed frustration at the “blank”, “bleak”, “disused”, “neglected”, “barren”, “grey” and “derelict” landscapes surrounding their homes, voicing instead a desire to re-use them “productively” through food-gardening. However, the PhD argues that while food is enunciated as the primary concept, it is a set of primary practices, such as the construction of the self-built, food-producing landscape, the creation of shared social narratives and the interaction with natural resources that dominate.

Below are several images taken during the research project.

Brookes Estate

St Johns estate, north London

The ‘Ugly Sister’ 1 of Garden History: The Capital’s Nineteenth-century Market Gardens as Depicted by Thomas Milne’s Land Utilization Map. A Possible Visualisation for a Contemporary Urban Agriculture?

In “London Gardener”. Journal of the London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust.

Volume fourteen. 2008-2009

A PDF of the article can be downloaded here: Mikey Tomkins London Gardener

YOU ARE HUNGRY: MAPPING AN EDIBLE URBAN HACKNEY investigates how much food can be grown on 25 hectares of south Hackney.

The project is both digital (click here for digital version) or as a walk. The walk in 2010 was from the 5th – 20th September. In 2011 the walk will be repeated: August 18th – 4th September BOOKING FROM EARLY AUGUST

The edible map is a walking and talking project which explores the potential for a 25 hectare site in Hackney to grow food. Each walk last approximately one hour, thirty minutes. There are places for six people on each walk. The walks are not lectures but form part of a discussion about architecture, planning and food-gardening apparent exclusion and potential inclusion into the many spaces around the areas. The walks are audio recorded and used on a web version of the edible map. (click here for digital version)

Mikey Tomkins, local beekeeper and PhD student at the University of Brighton has created the project.