Polish Urban Allotment Gardens as ‘Slow City’ Enclaves
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
- Decreasing biodiversity of the urban environment
- Transforming UAGs into residential areas of informal housing
- Land degradation in UAGs
- Pressure on ownership transfer and privatization of UAGs.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. UAGs in Poland
3.2. Discussing UAGs as Urban Enclaves
3.3. Threats to Biodiversity and the Urban Environment
3.4. Transforming UAGs into Residential Areas of Informal Housing
3.5. Land Degradation
3.6. Pressure on Ownership Transformation and Privatization
4. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Total Urban Area* | Urban Parks, Green Belts, Lawns | Forest Lands | UAGs | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Warszawa | 51,724 | 3037 (5.9%) | 8104 (15.7%) | 1360 (2.6%) |
Kraków | 32,685 | 1592 (4.9%) | 1431 (4.4%) | 650 (2.0%) |
Szczecin | 30,055 | 487 (1.6%) | 2591 (8.6%) | 1195 (4.0%) |
Łódź | 29,325 | 1610 (5.5%) | 2378 (8.1%) | 718 (2.4%) |
Wrocław | 29,282 | 1448 (4.9%) | 2227 (7.6%) | 1340 (4.6%) |
Family Allotment Gardens (ROD) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
Gardens | Number | 4846 | 4695 | 4667 | 4636 |
Area (ha) | 423,968 | 409,887 | 408,630 | 405,569 | |
Plots | Number | 945,883 | 906,887 | 917,445 | 911,182 |
Area (ha) | 333,219 | 321,114 | 321,812 | 319,619 |
Requirements for Meeting Slow City Criteria | UAGs in Poland | |
---|---|---|
Energy and environmental policy | ||
OBLIGATORY | Air quality conservation | In 2015, due to the ‘anti-smog’ law in Poland, the Polish Allotment Gardens Federation (PZD) agreed to introduce a complete ban on burning green waste and open smoking fires in UAGs. At the same time, PZD underlines that UAGs are lowering the air pollution in Polish cities. |
Water quality conservation | Usually, UAGs are equipped with individual water meters and home-made rainwater recovery containers. The PZD statue imposes the obligation to save water. | |
Urban solid separate waste collection | Since 2013, due to new rules of waste collection in Poland, UAGs are obligated to pay a fee to a municipal company for waste collection. The charge rate depends on the UAG’s declaration of the degree of segregation. | |
Purification of sewage disposal | According to the PZD statute, freestanding toilets are forbidden. Every UAG should make available shared toilets connected to the sewage network. Alternatively, plotters construct tight septic tanks with a closed drain and dispose sewage as compost. Some plotters pay duty to have them emptied by a specialist company. | |
Reduction of public light pollution | UAGs usually do not have a developed lighting network and lighting is limited to spotlights. In autumn and winter, lighting is kept to a minimum. | |
OPTIONAL | Industrial & domestic disposal | According to the PZD statute, every UAG should be equipped with a composter and tight tanks for liquid composting and fertilizer production. |
Conservation of biodiversity | The prevalence of insecticides, herbicides, and lawn mowing causes a decline in invertebrates, amphibians, and nesting birds that once plowed the gardens. Fences or hedges limits the access of bigger animals to green enclaves. On the other hand, UAGs are a preserve for old varieties of trees and bushes that make them gene banks. | |
Reduction of visual pollution, traffic noise | UAGs have very strict car entry rules, limited to select days and hours. The permission to use a car in the UAG area should be obtained from the UAG board. | |
Energy savings and renewable sources | Plotters do not lag behind in progress and have adopted new ecologically friendly methods of obtaining electricity. Photovoltaic panels are becoming more and more popular among younger generations. In autumn and winter, electricity is disabled in UAGs. | |
Infrastructure policies | ||
OBLIGATORY | Urban cycle paths and bicycle parking | UAG roads and avenues do not have a dedicated lane for bicycles though they are a popular mode of transportation. UAG community centers usually have bicycle stands. |
Removal of architectural barriers | UAGs are trying to remove architectural barriers for disabled people by providing permanent car access to the UAG area. UAGs have ground floor infrastructure due to building conditions and municipal limitations. Use of closed-circuit television and instant monitoring has changed the plotter’s attitude to fences and hedges. However, funds provided by the EU to support the removal of architectural barriers were not extensively used by UAGs. | |
Initiatives for family life and social cohesion | According to the PZD statute, local boards are obliged to organize events like Plotter’s Day, Children’s Day, gardening training, lessons for children etc., to integrate the UAG community. Events are organized in the UAG common room or playground. The UAG board should lead a promotional campaign dedicated to the local community and neighbors with open days, gardening shows and family picnics. They also support integration of the youth, the elderly, the disabled and the socially excluded groups. They cooperate with local authorities, social care services, schools, and universities. | |
Quality of urban life policies | ||
OBLIGATORY | Planning for urban resilience | PZD and local UAGs often get drawn into public disputes on environmental policies, sustainable development, municipal land-use plans, and urban development. Every initiative that can have a potentially negative influence on UAGs is contested with the strong support of the UAG community. |
Social green areas with productive plants and/or fruit trees | Local boards of UAGs are obliged to ensure community control over how gardens are used. Every UAG should be farmed according to the local or PZD statute that strictly regulates esthetic, cultivation, and recreational rules. | |
Requalification and reuse of marginal areas | In the past, UAGs were planned in urban wastelands that were often localized in former military areas, industrial fields, and magazines. With plotters, it was possible to restore these areas to citizens. | |
Other policies (awareness and agricultural) | ||
OBLIGATORY | Development of agro-ecology and use of local products | Gardens are a source of healthy, GMO-free vegetables and fruits for domestic consumption or small retail sales. Crops are also shared among family members and friends. With increase in experience in the cultivation of crops, plotters pay more attention to natural fertilizers, compost, manure, own seeds, knits to cover the plantings, and to limit chemical sprays in favor of natural solutions. |
Protection of working techniques and traditional crafts | Most of the UAG gardeners have passed an introductory course in the basics of cultivation and management of their own UAGs. However, a large number of younger plotters, who have bought or inherited UAGs, have imbibed knowledge and skills from parents and/or grandparents, books, or internet sources. There is also well functioning community support and older plotters share their good practices with the less experienced. | |
Adoption of active techniques suitable for launching bottom-up processes | In some cases, the more experienced allotment gardeners organize demonstrations or study visits to their plots. Local boards encourage people with unique knowledge and skills to share them with community members and local neighbors. UAGs also cooperate with agricultural faculties and universities. |
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Bartłomiejski, R.; Kowalewski, M. Polish Urban Allotment Gardens as ‘Slow City’ Enclaves. Sustainability 2019, 11, 3228. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113228
Bartłomiejski R, Kowalewski M. Polish Urban Allotment Gardens as ‘Slow City’ Enclaves. Sustainability. 2019; 11(11):3228. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113228
Chicago/Turabian StyleBartłomiejski, Robert, and Maciej Kowalewski. 2019. "Polish Urban Allotment Gardens as ‘Slow City’ Enclaves" Sustainability 11, no. 11: 3228. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113228