Cultivating publicness through urban agriculture: Learning from Aarhus and Rotterdam

This chapter sets out to explore how urban agriculture can contribute to the development of the capabilities of gardeners and the larger urban community. Our study of cases in Aarhus (Denmark) and Rotterdam (the Netherlands) aimed to understand how different municipalities facilitate urban agriculture and how different urban agriculture initiatives perform in public space. In the analysis of the initiatives, we drew on a conceptualization of publicness focused on interactions in and products from physical space that link people. With an emphasis on a definition of public that is greater than the gardeners involved in each initiative, we identify four trajectories in urban agriculture’s public service, which include increasing access and animation in public space, contributing to social services, producing and distributing food, and building communities to spread cultivation knowledge. These trajectories structure our presentation and discussion of selected urban agriculture initiatives. While not mutually exclusive, the four areas of service place different strains upon the public space ideal of physical access. We find that food production and social services may be little suited for urban spaces that demand high levels of public access, though these benefits can reach broad public if localized and facilitated appropriately.