Productive Urban Landscapes

The South East London Green Chain is being discussed in the paper by Katrin Bohn and Dong Chu. (source: Greenchain.com www 2019)

Special Issue on sustainable food planning released

Planning food system transitions is the title of an open access Special Issue in the journal Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems that has been released in April 2021. The Special Issue features selected papers presented at the 9th international conference of the Sustainable Food Planning Group at AESOP (Association of European Schools of Planning)….

Katrin Bohn • 31st May 2021

A short introduction video explains what circularity means and what the contest is looking for. (source: COST Action Circular City www 2021)

INVITE: Notice circularity in your city! Enter the photo contest!

COST Action Circular City has launched the #mycircularcity photo contest. We invite you to submit your photos until the 30th of June 2021. Under the heading of ‘Look around you, notice circularity in your city, capture it, your lens – your view, and upload it with a few clicks!’, we are seeking the 3 best…

Katrin Bohn • 26th May 2021

Since 2009, (some of) the buildings and airfield of decomissioned Tempelhof Airport are being used for public events and as outdoor space. (source: Transformation Haus und Feld www 2021)

New initiative to support a LebensMittelPunkt at Tempelhof, Berlin

On the 12th of May, newly founded initiative Transformation Haus und Feld (TH&F) invited interested Berliners to its (online) kick-off meeting aimed at continuing civic efforts for a LebensMittelPunkt at the German capital’s decommissioned inner-city airport. The concept LebensMittelPunkt has been introduced to the City of Berlin in 2016 by the AG Stadt & Ernährung…

Katrin Bohn • 17th May 2021

Land use of council-owned land in Brighton & Hovee. The dark green areas are farms. (source: Brighton & Hove City Council www 2021)

The Brighton & Hove City Downland Estate Plan

Last Friday, André Viljoen and Katrin Bohn took part in an online meeting with officers of Brighton & Hove City Council to discuss a collaboration on the City’s Circular Economy Programme. The meeting’s host, Nicholas Fishlock, Project Manager at the City’s Regeneration Team, explained that the Circular Economy Programme is currently being developed and will…

Katrin Bohn • 10th May 2021

Cover page of the Ernährungsrat’s recommendations to state government for the development of the Brandenburg Food Strategy (source: Ernährungsrat Brandenburg www 2021)

LebensMittelPunkt concept becomes part of food strategy proposals in Germany

‘The German land of Brandenburg is to get a food strategy. That is what the county’s coalition agreement says.’ This March, Ernährungsrat Brandenburg, the food policy council of the land of Brandenburg, submitted its proposals for the strategy process to the state government. The paper is the result of a total of nine workshop discussions…

Katrin Bohn • 3rd May 2021

Nearly 200 colleagues were nominated for this year's One Staff Brighton Awards. (source: University of Brighton 2021)

Congratulations! Andre and Katrin nominated for University of Brighton award!

We are pleased to announce that Andre Viljoen and Katrin Bohn have been nominated in the University of Brighton’s One Staff Awards for a Research & Enterprise Award in the Outstanding Research & Enterprise Impact category. Last week, in a university-wide online awards event, nearly 200 nominees were celebrated. The University of Brighton’s One Staff…

Katrin Bohn • 27th April 2021

The site is situated close to the former village of Öjendorf and borders agricultural and nature protection areas. (image: büro luchterhandt, project documentation 2021)

A new type of garden city for Hamburg-Öjendorf, Germany

Bohn&Viljoen have been appointed as productive urban landscape and urban agriculture consultants in the development process for a new urban quarter to the Northeast of Hamburg’s city centre. Earlier in April, Katrin attended their second multi-stakeholder workshop aimed at defining a framework plan for the quarter’s housing and landscape strategies as well as for the…

Katrin Bohn • 19th April 2021

Cover page of New York's newly released food policy plan (source: Mayoral Office of Food Policy New York City 2021)

First ever 10-Year Food Policy Plan for New York released

In the last week of March, the Urban Food Policy Institute at City University of New York (CUNY) hosted the Urban Food Policy Forum Food Forward NYC: Food Policy in New York City for the Next Decade and Steps toward Implementation. You may remember that, a few months ago, we reported on the Institute’s public…

Katrin Bohn • 12th April 2021

Sealed wild bees nest in a tree stump (source: Monika Egerer, Forschungs-Update für Gemeinschaftsgärten-Projekt März 2021)

Spiel/Feld Marzahn counts high number of plant species.

The research team behind the Wild Pollinator Project has just published the 2020 report about its work in and with 18 Berlin community gardens, including Spiel/Feld Marzahn. A scientific recording of numbers and types of plant species in the gardens was one aspect of the research aiming to better understand relationships between pollinators, pollen and…

Katrin Bohn • 5th April 2021

'Consumed: Communicating energy use with land art infographics' by Kristian Megyeri, Overlook Field School, Workshop 'Landscapes of Power' 2014 (source: Fuller Center for Productive Landscapes www 2021)

Productive Landscapes and Productive Urban Landscapes for sustainable futures

While completing a review for a book proposal, we came across the Fuller Center for Productive Landscapes (FCPL) at the University of Oregon, USA. Headed up by Prof. Roxi Thoren, who is also the department head for Landscape Architecture, the FCPL is a teaching center for ‘research-based design and design as research, focused on the…

Andre Viljoen • 29th March 2021

Bohn&Viljoen's public lectured about their urban design concept Continuous Productive Urban Landscape. (source: IAAC/B&V 2021)

Bohn&Viljoen present their work at IAAC Barcelona

The week before last, Katrin was invited to give a talk at the Institute for advanced architecture in Catalonia (IAAC) Lecture Series which, due to the Covid pandemic, happened online. In the first part of the event, Katrin reflected on the development of urban agriculture as a subject within urban design and architecture using the…

Katrin Bohn • 22nd March 2021

The community garden Peace of Land, one of the guest speakers at the launch event, presented not only its garden spaces but also its managerial structure. (source: Peace of Land 2021)

A community garden programme for Berlin

On the 3rd of March 2021, more than 100 people gathered online to kick-off a long-awaited project by Berlin’s Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection [Senatsverwaltung für Umwelt, Verkehr und Klimaschutz]: the participatory creation of the city’s first community garden programme. Organised and run by Berlin-based landscape architecture firm bgmr Landschaftsarchitekten with…

Katrin Bohn • 15th March 2021

Register card for locally-grown produce as part of the urban regeneration project Urbane Agrikultur in Köln-Ehrenfeld (source: Bohn&Viljoen and DQE 2011)

INVITE: Mapping the Edible City: Call for expressions of interest to contribute to book

It is our great pleasure to invite you to submit your expression of interest to our forthcoming book project Mapping the Edible City. Together with colleagues from Germany, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Norway and the USA, Katrin and Andre are members of the book’s editorial group. Please find below our call for expressions of interest that…

Katrin Bohn • 8th March 2021

Bohn&Viljoen developed a matrix to compare existing urban agriculture repositories some of which already contain tools. (source: André Viljoen 2020)

Finding the right tools for implementing urban agriculture

Yesterday, André Viljoen and Katrin Bohn met with an interdisciplinary group of agronomists, scientists and urban designers that is developing an online Toolbox ‘to promote knowledge sharing, networking and learning among people involved or willing to get involved with food-related initiatives’ as part of the EU-funded EdiCitNet project. The group, led by the Catalan Institute…

Katrin Bohn • 3rd March 2021

In her project Sea-Meat Seeweed, artist Hanan Alkouh produced meat from seaweed. The project was shown at Food Revolution 5.0 where Bohn&Viljoen exhibited The Edible Terrace. (source: Tom Mannion www 2016)

Should we stop producing meat?

Last Thursday, Katrin Bohn joined Prof. Lisa Jack from the University of Portsmouth in an expert panel discussion chaired by Dr. Neale Davies, Liverpool John Moores University, as part of the one-day (online) event The Future of Food hosted by Clean Growth UK. The panel of experts examined with the audience whether we should stop…

Katrin Bohn • 26th February 2021

Madeira Terrace's location between the sea and the city (source: Max Martin 2019)

Design a place for food growing, preparing and eating on Madeira Terrace, Brighton!

This academic year, Katrin and André are involved in the studio teaching of Year 1 architecture students at the University of Brighton, André as a design tutor and Katrin – starting last week – as a visiting lecturer and critic. For their main design project, students are being asked to design both, ‘a new space…

Katrin Bohn • 15th February 2021

The TNOC Festival happens from 22nd to 26th February 2021 online. (source: TNOC www 2021)

INVITE: The Nature of Cities Festival

We are pleased to share this invitation to The Nature of Cities (TNOC) Festival which will happen online from 22nd to 26th February 2021. Since our first contribution to TNOC in 2016 – now making it one of the earlier contributions – we have closely followed its many conversations on subjects around urban nature. The…

Katrin Bohn • 9th February 2021

Urban circularity challenges (source: Atanasova et al. (2021): Nature-based solutions and circularity in cities (book chapter, submitted))

A catalogue of technologies for nature-based solutions

At the end of January, the COST Action Circular City group met for its 6th virtual workshop. The day-long meeting – attended by 70 participants from 28 countries, including Katrin Bohn – continued work towards the ultimate aim of the project: to provide local councils and the public with ‘guidelines on the combined possibilities of…

Katrin Bohn • 1st February 2021

The event will be held online on Thursday 25th February. (source: Clean Growth UK 2021)

INVITE: Join Katrin to discuss the future of food

On Thursday, 25th February, from 10 am to 12.30 am, Katrin Bohn will be discussing the future of food with entrepreneurs and academics. Please do join in! Industry leaders will come together to share their insights on the future of food (production) in this online event hosted by Clean Growth UK, a network led by…

Katrin Bohn • 26th January 2021

Grassroots climate activism across UK universities (source: Ben Holland (2021) Grassroots activism will give power to climate action, in: RIBA Journal, 8th January 2021)

Your education is failing you!

The RIBA Journal‘s January edition features ‘a rallying cry’ by Ben Holland ‘to unite with the activism of students and young professionals across the UK and really act on the climate emergency’ . Starting with the tagline of the Climate Curriculum Campaign – Calling all architecture students, graduates, professionals. Your education is failing you! -,…

Katrin Bohn • 20th January 2021