Productive Urban Landscapes

Research and practice around the CPUL design concept

INVITE: First “Stammtisch” of the Food Policy Council Berlin, Germany

Please come to the “Stammtisch [Regulars’ Table]” of the Ernährungsrat Berlin [Food Policy Council Berlin] on Tuesday 23rd April from 6 pm at Vagabund Brauerei (Antwerpener Straße 3). Once per month, Berlin’s food policy activists meet in one of Berlin’s micro breweries for an informal gathering and exchange. If you don’t fancy a hand-brewed craft…

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INVITE: Start of the gardening season at Spiel/Feld Marzahn

The first seeds are already in the ground in the “big bed” at the Spiel/Feld community garden in Berlin’s northernmost borough of Marzahn-Hellersdorf. And in two days happens the community association’s first Spring meeting. Please be invited to the gardeners’ meeting of Spiel/Feld Marzahn e.V. this Wednesday, 10th of April 2019, at 4pm. We want…

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Participants discuss the potential use and usefulness of the new platform in several break-out sessions. (source: ScholzConstructors 2019)

“Platform Productive Urban Green” starts in Berlin

Thursday, 28th March 2019, marked the official beginning of Berlin’s new Platform Productive Urban Green [Plattform Produktives Stadtgrün]. This new website and communication format aims to engage the public and city officials in discussing the future of the capital’s open (green) urban spaces by focussing on distinct spatial typologies. The first of those is dedicated…

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The Theater am Rand with its solar roof seen from the North (source: Theater am Rand www 2019)

INVITE: Seed exchange at Theater am Rand near Berlin

This Sunday, 24th March 2019, the already traditional Saatguttauschbörse [seed exchange] starts at 11am at the Theater am Rand at Zollbrücke 16, Oderaue near Berlin, under the slogan Sharing seeds, Exchanging experiences, Safeguarding diversity. As this is an event in German, here follows the German invitation: Saatgut teilen, Erfahrungen austauschen, Vielfalt erhalten Die Saatguttauschbörse zum…

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Fridays for Future Global Climate Strike in Berlin (source: Bohn&Viljoen 2019)

INVITE: Do join us for the Global Climate Strike!

This Friday, 15th March 2019, the first Global Climate Strike will happen in many countries of the world. It is inspired by and part of the Fridays for Future movement which, since months, sees school children and young people in many towns and cities take to the streets every Friday to demonstrate for urgent and…

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The Big Bed at Spiel/Feld Marzahn seen in 2011 (source: Katrin Bohn 2011)

Berlin’s Spiel/Feld Marzahn association elects a new head

Last week, the neighbourhood association Spiel/Feld Marzahn e.V. held its annual general meeting in which the past gardening year of 2018 was celebrated and the new year planned. All attention centred around the 600 m² food-productive garden and its associated people, facilities and activities. Apart from providing the opportunity to grow fruit and veg outside…

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The data to be used in the map function of Platform Productive Urban Green - Community Gardens comes from four main sources. (source: AG Stadt & Ernährung 2019)

Plattform Produktives Stadtgrün meets Berlin’s community gardening activists

Yesterday, the AG Stadt & Ernährung discussed their initial ideas for a new online platform about Berlin’s productive urban green spaces with some of the city’s community gardening activists. Since having been commissioned towards the end of 2018 by the Berlin Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection [Senatsverwaltung für Umwelt, Verkehr und…

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Berlin isst so. Unsere Ernährungsstrategie. A word play on 'Berlin is like this. [Berlin ist so.]' and 'Berlin eats like this. [Berlin isst so.] [source: SenJVA www 2019]

A food strategy for Berlin

Yesterday, the Berlin Senate Department for Justice and Consumer Protection presented its draft Food Strategy for Berlin to an interested audience in a public event titled Entwicklung einer zukunftsfähigen Berliner Ernährungsstrategie [Development of a sustainable food strategy for Berlin]. Organised by the Senate Department, the morning of the day-long event was dedicated to a series…

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Four different organic sprouting seeds – mustard, red clover, alfalfa, cress and – are tested for an installation. (source: Katrin Bohn 2008)

INVITE: Vitamins out of the jar in Berlin, Germany

Please do come along to a new event of the hands-on event series Preserving, Exchanging, Tasting organised and run by LebensMittelPunkt Spandau in cooperation with KlimaWerkstatt Spandau and Zentrum für Kulturforschung. This time, the group will look at sprouts and germlings and how they can help people to get through the winter with self-grown produce….

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Image: Green facade of a residential Gründerzeit building in Berlin (source: Reinhard Groszmann 2019)

A new food-productive life for Berlin’s fire break walls?

Yesterday, Katrin Bohn was invited by the Eastern branch of Germany’s B.A.U. Association [B.A.U.-Regionalgruppe Ost des Bund Architektur & Umwelt e.V.] to consult on its Initiative Green Fire Break Walls [Initiative Grüne Brandwände]. Aim of the working meeting of the association was to explore synergies between its own initiative to transform into “green walls” Berlin’s…

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The 'Big Bed' occupies an area of about 600 m² in a much larger brownfield site surrounded by high-rise appartment blocks. (source: Katrin Bohn 2017)

Christmas season at Spiel/Feld Marzahn

Last week, the now already legendary Christmas party of Berlin’s community garden Spiel/Feld Marzahn happened in nearby community centre Felix. It’s a small event, but for the gardeners, neighbourhood activists and friends and supporters it is the one time in the year where all sit together, enjoy tea and the seasonal food everybody brought in…

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The first part of the Platform is dedicated to Berlin's community gardens. (source: Beatrice Walthall 2012)

A networking and information tool on productive urban green

Contracts have been signed between the Berlin Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection [Senatsverwaltung für Umwelt, Verkehr und Klimaschutz] and the AG Stadt & Ernährung [Working Group City & Food] to begin their joint work with Berlin’s community gardeners. Aim of the project Plattform Produktives Stadtgrün [Platform Productive Urban Green] is to…

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The event will be moderated by Agnes Duda and Corinna Vosse as part of Zusammen.Wachsen.Lassen, funded by Germany's national climate protection initiative (NKI). (source: Corinna Vosse)

INVITE: Preserving, Exchanging, Tasting on Tuesday 13th November

Since more than a year, LebensMittelPunkt Spandau is running free events for participants to engage in prossessing locally harvested food. The project invites all that are interested to their event Making Chutney. Details: Tuesday 13th November, 5pm – 7pm, Gartenarbeitsschule Borkzeile, Borkzeile 34, Spandau, Berlin. Please do come along! Here the invitation in German: Herzlichste…

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The second life of the Edible Terrace at Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin

We are pleased to let you know that by the end of this week, the edible roof garden installation at Berlin’s Kunstgewerbemuseum [Museum of Decorative Arts] will have been fully recycled. The installation Eat the View: An edible terrace for the Kunstgewerbemuseum was designed, built, planted and attended by Bohn&Viljoen Architects and students at the…

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Only one more week can local schools use the Edible Terrace for outdoor lessons and events. (source: Katrin Bohn 2018)

INVITE: Last chance to see the Edible Terrace

Food Revolution 5.0 at the Kunstgewerbemuseum (KGM) Berlin [Museum of Decorative Arts Berlin] remains open for only one more week. The art and architecture exhibition that shows the Essbare Terrasse designed and built by Bohn&Viljoen with students of the Technical University of Berlin closes its doors on 30th September. Our live food-growing installation Die Essbare…

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A wooden footpath leads through a grassy field with cable cars seen above. (Source: GrunBerlin, 2022)

GrunBerlin, Germany

GruneBerlin is a state-owned company delivering green infrastructure throughout Berlin. They operate over 700 hectares of urban open spaces such as ‘squares and parks, tourist guidance systems, sustainable mobility offers, [and] memorials’. With every project they undertake holding a shared goal of ‘to change Berlin in a sustainable way’. Their projects within Berlin have led…

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A wheat field can be seen behind a trees. (Source: On the Grid, 2022)

Herzberge Landscape Park, Germany

Herzberge Landscape Park in Berlin replaces a former 100 hectare industrial space. What used to be a railyard and stadium is now orchards, paddocks and livestock.  From 2003 the site has been redeveloped into urban agricultural lands and park lands. Sheep have been grazing the paddocks on a rotation system since 2009 and they’re one…

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People harvesting at a Prinzessinnengarten site amongst the city’s buildings. (Source: DW, 2022)

Prinzessinnengarten Berlin, Germany

Launched by Nomadisch Grün (Nomadic Green) in 2009, Prinzessinnengarten Kollektiv Berlin is a project transforming wasted open spaces within Berlin into productive nomadic gardens. All plants are grown in transportable vessels such as potato sacks or milk crates meaning if ever any of the spaces are reclaimed for other purposes the garden can simply be…

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