by Simone and Cornelius

Imagine a disused airport field in the middle of the city. You could walk from runway to runway over vast grassy areas, be “mad-max” with a rocket strapped to your back and roller skates on your feet, build the biggest urban garden project – but all that stops you is a huge fence.

In 2008, that was exactly the situation at Tempelhof Berlin. Several thousand people demanded the airport to be opened to the public, demonstrated, and lastly were heard, thus fields were opening. With the same attitude and drive for action Allmende-Kontor e.V established in 2011 the biggest urban garden project with now more than 250 raised beds on the plain fields of Tempelhof.

Wow! That attitude got us interested, now 10 years later, what utility the garden provides for its community. To address this, we conducted a Survey with qualitative and quantitative questions.

Through several question areas, where participants were asked to answer according to their experiences with the urban gardens in Tempelhof, lasting from topic areas like wellbeing, garden-maintenance, gardening in general and park organization, we approved the following hypothesis: Urban Gardens enhance collective wellbeing.

We asked 44 people, and…
… 53% think gardening in general has a balancing effect.
… 98% feel safe and secure in the urban garden at Tempelhofer Feld.
… 9% wish more separation between the gardens and the park activity.
… 88% say that music, skateboarding and partying are part of the positive ambience of the gardens at Tempelhofer Feld.
… 98% consider urban gardens to be aesthetically pleasing.

Let’s put numbers aside and say it in words: The gardens at Tempelhofer Feld are an optical enhancement of the park and fit perfectly in the surrounding. Furthermore, people feel safe while enjoying some kind of nature amidst Berlin. Park activities and gardening harmonize next to each other and ensure wellbeing.

If you’ interested in gardening, the Allmende projects and workshops – check this out:

https://www.allmende-kontor.de/

And if you are curious about our garden project at Tempelhofer Feld here are some pictures: