The role of place making in a citizen initiated community garden. A case-study about the experiences of volunteers and visitors of the horicultural garden Warmoes

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2017-02-20

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en

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In the Netherlands community gardens are an emerging trend, which is interesting in relations to the developments in the field of active citizenship. The Dutch government strives for a participatory society in which active citizenship is encouraged and citizens are expected to take more responsibility for their living environment. These citizen initiatives are an example of volunteers taking care of the spatial environment and contribute to the spatial quality of these places. In doing so, citizens initiatives contribute to place making. The goal of this master thesis is to investigate the citizen initiated community garden Warmoes through the lens of place making by looking at the relation between people and place, by conducting qualitative research on sense of place and sense of community by observing and interviewing participants and visitors of the community garden. This research shows that initiatives to foster citizenship in a spatial environment have most chance of succeeding when developed in a place that already has meaning, and with policymaking actors in a facilitating role. It is unlikely that participation in a meaningful place like this community garden has spill-over effects. Users have limited time and resources available and therefore do not participate in many other initiatives.

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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen