ECOLOGY OF THE CITY
A collaboration working over four months in the project space for youth, JB10, in Næstved, DK
I engaged as collaborator and facilitator for a group of users of the space and its staff in this process. We started out with a focus on the structures and social rhythms of the space, in meetings, talks and cooking sessions. Many discussions were about the use of space and how space were developed in the house and its backyard. JB10 is an open house, where young people can work on realising their projects on a voluntary, facilitated level. There is staff employed but, with some exceptions, they only facilitate initiatives by the users.
During the period of my connection to JB10 we worked more and more consistently on spatial questions, where making with design of furniture and plants and starting a garden space in the backyard. This garden were partly planted with annual vegetables and partly with a range of perennial plants, shrubs, bushes and trees – all edible. Working on the concepts of forest gardening but in a dense urban context, the garden demands a low workload and gives a high yield. The perennial herbs are planted so they over time can spread, if the garden is not maintained for a period, thus keeping back the weeds and persisting to have edible produce. Still the garden is designed flexibly, apart from a few elements it can easily be changed if new purposes and desires arise.
This whole process constantly gave roots to discussions about larger urban developments and to how youth can have a say in the processes of the city. Some of this process had its centre of attention on a future redevelopment of the backyard of JB10. In this process I worked both as workshop facilitator in the idea process, starting the process of a proposal, and as the contact link between the youth and the landscape architect.
Supported by The Danish Art Foundation and Næstved Ungdomsskole