Field Actions Science Reports (Nov 2010)
Is there a future for Krakovo gardens in Ljubljana?
Abstract
Urban agriculture is more or less marginalized within the theory, as well as within the conceptualization of sustainable development for Slovene towns. The spatial development plan of Ljubljana reflects the situation: permanent and temporary locations for gardens are to be situated all over the town, but there is no place for them in the inner city centre, in visually exposed sites, or near areas of cultural heritage. Yet, in the very inner centre of Ljubljana, 1.8 ha of allotment gardens are protected as cultural heritage. Therefore the case of these gardens, known as the Krakovo gardens, was used to discuss the perspective of urban agriculture in Ljubljana. The current condition of the gardens is poor – becoming worse. To keep them cultivated and in this way preserve the historic open space benefits a model of multifunctional urban agriculture was developed and studied with the relevant stakeholders: landowners, the Municipality of Ljubljana, providers/users of the on-garden activities, and the general public. Analysis SWOT show that the concept of revitalising the Krakovo gardens based on the model of multifunctional urban agriculture represents a good starting point for their future development. Testing the acceptability of the model revealed that the key stakeholders, Municipality of Ljubljana and landowners, are exercising more restraint than favour toward it. This means that first the institutional conditions for its implementation need to be created by two possible scenarios. The first one relates to creating the conditions for concept implementation by means of public-private partnership, while the second is based on the model of lease and purchase of the land bearing the Krakovo gardens by the Municipality.
