Friday, July 13, 2007

Olympic Gardens?

Before I head to bed, I quickly wanted to share this link I used in my paper. It's concerning Vancouver's Social Planning initiative to create 2010 shared garden plots by 2010. You can read it here:

http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/commsvcs/socialplanning/initiatives/foodpolicy/projects/2010gardens.htm

In my paper, I discussed how this may create a new tension as new plots would essentially be planted for the purpose of generating an Olympic legacy. This would be a new chapter to the Community Garden in Vancouver because it would demonstrate new and existing gardens as public sites that are not entirely de-commodified (because of their attachment to the Olympics).

I'm wondering how garden leaders feel about this initiative, perhaps positive, perhaps negative or more than likely a little from columns A and B.

1 comment:

VPSN said...

Hi Mau,

I'd be really interested in reading your paper. I work at the City - and cover off some of the 2010 Gardens-related work. We're very interested in people's reactions to the initiative.

I think I speak for most folks that work on the project when I say that we'd like to see more community gardens, regardless of the olympic tie-in.

On the other hand, given the real need to bolster food security throughout the city, if the cause can be advanced a little through this approach then so much the better.

Anyway, if you feel like emailing me a copy please send it to foodpolicy -at- vancouver -dot- ca.

Keep up the good work with the blog!

- andrew pask, social planning department