On September 8th, EdiCitNet’s Principal Investigator, Dr. Ina Säumel, presented the EdiCitNet project at a workshop organised by the Housing Cooperative Forum (Genossenschafts Forum e.V.) in Berlin.

The aim of the event was to discuss sustainable urban design and the links between green urban spaces and those spaces which bring people and communities together. The organisation was also keen to explore cooperation opportunities with partners from the fields of nature conservation, community gardening and edible urban landscapes and look at how these kind of elements could be developed and integrated into housing cooperatives in the future.

Alongside the Edible Cities Network presentation, there were presentations from Berlin’s Prinzessinnengarten Kollektiv (the site of one of the EdiCitNet Living Labs) about their methods and participative strategies for involving neighbouring communities in their garden and from a project called Treffpunkt Vielfalt (Diversity Meeting Point) and Vielfalt Leben (Live Diversity) that are transforming the courtyards of residential buildings into biodiverse-rich green areas, together with local residents.

The event started with a guided tour of the Prinzessinnengärten through the cemetery grounds in Neukölln and ended with lunch in the Prinzessinnengärten, with food from their own kitchen, including fruits and vegetables grown directly in the garden.