Horticultural Installations. Beautifying the City

Abstract

There is an unstoppable movement in Madrid of several collectives that are transforming degraded and unused spaces into urban gardens. Civil society is organized and appropriates part of the public space that administrations are unable to maintain. Thereby appears a citizen empowerment process that breaks the dichotomy between public and private space creating the concept of collective space where its design, implementation and care rests in citizens' hands. They no longer receiving municipal services and they become actors in a space that feels like theirs. Thus public space's design becomes a participatory process that extends beyond the usual initial design that is unrelated to future recipients and ending with the realization of the design. These dynamic processes are better able to correct the mistakes and to adapt to changing needs. These initiatives are coalescing in the Madrid's network's urban gardens with a variety of situations in both groups promoting orchards, and in the ownership of the land on which they are established. This union gives visibility to the movement and gives it strength to negotiate with the municipal administration is considering regulating the event with a city law. The visual result of the initiatives is also diverse with the addition of murals in some cases (Esta es una plaza, Aliseda 18), architectural design space (Canillejas imagina un parque, Campo de la Cebada) or simply with aesthetics that provide different horticultural species to a city where nature is treated based on the concept of controlled garden. The research group "AA.OO Arquitecturas Ocasionales" combines theoretical study with practical development process of an initiative: Aliseda 18.