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Unearthing the Unpermitted Movement

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Informal Urban Agriculture

Part of the book series: Urban Agriculture ((URBA))

Abstract

The occupation of land without permission, or ‘guerrilla gardening’, is on the rise globally: from Africa to North America, Europe and beyond, groups and individuals are colonising space in order to beautify neglected land or to grow produce. Yet despite this large international movement, there is little academic research on the topic; few have explored ‘guerrillas’ up close and even fewer have delved into those who pursue the activity to grow vegetables and fruit in the city. Beginning with an outline of guerrilla gardening, we proceed to discuss the activity and various examples from across the globe to showcase the wide variety of individuals and groups who partake in the informal activity. The chapter aims to provide a broad overview of academic and nonacademic explorations of guerrilla gardeners who pursue the idea of UA, setting the scene for the following chapters which reflect on empirical material we have gathered on guerrilla activities.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Seed bombing is a tactic employed by some guerrilla involving a biodegradable object which can be thrown into inaccessible spaces. The popularity of the concept has resulted in commercialisation (see, e.g. www.seedball.co.uk).

  2. 2.

    For more information see: www.seedball.co.uk.

  3. 3.

    See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDphi9TOTRk for the video of his visit to Botswana.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford, Salford, UK

    Michael Hardman

  2. Birmingham School of the Built Environment, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, UK

    Peter J. Larkham

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  1. Michael Hardman
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  2. Peter J. Larkham
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Hardman, M., Larkham, P.J. (2014). Unearthing the Unpermitted Movement. In: Informal Urban Agriculture. Urban Agriculture. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09534-9_3

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