Interviews

Hey guys!

One more thing we wanted to share with you are the summaries we made of two very interesting interviews we conducted with Jan van der Schans and Barbara van Dyck. They both gave us very interesting insights on the topic:

Interview Jan van der Schans – directeur Havensteder (housing corporation) – Wednesday 4 of April 2012, 11.15 by telephone

Healthy city, together with ‘GGD (youth health organization)’, Aldra College (both primary as secondary education), Aafje zorg organisatie (health organization), DURA (building company) aims Havensteder (housing corporation) to create a healthy city.

Volunteers help out in Lombardijen at the Dantetuin. Children of surrounding primary schools are involved in this project, these children are mostly members of ethnic minorities. They live in deprived neighborhoods and do not get healthy food every day. By involving mothers and children in this agriculture project they can grow their own vegetables. When the vegetables are ready for harvest, they are cooked and eaten together with everyone who has been involved in the project. In this way, people in deprived neighborhoods can get a cheap and healthy meal by means of their own vegetables. This project started two years ago and has to become a business. Havensteder is funding the project right now, but they will stop this in time as it is not their main goal to supply food for the neighborhood. There are already people interested in this. The place where the Dantetuin as well as the Meandertuin, both in Lombardijen, are located, has resulted out of the demolition of old houses. It was Havensteder´s intention to build new houses there, but due to the economic crisis, the building of new houses was not an option. This ´waste land´ could therefore be used as an urban agriculture site. This however, will change when the economic times are changing. According to van der Schans, this urban agriculture is also more favorable now due to the economic circumstances. People tend to be more careful with spending and growing your own vegetables contributes to this.

Within the city there are many closed housing blocks that have some open space within it. Sometimes there were companies located at these sites, but they were mainly demolished. Next to that at other places, these sites were just empty. Havensteder together with the people living it the houses created a kitchen garden. These people also work and eat together from the field, this is what is called by van der Schans ´positively living together´. Now the sites within the closed blocks look nice, according to van der Schans people are stimulated to keep it that way due to the fact that otherwise it will turn into dirty waste land and that does not contribute to a positive living sphere.

A third project which is a City farmer company, called Uit je Eigen Stad, near the fruit port (Marconiplein) and consists of three experienced farmers. Havensteder contributes financially to this project and the farmers in turn pay rent to Havensteder. This enormous urban agriculture project that opens in May 2012 will be a way to upgrade the neighborhood. Children from schools nearby will be invited to see and maybe even take part in the agriculture process. After urban agriculture has upgraded the neighborhood, Havensteder will start building houses in this part of the city. Havensteder aims to upgrade this part of the city first by implementing urban agriculture, after this has happened it will continue by constructing houses here. The urban agriculture project is not sure of its further existence then, it might only be used to create a positive image.

The government supports these green projects of Havensteder very much. The local alderman Alexandra van Heuvelen wants Rotterdam to become European Green Capital City in 2014. She therefore helps Havensteder and other corporation out when there are problems with civilians or companies that do not want urban agriculture to be implemented.

Urban agriculture also contributes positively to the housing corporation itself. It is not idealism that drives Havensteder to do this, it is also a way to create a positive atmosphere within neighborhoods. People will not leave when they live happily and the presence of urban green and agriculture contributes to this atmosphere. It is therefore a business tactic that Havensteder uses to keep its residents where they are.

A funny fact is that Jan van der Schans grew up in a village. His mother supported him and his brothers and sisters to grow their own vegetables in their own part of the garden. Van der Schans actually did this and he really liked it. This experience could be a reason for him to put urban agriculture in a positive light and to use it in his nowadays work.

Interview Barbara van Dyck – Tuesday 3 of April 2012, 19.30 by Skype

Urban agriculture is a very bottom-up process by which civil initiatives grow out to projects that are supported by the government. The aspect of sustainability, to use it as a market strategy is an important reason for Belgian government to support urban agriculture. In Antwerp a civil society organization called Velt strongly supports urban gardeners. Then there is this organization called Stadsspotters they are into urban agriculture but are in no way related to the government.

According to van Dyck urban agriculture in Antwerp is not really coordinated as it is only a hot topic since the last five years. She advised us to contact Stadsspotters and ask to their role in urban agriculture and the way that the Antwerp local authorities (do not) support it. I have emailed them so we will see what happens. 

Sincerely, 

The urban agriculture team