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This article examines citizen participation in the governance of contemporary urban green space. Rather than exploring normative questions of ideal forms of participatory democracy, it focuses on changing rolesand relationships between local state and non-state actors in order to identify and explain the changing nature of participation. I argue that neoliberal urban restructuring has changed the conditions for participation and thus participation itself in fundamental ways and that we need an account of changes in statehood and governance in order to capture this conceptually. Based on the case of community gardens in Berlin, the article discusses the extent to which this changed relationship is expressed by current citizen participation as well as the potential and problems that result from it. My empirical results show the emergence of a new political acceptance of autonomously organized projects and active citizen participation in urban green space governance. The central argument of this article is that this new acceptance can be conceptualized as an expression of the neoliberalization of cities. Nevertheless, this neoliberal strategy at the same time leads to complex and contradictory outcomes and the resulting benefits are also acknowledged. ; Este artículo analiza la participación ciudadana en la gestión pública de espacios verdes urbanos contemporáneos. Más que explorar las cuestiones normativas de formas ideales de democracia participativa, el artículo se centra en el cambio de roles y relaciones entre el Gobierno local y los actores no gubernamentales con la finalidad de identificar y explicar la naturaleza cambiante de la participación. Argumento que la reestructuración urbana neoliberal ha cambiado las condiciones de participación, y por tanto la participación en sí misma, de forma fundamental y por ello necesitamos un registro de los cambios en el Gobierno y la condición del Estado para captar este cambio en la participación conceptualmente. Basándose en el caso de los huertos comunitarios de Berlín, el artículo discute sobre en qué medida la participación ciudadana actual refleja este cambio de relaciones así como los problemas y las potencialidades que resultan del mismo. Mis resultados empíricos muestran la emergencia de una nueva aceptación política de proyectos organizados de forma autónoma y de la participación ciudadana activa en la gestión de espacios verdes urbanos. El argumento central de este artículo es que esta nueva aceptación puede ser conceptualizada como una expresión del avance neoliberal en las ciudades. Sin embargo, esta estrategia neoliberal conduce a resultados complejos y contradictorios a la vez que los beneficios resultantes son también reconocidos.

This article examines citizen participation in the governance of contemporary urban green space. Rather than exploring normative questions of ideal forms of participatory democracy, it focuses on changing roles and relationships between local state and non-state actors in order to identify and explain the changing nature of participation. I argue that neoliberal urban restructuring has changed the conditions for participationand thus participation itself in fundamental ways and that we need an account of changes in statehood and governance in order to capture this conceptually. Based on the case of community gardens in Berlin, the article discusses the extent to which this changed relationship is expressed by current citizen participation as well as the potential and problems that result from it. My empirical results show the emergence of a new politicalacceptance of autonomously organized projects and active citizen participation in urban green space governance. The central argument of this article is that this new acceptance can be conceptualized as an expression of the neoliberalization of cities. Nevertheless, this neoliberal strategy at the same time leads to complex and contradictory outcomes and the resulting benefits are also acknowledged.

The proclaimed aim of EcoDensity, an initiative of the former mayor of Vancouver, Canada, was the achievement of a more sustainable city development through densification of existing neighbourhoods. Since the invention of EcoDensity in summer 2006 it has become a highly debated topic. This paper aims at a critical analysis of how a planning strategy of densification tried to tie itself onto a discourse of sustainability, and also how it had to re-invent and reform itself through contestation and public debate in order to gain acceptance. Thus, the development of the strategy and its contestation are the focus of this paper. Theoretically informed by the theory on hegemony by Laclau and Mouffe, the paper shows why EcoDensity has been—although eventually approved by Council—a failing hegemonic strategy. By referring to a theory on hegemony, the paper theoretically captures practices and struggles around a particular 'urban sustainability fix'.

AbstractThis article examines citizen participation in the governance of contemporary urban green space. Rather than exploring normative questions of ideal forms of participatory democracy, it focuses on changing roles and relationships between local state and non‐state actors in order to identify and explain the changing nature of participation. I argue that neoliberal urban restructuring has changed the conditions for participation and thus participation itself in fundamental ways and that we need an account of changes in statehood and governance in order to capture this conceptually. Based on the case of community gardens in Berlin, the article discusses the extent to which this changed relationship is expressed by current citizen participation as well as the potential and problems that result from it. My empirical results show the emergence of a new political acceptance of autonomously organized projects and active citizen participation in urban green space governance. The central argument of this article is that this new acceptance can be conceptualized as an expression of the neoliberalization of cities. Nevertheless, this neoliberal strategy at the same time leads to complex and contradictory outcomes and the resulting benefits are also acknowledged.Résumé Cet article examine la participation citoyenne dans la gouvernance de l'espace vert urbain contemporain. Plutôt que de s'attacher aux aspects normatifs de formes idéales de démocratie participative, il s'intéresse au changement dans les rôles et les relations entre les acteurs locaux gouvernementaux et non gouvernementaux, afin de repérer et d'expliquer la nature évolutive de la participation. La restructuration urbaine néolibérale a modifié, de manière fondamentale, les conditions de la participation et, par conséquent, la participation elle‐même. Le restituer sur le plan conceptuel implique de décrire les changements dans la nature de l'État et la gouvernance. S'appuyant sur le cas des jardins communautaires berlinois, l'article analyse la mesure dans laquelle cette relation évolutive s'exprime dans la participation actuelle des habitants, ainsi que le potentiel et les problèmes qui en découlent. Les résultats empiriques montrent l'émergence d'une nouvelle acceptation politique à l'égard de projets organisés de façon autonome et d'une participation citoyenne active dans la gouvernance de l'espace vert urbain. Selon l'argument central de cet article, cette nouvelle acceptation peut être conceptualisée comme un mode d'expression de la néolibéralisation des villes. Néanmoins, cette stratégie néolibérale conduit parallèlement à des décisions à la fois complexes et contradictoires, et les avantages qui en résultent sont également reconnus.

"Wie funktionieren Stadtentwicklung und Stadtplanung heute? Welche Veränderungen lassen sich in den letzten drei Dekaden beobachten? Und wie hängen sie mit grundsätzlichen gesellschaftlichen Transformationsprozessen zusammen? Die Autorin analysiert die Politiken, die sich in Städten entwickelten und durchsetzten, und ihre Widersprüche." (Autorenreferat)

Gemeinschaftsgärten unterscheiden sich von anderen urbanen Grünflächen dadurch, dass sie gemeinschaftlich und überwiegend unentgeltlich angelegt und gepflegt werden und einer breiteren Öffentlichkeit zur Verfügung stehen. Marit Rosol führt in ihrer stadtgeographischen Dissertation Gemeinschaftsgärten als einen neuen Freiraumtyp ein und analysiert ihn im Kontext aktueller Tendenzen der Freiraumpolitik, der Forschungen zum bürgerschaftlichen Engagement sowie des Wandels von Staat und Planung. Anhand von neun Berliner Fallbeispielen werden Gemeinschaftsgärten umfassend charakterisiert. Motive und Ziele der relevanten AkteurInnen werden ebenso herausgearbeitet wie Potenziale, Schwierigkeiten und Risiken. Schließlich leitet die Autorin praktische Handlungsempfehlungen sowohl für die GartenaktivistInnen als auch für die räumliche Planung ab. Dabei wird auch auf aktuelle Erfahrungen "grüner Zwischennutzungen" sowie der community gardens in New York, Toronto und Seattle verwiesen. Gemeinschaftsgärten entstehen derzeit – so die These der Arbeit –vor dem Hintergrund eines gesellschaftlichen Wandels, der einerseits Freiräume für BewohnerInnen schafft, andererseits auch die Gefahr einer Abwälzung bislang kommunaler Aufgaben sowie eine ungleiche Versorgung mit öffentlichen Freiräumen befürchten lässt. Mit der Untersuchung der Bedingungen und Grenzen freiwilligen Engagements leistet die Arbeit einen empirischen und theoretischen Beitrag zur Diskussion um Stand und Entwicklung kommunaler Infrastrukturen. ; Community gardens differ from other urban green spaces like parks or allotments, because they are managed collectively and mostly voluntarily and are open to a broader public. Marit Rosol introduces community gardens as a new type of urban green spaces in Germany and analyses it in the context of landscape planning politics, research concerning civic engagement and changes of the (local) state and spatial planning. Based on qualitative research, especially in-depth interviews, nine Berlin case study community gardens are described comprehensively. Motivation and aims of the relevant actors as well as potentials, difficulties and risks are shown. Moreover the author gives practical advise both for gardening activists as for urban planners. For this purpose she also draws on experiences with "green" temporary uses as well as with community gardens in New York, Toronto and Seattle. Community gardens are currently coming into being in Berlin - so the thesis of the work - because of changes in society, which open up new opportunities for residents, but also imply the risk of downloading former state responsibilities onto them and unequal provision with open green spaces. With the study on conditions and barriers of voluntary engagement the work makes a theoretical and empirical contribution to the debates of state and development of municipal infrastructures.