Walking through Berlin's Schrebergärten and Comparing them to Gardens Elsewhere

Nothing is more telling about the political economy of space in Berlin than the fact that allotment gardens have websites. While the latter are a great tool to organize, they are indicative of the fact that society in general is detached from the garden as place. One needs a website to keep up with what their garden neighbors are up to, to know when they’ll have running water, or if they want to join a community or activity. Websites for allotment gardens also serve a greenwashing function as they portray a series of activities, initiatives and communities centered around gardens, as taking place “in nature” or “in the open.” In these latter instances, nature is not experienced, but constructed.  

Departing from a comparison to Tirana, gardens in Berlin are separated from the house and placed elsewhere, making for different ways of inhabiting the space. Placemaking in the garden is different when it is part of your house, - where you can simply be and rest. The tiny houses and/or sheds in allotment gardens mimic the function, care, affects and affordances of actually having a house with a garden. For however much greenery allotment gardens offer, they remain an in-between place inhabiting the threshold of what once was. Allotment and community gardens in Berlin constitute fragmentary instances of what being in the garden can be.

The politics surrounding allotment gardens, - shaped by high prices, assigned scarcity and inheritance policies, as well as the fact that most community gardens need to be project-driven to justify their existence, - challenge the idea that gardens and gardening in Berlin can be sustainable.

What narratives can be subverted by focusing on the role of gardens as catalysts for urban development rather than on establishment buildings?