Set in Green Square, one of the largest urban renewal areas in Australia, the project focuses on the concept of civic ecologies.
An edible verge garden in Green Square. Photograph: Ilaria Vanni.
We borrow this concept from Krasny and Tidball (2012, 2015a, 2015b), who in their book Civic ecology: Adaptation and transformation from the ground up concentrate on ‘hands-on stewardship practices that integrate civic and environmental values’ (2015a xviii). This definition is key to understanding how place is made in Australian cities because it brings together social, cultural and environmental aspects in the study of cities and ecosystems.
A key aspect of civic ecology is that it establishes a nexus between local societies and the urban environment taking as examples self-organised, locally driven, networked stewardship initiatives including community gardening, conversions of industrial areas to nature centres, rooftop gardens, and parklands (Krasny et al. 2015b). Focusing on this aspect enables us to explore how local social practices and concerns shape civic ecologies. Starting from the point of view that there is a relation between how the environment is perceived and how the environment is treated, we have two overarching key questions:
How can we as researchers amplify and make present civic ecologies already thriving in some neighbourhoods? How can we create more meaningful connections to the environment and place using designed artefacts and experiences?
How does the concept of civic ecologies apply to Australian cities, and specific precincts like Green Square? How can we respectfully foreground practices of care of Country that sustained this area for millennia? What is specific about civic ecologies in Sydney? How does this concept come into life in the grip with the histories and practices of the neighbourhood? Who is involved in civic ecologies?
Krasny, M. E., & Tidball, K. G. (2015). Civic ecology: Adaptation and transformation from the ground up. MIT Press.
Krasny, M. E., & Tidball, K. G. (2012). Civic ecology: a pathway for Earth Stewardship in cities. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 10(5), 267-273.
Chief investigators: A/Prof Ilaria Vanni, A/Prof Alexandra Crosby, UTS DAB.
Partner investigators: 107 Green Square
Funding body: City of Sydney
Project website: https://www.mappingedges.org/projects/the-green-square-atlas-of-civic-ecologies/
Featured publication(s): Atlas out in early 2022.