Co-Creating Urban Gardens: Enhancing the Community Wellbeing

Project Background:

Shenzhen is well known for its “Shenzhen Speed”. Pingshan District, one of its newly developed areas, is undergoing rapid urbanization. While people are generally enthusiastic about large-scale demolition and construction, we are keenly aware of the profound value of small spaces. We collaborated with local communities, NGOs, volunteers and local government agency and built eight urban gardens in one year after the Covid-19 Pandemic. These places play a crucial role in enhancing the quality of life and strengthening human connections, serving as indispensable sanctuaries amidst the relentless pace of urban expansion. Through numerous community activities, we gradually mobilized more and more residents and volunteers. The experience of building real projects was incredibly challenging, but the moment we saw the results come to life, we deeply felt the endless charm of landscape design.

The Eight Sites:

Pocket Gardens: It  involves gardens situated at the junction of old urban villages and newly constructed residential areas. While residents of the new areas enjoy private courtyards, their neighbors in the urban villages live in poorly maintained, noise-polluted spaces adjacent to busy roads, often filled with trash and unmanaged. These urban villages are a unique type of affordable housing in Shenzhen, inhabited by many low-income individuals. Our gardens provide these residents with much-needed spaces for relaxation, interaction, and socializing, strengthening the bonds within the community.

School Gardens: It includes gardens located within schools such as kindergartens. These kindergartens had underutilized spaces that teachers hoped to transform into areas with more educational functions while also serving as gathering places for the community. Consequently, parts of the kindergarten grounds transitioned from private spaces to community living rooms. Residents regularly host activities here, fostering interaction and sharing.

Community Gardens: It includes gardens next to high-density residential areas. These areas were originally open green spaces or hardscapes without specific functions, traversed daily by numerous residents. The community expressed a need for recreational spaces. After the gardens opened, residents frequently visit to walk, entertain, enjoy the greenery, and even hold small soccer matches. More and more people are stepping out of their homes to engage with neighbors, exercise, and relish the fresh outdoor air.

Vision:

In our values, design is not just a noun but a verb. The process of creating spaces holds far greater value than the result itself. Every stage of each of our projects involves participation from multiple parties. For instance, site selection goes through a process of public applications and comprehensive evaluations. During the initial concept phase, we gather public input through surveys, interviews, and design workshops. At the same time, we promote sustainable and low-carbon design concepts, using design as a means of public education. As a medium, design enhances communication between neighbors and fosters a sense of belonging among residents, laying a solid foundation for the successful future operation of the gardens. We’ll continuously contribute to the communities through our professional knowledge. We hope this project could inspire other universities to support local communities with design expertise and make society more caring, compassionate, and friendly.