Guimaraes Working Group 2: Foodscapes

Guimarães Working Group 2: Foodscapes

Coordination: Jeroen de Vries & Meryem Atik (LNI), Andreia Ribeiro (Landscape Laboratory)

Local challenge

How might we strengthen the Veiga de Creixomil and community gardens as a productive, educational, and ecological landscape that supports local food systems, promotes social inclusion, and reduces the use of pesticides, encouraging sustainable farming practices that protect soil, water, and biodiversity within the urban context?

Spatial scope: Community Gardens + Veiga de Creixomil

Partners: representatives of the community garden and some farmers, municipality, school canteens, and chefs.

Guiding questions

  1. How can community gardens and Veiga de Creixomil contribute to sustainable urban food systems and local resilience?
  2. What design strategies could integrate productive landscapes into urban areas while maintaining biodiversity and social value?
  3. How can these spaces serve as social, educational, and inclusive hubs for the community?
  4. Which management and governance models might ensure the long-term vitality of urban and peri-urban agriculture initiatives?

Expected outcomes and content elements for the forum publication:

  • A concept for the development of a sustainable food system and its contribution to landscape quality and the foodscapes in Guimarães and its region
  • A vision and strategy of how the food system can be developed to support the sustainable development of the area.
  • A set of objectives that can be used for guidance of spatial development.
  • Some proposals for spatial interventions on a site/ local /regional level that can inspire the local community, stakeholder groups and/or policy makers.
  • Creixomil floodplain conceptual vision and strategic zoning, balancing historical agricultural use, heritage, urban accessibility and ecological requirements
  • Social design toolkit for the allotment gardens
  • Economic model (as a case study), proposing a governance model for the Creixomil floodplain
  • Suggestions for innovative educational approaches
  • Suggestions for possible research topics /research questions