Residents join forces to plant new greenery in their street

In Ledeberg, one of the pilot areas within Rewild the City, several streets are undergoing a complete makeover. With no less than 20 per cent green space, they will be much less sealed than before. Ploegstraat is the first to be completed.

The residents themselves provided the finishing touch: around 30 neighbours joined forces to plant the plants and shrubs together in just a few hours. That is a lot, in a street with around 50 houses. The intensive co-creation process that preceded the planting day certainly had a lot to do with that.

Everyone participates

From the outset, the City of Ghent involved local residents in the selection and maintenance of the new greenery in the street. During an information session at the end of September, they were given an initial explanation of street garden management. In the workshops that followed, the residents worked with a landscape architect from the Greening Department to choose which trees, flowers, plants and shrubs would be planted and were given an explanation about façade plants.

The project did not explicitly seek out only neighbours with a passion for greenery. Those who preferred to lend equipment, provide snacks or drinks, or take on other roles were also very welcome. This allowed all neighbours to contribute. ‘That's right,’ says local resident Flore. 'I have absolutely no knowledge about plants. And yet I immediately wanted to get involved. I had only been living here for one week when the street was being rebuilt and we, as neighbours, were given the opportunity to contribute to the greenery, each in our own way. It seemed like the ideal opportunity to get to know everyone here and learn something about plants as well. I was happy to take on the role of bridge builder: the point of contact for neighbours and city employees."

Living together among greenery

Residents managing greenery in public spaces is nothing new in Ghent. Even before, Ghent residents could take care of a planting area, but this was usually done individually: one resident would take responsibility for one or a few street gardens. Now, for the first time, neighbours are all working together to manage the street gardens throughout the entire street.

'I've never seen anything like what's happening here in my life!' says local resident Lea. 'The atmosphere in this street is so warm. A year and a half ago, I moved from Marseille in France to Ploegstraat, and I felt welcome from day one. Now that we are planting together with our neighbours, we are becoming even closer. Greenery is important from an ecological point of view, but it is just as important from a social one.'

An example for cities all over Europe

From now on, the neighbours will also take care of the maintenance as one team. The City of Ghent takes care of the trees, the residents do the rest: they water, weed and keep the planting areas tidy. Neighbour Kathleen is convinced that everything will go smoothly. 'There are so many socially engaged people living here! We take good care of each other. A little further down the street, there is a lady in a wheelchair. She is very happy with the extra greenery, but cannot maintain it herself. I will be happy to do it for her. Together with the neighbours, we organise one or two days a year when we all get together to do some work.'

Lea is also certain that everyone will have a lot of respect for the plants. “You simply take better care of something you've planted yourself. I can only hope that our street will inspire other streets and cities. This should really happen all over Europe!"

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