Exploring informal urban greenspace in Brisbane and Sapporo
Please see “slide notes” on Slideshare for context/comments/residents’ voices!
What grows in a vacant lot informal greenspace is influenced by the surrounding environment and the site’s ecological history, for example the seed bank. Here, the former garden inhabitants share the space with pioneer species growing where the house once stood.
Autumn is here: the butterfly net (虫取り網) lies abandoned in a vacant lot, providing a sunny spot for a late dragonfly. Informal greenspaces are teeming with plants and bugs, and provide lots of opportunities for unstructured play and nature experience.
This overgrown house demonstrates nicely how vertical green can increase plant-covered surface - and look beautiful!
Urban wildlife is abundant in Japan - in it’s plastic form. Various animals from tanuki to rabbit and frog line construction sites and keep pedestrians safe.
A tomato plant it hiding in this bit of green next to a small factory. Can you spot the dragonflies perching? It’s amazing how much is going on in the smallest of greenspaces.
It is real, not fake like a park.
—Survey respondent on the benefits of informal greenspace
Choices: 5cm mown lawn street verge or urban jungle?
Fancy designer vertical greenspace is becoming more and more popular, but it can be very simple and low tech: passionfruit (probably) growing on the fence of an apartment building.
An anthropogenic urban waterside informal greenspace, popular with plants, fish and turtles alike.
Urban railway verge informal greenspace: a refuge for plants unwanted elsewhere? A place for “weeds” where human judgement of “out-of-place-ness” is suspended through lack of attention?
Informal greenspace in a “gap” between an urban canal and a junior high school in Nagoya, Japan.
An empty lot informal greenspace next to the motorway is used as a hidden path, making the suburb more walkable.
Buffalo Central Terminal - platforms
More rail infrastructure decay
I don’t know where this is
via jose farriol
