Growing gardens of belonging in the city: insights from Copenhagen

Urban Farm DB summary

Two years of anthropological fieldwork in an urban community garden in central Copenhagen, Denmark, investigated permaculture-inspired practices. The study explored how gardeners enact the ethical principles of permaculture (People Care, Earth Care, and Fair Share) and how these practices relate to experiences of belonging. Findings indicated that small, situated acts of care, emerging through mutual attention, co-creation, and improvisation, fostered connections among gardeners, the garden's ecology, and wider systems of resource governance. Experiences of belonging were contingent, fluctuating, and sometimes fragile, and the study emphasized the limits and vulnerabilities of such connections.