future of allotments in the uk: manchester city camp

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The Future of Allotments in the UK. Growing Manchester:

an open data story

Farida VisUniversity of Leicester [department of Media and Communication] fv12@le.ac.uk - @flygirltwo

The Future of Allotments in the UK: Part of a larger project

With the Open Knowledge Foundation (and Joao Cabrita)Allotment Finder – online tool to locate nearest allotment + info about waiting list, rent, water charges, discounts, other conditions

With Simon Faulkner (MMU) Heritage identities, return of The Diggers in times of economic crisis, Diggers festivals

With Yana Manyukhina (Leicester)Print media representation of allotments in UK pressLocal policy and tenancy agreements

Political participation – (active) citizenship, voice and listening Everyday really useful open data

Common land, the commons, openness, sharing with others

Sustainable platform politics and local (data driven) journalism Social change – community engagement

Local case studies – multiple angles Use of social media (online archiving – FB and YouTube)

Allotment holder | ex committee member | McR based

Waiting list crisis (our local site) – Transition Town Kirby, Margaret Campbell Grow Your Own | Land Share initiative | guerrilla gardening | alleyway gardensRecent changes – rent increases, water rates, tenancy agreements Threat to the Allotment Act – Clause 23 (Very limited government consultation )Localism BillLimited media coverage

With Yana Manyukhina (Leicester)Print media representation of allotments in UK pressLocal policy and tenancy agreements

With Simon Faulkner (MMU) Heritage identities, return of The Diggers in times of economic crisis, Diggers festivals

Gerrard Winstanley Festival – Wigan, 10th of September 2011

Rediscovering local/personal history and heritage + fight the cuts

Ashton Allotment Action

1996 – M60, land taken back by the Council. Given to local estate agent. Not yet returned to allotment stock.

Public space? Now privately owned

Space denied

Current waiting lists stats: 700 people on waiting lists for Tameside Council Allotments.Half (350) waiting for Ashton Moss – some as long as 8 years – A dormant creative public.

‘On St. George’s Day, Saturday 23rd of April, 2011, we started a Green Revolution in Ashton-Under-Lyne, Tameside, in the tradition of English Radical group The Diggers

who during the period of the English Commonwealth, in 1649 reclaimed the common land of St. George’s Hill from the Lords of the Manor by digging and cultivating it.’

[www.bobsbackyard.co.uk/AAA]

‘…we invite others who are on the waiting list for allotments on Ashton Moss and anyone else who supports what we are doing to come and join us’ [ibid]

‘We call on the Council, as a matter of urgency to call a meeting of all of the people who are on their waiting list for an allotment on Ashton Moss, in order to facilitate the allocation of allotment association to administrate and manage the Ashton Allotment site. We call on Cordingleys to immediately hand over the allotment to Tameside Council as a matter of urgency’. [ibid]

The Diggers 1649 - 1651

Gerrard Winstanley

‘Winstanley declared that: “true freedom lies where a man receives his

nourishment and preservation, and that is in the use of the earth”. [ibid]

Saturday digs – food and drink provided

National and local media coverage

The One Show, Radio 4, BBC Manchester

Open data & data journalismAllotment Finder – tool

Open Knowledge Foundation | Data GMLocal government – Trafford Council

Really useful open dataEveryday (trash, allotments, childcare)

Finding the data (Data GM, FOI requests WhatDoTheyKnow.com, The Guardian data store)

Finding stories in the dataData literacy

Working together (Help Me Investigate)

Due to waiting list crisis and GYO popularity – new growing initiatives. Maps show availability

Mapping plots in Manchester – AMAS (incomplete) + Trafford (open data of allotment locations released by the council)

Collecting data = time consuming (mainly not available). Not precise

Assessing sustainability in Greater Manchester – mapping growing possibilities, resources + info with precise data

Trafford allotment (point data) mapped on Ordinance Survey ward boundaries

Trafford allotment (point data) mapped on Ordinance Survey ward boundaries

Trafford allotment (point data) - detail

Trafford allotment (point data) - detail

Assessing sustainability in Greater Manchester – mapping growing possibilities, resources + info with clean data

Combine efforts with existing organisations and initiatives

Growing Manchester

Farida Vis – fv12@le.ac.uk

If interested, please get in touch

@flygirltwo

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