Gardens of life: Multifunctional and ecosystem services of urban cemeteries in Central Europe and beyond—Historical, structural, planning, nature and heritage conservation aspects

Cemeteries are often seen as monofunctional spaces for burial and mourning and, within the dynamically changing urban fabric, as a planning conundrum. Long periods of stability have also turned these untouched and hidden places into refugia for nature and wildlife. In booming and dense cities with high land use pressures and housing shortages, in particular, as the amount of burial ground needed per citizen decreases and burial cultures change, the cemetery has become a contested nature, as a simultaneous space of emotion, commerce and community. We revisited the diversity and ontogenesis of cemeteries, and the interactions with neighboring uses of the urban matrix. Our review demonstrates a wide range of different ecosystem services of urban cemeteries, beyond potential as hotspots of culture and biodiversity. We highlight their multifunctional character and the need for a holistic and trans-disciplinary evaluation using multistakeholder approaches to further develop cemeteries as a crucial element of sustainable urban landscapes.Peer Reviewe

Awakening the sleeping giant of urban green in times of crisis—coverage, co-creation and practical guidelines for optimizing biodiversity-friendly and health-promoting residential greenery

As multiple crises deepen existing inequalities in urban societies within and between neighborhoods, strategically integrating nature-based solutions into the living environment can help reduce negative impacts and improve public health, social cohesion, and well-being. Compared to public green such as parks, semi-public residential greenery is rarely studied, is regularly overlooked by planners, and often receives step-motherly treatment from architects and housing companies. We approximated the area of residential greenery of modernist multi-story apartment complexes in Berlin, Germany. We surveyed residents’ suggestions for improving their living environments in vulnerable neighborhoods, report on co-creation experiences, and provide a practical guideline for optimizing health-promoting residential green spaces. The semi-public open space on the doorstep of two-thirds of Berlin’s population is highly fragmented and, in total, has a similar area as the public green spaces and a great potential for qualitative development. Just as the suitability of different nature-based solutions to be integrated into the residential greenery depends on building types, resident demands differ between neighborhoods. Residents called for more involvement in design, implementation, and maintenance, frequently proposing that biodiversity-friendly measures be included. As there is no universal solution even for neighborhoods sharing similar structural and socioeconomic parameters, we propose, and have tested, an optimization loop for health-promoting residential greening that involves exploring residents’ needs and co-creating local solutions for urban regeneration processes that can be initiated by different actors using bottom-up and/or top-down approaches in order to unlock this potential for healthy, livable and biodiversity friendly cities.Peer Reviewe

Awakening the sleeping giant of urban green in times of crisis—coverage, co-creation and practical guidelines for optimizing biodiversity-friendly and health-promoting residential greenery

As multiple crises deepen existing inequalities in urban societies within and between neighborhoods, strategically integrating nature-based solutions into the living environment can help reduce negative impacts and improve public health, social cohesion, and well-being. Compared to public green such as parks, semi-public residential greenery is rarely studied, is regularly overlooked by planners, and often receives step-motherly treatment from architects and housing companies. We approximated the area of residential greenery of modernist multi-story apartment complexes in Berlin, Germany. We surveyed residents’ suggestions for improving their living environments in vulnerable neighborhoods, report on co-creation experiences, and provide a practical guideline for optimizing health-promoting residential green spaces. The semi-public open space on the doorstep of two-thirds of Berlin’s population is highly fragmented and, in total, has a similar area as the public green spaces and a great potential for qualitative development. Just as the suitability of different nature-based solutions to be integrated into the residential greenery depends on building types, resident demands differ between neighborhoods. Residents called for more involvement in design, implementation, and maintenance, frequently proposing that biodiversity-friendly measures be included. As there is no universal solution even for neighborhoods sharing similar structural and socioeconomic parameters, we propose, and have tested, an optimization loop for health-promoting residential greening that involves exploring residents’ needs and co-creating local solutions for urban regeneration processes that can be initiated by different actors using bottom-up and/or top-down approaches in order to unlock this potential for healthy, livable and biodiversity friendly cities

Amtshausgärten : rural garden culture at bailiffs estates in the Electorate and Kingdom of Hanover

Gedruckt erschienen im Universitätsverlag der TU Berlin, ISBN 978-3-7983-2809-9Spargelbeete, Hopfenstangen, Pfirsichspaliere, Heckenlauben und Apfelbäume – viele Apfelbäume – wurden gezählt, wenn ein Amtmann den Amtshof mit den zugehörigen Gärten von seinem Vorgänger übernahm. Im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert waren die Amtssitze die unteren Verwaltungsbehörden im Kurfürstentum und Königreich Hannover und sie repräsentierten den Landesherren in jedem Winkel der Provinz. Die Gärten dieser Verwaltungssitze sind ein bislang unerforschter Bereich der ländlichen Gartenkultur. Am Fachgebiet Denkmalpflege der Technischen Universität Berlin wurden diese Amtshausgärten in einem mehrjährigen, von der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft geförderten Projekt eingehend untersucht. Dieses Buch gibt Einblicke in das Gartenwesen an ausgewählten Amtshöfen, es erzählt von Möglichkeiten und Grenzen in der Anlage und Bewirtschaftung der Gärten, von ihren Eigenarten und Besonderheiten in Struktur und Gestaltung.Asparagus beds, hop poles, peach trellises, arbours and apple trees – many apple trees – were counted when a bailiff took the bailiffs estate with attached gardens from his predecessor. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the bailiffs were the lower administrative authorities in the Electorate and Kingdom of Hanover and they represented the sovereign in every corner of the country. The gardens of these estates are still an unexplored field of rural garden culture. At the chair of heritage conservation, Berlin University of Technology, the 'Amtshausgärten' were deeply explored in a multi-year research project funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. This book provides insights into these gardens on the basis of a choice of bailiffs estates. Furthermore it tells about possibilities and limits of the gardens' creation and maintenance as well as about their characteristics and peculiarities concerning structure and design.DFG, BU 2415/1-1, Obst auf das Land – Landesentwicklung durch adminstrativen Gartenkulturtransfer im 19. Jahrhundert im Königreich Hannove