Horti+cultures

Abstract

The wasteland vegetable garden, Horta do Baldio, arose from the artistic programme More for Less than for More, which was set up in Lisbon from December 2013 to June 2014. It was one of four community gardens that this cultural programme planned to develop with the participation and training of volunteers, under the thematic banner of a vegetable garden on every corner, with the objective that they would serve as a temporary stage for the artistic programme. The particular characteristics of the wasteland vegetable garden were that, firstly, it was set on an empty lot in the city center of Lisbon and, secondly, it managed to gather around itself an active and creative Community till today. This paper aims to reflect not only this process of participatory citizenship, but also on the role of art and culture in the sustainable development of a city.