Temporary uses on vacant land: The role of bonding, bridging, and linking aspects of social capital in the surrounding neighbourhood

Abstract

In recent times there has been a rise of the amount of vacant lands in the global North. The rising vacancy gave birth to more initiatives from local citizens, in many cases with the rationale to temporary fill lots instead of leaving them vacant. One type of temporary use on vacant land is the development of a community garden on a vacant lot. Such initiatives have positive outcomes, including food security, human health, local ecology and social capital. In this case study, the temporary uses on the vacant lands of Westplein in Utrecht are studied as a case with the focus on social capital. Social capital theory is a useful theory to research the social effects of temporary uses on vacant lands in the surrounding neighbourhood, because participants of these temporary projects may strenghthen ties between them, which may help them to get further in life. This theory is implemented in interview questions that were taken with neirby living residents, participants of the temporary uses and with local authorities.

In general, the temporary initiatives on Westplein generate social capital in a similar fashion as was found by Firth et al. (2011), namely: 1. to develop links between institutions and authorities; 2. by creating a meeting place for interaction and community creation; 3. to build bridging social capital as a variety of residents come together; 4. by bringing people together to participate together, which creates collective ownership.

Newly found particularities were also present in this study. These temporary uses not only occupy terrain, it is also a showcase to demonstrate the potentials of an area, to attract people and to feed the discussion of the area's future. For some these kind of initiatives might even be beneficial professionally, as they learned how to deal with the merits that come from such temporary projects. Furthermore, other initiators and authorities might learn from this case, leading to more temporary uses in the future creating more social capital in the surrounding neighbourhood. Lastly, this study revealed that temporary uses on vacant land can act as a neighbourhood meeting facility, catalysing social interaction. Whether these temporary uses, such as community gardens or temporary cafetarias, lead to an increase in social cohesion within the neighbourhood is something that should be the focus for future studies. The found increase of social interaction in this study could serve as a good point of departure for such studies.