Spaces to grow a community

Underused car parks are providing space for farms and gardens

Dramatic transformations are set to take place at Ty Pawb arts centre car park in the Welsh town of Wrexham, the Vyse Street multi-storey in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter and the Garibaldi Street surface car park in the East Marsh area of Grimsby. These three car parks in different parts of Britain tell one story: converting grey parking spaces into green places can be good for our physical health, our mental wellbeing and our local communities.

Enabling people to grow, prepare and cook their own food is a key driver behind the creation of community gardens, rooftop orchards and urban farms. These green spaces give people the opportunity to pick, and cook fresh food within a few metres of their homes. And the fruit and vegetables cultivated in their raised beds, potted trees and greenhouses can be sold to local restaurants or given to local people via food banks and other networks.

These reimagined spaces will provide pleasant environments in which people will want to hang out with friends and neighbours, thus tackling isolation and helping build community ties. And they can make commercial sense too. The often underused roof decks of multi-storey car parks offer settings with panoramic views for cafés and bars that can inject life back into struggling town centres. Now that is food, and drink, for thought.

Mark Moran Editor