No 4 (24): 51–55.

Sociology and Social Work

 2021

Scientific article

UDK 364.122.5
pdf-version

Lucie Marchand
Eberhard Karls University
(Tubingen, Germany),
lucie.marchand@student.uni-tuebingen.de

Bunte Wiese Tübingen - A case study of good practices in local governance of urban greening

Scientific adviser:
Dr. Rolf Frankenberger
Reviewer:
Evgenia I. Sokolova
Paper submitted on: 12/06/2021;
Accepted on: 12/16/2021;
Published online on: 12/23/2021.
 Abstract. Student initiatives act as social innovators by using academic expertise to tackle societal issues practically. The University of Tübingen appears as a fertile ground in that respect, with the creation of the Initiative Bunte Wiese in 2010, that works jointly with the municipality to promote sustainable management practices of urban green spaces. This paper investigates practices and challenges encountered by Bunte Wiese in conducting its community work. It aims at identifying the variables influencing the organization’s ability to effectively promote biodiversity preservation locally. The study was conducted using semi-structured interviews carried out with one former activist as well as two current members of Bunte Wiese, and with an employee from the gardening service of the municipality. Themes arising from the discussions were used to define the main variables weighting on the Initiative’s decision-making power. Seven categories were defined, among which four components related to proactively deployed means. Structural factors, including internal factors of the organization, comanagement issues, and the external context were also identified. The steady conduction of public relations work and the awareness of the changing external environment appear to be key dimensions that might be generalized as guidelines for the success of similar initiatives.
Keywords: student initiative, local governance, urban green spaces, co-management, public relations, external context, organizational factors

For citation: Marchand, L. Bunte Wiese Tübingen - A case study of good practices in local governance of urban greening. StudArctic forum. 2021, 4 (24): 51–55.

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