Category Archives: Thesis and internship possibilities

Sense of place in a neighbourhood in Groningen: request for a master student

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The Rural Sociology Group is looking for a master student who is willing to do his or her master student in the city of Groningen. In Groningen an urban working group of citizens aims to establish an ecological walking route in their neighbourhood Helpman/Wijert. This working group needs support in their process. A group of students from Larenstein has already helped them with a plan and communication.

The aim is to involve the neighbourhood in an action-based explorative research approach, gain insight in the sense of place, values and motivations of the citizens and analyse if this can lead to agency and participation in the green development of this urban area.

This project is part of the wider programme of KIGO, ‘Green education in the city’, aimed at cooperation between educational institutions to enhance green knowledge and green education in the city. This means that the plan is to combine the work of the student with complementary research and implementation activities by other students from for example AOC Terra in Groningen. For this research one or more master students in social sciences are requested. The implementation and starting date of the project is flexible and can be further discussed with the local commissioner, chairman of the Working Group and with Frans Traa, coordinator of the KIGO programme.

Interested students can contact L.G. (Ina) Horlings, Rural Sociology Group, lummina.horlings@wur.nl.

Thesis: the vegetable network

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100_5864By Esther Veen, PhD student of Rural Sociology

Urban Agriculture is a trendy concept for a lot of recently set up neighbourhood gardens in cities. The goal is to connect people and food again is often said. I researched four neighbourhood gardens, looking specifically at the social and dietary effects for the people involved. While the new gardens are part of a trend, some gardens have a long history of a traditional allotment complex. Especially THOSE gardeners who not necessariy identify themselves as part of an urban agriculture movement, generally harvest large amounts of produce, that they cannot all consume themselves. Many of them therefore share their harvests with friends, families and colleagues. Continue reading →

Thesis: Studying the social effects of community gardens on the wider neighbourhood

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3973780265_157e56b55fThis thesis concerns community gardens and their influence on the wider neighbourhood, especially people not involved in the gardens. The starting assumption is that people maintaining and working in community gardens meet others by doing so. That way these gardens create or strengthen their social relations. However, not all residents of the local community are involved in the community gardens and the gardens may be maintained by people from outside of the direct neighbourhood. To what extent does the social cohesion that exists and is grown at the community garden ‘spread’ beyond that garden, into the neighbourhood? Do local residents that are not involved benefit from the social cohesion created by the gardeners? (I.e. because they see the neighbourhood being beautified, because they stop and talk to those working in the garden, because they feel that something is brooding…). Continue reading →

Thesis: power to the people, roles and responsibilities

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natuursupertour1The use of the wasteland, ‘Nobelveldje’, in Wageningen in 2012 is an example of a public collective platform being established for the temporary use of a nearby vacant lot. Continue reading →

Thesis: Comparing the commons in New York, London, Berlijn and Nobelveldje?

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nobelveldjeThis research will focus on a broad comparison of national and international examples of temporary use of wasteland. What can we learn from examples in New York, London or Berlin by comparing organizing systems, communication strategies, cooperation’s or coalitions that could be of use for new initiatives of temporary use? Continue reading →