Green in the City

Our University of the Streets Café public conversations are much like any you’d have with friends or family around a dinner table, except with more people, more points of view, and slightly more structure. Conversations are hosted by a volunteer moderator who is there to welcome everyone and keep things on track. To get things started, there’s a guest, or sometimes two, who get the ball rolling by sharing their ideas, experiences and questions. After that, it's all up to the participants.

From spontaneous u-pick guerrillas to educational alley-greening, urban agriculture takes many forms.  Do these different expressions contribute to the emergence of urban-based seeds-to-table food security systems or is their role primarily educational or strictly ornamental? This public conversation will consider the many forms of urban agriculture and the extent to which these efforts contribute to community building. Who takes part in collective gardens and other urban agriculture efforts and to what extent does neighborhood urban greening such as green alleys contribute to gentrification?

Guests:
Serge Quenneville has worked on a number of social transition initiatives in the Sud-Ouest borough including launching a seeds-exchange program and a vegetable production initiative adapted to the local environment. His background is in environmental health and ecological anthropology. He contributed to a first public debate on energy politics and on energetic continentalism in 1980. He helped initiate the participation of Quebec NGOs in the 1992 Rio Summit and the creation of the Agenda 21 alternative plan.

Christian Scott has been working in urban sustainability, urban agriculture and (public)space making projects for the last several years in Montreal and in his mexican-hometown Guadalajara. On his non-work time he writes short stories and makes music.

Moderator:
Kika Bonezzi is an environmental and international cooperation specialist who is enthusiastic about initiatives that connect people, create awareness and care for the environment. Being deeply concerned about educational, environmental issues and social justice, she has always been involved in social impact initiatives that promote inclusion, fair trade, literacy, etc. Recently she has become concerned and involved with issues related to the impact of food production on nature’s health as on ours.

Accessibility info: Le Centre Culturel Georges-Vanier is wheelchair accessible via a ramp. There are accessible washrooms equipped with grab bars.