ABSTRACT
Green is the colour of hope. The history of urban green spaces illustrates how politicians, planners and local inhabitants debated and thought about the improvement of urban living conditions and the collective use of public space. Of course, the history of parks and other green areas is also about dismay and destruction, much the same way that parks are not just green, but also brown, grey and every other colour imaginable. This obvious observation illustrates the natural variation of green spaces throughout the year, especially in regions where seasons play a significant role; and it also highlights the changing political circumstances under which the meanings of urban green spaces were negotiated. Particularly in the German context, scholars have shown that an affinity for nature could signify progressive ‘green’ as well as reactionary ‘brown’ politics.1 Generally, the meaning of green space is rather dynamic and open to change, in part because it is always bound up with political ideologies and hence potential instrumentalisation.
