ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the scene for the dynamic urban processes which are partly under the control of planning regimes and partly affected by competing forces which can be broadly defined as capitalist and anti-capitalist. It deals with a shift in scale from the consideration of ecosystem services to more specific aspects of sites, especially in identifying and taking account of risk factors posed by gardening in urban situations. The book focuses on to urban design and the way that allotment gardens are embedded in the fabric of the city, emergent types of gardens. It looks at place making and the ways in which people attach themselves to their gardens and express themselves. The book provides motivations leading people to take up gardening and explores the role of trust and cooperative actions in building social capital.
