Abstract
Australian local government regulation of residents growing food on city and suburban land which is visible to the public varies from progressive encouragement and support through to destruction of food plants and threats of fines. This chapter examines the destruction of mature fruit trees on the verge (nature strip) by the local council, in the Urban Food Street community project in Queensland, Australia, as a case study in the way postwar values attached to specific modes of public landsca** continue to inform local authorities’ regulatory response to visible urban gardening activity. Conflicts in regulatory decision-making, between postwar values and emerging priorities in sustainability and public health produce contested spaces at sites of public food gardening.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allon, F. (2014). At Home in the Suburbs. History Australia, 11(1), 13–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/14490854.2013.11668498.
Bartholomew, K., & Kinninment, M. (2016, December 2). Residents Growing Food by Footpaths Asked to Get Permits and Insurance. ABC News. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-02/food-street-residents-asked-to-get-insurance-buderim/8086672.
Blomley, N. (2005). Flowers in the Bathtub: Boundary Crossings at the Public-Private Divide. Geoforum, 36(3), 281–296.
Boone, C. G., Cadenasso, M. L., Grove, J. M., Schwarz, K., & Buckley, G. L. (2010). Landscape, Vegetation Characteristics, and Group Identity in an Urban and Suburban Watershed: Why the 60s Matter. Urban Ecosystems, 13(3), 255–271. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-009-0118-7.
City of Bayswater Council. (2017a). Verge Gardens. Retrieved from http://www.bayswater.wa.gov.au/trees/verge-gardens.
City of Bayswater Council. (2017b, February 22). Street Verges Policy. Retrieved from http://www.bayswater.wa.gov.au/cproot/6159/2/Street-Verge-Policy-24022017.pdf.
City of Bayswater Council. (n.d.-a). Street Verge Greening Guide. Retrieved from http://www.bayswater.wa.gov.au/cproot/7344/2/Street-verge-greening-guide-28022017.pdf.
City of Bayswater Council. (n.d.-b). Verge Greening Guidelines. Retrieved from http://www.bayswater.wa.gov.au/cproot/7347/2/Verge-Greening-Guidelines-24022017.pdf.
Cumming, S. (2017, June 2). Lawyer Calls Out Food Street Enforcement “Overreaction.” Sunshine Coast Daily. Retrieved from https://m.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/lawyer-calls-out-food-street-enforcement-overreact/3185060/.
Davison, G. (1993). The Past & Future of the Australian Suburb. Australian Planner, 31(2), 63–69. https://doi.org/10.1080/07293682.1993.9657608.
Davison, A. (2006). Stuck in a Cul-de-Sac? Suburban History and Urban Sustainability in Australia. Urban Policy and Research, 24(2), 201–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/08111140600704137.
Feagan, R. B., & Ripmeester, M. (1999). Contesting Natural(ized) Lawns: A Geography of Private Green Space in the Niagara Region. Urban Geography, 20(7), 617–634. https://doi.org/10.2747/0272-3638.20.7.617.
Gaffney, A., Atkinson, B., & Bartholomew, K. (2017, May 31). Council Chops Down Fruit Trees in Urban Food Street Precinct. ABC News. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-31/urban-food-street-trees-culled-sunshine-coast/8576700.
Gowan, J. (2017, June 12). SCC Urged to Reconsider Decision to Chop Down Fruit Trees in UFS. Retrieved October 31, 2017, from https://permaculturenews.org/2017/06/12/scc-urged-reconsider-decision-chop-fruit-trees-ufs/.
Hendrickson, R. J., Janik, J. P., Janik, J. S., Goldberg, J., Georgopoulos, G., & Bensard, D. D. (2004). Ride-On Lawnmower Accidents Causing Significant Torso and Extremity Injuries in Childhood: Case Report and Review. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 56(6), 1345–1347.
Holmes, K. (2011). Growing Australian Landscapes: The Use and Meanings of Native Plants in Gardens in Twentieth-Century Australia. Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes, 31(2), 121–130. https://doi.org/10.1080/14601176.2011.556371.
Hulme, J. R., & Askew, A. R. (1974). Rotary Lawn Mower Injuries. Injury, 5(3), 217–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0020-1383(74)80009-4.
Joyce, J., & McCarthy, M. (2016, December 7). ABC Gardening Guru Costa Weighs in on Urban Street Food Controversy. ABC News. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-07/costa-weighs-in-on-urban-food-street-controversy/8099868.
Kemp, C. (2017, June 5). Legal research on SCC tree destruction.
Keyte, S., & Sawyer, M. (2017, May 31). Mayor: Why We Destroyed Urban Food Street. Sunshine Coast Daily. Retrieved from https://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/mayor-why-we-destroyed-urban-food-street/3184190/.
Love, S. M., Grogan, D. P., & Ogden, J. A. (1988). Lawn-Mower Injuries in Children. Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma, 2(2), 94–101.
Morgan, R. (2010). ‘Fear the Hose’: An Historical Exploration of Sustainable Water Use in Perth Gardens in the 1970s. Transforming Cultures EJournal, 5(1). Retrieved from http://learning-analytics.info/journals/index.php/TfC/article/view/1577.
Nguyen, A., Raymond, S., Morgan, V., Peters, J., Macgill, K., & Johnstone, B. (2008). Lawn Mower Injuries in Children: A 30-Year Experience. ANZ Journal of Surgery, 78(9), 759–763. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1445-2197.2008.04644.x.
Paul, D. B., & Kluger, Y. (1993). Lawn and Garden Tractor Accidents: Small Machines – Big Injuries. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 35(3), 489.
Priest, M. W., Williams, D. J., & Bridgman, H. A. (2000). Emissions from In-Use Lawn-Mowers in Australia. Atmospheric Environment, 34(4), 657–664. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(99)00192-2.
Robbins, P. (2007). Lawn People: How Grasses, Weeds, and Chemicals Make Us Who We Are. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Sunshine Coast Council. (2013a, September 17). Inspiring Sustainable Lifestyles. Retrieved October 31, 2017, from /Environment/Inspiring-Sustainable-Lifestyles.
Sunshine Coast Council. (2013b, September 17). Local Laws Overview. Retrieved October 31, 2017, from /Council/Local-Laws.
Sunshine Coast Council. (2013c, September 17). Sustainability Award. Retrieved October 31, 2017, from /Environment/Inspiring-Sustainable-Lifestyles/Excellence-in-Sustainability.
Sunshine Coast Council. (2013d, September 17). Vegetation on Council-Controlled Land. Retrieved October 29, 2017, from /Pay-and-Apply/Tree-and-Vegetation-Clearing/Vegetation-on-Council-Controlled-Land.
Sunshine Coast Council. (n.d.). Sunshine Coast Council Glossies Awards 2013: Tim Lang – Dinner Garden. Retrieved from http://www.livingsmartqld.com.au/awards/winners-images-2013/winners-posters-2013/Tim-Lang%E2%80%93Dinner-Garden-2013_poster_A1_COMBINED-8.pdf.
Taltham, H., & Gaffney, A. (2016, April 22). Food Street: Feeding off the Kerbside and Creating Close Communities – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). ABC News. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-22/food-street-feeding-off-the-kerbside-creates-close-community/7343456.
Thornton, A. (2017). “The Lucky Country”? A Critical Exploration of Community Gardens and City–Community Relations in Australian Cities. Local Environment, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2017.1317726.
Urban Food Street. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/urbanfoodstreet/.
Wilson, A. (1991). A Social Ecology of Postwar Landscape Design. Border/Lines, 22(Summer), 18–25.
Wilson, A. (2008). Nature at Home. In T. Oakes & P. L. Price (Eds.), The Cultural Geography Reader (pp. 224–231). London and New York: Routledge.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Spencer, L. (2020). Kee** Up Appearances: Conflicting Values in State Opposition to Growing Food in Public. In: Urban Food Democracy and Governance in North and South. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17187-2_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17187-2_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-17186-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-17187-2
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)