Socially Just Planning: Resistance and empowerment: stories of urban agriculture in Santiago

The presence of Urban Agriculture in cities not only demonstrates the intent of citizens to remain connected with nature but also serves as a means to re-establish communal urbanism and activism in a society that isolates its citizens. Through the work of urban agriculture groups, gardens are no longer relegated to the front and back yard of houses but are now built in neglected and abandoned spaces to reclaim the areas and to generate social connections among the neighbours. These gardens represent a symbolic resistance to a socioeconomic system that generates unstable environments by prioritising economic growth over nature protection. Local activism in urban agriculture translates into a change of connections between neighbours by emphasizing cooperation and altruism practices in the gardens. Indeed, the critical perception of urban agriculture on society allows them to reflect on their needs as a civil society and to start questioning who has the right to alter the spaces. Urban agriculture is a symbol of the citizens’ empowerment and resistant, at the lowest level, it allows conversations between people that otherwise would not talk with each other; at the highest level, it proposes an alternative socio-economic system based on the community. From the moment urban agriculture is installed in the land, space became a discourse.