SOMETHING WONDERFUL

ONE OF THESE DAYS I discovered a somewhat common and uninteresting detail about the city. I mean, not very interesting for those who live here ...

The other day I was talking to a friend and he revealed to me the desire he had to rent a Family Garden.
I, of course, asked what a Family Garden was and he explained to me what one of those gardens was (and he even gave me a historical context too)
In the last century, due to the two wars that also involved Strasbourg, the army owned land on the outskirts of the city, and these lands served to help protect it.
With the end of the wars (in Europe), the city was never attacked again, and these lands passed from the army to the city hall and stayed with it for some years. Because of that, no one could build in that protected space, and the city grew beyond that land. At one point, the city decided to divide the land into small lots, sell a part to farmers' associations and rent the other part.

For what purpose?
So that city dwellers have a rural space to plant their plants and have their garden!

Isn't it WONDERFUL?

As I didn't know these spaces, I went to meet one, and it is the most beautiful thing that exists in this world! The lots are separated by a fence, almost everyone has a mini house and everyone has a garden and flowers planted. When I went there was even a family doing a barbecue and the kids playing in the space. Everything very well taken care of and neat!

Strasbourg has 4800 of these lots around the city, you make a deposit check when signing the contract and pay an annual fee. There are three different values and all are accessible. The rent is for one year, at least and there is a regular "inspection" type, I think it is to ensure that the lot is well maintained. Except for your direct descendants, you cannot offer the lot to anyone at the end of the contract (because it is not yours 😉). In case of theft or vandalism, the city takes care of the repairs, the garbage must be disposed of directly in the 'Green Spaces' that exist next to the set of lots, you can have a peaceful barbecue as long as it does not disturb others and you MUST plant at least two thirds of your land.

These are some of the space guidelines, which guarantee the smooth functioning of the entire complex.

But not everything is perfect. The waiting list to get a garden is none other than TWO THOUSAND PEOPLE in front of you. 🙂

Still, isn't it WONDERFUL?

Now I explain to you why I found this a wonderful concept:
first because Strasbourg is a big city, and it also offers you a little bit of countryside, that is, you can plant and harvest most of your food and these spaces are calm, and you can de-stress without leaving the city.
Second, because whenever I arrived in Strasbourg by train, I saw these spaces and thought they were immigrant communities (not to mention favela) and when I found out it wasn't that, I was very happy.
You see, I'm not a bourgeois who doesn't like “favelados” or any absurdity like that. My happiness in knowing this is mainly because it means that immigrants who arrive in the city are welcomed and find spaces to be reinserted in the labor market. It means that, even in the poorest neighborhoods (which in our reality as a Brazilian, it is a middle class neighborhood), they have a roof to live in.

It means that we still have a little bit of equality.

And this is WONDERFUL!

à bientôt, e Perdoe o Meu Francês