Bounty castle

By Chris Speirs (photo Vanessa)

It’s 6pm, and I’m getting ready for my weekly cycle home from London’s Kings Cross. Black cloud and horizontal rain streak across the glassed building opposite, reminding me to once again stow my paddle and goggles. Then I remember… it’s Thursday! I leap from my seat. I have bounty awaiting me at the castle.

The castle is a magnificent Victorian water pumping station in Hackney, now home to a climbing centre, and the bounty is our weekly organic veg box that Growing Communities, earlier that day, have hidden away in the ramparts of the castle.

Growing Communities established the first box scheme in London, with the “aim of creating a more sustainable, re-localised food system - changing what we eat, how we eat and how it’s farmed.” The scheme harnesses the local communities’ collective buying power to source food locally, and support small farmers. And has accomplished something truly special with it’s ‘urban market gardens’. These community-focused gardens are springing up all over Hackney, including the grounds of the castle itself. They offer volunteers training, apprenticeships and employment in organic gardening, and supply the very salad that members collect and feast on throughout the growing season.

This week I arrive at the foot of the castle looking like I have completed a lap of the moat. I peel off my goggles and enter the secret code to the door. As it swings open I snag my bag of veg, cross our order off the list and sneak a quick peak. I find some familiar friends, and some acquaintances I have yet to meet. With the organic bounty safely slung across my pannier rack, I slip back onto Green Lanes and paddle home.

The bag comes complete with news from the scheme, veg identification and recipes.  This week my new edible friends are crown prince pumpkin and jerusalem artichokes. The latter of which, they explain, is a relative of the sunflower. It can be eaten raw, roasted or fried, and tastes deliciously like water chestnuts.

why vivacity

This is the century of the city.

Over half the world’s population now live in cities. This is projected to rise to three-quarters of all people in 2050. With population increases, this means 6.75 billion of us will be city dwellers, an increase of 3.75 billion from today. As the future success or failure of mankind lies in cities, new ways of using them are needed.

The city represents an incredible paradox. We have never been closer together physically, but we have never been further away from each other emotionally. At vivacity we celebrate city movements around the world that change and re-define the way we interact with and use cities. Whilst cities cannot cope with the numbers now and the resultant strain on the world’s natural resources and eco-systems are already painfully evident, we believe that human spirit and endeavor will overcome, as it has done before.

vivacity promotes city movements that are connecting people & creating new types of communities. They are typically low impact, highly sociable, enabled by technology, using public and private spaces in new ways and empowering people to act locally.

vivacity promotes new ways of feeling alive, new ways of being invigorated, and new things to be a part of. We call it grassroots stuff in the city. We hope you get involved and share your experiences with us.

who we are

Andy Marks vivacity founder and editor

Social entrepreneur, lecturer, writer and curator, Andy Marks is an agent of positive social change practicing at the intersection or fault-line of business, society and culture. Andy is the founder of research and consultancy network Salad Worldwide, an advisor to some of the world’s leading companies on Corporate Responsibility and an advisor to a number of non-profit organizations. Andy is an expert on grass roots city movements, and a founding partner of an upcycling enterprise launching in 2010.

Julian Broadhead contributor

With a background in advertising, branding and corporate responsibility, Julian works with blue-chip companies from a wide range of industries and sectors, advising on strategy and new ways of connecting with people. He is currently developing a number of new opportunities in the environmental sector, with a particular emphasis on making environmental action more accessible.

Shane Solanki – contributor/distributor/carburettor/carbon-ara

Artist, writer, performer, producer and director, Shane’s first short film was commissioned by the BBC and directed by Peter Cattaneo. His first record was produced by Mercury Prize Winner Talvin Singh. He worked for years to forge the unique identity of independent record label Ninja Tune. We at Vivacity like to think of him as a grass roots detective, covertly operating under the pseudonym of the Last Mango in Paris; imagine him skulking around the world in a beige macintosh, recording and documenting our shift into a society where social responsibility and public creativity are norms.

contribute

become a vivacity scout

As more and more of us live in urban areas, individuals and communities can feel overwhelmed and isolated by the sheer intense-city of it all.

However we at vivacity believe that human spirit and endeavor will overcome as it has done so many times before. That is why we are celebrating movements around the world that are changing and re-defining the way we interact with the city. We would like to hear from you about grassroots movements or activities that bring people together face to face and use cities in new ways. The more original and imaginative the better.

Please email us describing a movement you would like to see on vivacity using a maximum of 300 words. info@vivacity.me