Från avskild oas till stadspark - En studie av förhandlingarna om Sjöbergens koloniområde

Sammanfattning: This master’s thesis puts focus on urban space; who controls it, how it is used and by whom. I have studied the allotment garden Sjöbergen in Gothenburg with the purpose of understanding what, if any, democratic role the garden area has culturally and as a place in the city. The study combines theoretical perspectives that focus on spatial aspects and the production of place with theories about urban transformation processes and gentrification. My research shows that the practice of urban agriculture and areas such a Sjöbergen can, at the same time, both challenge a neoliberal hegemony and be used in processes of gentrification. I argue that there are social values in Sjöbergen which make the allotment garden an important alternative place in the neoliberal city, but that these values are difficult to justify within the discourse on sustainable development that dominates the negotiations over urban space in Gothenburg. In a city that operates from the perspective of entrepreneurial governance, economic factors are at the core of every decision about the use of urban space. My analysis shows that it is difficult to preserve an alternative order locally in a neighborhood undergoing gentrification, even when there is an organized resistance. However, the area itself can be preserved by being assigned a new role, in the case of Sjöbergen a local city park. This study also shows that the connection between openness and democracy is ambiguous in a neoliberal context, since more openness increases accessibility, but may also put pressure on alternative sites to adapt aesthetically and socially to the outside world.