利物浦吉事：社區種植 在舊區種出希望｜GUTS IN LIVERPOOL: Plants of hope in old towns
一個工業城鎮，因為暴亂，房屋被燒毀、數百居民被拘捕，然後城鎮被遺棄，大街小巷堆滿垃圾、商店住宅人去樓空。如何可以讓它起死回生？不少人認為，最簡單直接的方法，是把它劃為重建區，把未搬走居民遷到其他區域，然後拆樓清出一片大空地，再重新規劃，要有豪宅有豪宅，要有商場有商場，自此新城鎮人人安居樂業、生活幸福美滿——只不過，現實世界之中，這種由上而下的規劃出來的城鎮，總與初衷願景有距離，因為城鎮宜居不宜居，講究的不是簇新先進，而是社區的設計皆以人為本、讓人的生活充滿希望。
英國利物浦Granby Four Streets，就是這樣的街區。1981年，工廠沒落、失業率攀升，一場因種族與警民對立而起的暴亂之中，數百幢建築物被燒毀、數百居民被捕，這個被定性為騷亂之地的街區，自此長期發展停滯，僅剩不足百戶居民，建築物破落、街道荒亂無人管理。後來，戴卓爾夫人曾派官員到利物浦親自主導舊區更新，巿議會買下物業，打算先拆卸後重建，重整這個「品流複雜之地」。
不過，部分居民拒絕搬遷，組成街坊組織抵抗，重建計劃一直未能成事，至2010年代初，發展商離場、巿政府經濟緊縮放棄計劃，讓居民成立的社區信託基金（Granby Four Streets Community Land Trust）終於有機會「自己社區自己救」。他們邀請年輕的Assemble團隊，協助修繕建築物，以及活化整個街區，與居民一同打造城鎮的未來想像。
所謂活化，他們除了向巿政府爭取使用已被買起的建築物、加以復修，重要的是Assemble摒棄由上而下的規劃方式，與居民共同討論、設計，甚至一同落手落腳建設社區。信託基金的主席Erika Rushton曾說，「Assemble是唯一會坐下來聆聽住民需求，與住民溝通後，才開始畫設計草圖及搭建模型的團隊」。
要擴大社區參與、吸引更多居民主動積極，方法之一就是以各種創新方式利用公共空間，過往街道設施總由巿政府規劃與管理，如今由街坊參與，最容易入手的可能是從種植開始。在Granby Four Streets，居民很早就組成了「游擊園藝隊」綠化街道，每個月舉辦巿集等，街道上的樹木除了可美化環境，還可以讓居民吃進肚，例如有香草、果樹、蔬菜等。2019年，他們把一座建築物改裝成冬天也綠意盎然的「冬天花園」（Winter Garden），人們可以在這裏舉行聚會、工作坊，還有小型住宿的設施。Granby Four Streets在2015年獲得英國藝術大獎Turner Prize，成為社區更新的新興典範。
香港近年在舊區活化的項目中，也逐漸出現以「種植」鼓勵社區參與的例子，例如上環士丹頓街／城皇街（H19）項目中的「社區園甫」。當然，規模並不及Granby Four Streets，但可見不論政府抑或民間，也愈來愈吉人認同植物在舊區中的角色，並不止於美化環境。
相片來源：網上圖片
地點 :利物浦
Once upon a time, an industrial town went through a brutal riot. Houses were burnt down, hundreds of townsmen arrested. The town was eventually abandoned, leaving nothing but garbage in the desolate streets, shops and apartments.
How can we bring a ruin back to life? One might think the easiest way is to rebuild it. Relocate the remaining citizens to other areas, pull down all buildings and replan the whole area. Let there be luxury residences, shopping malls, so new townsmen can live happily ever after. But in reality, the result of such a top-down approach is often far from ideal because a community's liveability is not about innovation but whether its design makes its citizens feel prioritised and hopeful.
Granby Four Streets in Liverpool, the UK, is a case in point. In 1981, the decline of industries and the ever-increasing unemployment rate triggered a racial riot that separated the police force and general citizens. Hundreds of buildings were burnt down, townsmen arrested. Since then, the ‘riot zone’ remained stagnant, with only less than a hundred households and a bunch of dilapidated buildings and deserted streets. The desolation remained until Margaret Thatcher sent a government official to lead the revitalisation of old towns in Liverpool. According to the plan, the City Council would acquire and demolish the buildings and rebuild the rotten town.
However, the ideal plan was met with resistance – some residents refused to move away and organised protests to stand in the way. In early 2010, developers’ withdrawals and tight fiscal policies forced the city council to give up the original plan and allow its citizens to set up Granby Four Streets Community Land Trust, empowering the general public to save their community from the bottom up. A team of young designers at Assemble were engaged in renovation and street revitalisation, helping the citizens to build their dream home.
By revitalisation, the citizens fought for rights to use and restore the government-acquired structures. But the most significant part is how Assemble gave up the traditional top-down approach – they discussed, designed and built the community with residents. “Assemble is the only team that would sit down and listen to residents’ demands and start drafting and prototyping after profound communication with the residents,” said Erika Rushton, Chairman of the Trust.
To increase community engagement and attract active involvement from more residents, one method is to use public space in all innovative ways. Many public street facilities that were used to be planned and managed by city governments are now community-led. Take planting as an example.
In the very beginning, Granby Four Streets residents set up guerrilla gardening teams to green their streets and host monthly markets. Those street plants have more than beauty to offer – they also provide edible harvests of herbs, fruits and vegetables. In 2019, the residents transformed a structure into Winter Garden, a green-in-winter place for gatherings, workshops and small-scale residential facilities. In 2015, Granby Four Streets won the Turner Prize for setting a novel example for community revitalisation.
In Hong Kong, many revitalisation projects in recent years use ‘planting’ as a device to encourage community participation, such as the community garden in the Staunton Street / Wing Lee Street Project (H19). Though incomparable to Granby Four Streets in terms of scale, it proves that more and more people from the government and the general public recognise the power of planting in old towns.
Photo source: Internet
Location: Liverpool
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