This presentation discusses threats to the UK Allotment Act of 1908, a waiting list crisis for allotment plots, and recent changes like rent increases. It also outlines future research projects on allotments and sustainable food production in cities. These will include mapping allotment locations and potential growing spaces, examining print media coverage of allotments, and studying local policies. The presentation notes difficulties collecting reliable allotment waiting list data and open data's potential to help explore solutions.

1. Allotments in the UK: growing back to the future? Open data stories and interventions Farida Vis University of Leicester [department of Media and Communication] [email_address] - @flygirltwo This presentation includes a raffle

2. Threat to the Allotment Act (1908) – Clause 23 (Very limited government consultation on nearly 1300 local statutes), 6000 responses – half on allotments. Waiting list crisis (our local site) – Transition Town West Kirby, Margaret Campbell Grow Your Own | Land Share initiative | guerrilla gardening | alleyway gardens Recent changes – rent increases, water rates, tenancy agreements Localism Bill Limited media coverage

3. The Future of Allotments in the UK: Part of a larger project – Allotments and sustainable food production in cities With various (all GIS mapping done by Joao Cabrita) Mapping allotments and (potential) growing spaces + info about waiting list, rent, water charges, discounts, other conditions With Simon Faulkner (MMU) Heritage identities, return of The Diggers in times of economic crisis and responses to the cuts, Diggers festivals With Yana Manyukhina (Leicester) Print media representation of allotments in UK press Local policy and tenancy agreements

4. With Yana Manyukhina (Leicester) Print media representation of allotments in UK press, 2000 - 2011 Local policy and tenancy agreements (FOI requests – old and new) http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/user/farida_vis_and_yana_manyukhina

5. With Simon Faulkner (MMU) Heritage identities, return of The Diggers in times of economic crisis, Diggers festivals Gerrard Winstanley Festival – Wigan, 10 th of September 2011 Rediscovering local/personal history and heritage + fight the cuts Bigger festival planned for next year

6. Ashton Allotment Action

7. The Diggers 1649 - 1651 Gerrard Winstanley ‘ Winstanley declared that: “true freedom lies where a man receives his nourishment and preservation, and that is in the use of the earth”. [ibid]

8. Allotment data: focus on unreliable waiting list data (difficult to collect & track) New maps using TTWK FOI data: http://www.transitiontownwestkirby.org.uk/

9. Allotment data: difficult to collect & track (focus on unreliable waiting list data) New maps using TTWK FOI data: http://www.transitiontownwestkirby.org.uk/

10. Due to waiting list crisis and GYO popularity – new growing initiatives. Maps show availability

11. Mapping plots in Manchester – AMAS (incomplete) + Trafford (open data of allotment locations released by the council) Council information often very limited- allotment secretaries collect data for individual sites

12. Open data stories and interventions Not enough stories are being told through data (old story) Possibilities for exploring solutions through open data and hacking. Solutions for improving data reliability + avoiding simply blaming cash strapped councils Following City Camp Manchester: setting up self reporting allotment waiting list map: #ukallotmentwaiting M21 0AF 2 years #eurohack at the OGDCamp Using standardised TTWK data to build interactive map of the UK that new FOI data can be added to. Visual aid to stories Highlights the issues Will pull in other data – Landshare plots *Map under construction*

13. #eurohack at the OGDCamp All allotments marked on Open Streetmap http://bit.ly/OSMallotmentsUK

14. #eurohack at the OGDCamp Aim to also map all brown field sites: Possible growing sites, pull in landshares, discuss a new landuse tag for other possible growing areas with the OSM team Think about gold standard – what is the data that we want so we can compare across the UK? Open data as evidence for other possible solutions to surge in demand Mark up more allotments! Aim to complete Manchester by cross referencing with other data and maps (Feeding Manchester) #eurohack write up to go up on: http://datadrivenjournalism.net/ Ongoing dialogue with people/orgs already working in the area

15. Farida Vis – [email_address] If interested, please get in touch @flygirltwo Huge thanks to all who worked on this at #eurohack > Raffle time! <