Return to the idea of homely city

Abstract

Homeliness is associated with something friendly and well-known. The idea of homeliness in architecture and urban planning does not mean only people-friendly space. First of all, it means the city that is familiar to the citizens, what cannot be realized without specific conditions - creation of the feeling of being part of the community, possession and identity. The antithesis of the city - agricultural landscape - seems to be the perfect basis for them. Can the idea of homeliness be created based on the relationship between the town and its opposition? How can the "lost" agricultural landscape" work as a catalyst of the idea of homeliness and community integration? In the article, there will be the attempt of answer to these questions given. New ideas, such Agrarian Urbanism or Urban Horticulture will be presented and discussed. Throughout the world, research is on-going to develop techniques for assimilating agriculture into an urbanism acceptable to the expectations of modern life. The ability to grow food has implications for communities on multiple levels: from food security and health issues, to ensuring a local economy and to the social benefits of a productive activity in which all members of a community can engage. In Agrarian Urbanism a whole society is involved with the growing of food: people can have gardens instead of yards, or community gardens and even window boxes if they live in an apartment. Can these ideas create new ways of thinking about the contemporary city?