Aix en Provence, France
City population: 354452
Duration: 2016 – 2016
Implementation status: Completed
Scale: Meso-scale: Regional, metropolitan and urban level, Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Project area: unknown
Type of area: Residential
Last updated: October 2021

INCREDIBLE EDIBLE (or "Incroyables Comestibles" in French) is an experiment of social innovation: the volunteers of the movement cultivate small vegetable gardens scattered in the cities and the countryside and make their products available free of charge (Ref. 1). This, the first intervention, took place in front of the "Epicerie du Coing" where volunteers planted several vegetables, flowers and plants (Ref. 2).

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Community gardens and allotments
  • Community gardens

Key challenges

  • Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
  • Climate change adaptation
  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Habitat and biodiversity conservation
  • Green space creation and/or management
  • Regeneration, land-use and urban development
  • Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
  • Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
  • Inclusive governance
  • Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
  • Social cohesion
  • Social interaction
  • Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
  • Sustainable consumption
  • Sustainable production

Focus

Creation of new green areas, Transformation of previously derelict areas, Other

Project objectives

-"Valorising unused cultivable spaces for the common good, many cities in the world initiate this new art of living to the benefit of citizen happiness." (Ref. 1) -"Biodiversity enhancement, food crops" -"Collective spirit and long term vision" -Involve residents and children to the project (Ref. 3) -"A vegetated city, wooded, shaded, pacified";"A town developing a local, organic, seasonal food." (Ref. 2) -"Orienting the urban future to something desirable and accessible, for a city better prepared for the coming world." -"food resilience" (Ref. 1)

Implementation activities

-Discussion about the action plan and activities -Plantation of "Artichokes, salads, fennel bulb, calendula (marigold), anthémis (daisy), hollyhock, borage, tanaisie ..." ; --"Transplanting, watering and mulching" (Ref. 2) -Zero pesticides -Residents and children are involved (Ref. 3) -Local and honey plants are welcome to be planted (being mentioned in the Charter of the association) (Ref. 3) therefore, by planting honey plants that would show the intention in feeding bees.

Climate-focused activities

Climate change adaptation:

  • Increase the use of climate-resilient plant species (resistant to drought, fire, and pests)

Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities

Biodiversity conservation:

  • Protect and enhance urban habitats
  • Create new habitats
  • Preserve and strengthen habitat connectivity
  • Reduce negative impacts and avoid the alteration/damage of ecosystem
  • Protect species
  • Undertake specific measures to protect species
  • Undertake specific measures to protect native species
  • Undertake specific measures to protect valued species
  • Means for conservation governance
  • Public engagement
  • Capacity building

Main beneficiaries

  • Local government/Municipality
  • Non-government organisation/Civil Society
  • Citizens or community groups
  • Food producers and cultivators (i.e. farmers, gardeners)
  • Young people and children

Governance

Management set-up

  • Led by non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

  • Non-government organisation/civil society
  • Private sector/corporate actor/company
  • Citizens or community group
  • Other

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
  • Taskforce groups
  • Dissemination of information and education
  • Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
  • Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
  • Co-management/Joint management
  • Citizen oversight (e.g. boards, advisory)

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

Pays d'Aix en Transition is supporting the initiative "Incredible Edible" to its first implementation garden in the city of Aix en Provence. The shop called "Epicerie du Coing", where the first garden has been created, would take care and maintain this vegetable garden, along with the residents and children who are involved in its upkeep (Ref 3):"A first experimental vegetable garden is installed and taken care of by the Epicerie du Coing" (Ref. 1) -The city is part of the stakeholders mentioned in Ref. 1 by giving authorization to experiment gardening on public spaces and setting conditions to do so.

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Unknown
... a national policy or strategy? Unknown
... a local policy or strategy? Unknown

Financing

Total cost

Unknown

Source(s) of funding

  • Funds provided by non-governmental organization (NGO)

Type of funding

  • Unknown

Non-financial contribution

Type of non-financial contribution
  • Provision of land
  • Provision of labour
  • Provision of other services
  • Other
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
  • Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
  • Private sector (businesses, financial institution)
  • Other

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Environmental quality
  • Improved waste management
  • Improved soil quality
  • Green space and habitat
  • Increased green space area
  • Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
  • Increased conversion of degraded land or soil
  • Reduced biodiversity loss
  • Other

Economic impacts

  • Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
  • Other

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Social justice and cohesion
  • Improved access to urban green space
  • Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
  • Increased access to healthy/affordable food
  • Increased sustainability of agriculture practices
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
  • Education
  • Increased support for education and scientific research
  • Other

Type of reported impacts

Expected impacts, Achieved impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Unknown

Presence of indicators used in reporting

No evidence in public records

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

No evidence in public records

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

References

1. Pays d'Aix en Transition (2016). "Projet de CONCEPT des INCROYABLES COMESTIBLES à Aix-en-Provence". Available at: Source link (Accessed: Jul 14 2020).
2. Pays d'Aix en Transition (2016)."Incroyables Comestibles à Aix (IC-AIX) : Premières plantations". Available at: Source link (Accessed: Jul 14 2020).
3. Pays d'Aix en Transition (2016). "CHARTE DES INCROYABLES COMESTIBLES à Aix-en-Provence". Available at: Source link (Accessed: Jul 14 2020).
4. Pays d'Aix en Transition (2017). "Principles of the Incredible Edibles of Aix-en-Provence". Available at: Source link (Accessed: Jul 14 2020).
5. Incroyables Comestibles Pays d’Aubagne - Entraide Potagers (2020). Facebook page. Available at: Source link (Accessed: Jul 14 2020).