Urban borders and margins as spaces of reappropriation of the city. The case of the Fontaínhasgardens in Porto

Increasingly, urban governments, citizens and informal groups are pursuing alternative practices to feed cities. The unease provoked by postmodern urban life, which has adulterated the human/nature relationship and exacerbated the city/land divide, generate the construction of practices to contrast these processes. The borders and margins of the << Capitalocenic >> city often become places of resistance where self-production initiatives can be practised through the creation of urban gardens. Of particular interest are informal experiments that emphasise the re-appropriation of physical spaces for the marginalised and the community at large. This article analyses, from a critical perspective and highlighting strengths and weaknesses, the spontaneous construction experience of the La Bananeira urban garden, carried out by an informal group on the Fontainhas escarpment in Porto, Portugal.