Farm lab: ten years of participatory design research with Spitalfields City Farm

For more than 10 years, Spitalfields City Farm, an urban farm in Inner East London, has been the site of participatory design collaborations with design researcher Sara Heitlinger. Here, Heitlinger and Spitalfields manager Phil Nichols exchange views on the farm's work and the ongoing collaboration in the context of social and environmental sustainability. According to Nichols London has an amazing outdoor heritage, with 17 farms and more than 2,000 community gardens delivering services and community development to hundreds of thousands in London and the surrounding areas. Spitalfields City Farm is a free-entry urban oasis located in the Inner East London borough of Tower Hamlets. Having been an integral part of the community for over 40 years, the farm offers a unique and creative natural environment for all to enjoy. Heitlinger said the global food industry produces over a third of all greenhouse emissions, contributing to mass species loss, the degradation of soils, and the disempowerment of small-scale farmers.