Abstract
The book attempts at exploring allotment gardens / garden colonies, a potent field of study for social scientists dealing with urban issues. Based on a qualitative field research, the book offers an insight into the world of allotment gardens in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, and by means of them maps the history and current situation of this specific form of urban nature in a post-socialist metropolis.
Stretched between sociology, anthropology and social ecology, it emphasises the latter and aims at assessing the role of allotment gardens in and for the urban space from the point of view of sustainable development and its three main pillars - economic, societal, and environmental. The methodological grounding of the book, however, allows for a nuanced depiction of the life of allotment gardens and for presenting the emotional value gardens and colonies hold for their gardeners.