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Edible Bus Stops

The Edible Bus Stops are a series of self-initiated pocket parks in South London. The first in Stockwell started as a reaction to the potential loss of a local public space. The Edible Bus Stop provides a vehicle to explore ‘grassroots green infrastructure’. It utilises existing transport networks to connect communities, both to each other and with the natural environment – a concept that started to expand the ideas of a 15-minute city.

Date:
2011-2016
Client:
London Borough of Lambeth, Mayor of London, Transport for London
Collaborators:
The Edible Bus Stop Studio

With over 17,000 bus stops across London, the vision looked to test the idea of connecting communities with local green space and each other along the route of the 322 bus from Clapham Common through Brixton to Crystal Palace. This created London’s first Edible Bus Route. Each Edible Bus Stop introduces nature and green space into the urban everyday: via our commute, our school run, our food shop or night out.

Ecology and horticulture were integral from the start, building on the layers of understanding, encouraging wildlife and enhancing the biodiversity of the area and creating green connections. A network of existing green spaces informs a socially responsive grassroots green infrastructure.

Edible Bus Stop Grand Opening May 18th 2013

Each pocket park celebrates the local character of the neighbourhood. The first on Landor Road, Stockwell known locally as the Kerb Garden, utilised reclaimed granite kerbstones from a nearby highways project to provide a robust and unique aesthetic. While the Hoopla Garden in West Norwood embraced the forest of concrete bollards, introducing large circular concrete planters, like a giant’s game of hoopla – Never mind the bollards!

The first project has been maintained by the local community for over ten years, adapting and evolving to their demands and capacity. It started with a more labour-intensive productive landscape and has more recently evolved into a more biodiverse and bee-friendly environment. Alongside the environmental benefits, the introduction of quality green spaces has had a positive effect positive effect on the mental health and wellbeing of residents.

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