Contact
SLU Urban Futures
urbanfutures@slu.se
www.slu.se/urbanfutures
SLU Alnarp
SLU Urban Futures
Enheten för samverkan och utveckling
Box 190
234 22 Lomma
News
Futuring in practice – Rosengård's cultivation project takes the next step
Published: 05 June 2025
Future work, or futuring, is about imagining and planning for potential future scenarios. But more than defining the most accurate future, it is about creating a common understanding and a common language for the challenges and opportunities of the future – and bringing people together.
During the spring, two groups of residents in Rosengård have been growing food in a basement. The project is called Källare till kök (Basement to Kitchen), and both adults and children have gathered once a week to learn the basics of cultivation, circular methods, and sustainability. SLU has contributed expertise in interdisciplinary urban transformation and foresight, as well as technical cultivation knowledge.
The project's goal is for property owners and community planners to be able to use existing environments to create social meeting places while helping residents increase their self-sufficiency – a prototype for social preparedness.
– We were surprised by the extent to which the basement has become a safe place for the participants. There is a positive feeling that change is possible – from an empty and dark basement to a green and well-lit meeting place. The project has aroused curiosity among the residents, and the participants feel proud, says Nina Vogel, programme director for SLU Urban Futures.
From soil to vision for the future
The project is part of a larger effort to shape the future – a way to not only imagine what the future might look like, but to begin shaping it together. Through practical cultivation in a shared environment, it becomes easier to talk about bigger issues: how we want to live, reside, and interact. It is also about preparedness – but not just in the form of crisis planning. Instead, preparedness is seen as a positive force: building strong, resilient communities where people have both knowledge and commitment.
The next step is now to gather and shape the visions of the future that have emerged from the basement – literally and figuratively. Together, visions are created where self-sufficiency, security, and sustainability go hand in hand with community and the identity of the place.
Welcome to look into the future
On September 6, the project will participate in an exhibition at Form/Design Center in Malmö. There, visitors will be able to take part in the visions that have emerged during the course of the project – a unique insight into how the future can begin to take shape, right in the middle of our everyday lives.