How social green are you?

How social green are you? – Book

Gerlinde Schuller

Currently I am working on a book about Social Green that argues that only combining social justice and ecological awareness can solve the climate crisis. Covering 1493 to 2135, the book tells the story of social green developments, starting with the first European colony in South America on Hispaniola – a low point in European social and ecological history, marking the domination of people and nature.

A photo-docu-novel, non-fiction, with more than 700 images
15 x 21 cm, ca. 340 pages, English and Dutch version
nai010 publishers, 2027

Spanning several centuries and envisioning future perspectives, the book explores the delicate balance between social and environmental factors in urban development – a balance that could help address a crucial dilemma we face today: should we prioritize economic growth to improve the political climate, or focus on the rights of nature to address the climate crisis? What is the middle ground that could unite both interests? And equally important, how can everyone contribute, even with small actions?

Activities
–On Thursday 11 June, during Outdoor Office Day, you can book a wanderwalk with me in the Amsterdam Forest to discuss future social-green concepts.

–On Saturday 13 June, the Geuzenhof gardens can be visited during Open Gardens West. I will give historical tours that day at 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00 (starting point: Geuzenhof 1, Geuzenkade 57, Amsterdam).

–On Sunday 21 June, 13:00, there will be a programme of activities around Social Green at the Borneo Architecture Center Amsterdam: after a wild-foraging lunch, I will give a lecture introducing the book.

The term ‘Social Green’
I coined the term Social Green during my historical research on the Geuzenhof housing complex in Amsterdam, where I live, because it was deeply embedded in the mindset of its developers. I also found it fitting to introduce the adjective social green to emphasize the active, intentional engagement that characterizes this mindset.

More than a concept, being social green is an attitude that can positively influence decisions in politics, urban planning, housing, landscape design, jurisprudence, and our daily lives. Our social green competencies also shape our relationship with nature: the space we allocate to it and the degree to which we control it.

While green spaces – and with them, biodiversity – are increasingly vanishing due to human activity, it is precisely within these areas that a crucial part of the solution to the climate crisis lies. This is a highly relevant issue that calls for widespread public dialogue and demands an interdisciplinary approach. I aim to engage readers with a personal and direct tone to raise awareness that everyone can be part of the solution.
Therefore, the book also documents my personal journey to become more social-green, with the aim of inspiring others to do the same.

Geuzenhof Amsterdam as case study – developed by Huibert van Saane, Mien Ruys…
The social green history of the Geuzenhof housing complex, where I live, serves as a case study and highlighting a range of key topics: urban expansion, social housing, the garden city philosophy, resident participation, the preservation of architectural and green heritage, and our relationship with nature.

At the beginning of Geuzenhof stood a collaboration of well-known creative and socially engaged personalities, including urban planners Cornelis van Eesteren and Jakoba Mulder, building contractor Huibert van Saane, architects Jacob Dunnebier and Johannes F. Berghoef, garden architect Mien Ruys, and industrial designer Piet Zwart. Inspired by the early-20th-century garden city concept, which aimed to establish ‘social cities,’ they created an exemplary neighborhood in Amsterdam.

Discussing the future of Social Green
Through interviews with the developers’ families, (former) residents, and international experts visiting Geuzenhof, I explore the concept and future of Social Green – weaving together personal and intergenerational stories while broadening the perspective to include global developments.

Among the experts with whom I discuss Social Green are gardening icon and BBC presenter Monty Don, writer Suzanna Jansen, artist Natascha Hagenbeek, social entrepreneur Ama Koranteng-Kumi, politician Melanie van der Horst, social geographer Sjaan van der Tol, activist Iris Poels, social scientist Cemil Yilmaz, artist Jonmar van Vlijmen, landscape architect Maike van Stiphout, social psychologist Ioana Biris, fashion designer Bonne Reijn, climate coach Karin Stoevenbeld, garden designer Julia Crawford, researcher Daphina Misiedjan, anthropologist Rukayyah Reichling and others.

Photo-docu-novel
The book is set to be a visual and accessible narrative in the form of a photo-docu-novel, featuring more than 700 historical images, my own photography and data visualizations.
As an information designer and data journalist, I will research and design the book myself.

Follow my research project on Instagram

The research for the book is made possible with support from Fonds BJP and EFL Stichting.

Geuzenbuurt Geuzenhof 1 Monty Don BBC Oranjehof Mien Ruys Huibert van Saane Monty Don's Rhineland Gardens Gerlinde Schuller

I introduced gardening icon and BBC presenter Monty Don to the Social Green concept of the Geuzenhof during his visit to Amsterdam.

Image: Rijksmuseum — ^{The Moluccan island of Ambon (Indonesia), with the Portuguese Fort Victoria in the centre,
which was seized by the Dutch East India Company due to the lucrative clove production.}

Photo: Gerlinde Schuller — _{With artist Natascha Hagenbeek, I spoke about how patterns from the colonial past continue to shape our social and ecological behaviour. She also conducts research in Indonesia, where part of her family originates. Her exhibition ‘May We Evolve’ was presented at the Royal Tropical Institute and its Wood Cabinet, a collection of wood specimens from around the world and the former Dutch colonies, which enabled forests to be turned into commercial products.}

_{I spoke with entrepreneur Ama Koranteng-Kumi about the future of a socially and ecologically conscious city.}
_{She stands on the Wiegbrug, next to the Geuzenhof, with the luxury residential tower Pontsteiger in the background,}
_{symbolising the shift from a social, affordable housing market to a more capital-intensive city.}

Geuzenbuurt Geuzenhof 1 Monty Don BBC Mien Ruys Huibert van Saane Monty Don's Rhineland Gardens Gerlinde Schuller

_{In the past, the Geuzenhof gardens were used for music and performance activities by residents.}
_{Today, you can regularly spot René Bleeker in the spacious garden during the running sessions he has kept up since moving to the Geuzenhof in the 1980s.}

Photos: Amsterdam City Archives; Gerlinde Schuller — _{After discussing the Social Green aspects of the Geuzenhof with him, I photographed garden journalist and Gardeners’ World presenter Monty Don on the site of the former sandbox from 1935. Here, a Mien Ruys bed with the original garden architect’s favorite flowers was recently installed.}

_{Contractor Huibert van Saane provided a nursery school free of charge for the children of the Geuzenhof. Sometimes he even dressed up as St Nicholas himself to surprise them. Later, the former nursery school became an apartment, now the home of Mia and Jip.}

Geuzenbuurt Geuzenhof 1 Monty Don BBC Oranjehof Mien Ruys Huibert van Saane Monty Don's Rhineland Gardens Maike van Stiphout Amsterdam

_{Maike van Stiphout is a landscape architect and Speaker for the Living at the world’s first Zoöp, the Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam (NL). In my interview, I asked her how the City of Amsterdam could become a Zoöp as well. I photographed Maike in the Geuzenhof garden, surrounded by the countless ladybirds, caterpillars, wasps, worms, fungi, and snails we discovered.}