ABSTRACT: This paper is a review of topics and approaches within urban ethnobotany.
Examples from different European and American cities are given. The process of urbanization observed across the globe creates new scenarios and challenges for urban ethnobotany. The diversity of ethnobotanical research carried out in cities can be lumped into two types in terms of theory and applied methods, i.e. based on interdisciplinary combinations of 1) anthropology and botany, and 2) anthropology and ecology. The first group encompasses studies that focus on useful plants (medicinal, edible, psychoactive, ornamental, etc.) used and/or cultivated by different groups and minorities living in urban centers. Research on medicinal plants additionally includes ethnopharmacological knowledge. The second type embraces: a) the study of urban biocultural diversity – changes in the biodiversity of different urban spaces, influenced by distribution of social groups and cultural practices, b) research on urban cosmology: the perception, use and classification of space and nature by ethnic minorities, women/men, young/elderly people, c) topophilia (affection for specific elements of urban landscape) and use of space: perception of urban ecosystems and local impact on them. The discussed subjects are divided into three topic areas: 1) adaptation of traditional phytotherapy and food habits in the process of migration; ceremonial/psychoactive plants used by migrant communities; 2) city gardening – its relevance for the conservation of agrobiodiversity, cultural identity and social networking; and 3) nutraceuticals and “healthy products” – the ethnobotany of health food shops.
Key words: urban anthropology, migrants, food habits, ceremonial plants, natural products, urban allotments, home gardens
Wstęp
W 2005 roku, pierwszy raz w historii ludzkości, liczba ludności mieszkająca w miastach przewyższyła populację wsi (Crane & Kinzig 2005). Proces urbanizacji, który objął swym zasięgiem wszystkie kraje globu stwarza nowe wyzwania i scenariusz do badań etnobotanicznych. By móc uchwycić dynamikę tych zmian, rozważania na temat relacji między roślinami i społecznościami ludzkimi powinny wykroczyć poza proste dychotomie w 31
