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Eventually, it became forbidden to raise animals in the city. I remember that Mum still had chickens when I was three or four years old. Then the ban came because we belonged to the city area. Before that, geese walked down the street in the morning all the way to the end of the town, where the fairgrounds and pasture were. In the evening, they returned home by themselves, and each one found its own house.
#SustainableAgriculture #RuralRegeneration #CulturalLandscapes #HumanNatureCoexistence #IntangibleCulturalHeritage
Recording the change from mixed farming to strictly residential urban spaces, this story recalls a time when geese freely walked city streets to pasture. It reflects a lost cultural landscape where city and country lives were connected. The narrative touches on sustainable agriculture and human-nature coexistence, noting the geese’s ability to find their way home as a detail of traditional ecological knowledge that has faded with modern changes.
The separation of livestock from urban areas was driven by regulations, but the EU is now exploring urban agriculture as a sustainability strategy. The Farm to Fork strategy encourages shortening supply chains. Historical urban livestock keeping is a topic of agricultural history and heritage. EU Animal Welfare legislation regulates current keeping standards.
City farms or educational farms can re-introduce animals to urban environments for educational purposes. Community composting schemes often integrate small livestock in peri-urban settings. Living history museums can recreate these street scenes. Policy debates on urban farming can reconsider small-scale livestock under strict welfare conditions to promote local food resilience.
Sources:
https://epthinktank.eu/2025/02/18/urban-agriculture-state-of-play
https://food.ec.europa.eu/horizontal-topics/farm-fork-strategy_en
https://www.nonnativespecies.org/assets/Document-repository/European_Code_of_Conduct_on_Pets.pdf
The story you have just read is an authentic record of an elder’s experiences who participated in the HER[AI]TAGE project. While the content is original, the text may have been lightly edited for optimal clarity, flow, and readability. The accompanying visuals and audio recording were created responsibly with AI technology to enrich the storytelling experience while preserving the foundational authenticity of the presented story.
AI tools used: Google Gemini via Google AI Studio.