The symposium is being organised in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Rural Affairs (BMLEH) in Berlin to expand knowledge on the topic of urban greenery. This year's focus was on land use.

Johannes Gorges represented CO CONCEPT in his role as project manager of the networking and transfer initiative ‘INUGA – Innovation Network for Urban Horticulture’ implemented by us.

Dr Burkhard Schmied (BMLEH) set out some important pillars at the start: urban greenery has proven benefits for all life in the city and works in synergy with the many other players – a constructive way to resolve competitive relationships! To this end, bridges must be built between planners, not only to trigger competition, but also to make an effective contribution to the pressing challenges in the next step – after all, the warming forecast was just revised to 2.8 to 3 degrees at the World Climate Conference. The BMLEH fully supports urban greenery and the diverse activities in Germany, including the ‘Green-Blue City Agenda’. Dr Thomas Schmitt (BMLEH) adds that the tree decision in Berlin should be seen as a positive sign for the city and horticulture!

The diverse presentations addressed a wide variety of forms of urban horticulture – from green roofs to community gardens – with their challenges and their provisioning, regulating and cultural ecosystem services.

We have mentioned it many times before, and it bears repeating here: the selection and use of plants is the decisive step in all technologies and innovations! Without this knowledge, technology cannot make its contribution. At the INUGA Congress, we brought five federal ministries to the table. After all, interministerial action is essential if urban horticulture is to deliver its benefits. The symposium then posed the question: how can innovation and knowledge be put into interdisciplinary practice?