The work was organised into 3 research work packages: (1) Comparative study on the space of contemporary EU PFs; (2) Interdisciplinary study at the Centre Penitentiarie Agricole de Ruiselede; (3) Pilot Project.
15 European PFs were studied, either closed or in operation (St. Hubert, Ruiselede Merksplas, Hoogstraten, Wortel in Belgium; Isili, Mamone, Is Arenas, Porto Conte, Castiadas, Asinara in Italy; Huittinen Satakunta, Vilppula, Pelson in Finland). Visits were documented with photography and architectural surveys; historical documents, drawings, and photographs collected in archives, libraries, and from prison staff; workshops conducted with prison staff to collect and share information and results. At the Centre Penitentiarie Agricole de Ruiselede, an interdisciplinary study involved the staff and the imprisoned people in an art project that resulted in the exhibition 'Rural Postcards · Productivity and ‘idyll’ in a Belgian prison farm'.
Based on this groundwork, a pilot project was drafted that, contrasting the rationale of PFs, developed as a proposal for a network of residential farms in Ranst (Flanders) each retrofitting a greenhouse at risk of being dismissed in favour of alarming suburbanisation and meant to be collectively inhabited by a heterogeneous group of people linked by kinships that surpass the single-family - now the prevailing societal model, however in crisis, at the base of the organisation of farm labor in Flanders. While acting as a locus for imagining new ways of living together in line with RJ approaches, this network could secure a long-term housing solution and support infrastructure for vulnerable people struggling to enter the housing market and usually accommodated in temporary shelters and carceral facilities. Collaboration with members of the Flemish Dept. of Agriculture facilitated timely understanding of the challenges of rural development, identifying a specific socio-economic issue, a study area, and a set of specific sites that could be tackled by the project. The social agenda was developed in collaboration with members of the EFRJ while advancing the work by NGOs De Huizen and Rescaled. With the latter’s support, knowledge about their proposed models for small-scale detention was deepened and 3 existing case studies in Belgium (Mechelen and Enghien) and Denmark (Skejby) were analysed.
Intermediate and final results were published in 2 peer review articles and will be featured in 3 forthcoming articles/book chapters; presented at 3 academic conferences; discussed and presented in several short and long workshops with practitioners, academics, and NGOs; communicated to a wider public in events and festivals as well as via social media, broadcast, blog pages; exhibited in public venues; and formed the base of a university taught course.
