Growing Spaces by photographer Chris Hoare is a chronicle of urban land cultivation in Bristol. From early in the pandemic, Hoare slowly and methodically documented the allotment-goers, landscape and seasonal changes across the official and unofficial growing spaces of the city. The resulting photographs, originally commissioned by Bristol Photo Festival, were published in Growing Spaces to coincide with an exhibition of the work at the inaugural festival. The project documents eleven sites across Bristol, from established allotment plots to community gardens and improvised plots on disused lands. It was conceived before the Covid-19 pandemic, but its timing—coinciding with the increased demand for green spaces for growing produce—allowed Hoare to capture the formation and energy of a growing renaissance. The allotment system recognised today originated in the nineteenth century, when land was given to the labouring poor to grow food at a time of rapid industrialisation. With demand outstripping supply, urban dead spaces have been commandeered and rejuvenated and their value realised through the process of growing. The allotment provides multiple benefits—increasing sustainable local food production whilst simultaneously providing a haven away from home.