Garden cooperatives were a characteristic feature of Czech recreation during the socialist period. They represent a specific site within the local urban and rural landscapes. In the Czech context it also carries the meaning of the collectivism existing within but not strictly controlled by the socialist state. Although there is a growing individualism in Czech society, gardening cooperatives keep elements of this residual collective spirit (e.g. sharing of water, electricity, fences, various duties, etc.). Due to their special legislative status they became places of bricoleur creativity allowing building of houses and improvements with little or no restriction. These types of cabins are continually transformed from second homes to the primary residence. The residents of garden communities are diverse. They include initial founders and those people who seek certain types of freedom, financially modest living, and an outdoor lifestyle. The case study of one garden cooperative in Western Bohemia shows how these formerly recreational places slowly turned into permanent homes. We can observe the shift from the former values of collective leisure to the recent values of individual rejection of economic globalization and consumerism.
The importance of countryside as a recreation area has risen according to the urbanization process which led to rising number of city population and worsening the quality of environment in the cities. In the countryside area there are many objects of individual recreation – cottages, recreation cottages, gardening houses. The primary goal of owning and making use of objects of individual recreation is the regeneration of physical and mental forces in a more suitable environment.
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