Urban Food Production – Potentials Explored, Environmental and Social Impacts Assessed

Abstract

The paper is the result of the research conducted (2022-2025) in the project "U-GARDEN: Promoting capacity building and knowledge for the extension of urban gardens in European cities," which has been funded by the Joint Programme Initiative Urban Europe with the grant of ERA-NET Urban Transition Capacities. The international and interdisciplinary team of researchers from Poland, Romania, Spain, and Sweden aims to promote the implementation of urban gardens and agroforestry as critical components of sustainable urban development in Europe. The results of this research were developed from an international perspective against the background of four European cities, including Warsaw, Brasov, Valencia, and Goteborg. In these four cities, we explored potentials and found that social demand and environmental capacity confront urbanization trends. With different conditions in each city, we have observed a variety of traditions, public policies, and citizens' activism. Food production in urban areas means something else for each community, but nonetheless, in all of them, it can play an essential role concerning citizens' well-being. Beyond the main goals of food production, promoting healthy eating habits, or reducing food insecurity (Stubberfield et al. 2022) – urban gardens provide several ecosystem services. Social cohesion and integration, belonging and community development, social interaction increase, learning and education, maintenance of cultural heritage, reducing urban heat island effects, improving urban biodiversity, increasing the water retention capacity, reducing the carbon footprint of food production and distribution, improving soil quality, reducing greenhouse gas emissions – are a selection of many benefits to urban life (Dorr et al. 2023). Can urban gardening become a game changer in turning city landscapes into more friendly, sustainable environments with ecological and social benefits?

The capacity of urban areas to provide food for city dwellers is being questioned (Grafius et al. 2020). Our research reveals that the situation may be quite far from our expectations in some specific European cities. The scale of potential gardening development is enormous in many of them. Also, from the social point of view, there are rising trends initiated by the pandemic (Sanudin et al. 2022) . However, public policies do not always correspond to potentials and needs (Vara-Sánchez et al. 2021). We have found that there is a wide range of attitudes towards gardening among municipality officials. It is not surprising as they have to respond to contrary trends in urban life. First of all, urbanization trends have revealed the conflict between different social, economic, or environmental goals. Urban gardens were always a component of most European cities' traditional urban and peri-urban landscapes. But now the situation is changing in all directions: spontaneous trends decrease or increase the availability of space for gardening, public policies protect areas of gardens or support their disappearance. Then, describing gardening's future in European cities is a complex task.

Our comprehensive study explores environmental, spatial, social, and legal conditions for the future expansion of gardens. We have built GIS databases to analyse potentials and draw a complete picture of capacities waiting for sustainable development. We were not limited to understanding the physical or technocratic dimensions. The other side of the gardening phenomenon – gardeners – was also investigated. We have listened to representatives of all stakeholders to understand their dreams, opinions, obstacles, and fears. Nothing will be developed without their passions, knowledge, and abilities to change wastelands into fruitful and blossoming landscapes.