This paper argues that the selection of the type of urban green spaces to be integrated into urban neighborhoods is critical in addressing these well-being problems. One of the drivers is the urban migration, where people are relocating themselves to new neighborhoods, cities or countries often with the hope of better economic opportunities and social infrastructure, therefore changing the landscape of the new society and the place they reside. It is worrying as these people might not receive enough social support due to their limited social network. It could further escalate to social well-being problems such as individualism and social isolation and could later be manifested mentally or psychologically as loneliness. Community gardens, as part of urban green spaces, offer meaningful social interaction opportunities that often being missed in the context of modern societies and urban lifestyle. Therefore, there is a need to review the effects of community gardening activities as an intervention strategy to strengthen the degree of social bonding to identify its capacity in integrating isolated people back into community life. As a conclusion, urban designers and policymakers are suggested to adopt community gardens as a safe open space in cities to encourage more people-people-places interaction.

<p><strong>Aim:</strong> The aim of this concept paper is to identify a conceptual framework to investigate the level of social bonding/social attachment amongst participants of community gardening activity. It is estimated that more than 50% of the population would be living in urban areas by 2050. One of the drivers is the urban migration, where people are relocating themselves to new neighbourhoods, cities or countries often with the hope of better economic opportunities and social infrastructure, therefore changing the landscape of the new society and the place they reside. It is worrying as these people might not receive enough social support due to their limited social network. It could further escalate to social well-being problems such as individualism and social isolation and could later manifest mentally or psychologically as loneliness. <strong>Methodology and Results: </strong>This paper argues that the selection of the type of urban green spaces to be integrated into urban neighbourhoods is critical in addressing the well-being problems. Community gardens, as part of urban green spaces, offer meaningful social interaction opportunities, often being missed in the context of modern societies and urban lifestyle. Therefore, there is a need to review the effects of community gardening activities as an intervention strategy to strengthen the degree of social bonding to identify its capacity in integrating isolated people back into community life. <strong>Conclusion, significance and impact study:</strong> As a conclusion, urban designers and policymakers are suggested to adopt community gardens as a safe open space in cities to encourage more people-people-places interaction.</p>

A development of green infrastructure (GI) on university compound has been acknowledged as one of the foundations of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), an initiative that could provide various benefits to the campus community. The present study shared the experience of the Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture, UMS in the development of GI, namely, a rooftop garden as a medium for ESD. The project was divided into four phases: formation of planning and management team, participatory planning, site inventory and analysis, and GI design and development. The planning and management team involved academic staff and students interested in the project. In the participatory planning, the team members took part in a discussion on strategies to achieve the development of GI as a medium for ESD including taking part in mini training on hard and softscaping at several locations on the campus. This discussion and training prepared the team members for the site inventory and analysis. In the latter, the roof area of the administrative building was finally selected for the GI development. The selected roof area was originally built as an observatory area but was found to have an archetypal problem associated with the urban environment: absence of vegetation, intense solar radiation, and unfit for multifunctional usage. Based on those factors, during the GI design and development phase, the problems were solved using sustainable landscape approaches, for example, increasing the vegetative cover, reducing the solar radiation and glare, and fitting the area with an efficient irrigation system. At the end of the project, the participants had been exposed directly to the keys to identifying environmental issues and their solutions, and by this way, they were carrying out sustainable initiatives on campus environment. The project signifies the potential of GI development in empowering the campus community towards sustainable development and achieving the objectives of ESD.Â

Campus sustainability is a movement that requires a significant engagement from various campus stakeholders. Students as the biggest stakeholders have to play a meaningful role as the implementers, and academicians, on another side, must feel free to address campus sustainability issues and inspire the students to get involved in making the campus sustainability movement a reality. In 2013, Universiti Malaysia Sabah established an EcoCampus Management Centre to lead the sustainability movement to a higher level. The goal of the university is becoming an EcoCampus by 2018. Thus, in parallel with the goal of the movement, the Horticulture and Landscaping Programme (HG35), Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture (FSA), UMS has set out one of the Programme learning outcomes as to produce graduates who could grasp the concepts and principles of sustainable horticulture and landscaping. Several HG35 academicians and Key Persons appointed by the UMS authority had implemented the EcoCampus Core Values and Key Elements in teaching and learning activities. In this paper, the authors share their experience in integrating the sustainability movement in teaching and learning process for Garden Planning and Management course. A project-based learning (PBL) named EcoProject was structured to empower the students of the course to create something that could achieve the goal of the sustainability movement and most importantly is meaningful to them. The assessment is designed to allow the students (1) to integrate a variety of knowledge and skills pertaining to horticulture and landscaping in their projects, 2) to give a platform to the students to explore and adopt a sustainable initiative in FSA campus creatively, and 3) to foster a sense of belonging to the sustainability movement introduced by the University. The performance of the students was then evaluated using a Likert scale. At the end of the project, the students produced several distinctive art installations, for example, a lath house, that is, a shelter made of 1000 recycled 1.5L transparent plastic water bottles functioning as a plant nursery especially for acclimatising young seedlings before field planting. The EcoProject assessment had demonstrated that sustainability movement could be harmoniously integrated into teaching and learning activities in higher education institutions. The project had inspired the students to be creative and confident to engage in a sustainability movement, and this experience is expected to stay with them once graduated.Â