Role of Community Gardens in Development of Housing Estates in Polish Cities

Abstract

The amount of green is relatively low in most cities. Often, the cause of this situation is urban policy which favours developers. Far-reaching urbanization results in various environmental and social problems. In those circumstances, a need for the wider revitalization and reorganization of urban space becomes even more important and necessary. Our article is a review. It discusses the significance of community gardens in Poland due to people’s limited access to private gardens and the growing development of housing estates in cities. In recent decades, cities have developed rapidly in Poland. However, this development was often uncontrolled because very compact building patterns were applied in new housing estates. As a result, in many places the urban tissue lacked common public space. Urban planners adopted a new approach to public goods, including green spaces, and reconsidered the development of cities. Common space was found to be fundamental for the development of the identity of individual neighbourhood groups and, consequently, for social changes. Community gardens are an example of changes introduced to the urban landscape as a consequence of considering common space significant. As a result, local residents can integrate and change their attitude to public space, which is perceived as part of the community. Users gain a sense of community, solidarity, and shared responsibility. The community garden becomes a reason for neighbourhood residents to integrate despite the fact that they may differ in their political views, background, and age. Community gardens are established in a similar way all over the world. However, there might be local differences in the legal system, people’s mentality, and access to land. Community gardens are a new phenomenon in Poland. They are established mainly in big cities, e.g., in Warsaw, Kraków, and Poznań. Community gardens have numerous advantages. Their users are physically active, and they are thus at lower risk of chronic and non-infectious diseases. They grow vegetables and thus change their eating habits. In addition, community gardens reduce stress. Due to gardening, users feel better, broaden their social contacts, participate in cultural events, and enrich their diet. This article shows how the intensive development of housing estates in Poland affects the availability of green areas. The advantages of community gardens in Poland and other countries, methods of plant cultivation and how community gardens functioned during the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed. With this short review, we want to broaden the knowledge about community gardens as their development in Poland is different than in other countries and to encourage their establishment due to the decreasing amount of green space and dense urban development.

Global Landscape of Urban Agriculture and Covid-19 Research: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…The research in this group focused on the "community garden", and most of the studies explored its role and benefits. For example, Janowska et al (2022) reviewed the role and benefits of the community garden and presented case studies from Poland. Mejia et al (2020) analysed the role of community-based agriculture in food security and psychological benefits.…”

“…This is in line with the study of Mead et al (2022), which indicated that home food growing in the United Kingdom during Covid-19 resulted in a lower level of food insecurity and a higher level of well-being. Due to the multifunctionality of urban agriculture, it was promoted in various cities during Covid-19 (Janowska et al, 2022;Music et al, 2022;Kimani-Murage et al, 2022).…”

Land Resources in Organic Agriculture: Trends and Challenges in the Twenty-First Century from Global to Croatian Contexts

“…In the Zagreb city area, there are fourteen locations with urban gardens encompassing more than two thousand one hundred fifty plots, primarily dedicated to organic farming on ~23 ha. Urban gardens have proven to be a positive model for the sustainable utilization of urban land, improving the quality of life for citizens in social, economic, and ecological aspects [48,49]. Thus, urban gardening, particularly those practicing organic farming, have the potential to improve access to nutritious food, alleviate financial burdens, foster environmental health, preserve biodiversity, cultivate ecological awareness, establish a connection with nature, promote a healthy lifestyle, and strengthen collaborations between local government and the community (e.g., Table 2).…”

The Evaluation of Carbon Farming Strategies in Organic Vegetable Cultivation

“…Carbon sequestration involves transferring carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the atmosphere and long-lasting, secure storage at the soil level by improving the accumulation of organic and inorganic carbon stocks. This is achieved through the adoption of appropriate land use practices and a set of recommended management techniques, such as mulch farming [32,33], conservation tillage [34], agroforestry [35], diverse cropping systems [36][37][38][39], cover crops [40,41], and integrated nutrient management, including the use of manure, biosolids, compost, sustainable forest management, and improved grazing [42]. The sequestration of soil organic carbon (SOC) is influenced by agricultural systems that promote the incorporation of significant amounts of biomass into the soil, minimize soil disturbance, protect soil and water resources, enhance soil structure, increase the activity and diversity of soil organisms, and strengthen elemental cycling processes.…”