Urban Gardening: Managing the Risks of Contaminated Soil

Integrating Horticulture into Cities: A Guide for Assessing the Implementation Potential of Rooftop Greenhouses (RTGs) in Industrial and Logistics Parks

“…Among other issues, these principles consider integrated pest management and plant hygiene procedures, which include the use of living organisms for biological control to reduce the use of pesticides. Finally, the use of rooftops for food production avoids the most common food risk in urban agriculture: soil contamination and the consequent bioaccumulation of metals (Bugdalski et al, 2013;Clark et al, 2008;Kessler, 2013;Mitchell et al, 2014;Mok et al, 2013;Swartjes et al, 2013). Regarding air pollution, although it affects vegetation by accumulating trace metals, it depends on the location of the agricultural activity and, specifically, on the distance to traffic hotspots (Bell et al, 2011, Säumel et al, 2012.…”

Does intake of trace elements through urban gardening in Copenhagen pose a risk to human health?

“…Urban gardening is experiencing growing popularity in Europe and North America (Kessler, 2013;Leake et al, 2009;Saeumel et al, 2012;Witzling et al, 2011). In Copenhagen, gardening activities take place in well-established associations like school and allotments gardens, as well as new concepts such as rooftop gardening and gardening in movable containers are developed (Copenhagen Municipality, 2014a).…”

How can ecological urbanism promote human health?

“…Researchers agree that the exposure routes for humans occur through accidental ingestion of the soil and inhaling of contaminated dust (Kessler, 2013), posing risks to farmers, particularly children. There is less consensus about the health effects of the consumption of crops grown in contaminated soil (Warming et al, 2015;Ferri et al, 2015;Augustsson et al, 2015), probably due to the general lack of studies, particularly in LA.…”

“…The broad range of variables involved -soil constitution, type of pollutant, type of crop -has impaired comparisons between studies. Hence, the most prudent attitude is to follow the specific management practices for urban gardeners (Kessler, 2013), which can help to prevent these harmful exposures. Some of these recommendations are closely related to urban planners' activities, such as building gardens away from existing roads.…”

“…Remediation is frequently possible, but the unavailability of specialized services at some sites and the high costs might be impediments. Building raised beds and importing healthy soil are alternatives (Rydin et al, 2012;Angnotti, 2015;Kessler, 2013). Kessler (2013) summarized the best management practices for urban gardeners, including agricultural practices (e.g., covering existing soil and walkways with mulch) and good habits (e.g., wearing gloves).…”