Urban environments worldwide are facing mounting pressures, from climate change to social fragmentation, prompting a search for innovative, sustainable solutions that can create resilient cities. A recent systematic literature review published in npj Urban Sustainability casts a focused lens on community gardens as formidable contributors to urban sustainability across nearly three decades of research. This comprehensive synthesis, authored by Cukierman, Coenraads, Iwarsson, and colleagues, meticulously analyzes studies from 1992 to 2021, revealing the multifaceted roles these green spaces play within the urban fabric.
Community gardens have increasingly gained recognition not merely as patches of green amid concrete but as vital socio-ecological infrastructures. The review underscores how these gardens nurture biodiversity by providing habitats for pollinators and various urban wildlife species, restoring fragments of native flora that foster ecological networks in otherwise fragmented urban landscapes. This enhancement of urban biodiversity is a critical pillar in the greater quest to mitigate biodiversity loss globally, reinforcing ecosystem resilience in the face of anthropogenic disturbances.
Beyond ecological function, community gardens serve as powerful social catalysts. The review highlights their capacity to cultivate social cohesion by creating inclusive spaces where diverse urban residents converge, collaborate, and foster relationships. This social capital generation proves invaluable for marginalized communities, often lacking access to coherent social networks, thereby amplifying equity and empowerment within neighborhoods. Community gardens thus operate as living laboratories for participatory urbanism, engendering shared responsibility and stewardship over common resources.
From an environmental sustainability perspective, community gardens contribute to urban climate adaptation strategies. The green cover they provide plays a role in temperature regulation, mitigating urban heat island effects by increasing evapotranspiration and shading. These microclimatic benefits extend to improved air quality through particulate matter attenuation and carbon sequestration. The synthesized literature reveals that strategic deployment of community gardens can yield measurable reductions in local temperatures, benefiting city dwellers during extreme heat events increasingly frequent under climate change.
Food security emerges as another crucial dimension examined in this expansive review. Community gardens often act as localized food production hubs, offering fresh, nutritious produce that supplements household diets. This urban agriculture function contributes to reducing dependency on long supply chains, diminishing food miles, and encouraging sustainable consumption patterns. The research encapsulated in the review indicates numerous cases where community gardens have alleviated food insecurity, particularly in marginalized, food desert neighborhoods.
A notable technical aspect of community gardens is their role in urban water management. Gardens enhance stormwater infiltration, reducing runoff and mitigating pollution of urban water bodies. Through soil amendment practices and green infrastructure integration, community gardens contribute to groundwater recharge and reduce the burden on municipal drainage systems during heavy precipitation events. These hydrological ecosystem services are critical for cities grappling with increased rainfall variability and flooding associated with climate shifts.
The review also delves into the psychological and health benefits community gardens confer. Exposure to green spaces is strongly linked with reductions in stress, enhanced mental health, and increased physical activity. The analysis reveals robust findings demonstrating that community gardens serve as sanctuaries for urban residents, offering remedial environments that counteract the negative impacts of urban stressors. These benefits align with global public health objectives toward holistic well-being and preventive care.
Importantly, the authors discuss governance frameworks surrounding community garden initiatives, identifying governance as a determinant in their sustainability and long-term viability. Successful gardens often feature participatory management models that empower local stakeholders, promote transparency, and foster adaptive capacity. Conversely, externally imposed or poorly supported gardens risk marginalization or disappearance. Thus, governance strategies that embed community ownership and flexible institutional support are paramount.
Economic implications are also addressed, illustrating how community gardens can stimulate local economies via job creation, skills development, and entrepreneurship opportunities especially in urban agriculture and horticulture sectors. By integrating with local markets, gardens can catalyze circular economy models that valorize organic waste through composting and encourage responsible resource use. These economic dividends further justify policy investment in urban green space projects.
The systematic approach of the review reveals broader interdisciplinary connections, where community gardens intersect with education, cultural heritage preservation, and urban planning. Gardens frequently serve as open-air classrooms, fostering environmental literacy and sustainability awareness among youth and adult participants alike. They also often act as vessels for cultural expression, nurturing traditional horticultural knowledge and practices that reinforce community identity amid rapid urban change.
Technological innovations are emerging within community garden management, a trend captured in the recent body of literature. Digital platforms for coordination, sensor-based soil monitoring, and sustainable irrigation systems enhance productivity and resource efficiency. The review highlights the potential for technology to democratize access and optimize outcomes while balancing the preservation of community-driven ethos that underpin garden success.
Moreover, the authors emphasize the temporal evolution of community gardens’ roles reflecting shifting urban sustainability paradigms. Early focus on food production has expanded toward encompassing broader ecological, social, and governance objectives. This evolution mirrors shifting global priorities, underscoring the adaptability of community gardens as multifunctional spaces that can reconcile competing urban demands.
As cities continue confronting multifactorial challenges — climate change, social inequality, and urban sprawl — this exhaustive literature synthesis offers compelling evidence placing community gardens at the heart of resilient urban futures. By integrating ecological stewardship, social inclusion, and adaptive governance, community gardens carve pathways toward urban environments that are healthier, more equitable, and sustainable.
This systematic review not only consolidates decades of empirical and theoretical work but also sets agendas for future research and policy action. It calls for enhanced recognition of community gardens in urban planning frameworks, standardized metrics for evaluating their impacts, and robust funding mechanisms to support their proliferation. In an era where resilient cities are imperative, community gardens emerge as vital arenas for innovation, community resilience, and sustainable urban transformation.
By weaving together social, ecological, economic, and technological threads, Cukierman and colleagues have illuminated the integral role of community gardens in nurturing cities that withstand environmental and social perturbations. Their findings are a clarion call to urban policymakers, planners, and community leaders to invest strategically in these green commons—fostering vibrant, resilient cities capable of thriving in the 21st century and beyond.
Subject of Research: Community gardens and their contribution to urban sustainability and resilience.
Article Title: Nurturing resilient cities: a systematic literature review of community gardens’ contribution to sustainability, 1992–2021.
Article References:
Cukierman, G.O., Coenraads, D., Iwarsson, E. et al. Nurturing resilient cities: a systematic literature review of community gardens’ contribution to sustainability, 1992–2021. npj Urban Sustain 5, 88 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-025-00272-2
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