Sustainable production

In 2017, the municipality of Sintra approved the municipal Solidarity Gardens Program, which aims at enabling the inhabitants of Sintra to "value solidarity and, in some way, value natural resources" (ref.4).
This intervention aims to create small gardens in urban areas. Not only as a tool for subsistence for families in situations of social vulnerability but also to generate access to areas that tend to deteriorate, through correct management and profitability of resources. Eventually, the NBS aims to promote actions for the implementation of sustainable urban development, focused on strengthening family and local agriculture (1)

On the brownfield of an abandoned train station and its surrounding terrain, active citizens and neighbors developed Utopia town, a living lab for creative urban development, cultural and creative industries, and citizen engagement. Under the guiding principle “edible train station – edible town", next to other projects, an urban garden with organic cultivation was developed on 1,000 sqm of the terrain at the former train station Mirke as a focus area for their activities due to its favourable location in order to show that gardening is possible in urban spaces, even on balconies or terraces (Ref. 1, 2, and 3). The main building of the Utopiatown has a bar, a concert venue, a food sharing station, and a free bicycle lending service that is operated by volunteers. (Ref. 9). Gardening workshops that are offered to citizens with little experience of gardening are planned to be further extended with seminars and practice classes for students (Ref. 3). Since its beginning, the area of the “utopia town” has grown rapidly and is now providing opportunities for multidisciplinary academic research. (Ref. 12)

The project has the goal to promote volunteering related to environmental protection. The community-based initiative involves disabled people to implement the intervention - with the supervision of specific tutors - to prove that they can be an active part of the population. Activities included taking care of several green areas and implementation of social horticulture gardens. (Ref.1.)

Following the Reading Growallot scheme, a derelict land area in Florian Gardens, Southcote was transformed into an allotment site. The scheme is part of Food 4 Families which is a community allotment project. One in four residents in Southcote live in flats with no garden to enjoy; local families have therefore transformed the land into a thriving allotment, growing fresh, healthy fruit and vegetables. This means that Southcote GrowAllot gives residents the chance to start growing food together. (Ref. 1, 3)

A communal bio-garden was created by a group of citizens in Sofia in 2014 on a municipal piece of land. The creation of the garden was supported by the Municipality through their programme “Green Sofia”. The aim of the project was to turn an abandoned and degraded green area into an “island of biodiversity” and a place for urban gardening. The garden contains herbs, vegetables, and flowers, dwelling places for useful insects, and a compost bin. The benefits of the garden have been ecological, educational, and social, including refugee integration. (Ref. 1; Ref. 2; Ref. 3; Ref. 4) According to their Facebook group in 2020, the 4 acre garden and the community that has organised around it is still thriving. (Ref 10)

The NBS was inspired by the first social garden created by citizens on Chrobrego Street. Later, the municipality provided funds for 4 additional projects. Social gardens were created in the housing estates of Wyżyny, Okole, Jary and Wilczak. Residents planted new bushes, flowers, trees, grass, and perennials, and arranged the existing nature in their pocket gardens. In some cases, they also established 'hotels' for insects and pollinators or created thematic paths. Common efforts are to grow healthy plants, herb and vegetable, and to create a friendly atmosphere in the gardens. The gardens are small, 100 square meters on average [1,4].

The intervention takes place in one of the most important parks in Palermo, and the area plays an important role, by hosting several plant and animal species, and the intervention consisted of creating an agricultural area within the park with a community-based approach. This proved that agricultural initiative had an economic role to play for the city, and at the same time can enhance social inclusiveness. (Ref.1.)

The Biodroom is a community garden where citizens can meet each other, children can play, and where vegetables are grown ecologically. The Biodrome started as a laboratory for art, gardening and ecology in the city: a temporary culture project with art manifestations, but is since 2014 it functions as a community garden that is maintained by citizens (Ref. 1).

Interkultural Garten was founded in 2009 as an initiative of the Society for the Promotion of Occupational and Social Integration. The aims of the project are social integration between migrants and locals from the same neighborhood, healthy and free-off-charge food supply for those who are in need, as well as the improvement of the natural environment in the neighborhood. The garden plot is located on the former Reese barracks ground (Ref. 1).

'Groene Mient' (Green Commons) is a citizen initiative that realized an exceptional social-ecological residential project consisting of three housing buildings of energy neutral homes and a 3,500 m2 communal garden (1,6). Storm water is captured from the roofs of the buildings into bioswales, permeable paving is applied, the shared garden is 'eatable' and houses run on sustainable energy (1). The houses do not have a gas connection and have three different sustainable energy systems: heat pump with heat-cold storage, solar boiler or electric heating (6).