Urban gardens bear rich fruit in two senses, as a study makes clear: in Berlin and Stuttgart, researchers have quantified the food production and the socio-cultural “yield” of community and allotment gardens. According to this, the gardens in Berlin can cover the annual vegetable needs of around 50,000 residents and in Stuttgart that of 30,000. However, the scientists rate the social value even higher, which they have also translated into monetary values on the basis of special survey results. For example, the Berlin community garden “Himmelbeet” alone generates a social benefit of 1.5 million euros annually.
The life of many city dwellers is characterized by office work and an environment of gray house facades and sealed surfaces. Many therefore long for green islands and also for a “solid” relationship with nature. Numerous studies also illustrate the significant importance of nature experiences for the well-being and mental health of people. In addition to parks and green spaces, urban gardens are of great importance. In addition to the allotment gardens, community garden projects have also developed in some cities, which offer opportunities for gardening and fulfill socio-cultural functions.
The “Garden Services” project, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, is dedicated to the scientific investigation of various aspects of urban gardens. “By mapping the services provided by green spaces and quantifying them with a monetary value, we want to show how much people in the city benefit from gardens,” says project manager Jesko Hirschfeld from the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW).
contribution to the food supply
They are now presenting evaluation data from Berlin and Stuttgart. One aspect was the agricultural production capacity of the urban gardens. For this purpose, the garden areas in Berlin and Stuttgart were determined from various sources. The scientists included allotment gardens, community gardens and rented fields in the survey that are located within the city limits of Berlin and Stuttgart. How many vegetables are harvested in the gardens could be determined with the help of surveys and projections.
As the researchers report, their results make it clear that urban gardening is not only a meaningful leisure activity, but can also contribute to local, sustainable food production. According to this, the urban gardeners in Berlin harvest 7.6 and in Stuttgart 4.4 million kilograms of vegetables, herbs and potatoes during the gardening season. Measured against the average per capita consumption of vegetables, the harvest in Berlin can supply 50,000 people with fresh vegetables for a year and in Stuttgart it is around 30,000 people. The IÖW reports that the monetary value of the crop yields is almost ten million euros in Berlin and 5.8 million euros in Stuttgart.
Neighborhood blossoms around urban gardens
The researchers rate the social and cultural benefits of urban gardens as even more valuable. But how can this be measured and expressed in monetary terms? As the team explains, such an assessment is possible by surveying the willingness of city dwellers to pay using so-called choice experiments. Among other things, the question is asked how many city dwellers would be willing to pay for a garden with certain characteristics. The scientists have calculated this willingness in the case of the “Himmelbeet” community garden in Wedding, among other things. The project offers garden enthusiasts 300 raised beds, plants, materials and a café building. As a neighborhood meeting place with cultural offerings and as a natural recreation area, the garden provides a social benefit of 1.5 million euros annually, the researchers have calculated. In Stuttgart, they are focusing on the similar “Stadtacker Wagenhallen” project. If you add up the appreciation of the residents in this case, the value is over 300,000 euros per year.
In general, the survey results also show: “The social and cultural value of urban gardens is higher the more densely populated the neighborhood is. It is highest when the garden is also designed to be close to nature, offers environmental education and cultural events and is often open to visitors,” says environmental economist Malte Welling from the IÖW. The scientists of the “Garden Services” project hope to make the numerous positive effects of urban greenery more transparent with their research results. From this they also want to derive recommendations for action for cities and civil society actors in order to ultimately contribute to the promotion and protection of urban oases.
Further results of the studies on the importance of gardens and parks in Berlin and Stuttgart are available in a series of fact sheets at http://www.gartendienstleistungen.de.