In many cities, outdoor space is a luxury. Many homes, especially in dense neighbourhoods, don’t have gardens or balconies. If they do, these spaces are often paved or concrete, offering little greenery. Despite this, community gardens are emerging all over the world and are transforming city life, providing fresh food, shared space, and a connection to nature that many residents are missing.
A community garden is any outdoor space made available for use by people who live locally. They’re spaces to connect, grow food, learn new skills and they’re growing in popularity. For example, between 2012 and 2018 the number of community garden plots in city parks in the 100 largest U.S. cities increased by 44%.
Community gardens offer so much. They bring people together, connect them with food, teach hands-on skills, and provide health benefits.
Connecting people to food
Urbanisation is reshaping agri‐food systems. As more people live in dense, urban settings, consumption of highly processed foods has increased – they’re cheap, convenient and widely available. Food often travels long distances before reaching consumers, which drives up cost and carbon emissions and can also reduce freshness and nutrient content. This has created a growing disconnect between what people in cities eat and where their food comes from.
Food supply chains are complex. In recent years, political unrest and the Covid-19 pandemic have exposed their fragility. There have been times that food deserts have emerged, particularly in big cities. The FAO reported that in 2022, about 258 million people in 58 countries were facing acute food insecurity at crisis or worse levels. The main drivers included economic shocks, conflict, and disruptions to food supply chains.
Community gardens also provide fresh food without the need for packaging or transport through long supply chains. A study across multiple cities in the United States found that community gardeners harvested on average 4 pounds of produce per week during peak season, contributing to food access and savings. On a broader level, community gardens can help strengthen local food security. Even modest yields make a difference as they support increased vegetable intake, reduced grocery bills, and build resilience in urban food systems.
Providing health benefits
City life can be hectic and stressful, often contributing to anxiety or other mental health challenges. Spending time outdoors, especially in green spaces, can help. Holli-Anne Passmore, an associate professor of psychology at Concordia University of Edmonton in Canada and director of the international Nature-Meaning in Life research lab says,
“Whether we realize it or not, we are inherently drawn to nature…yet we tend to grossly underestimate how much better it actually makes us feel.”
Research supports this. Studies have found that regular exposure to green space can lower blood pressure and cholesterol and reduce rates of diabetes, asthma, heart disease and overall risk of death.
Gardening, in particular, combines these physical benefits with mental ones. It encourages gentle movement, boosts self-esteem, improves memory, and helps reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.
There’s also evidence that soil contains microbes such as Mycobacterium vaccae that can positively influence the human immune and nervous systems, potentially improving mood. Experiments show that time in nature can improve memory, attention, and mood while encouraging empathy and cooperation.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, many community garden spaces were used to support mental well‐being. A study of community garden coordinators in 43 cities across multiple countries recorded multiple health and social benefits during that period, including increased resilience against stress and mental burdens.
Offering social connection
In large apartment blocks or busy urban cores, people often don’t know their neighbours well. One U.S. survey found that among residents in urban areas, only 24% say they know all or most of their neighbours. In contrast, in rural areas this number is much higher.
Community gardens help rebuild social cohesion. They are places where people from different ages, backgrounds, and life situations come together. Sharing time outdoors and working on common projects like planting seeds, removing weeds, and maintaining paths builds trust and helps build relationships.
Projects like Gardens4All use community gardens as spaces for inclusion and connection. The initiative brings together gardens in countries including Germany, Cyprus, Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia, working with migrants, refugees, people with disabilities, and disadvantaged families. These shared green spaces help people form new social networks, exchange cultural traditions, and find a sense of belonging in their communities.
Benefits to the environment
Community gardens also have environmental benefits. Even small green spaces provide habitats for pollinators like bees, butterflies and other insects, which are essential to sustain biodiversity in cities, supporting ecosystem health and maintaining food production. This is crucial since pollinator diversity and abundance are under threat from human activities like urbanisation and pesticide use. One study found that small additions to pollinator resources (~30 m²) in community gardens and farms resulted in a significant local increase in pollinator abundance.
In addition to supporting wildlife, people who take part in gardening are more likely to adopt eco-friendly behaviours, including composting, recycling, reducing food waste, and conserving water. These everyday actions help make urban living more sustainable while also connecting gardeners to broader environmental issues.
A notable example is the Melbourne Pollinator Corridor, an ambitious community-led project transforming under-used urban spaces into habitats for native pollinators. This initiative aims to establish an 8-kilometer-long wildlife corridor by creating 200 gardens filled with indigenous plants. Early results are promising, including one site that reported a 2,400% increase in insect species within a year, and another hosted nine butterfly species. These gardens not only foster local biodiversity but also engage residents in ecological stewardship, enhancing both environmental and community well-being.
Community gardens add so much to city life. They connect us to our food, to nature and to each other. They bring tangible health, social and environmental benefits. In cities where outdoor space is limited and lives are busy, they offer a meaningful way to make life healthier, greener, and more connected.
Creating Connections Through Community Gardens
Community gardens are transforming urban life by connecting people to food, nature, and each other. They offer tangible health benefits, foster social cohesion, support local biodiversity, and provide fresh produce even in areas with limited access. From strengthening food security to revitalising neglected neighbourhoods, these shared green spaces make cities healthier, greener, and more connected.