Review and Analysis of the Motivations Associated with Urban Gardening in the Pandemic Period

Abstract

This paper examines people’s motives for urban gardening during the pandemic waves of 2020 and 2021. Interest in this practice has often ebbed and flowed in response to changing socioeconomic conditions and depended on positive effects in terms of social integration, community and individual health, urban regeneration, and food security. While several studies have documented these effects well with reference to the pre-pandemic period, few have detailed their existence—and eventually variations—during the lockdowns. These periods have probably reignited interest in this practice. Unlike other recreational activities, urban gardening was not restricted by regional and national governments because they considered this practice to be beneficial for food provisioning. To explore the motivations behind this newfound interest, this paper illustrates the results of a literature review on the articles published on this topic in the period from early 2020 to mid-2022. Findings reveal that the most widespread motivations are those related to personal and community wellbeing as well as food supply security and include the opportunity to spend time having fun outside the home. In addition, community resilience is a motivation that had not been detected in the past.

Home and wild food procurement was associated with greater intake of fruits and vegetables during the COVID-19 pandemic in northern New England

“…Vegetable seeds and mason jar lids became hard to find as new and existing gardeners bought them in preparation for augmenting their production and preservation capacities (5,6) . Research shows people upped their participation in all these endeavors in part because they had more free time and wanted relief from the stress of the pandemic, but also because they were worried about having enough food (7,8) .…”

Landscaping with Fruits: Citizens’ Perceptions toward Urban Horticulture and Design of Urban Gardens

“…Throughout history, every rapid and large-scale initiative that resulted in an increase in city dwellers' engagement in the maintenance of urban gardens has been related to the increased need for fresh food in times of crisis, including poor living standards in periods during and after wars, financial crises and, most recently, the pandemic waves in 2020 and 2021 [7]. In countries with low living standards, urban agriculture is generally practiced in order to provide nutritionally adequate and safe food while at the same time generating self-employment opportunities, direct revenues or savings, which contribute to greater social stability [8].…”

An Analysis of Recreational and Leisure Areas in Polish Counties with the Use of Geographically Weighted Regression

“…These areas attracted considerable public interest because they promoted relaxation during this period of restricted social mobility and delivered economic benefits by enabling residents to grow their own food in allotment gardens. Recreational and leisure areas provided important ecosystem services, delivered health benefits, promoted physical activity, and enabled users to overcome the psychological and physical burden of the pandemic [10,16,[18][19][20][21].…”