Urban
gardeners in Barcelona, Spain, identified 20 ecosystem service
benefits, from pollination to environmental learning, in a recent study.
Cultural ecosystem services — mainly related to the opportunity for
residents to interact with nature — were the most common and highly
valued of the ecosystem services identified.
Currently
half of the world’s population lives in cities, and this figure is
expected to rise to 60% by 2030. Developing sustainable, liveable and
resilient cities is, therefore, one of the major challenges in urban
policy and planning. Green infrastructure,
such as urban gardens or nature areas, can form an important part of
cityscapes and provide a number of benefits to residents. The EU has
produced a Green Infrastructure Strategy in order to promote green spaces and contribute towards its 2020 Biodiversity Strategy.
Communal
gardens can provide a number of ecosystem services within urban areas.
These include contributing to human wellbeing by cleaning air or water, providing habitats to encourage biodiversity,
and also ‘cultural services’, such as providing opportunities for
recreation and environmental education. In Barcelona, the City Council
recently developed a ‘Green Infrastructure and Biodiversity Plan’1, a strategic plan that recognises urban gardens as important components of urban green infrastructure.
In
this study, researchers explored the various ecosystem services
provided by 27 urban gardens in Barcelona through interviewing and
directly observing garden users and consultation with urban planners.
Interviewees included members of the Network of Community Gardens of
Barcelona, an association which coordinates urban gardening initiatives.
In total, 44 garden users were interviewed.
Ecosystem services identified by the respondents were categorised into the type of service provided (provisioning, regulating, habitat or supporting and cultural services),
to indicate whether services provide mainly ecological, economic or
social benefits. A further 201 gardeners were surveyed to assess the
perceived importance of the ecosystem services identified from the
interviews.
Meetings
were then held to share the results of these surveys with members of
Barcelona City Council’s Green Space department and city planners
involved in developing green spaces to support gardening programmes.
Local planners indicated that the results would support efforts to
promote urban gardens in the city.
Twenty
different ecosystem services were identified by the gardeners, with
‘cultural ecosystem services’ the most frequently and highly valued.
This service comprised 12 subcategories, including: learning and
education; social cohesion and integration; maintenance of cultural
heritage; relaxation and stress reduction; and political fulfilment.
Within this category, ‘learning and education’ was the most widely
acknowledged of the specific ecosystem services identified.
The
researchers acknowledge the limitation of consulting garden users who
are already likely to have a positive appreciation of the services
provided by urban gardens. Despite this, they say the results
demonstrate the positive role of urban gardens in raising environmental
awareness, promoting community engagement in environmental stewardship
and creating opportunities for recreation.
Urban gardens can also form part of nature-based solutions
to challenges in European cities, including restoring abandoned or
neglected areas and promoting social inclusion. A recent report2 by the European Commission’s expert group on ‘Nature-Based Solutions and Re-naturing Cities’ refers to social inclusion and the reduction of economic inequalities as a Europe-wide challenge in urban policymaking.
Many
of the gardeners within this study, which included less privileged
social groups, such as migrants, the elderly and the unemployed,
reported that they viewed the gardens as an opportunity for social
interaction with other gardeners and city inhabitants. The study’s
authors conclude that urban gardens are, therefore, an effective
nature-based solution for policies aimed at improving quality of life
within cities.
1. Barcelona’s Green Infrastructure and Biodiversity Plan: http://ajuntament.barcelona.
2. Towards an EU research and innovation policy agenda for nature-based solutions & re-naturing cities: https://ec.europa.eu/
Source: Camps-Calvet,
M., Langemeyer, J., Calvet-Mir, L. & Gomez-Baggethun, E. (2016).
Ecosystem services provided by urban gardens in Barcelona, Spain:
Insights for policy and planning. Environmental Science & Policy 62: 14-23. DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2016.01.007.
Contact: johannes.langemeyer@uab.cat
Read more about: Biodiversity, Environment and health, Green infrastructure, Urban environment
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