COMMUNITY GARDENING AND THE CAPACITY TO ENRICH SOCIAL BONDING IN URBAN NEIGHBOURHOODS

Urban Farm DB summary

Noting that more than 50% of the population is projected to live in urban areas by 2050, and that urban migration raises the risk of insufficient social support leading to individualism, social isolation, and loneliness, a conceptual framework is proposed for investigating the level of social bonding among participants in community gardening activities. The paper argues that the choice of urban green space type is critical for wellbeing, positions community gardens as an intervention strategy for reintegrating socially isolated people into community life, and suggests that urban designers and policymakers adopt community gardens as safe public spaces for social interaction.