Feeding a city – Leicester as a case study of the importance of allotments for horticultural production in the UK

Urban Farm DB summary

Combining citizen science data on self-provisioning crop yields with field-mapping and GIS analysis of allotments, this study estimated city-scale fruit and vegetable production from urban allotments in Leicester, UK. The average area of individual allotment plots under cultivation was 52%, and citywide allotment production was estimated at more than 1,200 t of fruit and vegetables plus 200 t of potatoes per year, equivalent to feeding over 8,500 people; using the 13% of plots that are completely uncultivated could raise this to over 1,400 t, feeding around 10,000 people, though this production may not be located where the need for fresh produce access is greatest. Allotment land peaked at 475 ha in the 1950s compared with 97 ha currently, a decline estimated to correspond to a fall from more than 45,000 to under 10,000 people fed per year.