Urban Farm DB
Research catalogue
Database research record2021·United Kingdom

Potential of urban green spaces for supporting horticultural production: a national scale analysis

Lael Walsh, Bethan R. Mead, Charlotte A. Hardman, Daniel Evans, Lingxuan Liu, Natalia Falagán, Sofia Kourmpetli, Jessica Davies

Environmental Research Letters

Urban Farm DB summary

This study provides a national-scale analysis of the horticultural production potential of urban green spaces in Great Britain (GB). It identifies urban green spaces available for horticultural production and quantifies potential yields based on three production options. Urban green spaces in GB, at their upper limit, have the capacity to support production 8 times greater than current domestic fruit and vegetable production, or 38% of current domestic production and imports combined. Most urban green spaces consist of private residential gardens and amenity spaces, and all examined towns and cities were found to have substantial potential to meet the dietary needs of the local urban population.