Last updated: October 2021
After 2011, in the face of crisis and austerity hardship and the collapse of the central public welfare system, many municipalities assumed the role of enhancing food production through urban allotment gardens. In Ag. Dimitrios (AD), the idea emerged from a couple of newly elected representatives one of whom was part of an agriculture cooperative outside of Athens. A mixture of social and environmental goals were set (to change the microclimate, to change people's habits, to reintroduce contact with nature in the city, to be environment-friendly through good practices, and to create an educational ground for children). [1]
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Community gardens and allotments
- Allotments
- Community gardens
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change mitigation
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Environmental quality
- Air quality improvement
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social cohesion
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Improving physical health
- Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
- Economic development: agriculture
- Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
- Sustainable production
Focus
Creation of new green areas
Project objectives
The main goals of the NBS include:
- Secure food for the socially vulnerable;
- support the ‘social grocery’ initiative;
- enhance environmental values in the population, food education, social cohesion, health and well-being;
- change the microclimate;
- reintroduce contact with nature in the city;
- to be environment-friendly through good practices;
- to create an educational ground for children [1].
Implementation activities
In AD the plot was a 2.5 acres plot, next to a graveyard, divided into 45 pieces of 40 square meters each, and assigned to vulnerable families. Every two years the contest opens again and candidates are re-assessed. The criteria for selecting beneficiaries in all cases initially followed socio-economic indicators of vulnerability (i.e. unemployed members in a family, mono-parental family, income level). Later, good gardening practices, community behaviour and potential of knowledge exchange also came to matter in selecting/ousting beneficiaries. Self-organization for decision making among the beneficiaries was not generally observed, but in all cases people would informally meet in smaller groups to discuss about their cultivations, but also as a way of socialising and creating friendships. Every 2 years the competition to apply for a plot within the garden reopens. Priority was given to vulnerable people but plots were also handed out to people who expressed an interest. [1]
Climate-focused activities
Climate change mitigation:
- Increase green urban nature for carbon storage (wetlands, tree cover)
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
- Marginalized groups: Elderly people, Refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants, Socio-economically disadvantaged populations (e.g. low-income households, unemployed), People with functional diversities
- Young people and children
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Other
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The Municipal Gardens movement has started from distinct municipalities who take the decision to support cultivation of fruit and vegetables by local citizens for their own consumption. Institutionally, their function is governed by rules set by each city council. In AD, at the beginning it was one city council representative in charge of the garden project, the regulation changed to include a committee of representatives from various political parties, for more transparency in the decisions. However, in practice, only one person from the council engages in a daily/weekly basis with the garden’s function. There is no internal governing structure in the gardens, in the form of a formalized assembly or cooperative. [1] But the citizens manage themselves in the day to day operations of the garden.
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Yes
(In 2013, such urban gardening initiatives were included under a mixed Public-Private Partnership scheme of the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity, within the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) 2007–2013. [1])
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(Municipal allotment gardens, initiated from 2011 onwards in several cities all over Greece, are now the most prevalent type of collective urban allotment gardens in the country. Municipal authorities have undertaken this initiative as social policy projects to alleviate socioeconomic and psychological problems following the economic crisis. The urban garden in Adios Dimitrios was initiated by newly elected representatives following this social policy. [1])
Financing
Total cost
€10,000 - €50,000
Source(s) of funding
- EU funds
- Public local authority budget
Type of funding
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Lowered local temperature
- Enhanced carbon sequestration
- Environmental quality
- Improved air quality
- Improved soil quality
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
Economic impacts
- Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved social cohesion
- Fair distribution of social, environmental and economic benefits of the NBS project
- Improved liveability
- Improved access to urban green space
- Increased access to healthy/affordable food
- Increased sustainability of agriculture practices
- Education
- Increased support for education and scientific research
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
References
[1] Kotsila, P. (2018). NATURVATION Case Study Working Paper ATHENS. Section 4 – Intervention 2 – Municipal urban gardens. pp 17-25.
[2] Agios Dimitrios Community Garden Facebook Page. Available at: Source link. Accessed on 9th July, 2020.
[2] Agios Dimitrios Community Garden Facebook Page. Available at: Source link. Accessed on 9th July, 2020.