Community gardens as pathways to community resilience? Reflections on a pilot study in Adelaide, South Australia

Abstract

Cities across the world are facing increasing challenges from the impacts of urbanisation, pollution and climate change. Green spaces and urban vegetation are at ongoing risk of destruction or removal. New residential developments rarely plan for or provide gardens. Nonetheless, the need to maintain urban green spaces is more important than ever. This paper discusses the role of community gardens and whether or not they have a role to play in enhancing community resilience to issues such as climate change. Using a case study of Adelaide, we present the results of a study on community gardens, concluding that they do offer the possibility of building community resilience and social cohesion as well as urban green space.