Contemporary organizational forms of urban gardening

Allotment gardens have been a successful model for urban food production for over a century, but there is evidence that the changes in our society call for optimization and innovation of the allotment garden system in Switzerland. The social component of allotment gardens is diminishing, people don't volunteer to serve on management committees, the turnover of gardeners is higher, and people seek to adapt the existing system or seek alternatives. The aim of this study was to explore which present or imagined organizational forms of urban gardens, including hybrids of alternative and traditional systems are best suited to our current society.

Expert interviews were be used to gain a more precise understanding of the problems, followed by stakeholder workshops to identify possible future scenarios. The resulting strategies provide city managers and other stakeholders with tools to structure allotment gardens, in a way that builds a sense of community, so that knowledge transfer between participants is enabled, volunteers can be found, and retention rates are increased.