The Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning

Research Project: Urban Gardening (with forest gardens) – Feasibility study

Project briefing

Urban gardening is a young, but for quite some time ongoing phenomenon that – to continue the metaphor – "grows and thrives", especially in large cities. The study provides an overview of the spread and typologies of urban gardening in Germany. It also identifies which spaces are suitable for urban gardening, how it is currently financed and promoted, and what kind of support makes sense from the federal government's point of view.

Garden plots and raised beds line a path, trees grow next to them, high-rise buildings stand in the background. "Garten der Begegnung" ("Garden of encounter") in Berlin-Marzahn: Meeting place and venue for extracurricular education, transformation of a former school garden

a raised bed in front of a brightly painted construction trailer surrounded by plants; in the background there are apartment buildings Integrative neighbourhood garden in Cologne-Niehl: barrier-free accessible raised beds and environmental education services on municipal land

field planted with various vegetables and flowers, residential area and trees in the background Vegetable garden for rent in Stuttgart: Plots on a city field

Flower bed on a tree slice in the streets of Berlin-Wilmersdorf Flower bed on a tree slice in the streets of Berlin-Wilmersdorf

Background

The desire for gardening that has been noticeable for years, further intensified by the restrictions on public life during the pandemic, has led to countless and diverse urban gardening projects, community gardens and other garden initiatives. The non-profit foundation "anstiftung" assumes that there are around 1,000 active garden projects in Germany.

Objective

The aim was to investigate the diversity of urban gardening manifestations, their significance in cities, whether and how they are safeguarded under planning law, which spaces are used, how much they cost and how the costs are financed, and the extent to which municipalities support the projects and initiatives. The question as to what kind of support and funding makes sense from the federal government's point of view also had to be examined.

The contractor for the project was Weeber+Partner Institut für Stadtplanung und Sozialforschung/ W+P GmbH.

Contact us

  • Evi Goderbauer
    Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development
    Division RS 2 "Urban Development"
    Phone: +49 228 99401-2319
    Email: evi.goderbauer@bbr.bund.de

  • Dr. Brigitte Adam
    Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development
    Division RS 6 "Urban, Environmental and Spatial Monitoring"
    Phone: +49 228 99401-2325
    Email: brigitte.adam@bbr.bund.de

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