What is a Community Garden?

A Community Garden is a form or community green in that it is neither a private space, nor a public space, but rather a shared space, especially in urban and suburban places. Instead of merely greening and beautifying, a community garden is a plot of land that is gardened collectively by a group of people. The maintenance of a community garden also falls under the responsibility of the neighborhood where the garden is located. Some community gardens grow vegetables; others grow flowers or a mix of both. It is up to the community to determine how to channel their produce into the local food supply. The community garden is often also divided into small plots and community members can grow their own vegetables or flowers in their allocated plot.

This model of Community Garden is closely related to the Victory Garden (also known as the War Gardens), which is a concept created during World War I and World War II. Victory Gardens were intended to reduce the burden of public food supply during war time. People were encouraged to become self-sufficient. Victory gardens were however more individual based. During World War II, nearly 20 million Americans had a Victory Garden and produced vegetables amounting to 40% of all vegetables produced nationally.

There are other variations of community gardens across the world. Some are bigger green spaces that are meant to preserve natural areas. Community Gardens are popular in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.