Reaping what sow: urban gardens and inequality

Gardens hold a strong place in British culture dating from the innovation of landscape gardening that was professionalised in the 1500s and became as essential part of the aristocratic way of life. But as society became urbanised, access to pieces of green land for enjoyment and cultivation became an important and often contested issue.

The Industrial Revolution saw hundreds of thousands of people move from rural areas into rapidly expanding conurbations such as London, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow. London’s population more than doubled over five decades from 1.14 million in 1811 to 2.81 million in 1881. This led to intense concentration of workers and their families in cramped conditions.

Even then, social reformers could see the negative impacts of lack of access to green space. One consequence was the creation of Victoria Park, Tower Hamlets, opened in 1845 for the benefit of the East End working class. Another was the launch of the garden city movement by Ebeneezer Howard who laid out a vision of an urban environment with green spaces for all that led to the creation of Letchworth and Welwyn garden cities and Hampstead Garden Suburb.

Ebenezer Howard's vision of green urban paradise

Of course, not everyone has access to a garden. While official statistics show that eight of 10 Londoners do, that falls to 65 per cent for those living in flats, whether on social estates, new-build condominium skyscrapers or simply those living in first- and second-floor flats in old Victorian houses.

Many cities also have allotments, a piece of ground that is split into smaller plots which people or families can rent to grow their own gardens. While the main focus is on growing vegetables and other food crops, you might also find decorative plants and flowers mixed in.

They became a focus on wartime time public policy during the 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 conflicts and lately there has been rising acknowledgment that urban areas need to tackle food security problems and climate issues by developing greater independence in meeting their own needs.

According to the National Allotment Society, there are over 740 allotment sites with 40,000 plus (and increasing) individual plots in London. But a report a coupe of decades ago a study commissioned by the London Assembly found that although demand for allotments had reached record levels throughout London, the stress from intensive urban development was continuing to reduce the available allotment space even further.

Community gardens

Gardening has thus gotten entwined with issues such as socio-spatial and racial urban inequality. Those without access to a garden in a city are more likely to come have lower incomes and to come from a diverse background. But while initiatives such as Victoria Park and the garden cities came from “above”, today’s response to the need for access to gardens comes from the communities themselves.

A recent impressive exhibition, Unearthed, at the British Library in London (which closed on 10 August, sorry), featured the Coco Collective, a grass-roots gardening organisation with two Afro-diaspora led community gardens in Lewisham, south London.

Through a series of personal video interviews, it investigates the connections between cultivating food and wellness activities. It views gardens as means to reclaim territory and foster community bonds, and analyses how colonial history has influenced plant cultivation while emphasising the value of honouring traditional wisdom. As one gardener says: “I’m looking after this plant and the plants is looking after me.” Another points out that it strengthens the connection between city-dwellers and nature: “We plant the seeds together and recap what we’ve sown.”

Research in the American city of Washington, DC, which has a very pronounced divides between well-structured residential areas and unstructured poor neighbourhoods, has looked at local initiatives to create access for local residents while at the same producing food for this predominantly Black community. The researcher identified self-reliance as a way of people to better themselves and better their communities.

But it is a constant struggle. The exhibition looks at the history of Tolmers Square near Euston station whose vacant land was used by protestors who established a village until they were evicted and land given over for property development.

A more upbeat lesson from history comes from the Meanwhile Gardens in Paddington. The gardens were established on previously unused land located in a working-class and immigrant neighbourhood that was historically known as north Paddington but is now Kensal Town.

A local activist successfully lobbied Westminster City Council to explore using the area for community gardening. During the legal proceedings to determine the outcome, the council granted a Meanwhile Permit that temporarily prohibited any activities on the property. Ultimately, the community won the legal battle, and the gardens live on under the “meanwhile” name.

A successful fight for a community garden

But some threats are more invisible. One of the responses to mounting concerns over climate change and its impact on food systems food system on sustainability is the idea of localised urban food systems. Just as allotments played that role during wartime, London innovators are now using vertical gardens to grow food for restaurants that reduces their need to bring supplied in from further afield.

For example, in London's Clapham area, an innovative underground farm operates 100 feet beneath street level in a disused air raid shelter, supplying fresh produce to local grocery stores. This venture replaces natural sunlight with LED lighting systems to cultivate various greens and herbs like coriander and sweet pea shoots. The operation represents a sustainable farming approach aimed at transforming traditional food production methods.

Gardening extends far beyond being merely a popular recreational activity — it gives people the ability to transform their lives. The practice of gardening links us to our heritage, anchors us in the current moment and can inspire a different attitude to both community and food.

While gardens are often seen within the context of the grand landscapes of aristocratic estates, gardening has always been and continues to be practiced by people from every social background and circumstance, where growing salad vegetables in one’s garden or allotment can be an act of rebellion as well as self-sufficiency.