Urban Agriculture as the Path to Sustainable City Development. Insights into Allotment Gardens in Andalusia

Increasing demand for urban agriculture (UA) can be perceived as a global phenomenon. In some parts of the world its main function is to feed the rapidly growing population while in others it is more associated with lifestyle (McClintock 2010; Tornaghi 2017; Van Tuij et al. 2018). It is assumed that throughout the world UA provides opportunities for sustainable city development. Urban agriculture is seen as support for all pillars of sustainable city development: ecological, economic, and social. However, just like in the case of sustainable development, in general it is difficult to balance the various pillars of sustainable city development by means of urban agriculture (Van Tuij et al. 2018). One can easily imagine that depending on existing circumstances certain pillars may be influenced more than others. So far the literature devoted to the topic has concentrated either on general theoretical reflections concerning the potential influence of urban agriculture on the sustainable city development (for instance Deelstra, Girardet 2000; Mougeot 2006; Pearson et al 2010; Hodgson et al. 201; Opitz et al. 2016; McClintock 2018; Van Tuij et al. 2018) or empirical studies related usually to only one selected aspect of the relationship between urban agriculture and sustainable city development (Smit et al. 1996; Anthopoulou 2012; Wiskerke, Viljoen 2012; Segrelles 2015; Walker 2016; Purcell et al. 2018). There is a need for such studies which would evaluate in a practical but also critical way the contribution of urban agriculture to the all pillars of sustainable city development. Our article aims to fill this gap at least to some extent. First, basing of theoretical foundation proposed by Mougeot (2000) and Van Tuij et al. (2018) the significance of urban agriculture in the context of sustainable development of the city is presented. Secondly, on the basis of Peterson et al. (2010) and Deelstra, Girardet (2000) these aspects of urban agriculture which influence sustainable city development in a positive way are singled out. As a next step, the city of Baeza located in Andalusia has been chosen as a case study. It serves to assess the influence of urban allotments on all the pillars of sustainable city development. Thanks to examining the subject matter of municipal documentation, interviews and visits in the urban allotments, it has been possible not only to identify the positive impact but also to determine which aspects could be improved in order to make the influence of urban allotments on sustainable development of Baeza more balanced and effective.

For centuries, the traditional model of compact, complex, efficient, socially cohesive city that was closely linked to the rural environment allowed preserving high levels of the environmental and territorial quality. In Europe, especially in the Mediterranean countries such as Spain, Italy or in the south of France, this model of compact city generated spaces of sociability, i.e. territories that favoured the meeting of economic activities and urban and peri-urban natural environments of certain value.

However, this model has changed radically since the second half of the 20th century, replaced by multiple urban forms that break the compact, multifunctional and even pragmatic character of the city. At the end of the 20th century new dispersed and fragmented urban realities were characterised by their extensive suburban peripheries of low density and predominant residential specialisation, industrial estates and large commercial enclaves strategically located at the intersections of expressways and motorways (Verdaguer Viana-Cárdenas 2013). As stated in the Andalusian Strategy for Urban Sustainability (Estrategia Andaluza de Sostenibilidad Urbana) (Junta de Andalucía 2011: 1) “The new city model bases its growth on a greater consumption of resources: soil, materials, water and energy. This is a trend that follows the path contrary to that of sustainability” As a result, currently, few cities in the world manage to obtain the balance between production and consumption and the inflows and outflows of natural resources.

Much of the sustainability problems of contemporary cities are due to uncontrolled extension of the urbanised areas to their immediate natural environment. This territorial expansion, lacking in planning or abusive to the land, results in haphazard formal and informal settlements. In the same vein, traffic and mobility are part of ecological problems which contemporary cities experience, being the main cause of the most conflictive aspects of the environment, such as excessive consumption of resources (energy, soil, etc.), and the impact on the urban environment (pollution, noise, local barriers to accessibility, insecurity, etc.). But the traffic problem is not just a local issue. This is a metropolitan, regional and even national problem to which solutions and executable actions of supra-local character must be sought. The effects of the abusive use of the private vehicle have negative consequences both for the historical and artistic heritage as well as the biodiversity of the cities, the socio-economic relations and the health of the population.

In the specific case of Spain, after the “chaotic planning” (“borrachera urbanística”) of the last decade little, if anything, resisted the “power of brick and car”, as a result forming abused landscapes of new urbanisations that underestimate rural and natural heritage as well as primary activities such as agriculture.

However, in order to stop the unsustainability of the contemporary city, there are many initiatives of national, regional and local governments all over the world. These projects focus on the fight against urban abuses, traffic control, waste management, sanitation, water purification, etc. Among these activities what stands out is the configuration of a network or green matrix in the interior and on the periphery of cities. The rebalancing of urban systems based on a network of green spaces composed of rings and vegetable corridors around urban centres which in such a way link and meld agricultural and forestry areas with citizens and neighbourhoods. Within this network or green matrix, urban and peri-urban agriculture plays an important role as one of the most important strategies to move towards urban sustainability (Fig. 1). Renowned researchers like Luc Mougeot (2000) imagine the city of the future as a resilient and self-sufficient city that reaches the “ecosystem” stage through a commitment to urban agriculture.

Fig. 1

From the point of view of governments, cities that develop new dynamics of land use, transformation of urban spaces and promotion of innovative activities, such as urban and peri-urban agriculture, become cities of high economic, social and environmental competences (Mougeot 2005, 2006; Puente 2010). For this reason, it is important to include both urban and peri-urban agriculture in the urban-regional legislation and in spatial development plans as well as in the economic and social development policies. As was already mentioned it is particularly important to take into consideration the potential contributions of urban agriculture to the different pillars of sustainable city development (Van Tuij et al. 2018). Hence, urban agriculture can positively affect all these pillars (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2

Urban agriculture can help social development by offering urban food security, provision of healthy diet (access to fresh and healthy food), personal well-being (agricultural activity reduces health problems, physical, intellectual and psychological benefits can occur from direct involvement in UA), community building (promoting integration and participation), personal skills (e.g. horticultural and communication skills), sense of place (preserving national rural image, environmental values associated with person’s place experience) (Deelstra, Girardet 2000; Peterson et al. 2010; Van Tuij et al. 2018). As for economic development, urban agriculture offers potential for using the land productively, providing self-supply, generating employment and income, saving time and money (reduction of ‘food miles’), stimulating marketing initiatives (Peterson et al. 2010; Segrelles 2015). From the environmental perspective, urban agriculture allows for the conservation of urban soil, microclimate improvement, pollution reduction (waste and nutrient recycling), biodiversity enhancement, and an increase in environmental awareness (Deelstra, Girardet 2000; Peterson et al. 2010; Puente 2012b).

Urban agriculture in Andalusia is not a novelty, as can be testified by its long history and rich agricultural, cultural and gastronomic heritage that exists in every part of the region. However, traditional agriculture has little or nothing to do with the allotment gardens that appeared in Andalusia in the 1990s and on a massive scale from the year 2008. The socio-economic crisis of 2008 that strongly affected Spain caused a reaction in the form of an agro-urban boom throughout the Spanish and Andalusian region (Turmo 2013; Puente 2014; Camps-Calvet et al. 2015; Fernández Casadevante Kois, Morán 2015; Pourias 2015; Seguí 2017).

The beginning of contemporary allotment gardens in Andalusia took place in 1991 with the creation of the Miraflores’s Park garden (huerto del Parque de Miraflores); a pioneering Spanish initiative of the neighbourhood association, “Pro-Park Educative Committee Miraflores” (Comité Pro-Parque Educativo Miraflores) that managed to turn an old waste dump into a park and an allotment garden. After this, three more urban gardens were created in Seville, i.e. the St Geronimo allotment garden (huerto San Jerónimo), the Rey Moro community garden (huerto del Rey Moro) and the Tamarguillo allotment garden (huerto Tamarguillo). All of them characterised the citizens’ initiative of reclaiming urban space (Puente 2012a). During the 1990s few urban gardens were founded in Andalusia and they responded to a similar model: citizens’ initiative of environmentalist groups. The main motivation for setting them up was related to bringing ecological awareness to the population via the values offered by agriculture as opposed to the urban values imposed by the city.

During the first years of the 20th century, the citizen associations together with some city councils governed by progressive governments added a second motivation to the environmental motivations; that of encouraging the elderly to remain active. At that time various allotment gardens were created to respond to the demand of an increasingly aging but healthy population. During these years allotment gardens were developed to favour physical exercise, intergenerational relationships and the transmission of rural knowledge that had been acquired over a lifetime and that were gradually being lost.

From 1991 to 2008, 17 urban allotments were created in Andalusia, these were so-called “pioneer gardens” that addressed environmental motivations or “active aging”. However, from then on, the process of creation of allotment gardens accelerated rapidly. Thus, in 2018 there were already approximately 320 allotments (estimated data, own preparation) (Fig. 3); 5.3% of them were created in the period 1991–2008, while in the years 2008–2018, 94.7% of the allotment gardens that currently exist in Andalusia were established. These figures show that since 2008 there has been a remarkable agro-urban boom in Andalusia.

Fig. 3

In addition to the causes previously mentioned, allotment gardens are, on the one hand, products of fashion, of a global trend which affects not only Spain but the whole world, associated with healthy life, healthy eating and vegan and vegetarian lifestyles (Morán 2011; Morán, Fernández Casadevante 2012; Puente 2016), and on the other hand, they are a reaction of Spanish society against the socio-economic crisis. Thus, some allotment gardens have been set up as a social resource for disadvantaged families. In recent years all of the above factors have merged and are complementary to each other (Puente 2013; Ballesteros et al. 2014; Puente R. 2015; Puente 2016). In addition, if the pioneering gardens were generally created by citizens’ movements (neighbourhood associations, environmental associations, etc.), nowadays, due to their social, political and electoral success, a plethora of such projects has arisen initiated by public administration both at regional and local levels. At the regional level, these projects are coordinated by the Regional Government of Andalusia (Junta de Andalucía) and at the local level by town and city councils (Ayuntamientos). The local Agenda 21, developed between citizens and municipalities, have been a very effective instrument for the promotion of allotment gardens as they are considered multifunctional spaces that can help the sustainability of the city from different perspectives (social, economic, environmental, etc.).

Regarding the distribution of allotment gardens in the region, it is noteworthy that the vast majority are located in towns and cities, valleys and countryside, as well as in the large cities of Andalusia (Fig. 4). The mountain areas have a lower number of allotments, since it is in the Guadalquivir Valley (Valle del Guadalquivir), the Mediterranean coastline and the provincial capitals that the majority of the Andalusian population is concentrated. It also seems to correspond to the different properties of the land in plains, valleys and countryside and mountain areas. Many citizens own a small piece of land in mountain areas while in fertile valleys and in the countryside citizens own no land since it is historically in the hands of the few. This seems to explain little interest of inhabitants and councils in creating allotment gardens for the citizens in mountain areas. Generally, the surface area of allotment gardens in Andalusia varies between 600 m² and 4 ha. The size of each plot is very small compared to its European counterparts. The average size of a plot is 75 m², although it can vary a lot among gardens. One can find plots ranging from 25 m² to 400 m².

Fig. 4

To summarise, other interesting conclusions can be drawn about allotment gardens in Andalusia, for example the parallel, sometimes complementary and sometimes contradictory, process of the destruction of existing vegetable gardens (huertas) on the one hand, and “reinvention” of new agricultural land on the other (Calvo García-Tornel 1982; Calatayud 2005; Francés, Romero 2014; Melo 2018) (Picture 1). It is striking to see, on the one hand, new allotments appear on land without “an agricultural memory”, and on the other, traditional vegetable gardens (huertas) with an existing agricultural footprint and high agronomic capacities disappear only a few meters away. Many urban environments in Andalusia still conserve agricultural spaces that must be protected and safeguarded so it would be sensible to use these land before inventing new locations.

Picture 1

Our study encompassed all publicly supported allotment gardens in Baeza (huertos municipales de Baeza) which were used at the time of our empirical research (from the spring of 2017 to the autumn of 2018). First, we gathered data, information and cartographic documentation on existing allotments (e.g. number, size, location, division, funding, goals, funding, objectives, crop requirements) on the basis of commune documentation and regulations. Second, we visited gardens, took documentary photos and conducted interviews with their users. The interviews were held in two stages, one was performed with the help of a questionnaire while the other was an open face-to-face conversation. They lasted between 30 and 60 min and concerned, among others, motivation for cultivating a plot, financial and professional situation of plot users, major benefits from a plot as well as crop types, their distribution and use. During the interviews the respondents were also asked to assess regulations related to the allocation of a plot. In total, 5 interviews were conducted and documented from March to June 2017. The following year in the autumn we returned to the allotment gardens and repeated the interviews with different users. In total, 4 interviews were held in November 2018. During that time we also talked to administrative and technical staff of the town hall responsible for the infrastructure, e.g. water supply to allotments as well as the functioning of the local grocery market (mercado de abastos de Baeza). Additionally, we met with a stallholder operating in the market. In these three conversations we asked about the creation of the project, the management of the allotments and possibilities to commercialise or promote allotment gardens’ produce.

The first general declarations regarding the desire to create allotment gardens in Baeza appeared in the Municipal Action Plan of the Agenda 21 for Baeza (Plan de Acción Municipal de la Agenda 21 de Baeza) in June 2009. In that document the allotments were called social gardens (huertos sociales). In this context, and as part of the set of measures provided for in the above-mentioned Plan, there was a proposal for terracing the southern cornice of the city which was to be used for social gardens. These gardens were planned as a measure to improve the quality of life through sustainable city management and to preserve and improve the environment in Baeza. Essentially, the aim was to adapt several zones, divide them into plots of land ranging from 100 to 150 m², and to offer them to pensioners in order to carry out activities related to the environment. Nevertheless, it was only four years later that the project began to be implemented. At the beginning of 2013, the area of 14,959 m² located on the Paseo de las Murallas, i.e. the stretch of land separating built-up and rustic part of the city, was chosen for the establishment of allotment gardens (Fig. 4).

In the spatial development plan POGU (Plan General de Ordenación Urbana) of 1997 as well as in the following plan of 2012, the zone in which the allotment gardens were prearranged was classified as the area where no development is allowed (no urbanizable). In the 1997 plan this area had a category of special protection with the reference to the southern cornice of the city. In the 2012 plan the land category was the same. However, the necessity to protect its remarkable landscape was even more emphasised by classifying it as an Area of Landscape Interest (Área de Interés Paisajístico). In other words, this is the area protected against the processes of devastation and devaluation of the landscape where construction as well as alteration is forbidden. Importantly, the compliance of the planned use of the area with the spatial development plan was confirmed by the report of the city architect

Baeza City Counci Architect’s Report of 21 May 2013 (Informe de la Arquitecta del Excmo. Ayuntamiento de Baeza de 21 de Mayo de 2013).

After designating the area and checking the conformity of its anticipated function with the local development plan (PGOU), the adaptation of the land began. For this purpose, EUR 27,000 was allocated and spent on three basic activities, i.e. supplying non-potable water to a nearby surface tank and then to the plots, adapting the cultivation area to the orography of the land and installing the irrigation system which delivers water to all plots

Baeza 2011–2015 Management Exposition. Baeza City Council. (Baeza 2011–15. Memoria de gestión. Excmo. Ayuntamiento de Baeza).

It was also decided that each plot will have an area not smaller than 100 m² and an 80-centimentre high separating fence. Eventually, 72 plots were made available to users (Fig. 5).

Fig. 5

In February 2014

Decree of the Mayor of Baeza of 6 March 2014 (Decreto de Alcaldía. Excmo. Ayuntamiento de Baeza. 6 de marzo de 2014).

A few months later, in June 2014

Decree of the Mayor of Baeza of 4 June 2014 (Decreto de Alcaldía. Excmo. Ayuntamiento de Baeza. 4 de junio de 2014).

At the end of November 2018 it was determined that in the group of plot holders slightly over half (42 people) cultivated their plots without interruption, cyclically renewing the contract, while the rest of the plots changed their users. In total, there were two cases of the violation of the right to use the plot because of non-compliance with the regulations

Rural Guard Inspection records aimed at ensuring and guaranteeing compliance with the regulations of allotment garden use of 6/10/2015, 20/04/2016 and 14/10/2016. (Actas de inspección de la Guardería Rural al objeto de comprobar y garantizar el cumplimiento de las normas de funcionamiento de los Huertos Familiares de fechas 6/10/2015, 20/04/2016, y 14/10/2016).

Picture 2

The agro-urban boom which can be observed around the Andalusia grants a new dimension of empowerment to citizens and a potential intervention strategy for administrations. The proliferation of urban gardens and other types of urban agriculture should be considered almost as acupuncture interventions in the city which influence its social and environmental sphere (Maćkiewicz et al. 2018). Faced with the “non-places” of the postmodern city, the allotment gardens are landscapes that, little by little, without fuss, are becoming an objective and subjective, and also symbolic reality of cities. Likewise, in the face of stressful landscapes and the speed of daily life noticeable in the media and in digital relationships, urban allotments are “slow spaces”, places of slow rhythm where the cycles of life influence the relationships among citizens and those with the city. It is often stressed that urban agriculture can support all pillars of sustainable development of a city: ecological, economic, and social (Deelstra, Girardet 2000; Pearson et al. 2010; Fernández, Morán 2012; Van Tuij et al. 2018). However, balancing the various pillars of sustainable city development by means of urban agriculture is a challenge (Van Tuij et al. 2018). Depending on implemented policies and existing circumstances certain pillars may be influenced more than the others. As a result, the potential of urban agriculture is not fully used. One of the reasons why it happens is the fact that local authorities do not have enough information and experience necessary to implement systemic and effective solutions in this area. Using Baeza as a case study, this paper sought to answer the question how an UA initiative – urban allotments, affects the city’s sustainable development and how to make this influence more effective.

The study conducted proved that establishing allotment gardens in Baeza endorsed all three pillars of sustainable city development. In the case of the social pillar urban allotments had a positive impact on the situation of social groups they were designed for, namely the unemployed, people with low income and retirees. Allotments increased their food security, improved their diet, health and personal well-being. They also enriched their personal skills and allowed active recreation. However, as for community building, the significance of allotment gardens was not as far-reaching. The only visible effect was the cooperation between the plot users and it did not affect the relations between plot holders and the rest of Baeza inhabitants. There was no cooperation with schools, and thus, no intergenerational relations between allotment users and pupils were established. Additionally, there was no form of collaboration between plot holders and other inhabitants of the city including professional horticulturalists. In other words, gardens were not used to instil a sense of place for children or any other group. Thus, the potential of allotment gardens to create broader community relations on the city scale was not fulfilled.

Considering the economic pillar, allotment gardens in Baeza allowed the effective use of a former wasteland throughout the year. They also provided food for their users and their families and, what follows, made it possible to make some savings in the family budget. Locally obtained food reduced the cost of transport and ‘food miles’. However, plot holders did not undertake marketing initiatives. Despite the existing possibility of selling crops at the local grocery market nobody used that option. Moreover, no fair of allotment products was held. Neither was any food sharing initiative organised whereby plot users could offer their products to the wider community of the city. Clearly, the establishment of allotments has in no way contributed to the revival of the declining local grocery market so far.

As far as the environmental pillar is concerned the creation of allotment gardens helped in soil and landscape conservation. It also had an influence on more conscious water management by plot users. However, the research findings indicate that the actions of the city of Baeza to increase ecological awareness and enrich biodiversity were insufficient. Few plot holders participated in professional training concerning ecological agriculture. Apart from the training courses in 2010 and 2015, no other course was organised. No complementary activities were available, nor was there any possibility of obtaining professional assistance. As a result, the majority of plot holders were self-reliant in gaining specialist knowledge. In many cases, the plot users could think that, having some experience in agriculture, it was no longer necessary to learn more and that attitude sometimes prevented them from being open to new knowledge and solutions concerning agricultural techniques. Similarly, the attitude of the public administration could affect the situation of allotment gardens. Sometimes public administrators believe that it is enough to establish an urban allotment garden and no further intervention is necessary trusting that gardeners use ecological practices that respect the health of people and the environment. However, it is essential to provide continuous and permanent training for the gardeners by professionals and agricultural educators. Such training should be coordinated by the public administration and integrated into the formation of plot users as it does not only solve daily problems of allotments but also connects the garden with the planet, the local with the global.

Apparently, the bank of autochthonous and ecological seeds has not been created in Baeza so far. What is more, there was no cooperation with any bank of indigenous and ecological seeds. If such cooperation existed the gardeners could gradually create their own bank of native seeds and as a result at the end of the harvest, they would be able to save the best seeds that could serve for future crops. Moreover, allotment gardens should be used as disseminators of environmental initiatives. As diffusers of environmental awareness they could be shown to schoolchildren in the municipality and even to other farmers. Unfortunately, allotment gardens in Baeza have not served this function so far.