Urban Gardening in a Changing Climate: A Review of Effects, Responses and Adaptation Capacities for Cities

Climate change is impacting the ecological, social and technological aspects of urban gardens. Gardens experience threats (e.g., water scarcity) but are also responding through adaptation strategies (e.g., selecting drought-resilient plants). A synthetic overview of how urban gardens are affected by climate change and responding to climate change is unclear. Here, we systematically reviewed articles and book chapters published in the last two decades (2000-2022) to illustrate the relationship between climate change and urban gardening. From 72 documents analyzed with Nvivo Software, we found that there has been an increase in academic publications. Universities from the US (14) and Germany (9) universities are the dominant producers. Evidence shows that climate change can have negative impacts on cities, people and urban food. Suggestions on how to build the adaptation capacity of urban gardens include collecting rainwater, changing plant selection, changing planting times, applying vegetative cover on the soil and other practices. For cities, community and allotment gardens are helpful for adaptation, mitigation and resilience. This includes the capacity to regulate the microclimate, to reduce urban heat island effects and to buffer urban floods, the power to capture carbon, the ability to create social networks and other socio-environmental benefits for urban climate planning.

Automated summary

Climate change has impacts on urban gardens, affecting their ecological, social, and technological aspects. The gardens are threatened by water scarcity and other factors, but strategies such as selecting drought-resilient plants are being employed. Through a systematic review of literature published from 2000 to 2022, it is found that academic publications on the topic have increased, with universities from the US and Germany being the main contributors. Suggestions for building the adaptation capacity of urban gardens include rainwater collection and changes in plant selection and planting times. Community and allotment gardens play a beneficial role in city adaptation, mitigation, and resilience, offering various socio-environmental benefits for urban climate planning.