The economics of urban gardening in three EU cities : examples from London, Ljubljana and Milan

Urban gardening is not a new phenomenon but it has received considerably more practical and academic interest in recent years, both in the Global North and the Global South. There are many studies available on the social and ecological aspects of urban gardening, but rather fewer on the economic aspects. Studies on economic aspects such as crop yields, inputs and outputs of production, productivity, economic margins and the contribution to home-economics in the EU are rare. While home production and subsistence have an important role to play in the Global South, its role and full potential in prosperous cities within the EU for food productivity and home economies is currently under-researched. This research compares crop production data from urban gardening (home gardening, allotments, community gardening) in three EU cities (London, Ljubljana, Milan) with commercial production in the EU and provides a model to assess the economic potential of urban gardening within a city's local agri-food system (LAS). For the analysis we use data from various sources: a 2014 survey conducted within the framework of the EU 'FOODMETRES' project, and data from the London Harvest-ometer survey as well as other published data on home gardening and commerciai food production.