U-Garden

U-GARDEN: Promoting capacity building and knowledge for the extension of urban gardens in European cities. Urban gardens are a key component of the traditional urban and peri-urban landscapes of the main European cities. Beyond food production and consumption, urban gardens provide a wide range of ecosystem and social services, with a positive impact on the urban and socio-residential environment. Thus, the main aim of this project is to promote the implementation of urban gardens and agroforestry experiences as key components of the strategic framework for sustainable urban development in European cities, from an interdisciplinary approach. To this end, the project will try to achieve several objectives: 1) to identify needs, problems and opportunities concerning urban garden and agroforestry experiences; 2) to promote, through Urban Living Labs, the stakeholders’ capacity building in terms of green governance for food production and consumption in cities; 3) to drive citizens’ capacity building for the involvement in sustainable urban development experiences; 4) to foster innovative business models around sustainable and local food production; 5) to evaluate the impact of the implementation of agroforestry/urban garden experiences in their social, cultural and environmental dimensions; and 6) to set up a multi-criteria framework to support decision-making in the location of urban gardens and agroforestry plots. U-GARDEN brings together 10 partners and 6 cooperation partners guaranteeing a full coverage of scientific, technical, and social competences from 4 different European countries (Poland, Romania, Spain, and Sweden).