Urban Allotment Garden Programme - Lisbon

The Lisbon Urban Allotment Garden Programme aims to convert vacant lots and degraded parks in Lisbon, Portugal into so-called urban allotment parks that contain small allotments maintained by individual gardeners, families, community groups and school classes. Access to plots is prioritised for unemployed, elderly and low-income residents, and parks are freely open to visitors who wish to relax in nature. The municipality of Lisbon launched the programme in 2011 to implement the goals of its 2008 Green Plan and its Biodiversity Action Plan. By 2020, there were 20 urban allotment parks with 750 allotments across the city, providing a variety of environmental, social and economic benefits.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Legislative, regulatory and strategic instruments›Dedicated strategy, plan, or law

Challenges addressed

Ecologic connectivity
Soil quality
Green space management (e.g. accessibility)
Drought and fire risk
Flood risk: pluvial and fluvial / soil permeability
Heat stress and heat island effect
Air quality
Social cohesion
Social equity
Nature appropriation / stewardship
Reconnection to the biosphere / environmental education
Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

The Lisbon allotments and associated guidelines protect local biodiversity and ecosystems, increase soil fertility and protect the health of urban farmers through access to fresh and quality products. The agricultural gardens reduce the urban heat island effect by maintaining humidity and lowering temperatures; they improve ground drainage and storm resilience. The green areas also allow for improved CO2 sequestration. The farmers are encouraged to use organic gardening techniques, with training sessions available from the municipality. There are efforts to promote indigenous over non-native plants. The use of chemical herbicides, pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, as well as a monoculture production are not permitted. A number of plots are designated for recreational and educational use, facilitating access to nature among the city’s residents and promoting innovative agricultural techniques, such as permaculture.

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Parks and (semi)natural urban green areas

Allotments, community gardens or agricultural areas

Derelict areas

Good practice characteristics:

Effective

Support multifunctional NBS

Sustainable in the long-term

Locally appropriate

Potential to be replicated / upscaled

Innovative

Inclusivity

Governance

Government body/bodies

Initiating body:

City of Lisbon

Instrument design:

Details about how the instrument was designed:

Although the municipality of Lisbon primarily plans the urban agriculture infrastructure, the city aims to actively involve a range of stakeholders in the planning of new green spaces and creation and maintenance of allotment gardens. The city holds regular citizen meetings at the local councils, allowing the community to discuss its green plans. The public can also review and comment on plans for agricultural parks online. A number of urban projects have been created thanks to the city’s participatory budget – a mechanism through which citizens decide how to allocate a part of the municipal budget.

Involvement of non-governmental actors:

Citizens or community groups / NGOs

Type of actor involvement:

Civil society consultation through e.g. workshops, surveys

Instrument implementation:

Type of involvement:

The allotments are maintained by individuals, families or groups such as school classes. This reduces the costs that the municipality would otherwise have to spend on maintaining green areas. The gardeners produce mostly for personal consumption, although they are allowed to sell their produce to bio-cooperatives. Access to plots is prioritised for unemployed, elderly and low-income residents.

Type of non-governmental actors involved:

Citizen councils or consultation for co-planning (e.g. workshops, surveys)

Co-design of NBS, implemented by government

Implementation of NBS (e.g. with government funds)

Targeted actors:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Private: household, real estate developer, business , financial

Citizens or community groups (CBOs), NGOs

Financing

Sources of funding:

Public local authority’s budget

Budget:

Unknown

Details about instrument financing:

No details were found about the budget and financing of the programme.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Is a monitoring framework in place?:

Did an evaluation take place?:

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

The first municipal allotment park opened in 2011. By 2020, there were 20 parks with a total of 750 allotment garden plots for local organic farming, covering a total area of 9.1 hectares. 750 families and community groups cared for the allotments and 82 schools had their own allotment garden project inside the parks. The allotments are producing 260 tons of food annually. Lisbon was awarded the title of European Green Capital in 2020, partly thanks to its innovative activities in the field of urban agriculture.

Success factors and lessons learned:

Including urban agriculture in the city’s strategic plans was instrumental to ensuring that the agricultural gardens become a permanent, rather than a temporary, development. Agricultural parks allow the city to create green areas that are significantly cheaper to construct and maintain than usual green area projects, such as e.g. lawns, while having high social and environmental impacts. The gardens offer recreation opportunities and promote a healthy lifestyle. By involving low-income, unemployed and elderly residents, they prevent social exclusion, promote connectivity and well-being, while helping with the family budget. The programme thus promotes social cohesion and a stronger urban fabric. Whilst the gardeners have to conform to certain requirements to ensure developments are biodiversity friendly (e.g. they are not allowed to use chemical herbicides, pesticides and synthetic fertilisers; use of non-native plants is discouraged), all plot owners are trained in organic farming techniques by the municipality.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

Iwaszuk, E. (2018), MUNICIPALITY-SUPPORTED URBAN AGRICULTURE IN LISBON in Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety (2018): Innovation, Renovation, Transformation - Good practice examples of projects promoting green growth across Central, Eastern and Southern Europe. Available at: https://www.ecologic.eu/15613

Muncipality of Lisbon (2020), Lisbon: European Green Capital 2020. Available at: https://cidadania.lisboa.pt/fileadmin/atualidade/publicacoes_periodicas/ambiente/brochura_lisboa_capital_verde_europeia_2020.pdf

Santos, A., Branquinho, C., Gonçalves, P. and Reis, MS. (2015) Case Study City Portrait; part of a GREEN SURGE study on urban green infrastructure planning and governance in 20 European cities, Available at: www.greensurge.eu/products/case-studies/Case_Study_Portrait_Lisbon.pdf

Oppla (2018) Lisbon: Nature-based Solutions (NBS) Enhancing Resilience through Urban Regeneration, Available at: www.oppla.eu/casestudy/17285

Berman, L. (2015) Lisbon develops urban farming as part of its anti-crisis strategy. Social inclusion thanks to a smart use of green space, Available at: www.citiesintransition.eu/publication/lisbon-develops-urban-farming-as-part-of-its-anti-crisis-strategy

Cabannes, Y. and Raposo, I. (2013) Peri-urban agriculture, social inclusion of migrant population and Right to the City. Practices in Lisbon and London, City, 17:2, pp. 235–250, DOI: doi.org/10.1080/13604813.2013.765652

Further documents

Documents:

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