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Paper short abstract:

Practices of urban gardening have increased during the pandemic and were often mentioned in both scholarly and non-scholarly literature. New solutions need to be found to support urban agriculture through a systemic model that benefits businesses, society, and the environment.

Paper long abstract:

Home gardening, rooftop gardening and community gardening have been recurrent topics in social media during the pandemic and were often mentioned in both scholarly and non-scholarly literature. Many of us, in our respective countries and the privacy of our houses, have implemented some form of gardening too. The practice might still be ongoing for some, while others may have lost interest. In some cases, it was a hobby and, for others, a valid form of survival. Different realities among and within countries must considered when looking at domestic gardening in the context of the recent crisis. Most literature across several countries has been liking the emerging themes of mental health, food security, social bonding, and environmental sustainability when discussing the emergence of urban gardens. It is not in doubt that the benefits of urban gardens are immense. Rooftops gardens make use of domestic compost, they rely on lower amounts of pesticides, use rainwater; reduce carbon footprints from produce transportation, improve air quality in urban sites; increase people's exposure to sunlight and physical activity; and studies suggest that getting in contact with 'commensal bacteria' found in the soil might even strengthen people's immune system (Gronroos et al. 2019). While governmental and non-governmental institutes supported several countries during the pandemic, implementing post-pandemic policies has proven to be patchy and problematic. New solutions need to be found to support urban agriculture through a systemic model that benefits businesses, society, and the environment.