Finding ways to meet your sustainability and ESG targets, keep your tenants happy, and maintain an attractive property is a never-ending challenge. But what if one amenity could tick all of those boxes and more? An urban garden is an accessible and affordable amenity with a host of benefits for your property, your tenants, and your city as a whole.
The potential benefits of urban gardening include promoting healthy food access and contributing to community development. These green initiatives are also part of a larger movement in urban agriculture that supports public health, education, and sustainability.
Here are 6 reasons why you should consider installing an urban garden on your commercial property.
1. INCREASED ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
More green spaces in urban areas mean improved air quality and greater biodiversity. They are also your secret weapon to combat the urban heat island effect, areas that become hotter than natural landscapes due to densely spaced buildings and concrete.
By incorporating an urban garden into your commercial property, you can stay ahead of the curve, attracting environmentally conscious consumers, businesses, and investors. Urban gardens provide meaningful environmental benefits in urban environments, from supporting carbon sequestration to reducing fossil fuel consumption related to long-distance food supply chains.
Urban horticulture techniques, like container gardening and rooftop gardening, also help improve urban soils, making use of underutilized urban spaces while promoting plant growth and biodiversity. Urban gardens can also improve soil quality, contributing to ecological improvements within urban settings and even reducing stormwater runoff when paired with techniques like rain gardens or green roofs.
Track your impact on biodiversity
Alvéole’s urban beekeeping programs includes seasonal environmental impact reports. Through biomonitoring technology, you’ll be able to track the health of your bees and level of biodiversity in your local environment over time.
2. A MORE BEAUTIFUL PROPERTY
Underutilized spaces like rooftops are begging for a lush green makeover. An eye-catching garden improves a property’s visual appeal and creates an inviting place for tenants to gather and enjoy a slice of nature in the city. Urban gardens provide aesthetic value that can contribute to increasing property values and transforming public spaces into community hubs.
Plus, with a native flower garden, you can enjoy fresh bouquets indoors, too, and attract pollinators that aid in pest control and plant growth. Whether you’re incorporating indoor gardening elements or revitalizing existing gardens, the visual and environmental transformation is undeniable. Urban gardening can be started by transforming a balcony into a rooftop garden, making it accessible even in limited spaces.
3. HAPPIER PEOPLE
Connection to nature is proven to positively impact human health, productivity, and job satisfaction. A study in the UK found that employees working in offices with natural greenery saw a 15% rise in productivity over a three-month period, compared to those working with no natural elements in their environment.
Urban gardens have also been linked to improved mental health, higher social connection, and increased physical activity. These are just a few of the numerous health benefits urban green spaces offer. For urban communities, especially in today’s world, these small moments of reconnection with nature can make a huge difference.
Efforts like guerilla gardening and school gardens are growing in popularity for their ability to reconnect people with their environment and food system while also promoting community resilience.
4. FRESH LOCAL FOOD
Growing your own fruits and veggies on-site allows you to provide fresh produce and affordable foods for your tenants, employees, or community members. Urban gardening can also increase vegetable consumption and support higher fruit and vegetable consumption among participants, contributing to better overall health and public health nutrition.
It also presents an opportunity to educate your community on sustainable food systems and fosters a stronger connection between people and the food on their plates. Engaging in urban agriculture encourages growing food with fewer chemicals than conventional farming, leading to better health outcomes and high-quality, fresh foods.
Additionally, mass-produced food often contains chemicals and requires long transportation, which can negatively impact health and the environment. Growing nutritious food locally offers a viable alternative, providing better access to adequate and healthy food.
Whether you’re harvesting fresh fruits and vegetables or introducing hydroponic systems in underused corners, the health benefits are tangible.
5. GREATER SOCIAL IMPACT AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THROUGH COMMUNITY GARDENS
An urban garden can serve as a focal point for community gardens, encouraging social interaction, learning, and shared experiences. Your garden can become an educational hub, hosting workshops, gardening classes, or volunteering opportunities. These types of activities foster social connection and even support neighborhood safety by strengthening ties among residents and offering engaging alternatives to screen time.
Community gardens also play a vital role in supporting food security in low income communities, ensuring residents have a dependable and sustainable way to grow food locally.
As highlighted in a recent systematic review, urban gardening initiatives support mental and physical health, foster resilience, and build stronger community networks.
6. FOOD FOR THE BEES
Of all the living beings who will benefit from your urban garden, bees may be the most grateful. Both honey bees and wild pollinators rely on a diverse diet of flowers. Planting bee-friendly blooms is one of the most direct ways to support them. Native flowers are best as they require less maintenance and are preferred by wild bees.
Pollinators also contribute to food production by increasing crop yield, making them key players in strengthening urban farming ecosystems.
For planting recommendations, check out these eco-regional guides from Pollinator Partnership (for Canada) and The Xerces Society (for the US).
