A Review of How Community Gardens Interact with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 3, and 11, and Promote Sustainable Development in North American Cities

Abstract

Community gardens have existed in North American history since the 19^th century, and throughout their entire existence, their objectives and impacts have adapted to the cultural context of the time. In today’s current movement of community gardens, there are numerous objectives and effects associated with these spaces. By conducting a systematic literature review, this paper seeks to understand how community gardens interact with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 3, and 11 and their associated targets. The results of the literature review found that there is a diverse range of research covering community gardens and these SDGs, and as a result, there are many differing conclusions on each target. Overall themes that were seen throughout the literature includes the need for collaboration and education, integrated thinking, and consideration of context and variation when integrating community gardens into urban planning. Additionally, there is also a need for more rigorous data collection on the influence of community gardens to determine their full impact. This review also provides suggestions for future directions for research and development of the field.