I’ve been practicing urban gardening for a few years now, and while the benefits are often touted, I’ve been wondering about the often-overlooked downsides or limitations. Are there aspects of urban gardening that we’re not talking about, especially in terms of scalability and real-world impact on food security?
I often read about how urban gardening can help with sustainability, but realistically, can it ever replace more traditional agriculture methods on a large scale? Have there been studies or data that actually show urban gardening significantly reduces carbon footprints or dependency on industrial farming?
Additionally, given space and environmental limitations in cities (think pollution, limited sunlight, and space constraints), are we possibly overstating what urban gardens can achieve in the global context of sustainable living? Is their role more supplemental than transformational, at least with our current technology and societal structure?
I’d love to hear thoughts from others who are both practitioners and skeptics - what have been your real experiences, and what do you believe is the sustainable path forward for urban agriculture?