In Hong Kong, the proportion of elderly aged 65 and over has increased over the years, and was 17.9% in 2019. What will a city with more older people look like?
Urban farming areas can help to make our city and its communities more age-friendly ⓘ. By providing space and opportunities for the elderly to engage in gardening activities, the elderly can spend their time more meaningfully, learn new skills and interact with people from different age groups. Community gardens are also a space thereby promoting intergenerational bonding ⓘ.
Here are some activities that can be held at farming spaces to cater to the needs and interests of the elderly, and promote intergenerational bonding.
Ageing
city
1. Health
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Eating food grown by oneself without chemical pesticides and fertilisers
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Gardening as light and moderate physical activity
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Increased time spent in nature with fresh air and sunlight
2. Education
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Learning new skills such as organic farming and composting
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Learning about concepts related to sustainability such as composting food waste and circular economy
3. Community Recreation
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Taking part in gardening activities with others
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Taking part in community activities like film screening, yoga sessions and live music concerts at the edible space
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Turning an underused public space into a lively edible garden
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Increasing green space in the city for everyone to enjoy
4. Urban Improvement
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Contributing to the efforts of a wider community by participating in the edible space
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Taking on leadership roles in the edible space
5. Social Empowerment
6. Social Group Integration
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Gardening together with people from all walks of life in the neighbourhood
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Building stronger ties with others in the community
Social Value of Urban Farming
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CHALLENGES OUR CITY IS FACING
As our cities develop, different challenges emerge, such as ageing, declining mental health, and environmental unsustainability. How do you think urban edible spaces can address them? Take a look at some of the challenges below and see how urban farming area can help.
People in Hong Kong are suffering from poor and worsening mental health. In 2020, people in Hong Kong scored just 45.12 on the Well-Being Index in 2020, below the satisfactory level of 52. Mental health issues can affect nearly everyone in the society in Hong Kong, such as the elderly, working population and adolescents. How have you been feeling?
Connecting with nature itself is a therapeutic activity. Through incorporating mindfulness ⓘ elements into gardening activities, urban farming area can also help to improve our mental wellbeing and help us relax. Moreover, urban gardening communities can be a source of support amongst its members.
Check out some of the activities that can be held at farming area to promote mental wellbeing and relaxation.
Mental health
Global warming and climate change threatens all life on our planet,
and we are making it worse in Hong Kong because our ways of consuming things are very unsustainable. A recent study found Hong Kong people throw away 196 tonnes of clothes every day, and a third of their clothes are never worn. What is your lifestyle like?
Urban farming can teach us many things when it comes to environmental sustainability, from food miles ⓘ to circular economy ⓘ. Members of the garden can learn about and implement sustainable and ecological principles in urban community gardens. These principles can also be transferred to our daily lives, such as recycling and composting.
Check out some of the activities that can be held at urban farming spaces to educate participants on different concepts related to sustainability.
Environmental sustainability
WHO ARE IN YOUR COMMUNITY?
How can they contribute and benefit from the space?
Everything is interconnected and dynamic in nature, and community gardens are also like ecosystems which overlap with each other and other parts of the society. In a community garden, there are also varying levels of participation. Usually, there are key members who have a larger role in organising the community garden, but there may also be volunteers and participants who take up regular duties or even join less regularly. There may also be people or restaurants who share their food waste with the community garden to make compost, or visitors who come by to visit. Everyone contributes and benefits in their own way, and there is always something someone can do to help the community garden thrive. Read the table below to find out more. Click here if you are viewing on mobile site.
Potential contributions
Potential benefits
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Take care of plants during office hours
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Cook the harvest and share with the community
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Connect the garden community with the neighbourhood to get resources (e.g. food waste) and share harvests
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Learn how to grow food that is healthy and safe for their family
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Grow healthy food for their family
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Gain a sense of achievement outside of home
Homemaker
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Can help to curate activities and promote the space through social media
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Conduct research and generate academic value
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Physical labour
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Learn about sustainability and growing food
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Gain hands on experience on growing food, curating activities and publicity
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Connect with likeminded peers
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Conduct research at the site
Student
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Share knowledge of traditional herbs, farming or gardening skills
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Can spend more time to care for the plants
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Spend time with young people
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Have access to space to spend free time and engage in meaningful activity
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Can teach in farming workshops and help to design the garden
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Can sell their farm harvest to the urban farm community
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Connect with potential customers
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Financial support
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Physical labour
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Spend time doing recreational physical activity
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Learn a new skill
Elderly
Farmers
Office worker
ARE YOU READY?
Now that you have learned about the social value of urban farming, how they can address some of our city's challenges, and how various community members can benefit from the space — are you excited to start your own project? We have compiled a toolkit to help you decide whether your site is suitable, find out how to start your project and what you can do to generate the social benefits we mentioned above! Check out the following sections.
WHY URBAN Farming?
Growing food in the city is becoming increasingly popular in Hong Kong, and there are good reasons. While growing food is the key activity, happiness is perhaps the real harvest.
Urban gardening can be carried out as a community in the city where people work, study or live. Doing it with others can bring about many social values to ourselves, to the community, and to the overall society. One of our project members, Mr Mathew Pryor conducted research with Ms Ting Wang on the social value of urban rooftop farms in Hong Kong. They found that there are six major types of social values that can be generated at urban rooftop farms. For each type, we have listed some examples for you.
