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Due to the mountainous terrain in the urban areas of southwest China, there are a large number of barren slopes in the community unsuitable for construction. These areas, alongside other unusable space which is often cultivated by residents to create informal community vegetable gardens and fruit growing areas, have become a “gray area” for urban management. This paper attempts to study the characteristics of informal community growing, the composition of growers, the motivation for growing, and the satisfaction of residents in urban areas in mountainous southwest China to explore its relative value. The sample area for the study was Yongchuan, Chongqing, Southwest China. Through a field survey, a semantic differential questionnaire, and data analysis, we found that: (1) growers use traditional cultivation methods to grow diverse fruits and vegetables according to the size of the slope, and the scale is so large that it serves as a local food supply; (2) growers are mainly vulnerable groups who use the land for economic gain and green food acquisition; and (3) growers and non-growers are more satisfied with the food supply and economic benefits generated by cultivation, while they are dissatisfied with the environmental and social benefits and the planting process. Satisfaction also varies with age, occupation, income, education, household registration, and farming experience. Based on the findings, this paper presents recommendations for the future transformation and development of informal community cultivation in mountainous areas. The study has implications for the construction of community gardens and urban agriculture in the mountains.

Our understanding of well-being, and related concepts such as health and flourishing, is shaped by the metaphors through which we think about such ideas. Current dominant metaphors—including a pyramid, ladder, and continuum—all have various issues. As such, this paper offers two other metaphors which can better do justice to the nuanced complexities of these notions, namely, a garden and an orchestra. Through these metaphors, this paper articulates a comprehensive framework for conceptualizing and appreciating the nature of well-being (and associated concepts), which it is hoped will generate further insights and research into these valued and sought-after phenomena.

Can the presence of green space in urban environments reduce the frequency of violent crime? To ascertain the evidence on this topic, we conducted an in-depth literature review using the PRISMA checklist. The search parameters included US articles written in English and published since 2000. More than 30,000 potential paper titles were identified and ultimately, 45 papers were selected for inclusion. Green spaces typically comprised tree cover, parks and ground cover. Criminal behaviors typically included murder, assault, and theft. The majority of the research reviewed involved quantitative methods (e.g., comparison of green space area to crime data). We extracted multiple mechanisms from the literature that may account for the impact of green space on crime including social interaction and recreation, community perception, biophilic stress reduction, climate modulation, and spaces expressing territorial definition. Recommendations are made for future research, such as meta-analysis of existing data and the development of grounded theory through qualitative data-gathering methods. By providing evidence that access to nature has a mitigating impact on violence in urban settings, city governments and communities are empowered to support these interventions.

Physical activity and nutrition preschool programming must involve parents in positive long-term healthy habits. This paper describes parent outreach in the Sustainability via Active Garden Education (SAGE) study. Newsletters were sent home with children to promote family opportunities to increase physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake. The content was generated via a community advisory board participatory process. Messages linked SAGE curriculum topics with home and community activities. Parents rated frequency of receipt, helpfulness, satisfaction, and use of content. Most participants were Hispanic (>78%) and women (>95%). Most reported receiving newsletters; nearly all reported that they were helpful. Favorite newsletter components included recipes, pictures of their children and seasonal produce spotlights. Most reported doing physical activities from the newsletters (51.9%). Few reported doing featured physical activity (8.9%) and fruit and vegetable (12.7%) community activities. Newsletter outreach methods are a simple strategy to add value to preschool-based interventions promoting healthy families.

Childcare garden interventions may be an effective strategy to increase fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption and physical activity among young children. The objective of this paper is to describe the research design, protocol, outcome measures, and baseline characteristics of participants in the Childcare Outdoor Learning Environments as Active Food Systems (“COLEAFS”) study, a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) examining the effect of a garden intervention on outcomes related to diet and physical activity. Fifteen childcare centers in low-income areas were randomly assigned to intervention (to receive garden intervention in Year 1), waitlist control (to receive garden intervention in Year 2), and control group (no intervention). The garden intervention comprised six raised beds planted with warm-season vegetables and fruits, and a garden activity booklet presenting 12 gardening activities. FV knowledge and FV liking were measured using a tablet-enabled protocol. FV consumption was measured by weighing FV before and after a snack session. Physical activity was measured using Actigraph GT3x+ worn by children for three consecutive days while at the childcare center. Of the 543 eligible children from the 15 childcare centers, 250 children aged 3–5 years received parental consent, assented, and participated in baseline data collection. By employing an RCT to examine the effect of a garden intervention on diet and physical activity among young children attending childcare centers within low-income communities, this study offers compelling research design and methods, addresses a critical gap in the empirical literature, and is a step toward evidence-based regulations to promote early childhood healthy habits.

Sustainability of intervention programming is challenging to achieve under real world conditions, since few models exist and many studies do not plan far beyond the funding period. Programming content in early care and education centers (ECECs) is often driven by guidelines. However, implementation is very sensitive to contextual factors, such as the setting and implementer (teacher) characteristics. This paper presents the model, definitions, and methodology used for the sustainability action plan capitalizing on a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, developed for a multi-site, multi-level garden-based childhood obesity prevention study, Sustainability via Active Garden Education (SAGE). The Ecologic Model of Obesity is applied to develop a sustainability action plan (SAP) and accompanying measures to link early care and education (ECE) environment, the community, policies, and classroom practices to an early childhood obesity prevention program. The SAGE SAP provides an example of how to iteratively evaluate and refine sustainability processes for an obesity prevention intervention utilizing CBPR approaches and will be applied to assess the sustainability of SAGE in a cluster randomized controlled trial. This SAP model can also help inform intervention delivery and scalability within ECECs.

This paper is a systematic review of quantitative studies conducted on the benefits of visiting gardens and gardening therapy for people with dementia (PWD) in an effort to assess the effectiveness of such treatments and obtain information on the most appropriate garden design for this population. This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA) guidelines. Four databases were searched (PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Scopus), with no time limits. Out of a total of 480 articles considered, 16 studies were selected for review. In all but two of the studies examined, gardening therapy and the use of therapeutic gardens induced psychophysiological improvements in PWD. The areas showing the greatest effects were Engagement, Agitation, Depression/Mood, Stress, and Medication. It also emerged that interest in this sphere has been growing in the last decade, but there is still a shortage of empirical evidence of the beneficial effects of therapeutic gardens in relation to the type and severity of dementia, and of garden design guidelines. Despite the limited number of studies investigated, the review confirmed the benefits of gardening and therapeutic gardens in PWD. There is nonetheless a need to conduct more quantitative research to support currently-available evidence and generate more information, focusing on garden design criteria, in-garden activities, the type and severity of dementia examined, and effects on caregivers as well as on PWD.

Environment-health research has shown significant relationships between the quantity of green space in deprived urban neighbourhoods and people’s stress levels. The focus of this paper is the nature of access to green space (i.e., its quantity or use) necessary before any health benefit is found. It draws on a cross-sectional survey of 406 adults in four communities of high urban deprivation in Scotland, United Kingdom. Self-reported measures of stress and general health were primary outcomes; physical activity and social wellbeing were also measured. A comprehensive, objective measure of green space quantity around each participant’s home was also used, alongside self-report measures of use of local green space. Correlated Component Regression identified the optimal predictors for primary outcome variables in the different communities surveyed. Social isolation and place belonging were the strongest predictors of stress in three out of four communities sampled, and of poor general health in the fourth, least healthy, community. The amount of green space in the neighbourhood, and in particular access to a garden or allotment, were significant predictors of stress. Physical activity, frequency of visits to green space in winter months, and views from the home were predictors of general health. The findings have implications for public health and for planning of green infrastructure, gardens and public open space in urban environments.