Urban Agriculture and Participatory Budgeting for Sustainable Cities: Evidence from Vegetable-Related Projects in Warsaw

Urban agriculture (UA) provides numerous social, environmental, economic, and spatial benefits for urban residents. The development of UA is supported, among other factors, by the participatory budget, an inclusive mechanism of democratic governance that facilitates investment decisions tailored to local communities’ needs. The aim of the study presented in this article was to identify and assess projects on vegetable cultivation as part of UA submitted in nine completed editions of the Warsaw Participatory Budget (WPB) conducted between 2015 and 2023. The research developed a typology and carried out a comparative analysis of vegetable-related projects, focusing on those selected through public voting. The projects, which varied in scale and scope, were classified into six types and subsequently evaluated across four dimensions: social, functional, ecological, and economic. The assessment also incorporated nine thematic categories and six social categories to highlight the primary beneficiaries of the projects. The results showed that vegetable-related projects in the WPB were decidedly niche, as only 101 such initiatives were submitted during the analyzed period, of which only 31 were implemented. The social dimension proved dominant, with children as the main target group. Most projects focused primarily on education in vegetable cultivation and the development of healthy eating habits and, to a lesser extent, on ensuring access to healthy food. The ecological dimension is fulfilled primarily through sustainable vegetable cultivation combined with educational activities; however, education concerning other pro-environmental solutions and their implementation is very limited.