An allotment is a plot of land made available for individual, non-commercial gardening for growing food plants, so forming a kitchen garden away from the residence of the user. Such plots are formed by subdividing a piece of land into a few or up to several hundred parcels that are assigned to individuals or families, in contrast to a community garden, where the entire area is tended collectively by a group of people. The term "victory garden" is also still sometimes used, especially when a garden dates back to the First or Second World War.

The individual size of a parcel typically suits the needs of a family, and often the plots include a shed for tools and shelter, and sometimes a hut for seasonal or weekend accommodation. The individual gardeners are usually organised in an allotment association, which leases or is granted the land from an owner who may be a public, private or ecclesiastical entity, and who usually stipulates that it be only used for gardening (i.e., growing vegetables, fruits and flowers), but not for permanent residential purposes (as is usually also required by zoning laws). The gardeners must pay a small membership fee to the association and abide by the corresponding constitution and by-laws. However, the membership entitles them to certain democratic rights.Drescher, A. W., Holmer, R. J. and D. L. Iaquinta 2006. "Urban Homegardens and Allotment Gardens for Sustainable Livelihoods: Management Strategies and Institutional Environments". In: Kumar, B. M. and Nair, P. K. (Eds) 2006. Tropical Homegardens: A Time-Tested Example of Agroforestry. Series: Advances in Agroforestry 3, Springer, New York.

Socio-cultural and economic functions

The Luxembourg-based , representing three million European allotment gardeners since 1926, describes the socio-cultural and economic functions of allotment gardens as offering an improved quality of life, an enjoyable and profitable hobby, relaxation, and contact with nature. For children, gardens offer places to play and to learn about nature, while for the unemployed, they offer a feeling of doing something useful as well as low-cost food. For the elderly and disabled, gardens offer an opportunity to meet people, to share in activity with like-minded people, and to experience activities like planting and harvesting.

By country Austria The first garden was started in Purkersdorf in 1905.Großes Interesse am Wohnen im Gartenhaus orf.at,Wiener Kleingarten Messe – Die Messe für Bauen, Gestalten und Wohlfühlen in Haus und Garten evotion.at, Vienna Allotment Fair

Canada In cities like Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, and Ottawa, these are called community gardens.

Czechia and Slovakia

Allotment gardening used to be widely popular in the former Czechoslovakia under the communist regime. It gave people from suburban prefab apartment blocks – called in Czech – a chance to escape from city chaos, pollution, and concrete architecture. Holiday houses and gardens served also as the only permitted form of investment of savings for common middle-class citizens.

Denmark In 1778, land was laid out outside the fortifications of the town of Fredericia for allotment gardens, and, according to an 1828 circular from the royal chancellery allotment, gardens were established in several towns.

Private initiative formed the first Danish allotment association in Aalborg in 1884, and in Copenhagen an association named (lit. 'The Workers' Protection') founded the first allotment gardens of the Danish Capital in 1891. Since then, allotment gardens have spread to most Danish towns.

In 1904, there were about 20,000 allotment gardens in Denmark. 6,000 of them were in Copenhagen. During the interwar years, the number of allotment gardens grew rapidly. In 2001, the number of allotment gardens was estimated to be about 62,120.

In 1908, twenty allotment associations in Copenhagen formed the Allotment Garden Union, which in 1914 was expanded to cover all of Denmark. The Allotment Garden Federation was founded to negotiate more favourable deals with the state and the municipalities from which the allotments associations rented the land. Today, the federation represents roughly 400 allotment associations in 75 municipalities.

The Danish tradition for allotment gardens later spread to the other Nordic countries: first Sweden, then Norway and Finland.Salmonsens Konversationsleksikon, 2. udgave, A/S J. H. Schultz Forlagsboghandel, Copenhagen 1915-1930.

Today, most allotment gardens are on land owned by the municipality, which rents the land to an allotment association. The association in turn gives each member a plot of land. To preserve allotment gardens as something that is available for all kinds of people, the membership charge is set significantly below what a market price would be. Since allotments are often placed on attractive plots of land, this has led to huge waiting lists for membership in many allotment associations.

Although the main purpose of the allotment is gardening, most allotment gardens have a pavilion built in them. These pavilions can range in size from an old rebuilt railway car to a small summer house. Many people grow so fond of their allotment gardens that they live there the entire summer. In most cases, however, members are not allowed to live there the entire year.

Finland

The Federation of Finnish Allotment Gardens is a non-profit organisation that supports allotment gardeners and connects them to allotments and each other. The first allotment garden was established 1916 in Tampere, and today there are about 30 allotment associations all around Finland made up of roughly 3700 allotmenteers.

France

Family gardens, or allotments, which appeared at the end of the 19th century, are plots of land made available to inhabitants by municipalities. These plots, most often allocated to vegetable gardening, were initially intended to improve the living conditions of the workers by providing them with social balance and food self-sufficiency.

Today, they are enjoying renewed interest by helping to create “green oases” near cities, which are useful in the face of the threat of global warming. They also respond to current concerns to produce vegetables locally by low-income categories of the population and participate in creating "social ties" in urbanised areas. Created in February 2007, the National Council of Collective and Family Gardens (CNJCF) aims to encourage and promote their development, the protection of plant heritage and biodiversity, gardening that respects the environment and defends its positions with public authorities and other institutions. The CNJCF today federates nearly 135,000 members, making up the three founding associations: the National Horticultural Society of France (SNHF), the National Federation of Family and Collective Gardens (FNJFC)15 and the Garden of the Railwayman (Jardinot).

Germany

The history of the allotment gardens in Germany is closely connected with the period of industrialisation and urbanisation in Europe during the 19th century, when a large number of people migrated from the rural areas to the cities to find employment and a better life. Very often, these families were living under extremely poor conditions, suffering from inappropriate housing, malnutrition and other forms of social neglect. To improve their overall situation and to allow them to grow their own food, the city administrations, the churches or their employers provided open spaces for garden purposes. These were initially called the "gardens of the poor".

The idea of organised allotment gardening reached a first peak after 1864, when the so-called " Schreber Movement", named after local doctor Moritz Schreber, started in the city of Leipzig in Saxony. A public initiative decided to lease areas within the city, to give children a healthy and close-to-nature environment to play in. Later, these areas included actual gardens for children, but soon adults tended towards taking over and cultivating these gardens. This kind of gardening also became popular in other European countries, especially Germanic countries such as Austria (and its dependencies), the Netherlands and Switzerland.Haavie, S. 2001, Parsellhagedyrking i Oslo — en statusoversikt. Rapport/Osloforskning 1/2001 ()Jensen, N. 1996. Allotment Guide — Copenhagen & Surroundings /Kolonihave Guide Kobenhavn & Omegn, Copenhagen, Denmark.Rent-a-Plot: Germany's Garden Ghettos. Der Spiegel, 2006-04-11. Accessed 2006-03-17. In German-speaking countries, allotment gardens are accordingly generally known as (singular: ), sometimes literally translated as "Schreber gardens". Another common term is ('small gardens', singular: ).

The aspect of food security provided by allotment gardens became particularly evident during World Wars I and II. The socio-economic situation was very miserable, particularly regarding the nutritional status of urban residents. Many cities were isolated from their rural hinterlands and agricultural products did not reach the city markets anymore or were sold at very high prices on the black market. Consequently, food production within the city, especially fruit and vegetable production in home gardens and allotment gardens, became essential for survival. The importance of allotment gardens for food security was so obvious that in 1919, one year after the end of World War I, the first legislation for allotment gardening in Germany was passed. The so-called "Small Garden and Small-Rent Land Law", provided security in land tenure and fixed leasing fees. In 1983, this law was amended by the (). Today, there are still about 1.4 million allotment gardens in Germany, covering an area of .Gröning, G., Wolschke-Bulmahn, J., 1995. Von Ackermann bis Ziegelhütte, Studien zur Frankfurter Geschichte, Band 36. Frankfurt am Main, Germany. In Berlin alone, there are 833 allotment garden complexes.

Malta Malta introduced its first allotment gardens in April 2011. The objective of the scheme, which was called ('Try Your Hand at Farming'), was to encourage people, especially the young and those living in urban areas, to take up organic farming. The scheme had over 50 allotment plots located at Għammieri, Malta, with each plot measuring 50 square metres in size. All plots were fully irrigated and those who participated in the scheme received continual support and training. Malta's allotment gardens were terminated in 2013, following a change in administration. In September, 2019, Heritage Malta, an agency which falls under the Ministry for Culture, started an initiative to re-introduce the concept of allotments. Located just above the Abbatija Tad-Dejr catacombs in Rabat, the new allotment plots were issued with several restrictions in an effort to protect the sensitivity of the archaeological site.

Netherlands

The first allotment gardens in the Netherlands were founded in 1838. In the 19th century, cities started allotment gardens for working-class families. Around the first world war, in which the Netherlands remained neutral, the users of the gardens started demanding that the gardens would be governed by the members. In 1928, the allotment garden societies founded the national level (AVVN). During the German occupation of WWII, many volkstuinen started. Until the 1950s, the gardens were primarily used for vegetable production; since then there has been a shift to recreational use. Depending on the city and society, small sheds, greenhouses or small garden houses are allowed. In some cases, permanent habitation is allowed during summertime. The Netherlands has 240,000 allotments.

Norway There are 13 allotment gardens in Norway, with around 2000 allotments. The oldest, Rodeløkkens Kolonihager, dates to 1907. The largest, Solvang Kolonihager, has around 600 allotments and is in Oslo, close to the woods and Sognsvann lake. The allotment gardens are quite popular, and there can be a waiting list of 10 and in some cases even 20 years.

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