A Way towards a ‘Garden City’ - Research into the Design of Community Gardens in and near the City of Sydney

This research explores the design of the physical form of community gardens in or near the City of Sydney. Approaches from design ideas to the form are typically constrained by location, topography, and community intentions. Examining the visual elements and plans of some community gardens in the Sydney region, this research aims to understand the connection and interplay between these considerations. The considerations often manifest themselves as a combination of food production, horticulture, and social innovation discussions. This research incorporates Mark Gelernter’s (1995) theoretical framework of the ‘source of architectural form’ to explore how different community gardens’ design outcomes occur. Reviewing policies and documents in concerning with various community gardens provide the literature for understanding the general nature of community gardens. The empirical component of this research was conducted over 13 cases in or near the City of Sydney, using methods including Simon Bell’s (2004) visual design method in landscape and Geoffrey H. Baker’s (1989) analysis of architectural form. The research is expected to answer to what extent the gardeners’ intentions link to the design of the community gardens in the inner urban Sydney. The research application provides insights into particular situations and forces that contribute to the current-day design of a community garden in a high-density urban environment