Urban gardener’s exposure in an industrialized context - Methodological approach

Until recently, the main purpose of gardening was often to provide food. Today, gardeners' motivations are much more varied. In addition to the production of quality fruit and vegetables, gardening also plays a social role and supports biodiversity, which is highly dependent on the practices associated with gardening (e.g. use or non-use of pesticides, intensity of tillage, maintenance of favorable ancillary habitats). Although gardening is most often carried out in rural areas, it is increasingly practised in peri-urban and urban environments, and can be described as "urban agriculture". This raises the question of soil quality and crop production in relation to potential pollution resulting from current and/or past human activities (urban heating, automobile traffic, industrial activities, soil input/embankment, etc.). Generally speaking, knowledge of kitchen gardens is still inadequate, given their large number, the diversity of their environmental contexts, modes of governance, cultivation and consumption practices, and the complexity of the regulations governing these spaces, private or otherwise, and their production.

The aim of this article is to provide feedback on an approach carried out in partnership with health services in a part of the former Nord-Pas-de-Calais coalfield, a densely populated region with a long industrial history. The approach, which can be transferred to other environmental contexts, was aimed at gaining a better understanding of gardens, most of which are privately owned. It extends from the historical study of the site to the feedback of the data acquired to the gardeners. This knowledge is intended to contribute to discussions on the management of urban vegetable gardens, by providing scientific and technical arguments on the quantities produced and consumed, gardeners' cultivation practices, and the ability of self-produced fruit and vegetables to accumulate metal pollutants. They are also the basis for discussions aimed at reducing the exposure of gardeners and their families to metal pollutants in connection with gardening.