Urban Allotment Gardens as Everyday Restorative Infrastructure: Evidence from Padua, Italy

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Abstract
Urban gardens are increasingly framed as multifunctional components of urban green infrastructure, yet limited evidence exists on how ordinary, municipally managed gardens are experienced through everyday and long-term use. This study examined perceived environmental restorativeness, self-reported well-being, and patterns of social and motivational engagement among users of municipally managed urban gardens in Padua, Italy. A mixed-methods design combined a qualitative phase, including document analysis, site observations, and interviews with municipal stakeholders and garden representatives, with a quantitative survey completed by 210 gardeners across ten sites (response rate ≈62%). The questionnaire collected data on sociodemographic characteristics, garden use, social interactions, motivations, and self-reported well-being, and assessed perceived restorativeness using the validated Italian 11-item Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS-11). Results showed that gardens were widely perceived as restorative environments, with a mean total PRS-11 score of 7.0 and high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.91). Cluster analyses identified distinct user profiles based on seasonal attendance, social interactions, motivations, and perceived restorativeness. In an exploratory Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression, motivations related to being in nature and cultivating the land were significantly associated with higher PRS-11 scores, while meeting friends showed a borderline positive association. Self-reported well-being was highly positive across the sample and showed a descriptive gradient across PRS-11 groups. Overall, the findings suggest that municipally managed urban gardens can function as everyday, socially embedded green infrastructures whose perceived restorative value depends on patterns of access, engagement, motivation, and governance, with implications for inclusive urban green infrastructure planning and municipal policy.

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