Reimagining Urban Spaces as Food ForestsHow can we transform underused urban spaces into landscapes that nourish communities, support biodiversity and reconnect people with where their food comes from?

As our towns and cities respond to the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and food insecurity, we need to think differently about the role of green space. Parks, gardens, school grounds and overlooked strips of land are often valued for their recreational or visual qualities. But what if these spaces could do more? What if they could produce food, support wildlife, manage rainwater, provide opportunities for learning and bring communities together?

ACT is interested in how food-growing can become part of the everyday fabric of our towns and cities, creating spaces that are useful, inclusive and resilient. One approach with considerable potential is the food forest.

What is a Food Forest?

A food forest is a diverse, layered growing system inspired by the structure of a natural woodland. It brings together different types of edible plants that occupy different levels of the landscape. Fruit and nut trees form the upper canopy, with smaller trees, fruiting shrubs, perennial vegetables, herbs, groundcover plants and root crops growing beneath. These layers work together to make productive use of available space, support soil health and create habitats for pollinators and other wildlife.

Unlike conventional annual growing systems, food forests place greater emphasis on perennial planting, where plants return year after year. Once established, well-designed systems can reduce the need for repeated cultivation while building healthier soils and supporting a more diverse ecosystem. Food forests are not simply about growing more food.

Food forests offer an opportunity to reimagine the relationship between food production, nature and public space.

Designing a Food Forest for People and Nature

How can a small urban landscape accommodate a food forest alongside spaces for learning, gathering and quiet reflection?

We can bring together three interconnected elements: the natural conditions of the site, a multi-layered edible landscape and a network of accessible learning spaces.

We can imagine an integrated landscape where growing, learning, biodiversity and community use reinforce one another.

Working with the landscape

Good ecological design begins with understanding what is already there. Existing trees, shelter, sunlight, soil conditions and natural drainage patterns all influence what can grow successfully and how people might experience a space.

Mature planting can provide protection from prevailing winds, creating sheltered microclimates for food production and outdoor activities. Paths and gathering spaces can respond to the site’s natural contours while protecting existing tree roots.

This approach recognises that productive landscapes should work with natural systems rather than impose a rigid layout upon them.

Growing in layers

A diverse edible landscape should combine fruit trees, shrubs, perennial planting and groundcover with smaller growing spaces.

Fruit tree islands, raised growing beds, edible pergolas and vertical growing structures can offer different ways to make use of a limited footprint.

This combination is particularly relevant in urban environments, where space is often constrained and growing opportunities need to be carefully integrated with other uses. By designing vertically as well as horizontally, even relatively small spaces can accommodate a rich mixture of edible plants, habitats and seasonal experiences.

A Living Classroom: Learning Through Growing

One of the most exciting opportunities presented by urban food forests is their potential to become living classrooms. 

Food literacy is about understanding nutrition and knowing where food comes from, but also about experiencing the relationships between soil, water, plants, wildlife, seasons and the food we eat.

How can we imagine a landscape that people could explore through a sequence of experiences?

Arrive. Discover. Gather. Harvest. Restore. Replicate.

Visitors might begin by encountering the planting and discovering the different edible layers. They could gather in an outdoor classroom, take part in growing and harvesting activities or spend time in quieter spaces surrounded by nature. A sheltered learning pavilion, communal harvest tables and smaller outdoor teaching areas were considered as part of this experience.

A sheltered learning pavilion, communal harvest tables and smaller outdoor teaching areas can be part of the overall experience. We can create flexible environments where learning happens through observation, conversation and direct participation. For schools, community groups and families, these spaces could provide opportunities to explore food systems, ecology and climate action in a tangible and engaging way.

Just as importantly, they could create opportunities for people of different ages and backgrounds to share knowledge, skills and experiences.

Designing for Inclusion and Wellbeing

If urban food growing is to become part of our shared public spaces, it needs to be accessible to everyone. Community growing environments should welcome people with different physical, sensory and social needs, including those who may not feel comfortable in busy or highly stimulating environments.

We can explore how a food forest could accommodate different experiences within the same landscape. Active areas for workshops, harvesting and social interaction could sit alongside quieter, more restorative spaces beneath mature trees.

Clear and accessible pathways, intuitive routes, varied seating and carefully considered sensory environments would help people navigate the space comfortably and participate in ways that suit them.

This is an important part of how we think about regenerative design at ACT. A landscape should support the wellbeing of both people and nature, creating opportunities for participation without requiring everyone to engage in the same way.

Closing the Loop: Water, Materials and Soil

A food-growing landscape also offers opportunities to demonstrate how resources can be managed more sustainably by, for example, exploring the integration of nature-based drainage systems, including rain gardens, planted swales and rainwater harvesting.

These systems can help retain and manage rainwater within the landscape, supporting planting while reducing surface water runoff.

Rainwater collected from the roof of an outdoor learning structure could also be redirected towards nearby growing areas, making the relationship between buildings, water and food production visible.

As designers, we can consider opportunities to reuse timber within the landscape, including for seating, raised beds, growing structures and habitats for wildlife. Deadwood, often treated as waste, can provide valuable habitat for fungi and invertebrates while contributing to the ecological richness of a space.

Together, these ideas demonstrate how food production, water management, material reuse and biodiversity can form part of one connected landscape system.

From Small Spaces to Community Growing Networks

Perhaps the greatest opportunity lies in the adaptability of the food forest approach. Not every community has access to a large park or an extensive growing site. But many towns and neighbourhoods have smaller spaces that could support edible planting. A school courtyard, community garden, housing estate green space or underused strip of public land could accommodate a scaled version of the same principles.

We can explore how modular elements, such as edible pergolas, fruit tree islands, raised growing beds and simple gathering spaces, could be combined in different ways to suit sites of confined size.

We want to develop a flexible approach that communities can adapt to their own spaces, needs and resources. This raises an exciting possibility: we could begin to imagine networks of food-growing green spaces woven throughout our towns and cities.

Schools, neighbourhoods, community organisations and local authorities could each contribute to a wider landscape of urban food production, biodiversity and shared learning.

Growing a Different Kind of Urban Future

Food forests invite us to reconsider what urban green space can be. They challenge the separation between food-growing and recreational landscapes, between people and nature and between environmental action and everyday community life.

A food forest can be a place to grow fruit and vegetables, but it can also be somewhere to learn, gather, rest, experiment and connect with the natural world. These spaces will not replace conventional agriculture or resolve the challenges of our food system on their own. Their value lies in the multiple benefits they can bring together, particularly when designed around the needs of local communities.

We believe that integrating food production into the design of our towns and neighbourhoods can help make climate action more visible, accessible and meaningful.

The question we ask is: how much more could urban spaces contribute to the health, resilience and life of our communities?

What could a food forest look like in your neighbourhood?