Hidden concerns amidst prosperity: A systematic review of international and Chinese community garden participation mechanisms from a comparative perspective

Community gardens have a long history in Europe and North America. In recent years, community gardens in China have also seen vigorous development. However, relevant Chinese research has focused on project practices, paying insufficient systematic attention to the mechanisms of stakeholder participation—which are critical to the sustained social function of community gardens—or future development paths. Behind this apparent prosperity may lie a sustainability crisis that requires in-depth exploration. This study develops an analytical framework to examine participation mechanisms in community gardens through three principal dimensions: participants, purposes of initiators, organisational models. We used the PRISMA systematic review method to sort out and compare 55 relevant literature and 110 typical cases from China and abroad. The analysis demonstrates that the sustainable development of community gardens depends on the achievement of a consensus among stakeholders and a stable organisational model. Within the Chinese context, the operational risks of community gardens mainly manifest as consensus divergence between government and individual participants, bottleneck limitations in the capacity of the third sector, and public participation dilemmas. In contrast, many international cases have demonstrated more mature participation mechanisms and dynamic balance strategies, providing important references for the development of community gardens in China. Based on research findings, this article proposes a systematic optimization path for the participation mechanism of community gardens from three aspects: policy refinement, functional expansion, and capacity building. It is expected to provide inspiration and reference for the practical innovation and future research of Chinese community gardens, and promote their long-term development.