Allotment gardens are modern urban agriculture. They’re parcels of land made available by municipalities for community gardening. The overall allotment land is divided into individual plots. Your slice of soil is your responsibility: to plant, weed, and water. You get to take home all the harvest.
You can read about the history of allotment gardens on the Wikipedia web site.
This source states that there is a difference between allotment gardens and community gardens. Allotments are small areas within a large garden taken care of by families who pay an annual fee to the allotment association which in turn pays an annual fee to the land owner (usually a city or municipality). Community gardens are one large area taken care of by a group. In Canada, the term Community garden often means the same as allotment garden.
Translation of “allotment gardens” into other languages
- Czech: “Zahrádkářské kolonie”
- Danish: “Kolonihave”
- Dutch: “Volkstuin”
- Finnish: “Siirtolapuutarha”
- French: “Jardins familiaux”, “Jardin communautaire”
- German: “Kleingärten” or “Kolonie” for the group and “Parzelle” for the single, in former times also “Schrebergärten”, “Armengärten”, “Sozialgärten”, “Arbeitergärten”, “Rotkreuzgärten”, “Eisenbahnergärten” according to the concept of granting
- Italian: “Orti Sociali”
- Japanese: “クラインガルテン”
- Norwegian: “Kolonihage” or “Parsellhager”
- Polish: “Ogródki działkowe” ot colloquially “działki”
- Portuguese: “Hortas comunitárias”
- Russian: “Дача” (“dacha”)
- Spanish: “Huertas comunitarias”
- Swedish: “Koloniträdgård” or “Kolonilott”
- Swiss: “Familiengärten”, “Jardins familiaux”