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Allotment gardens, small plots of land rented to individuals for growing food, trace their modern form to nineteenth-century industrial cities, where urban workers had little access to open ground. Local governments or private associations parceled out land on the outskirts of towns, allowing tenants to cultivate vegetables for their own households. Beyond nutrition, the plots served a social function, offering city dwellers a connection to rural life and a respite from crowded housing. Demand for allotments has fluctuated with economic conditions, surging during wartime food shortages and again during periods of high grocery prices, but waiting lists in many cities today reflect a different motivation: gardeners increasingly cite mental health benefits and community connection as their primary reasons for applying.