Effects of Urbanization on the Performance of the Home Gardens in West Java, Indonesia

Abstract

The home garden “peharangan” in Indonesia is the traditional garden with agroforestry and sustainable land use in the tropical regions. The objective of the present study was to elucidate the effects of urbanization on the performance of the home gardens in West Java, Indonesia. The study sites were ranked into the least urbanized site, the intermediate urbanized site, and the most urbanized site. The performances of the home gardens were compared among these different urbanized sites. The home gardens in the most urbanized sites were derived from the dry land and mixed garden, and those in the least and intermediate urbanized sites had been the home gardens for along time, or were derived from mixed gardens or from rice fields. The area of home gardens tended to decrease due to urbanization, and the shape was restricted to block and strip pattern in the most urbanized sites. The frequencies of front yards were high in all the sites, and side yardstended to decrease due to urbanization, but the back yards were remaining even in the most urbanized sites. From the point of the composition of the elements in the home gardens, it was suggested that properties of the recycling system for agroforestry and the sociality or the public utilization were diminishing in the home gardens due to the urbanization.