Changes in the ways of using plots in allotment gardens in Poland. A case of selected gardens in the Łódź Voivodship

The The article attempts to check whether there is spatial regularity in the relationship between the model of agricultural and productive use of allotment gardens and the leisure and recreational model. The article also presents socio-demographic features of users nowadays defining the use of plots in gardens. The objectives were achieved by means of a direct inventory and a questionnaire survey conducted among users of five gardens: one located in Łódź and four located in the western part of the suburban zone of Łódź. As a result of the analysis, it was found that the farther from the center of Łódź, the less dominant the leisure and recreational model was. In addition, it was found that the users’ professional activity and age are the sociodemographic features which today determine the way of using plots in gardens.