Allotment gardens (AGs), one of the most popular forms of urban agriculture (UA), have attracted social attention because of the ecosystem services they provide to citizens. However, the services and availability of AGs may be unevenly distributed, owing to their geographic location. The patterns underlying the provision of AG plots and facilities to users in Tokyo are unclear. Thus, this study quantitatively examines the characteristics of different types of AG provision and their determinants in the metropolitan region of Tokyo. We classified a sample of 313 AGs gathered from governmental open data via a non-hierarchical cluster analysis of AG provision patterns based on their properties, including number of plots, plot size, contract price and duration, and facilities such as agricultural equipment and access to instructors. Moreover, we examined the influence of urban development and residential characteristics on these classes using the Kruskal–Wallis test. The analysis identifies six AG provision patterns based on their properties. It also revealed that AG provision in Tokyo was differentiated by the percentage of agricultural land and the socio-demographic characteristics of residents, including population, percentage of young population, and income levels from the city center to the suburban areas, corresponding to urban sprawl. These findings could provide valuable insights to help local governments, farmers, and non-profit organizations address the challenges and opportunities arising from each AG provision pattern and to make AG plots and facilities more adaptable to upcoming urban shrinkage, business opportunities, and possible excessive subdivision and price hikes.

Prevalence rates of malnutrition vary considerably internationally, partly due to differences in measurement methodology and instruments. In the present study, the same measurement methodology and instruments were used in The Netherlands, Germany and Austria. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether resident characteristics influence possible differences in malnutrition prevalence between countries. The study followed a cross-sectional, multi-centre design that measured malnutrition in nursing home residents from The Netherlands, Germany and Austria. Resident data were gathered using a standardised questionnaire. Malnutrition was operationalised using BMI, unintentional weight loss and nutritional intake. Data were analysed using an association model. The prevalence rates of malnutrition in The Netherlands, Germany and Austria were 18·3, 20·1 and 22·5 %, respectively. The multivariate generalised estimating equation (GEE) logistic regression analysis showed that sex, age, care dependency, the mean number of diseases and some specific diseases were influencing factors for whether the resident was malnourished or not. The OR of malnutrition in the three countries declined after including the influencing factors resulting from the multivariate GEE analysis. The present study reveals that differences in the prevalence rates of malnutrition in nursing homes in The Netherlands, Germany and Austria are influenced by different resident characteristics. Since other country-related factors could also play an important role in influencing differences in the prevalence rates of malnutrition between the countries (structural and process factors of malnutrition care policy). We recommend the investigation of these factors in future studies.

Nursing homes have become complex care environments where residents have significant needs and most have age-related dementia. Building on research by Hirdes et al. (2011), we describe a resident profile in a representative sample of 30 urban nursing homes in the prairie provinces using Resident Assessment Instrument – Minimum Data Set 2.0 data from 5,196 resident assessments completed between 1 October 2007 and 31 December 2011. Residents were chiefly over age 85, female, and with an age-related dementia. We compared facility support and related services and resident characteristics by province, owner-operator model, and number of facility units. We observed differences in support and related services by both unit count and province. We also found that public facilities tend to care for residents with more demanding characteristics: notably cognitive impairment, aggressive behaviours, and incontinence. No clear trends associating the number of units in a facility with resident characteristics were observed.