TY  - CHAP
AB  - Purpose This paper describes how community gardens generate social capital, and with what potential implications for the health of gardeners and their communities.Methodology/approach This analysis draws on data from focus groups with gardeners from four community gardening programs, two each in Boston and Lynn, MA. The participants represent a diverse sample of community gardeners (n=32).Findings We identify four mechanisms through which community gardening increases social capital, with implications for individual and community health: (1) building social networks; (2) providing opportunities for resource sharing and social support; (3) preserving cultural knowledge and practice in diaspora; and (4) reflecting and reinforcing collective efficacy. We also describe gardeners’ perspectives on gardening itself as a political activity.Originality/value While much of the literature on social capital and health in community gardens comes from in-depth studies of single, relatively homogenous gardens, this analysis draws on data from focus group interviews with a diverse group of participants who garden in varied neighborhood settings. In contrast to studies that have suggested that the social capital generated in community gardens does not extend beyond the group of individuals actively involved in gardening, our study identifies multiple community level benefits. Consequently, this paper lends support to recent calls to consider community gardening as strategy for amplifying community assets in support of public health.
VL  - 18
SN  - 978-1-78635-092-3, 978-1-78635-091-6/1057-6290
DO  - 10.1108/S1057-629020170000018009
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/S1057-629020170000018009
AU  - Shostak Sara
AU  - Guscott Norris
PY  - 2017
Y1  - 2017/01/01
TI  - “Grounded in the Neighborhood, Grounded in Community”: Social Capital and Health in Community Gardens
T2  - Food Systems and Health
T3  - Advances in Medical Sociology
PB  - Emerald Publishing Limited
SP  - 199
EP  - 222
Y2  - 2024/04/25
ER  -