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Article
Publication date: 1 May 2018

Toni Karge

This paper aims to examine urban community gardens from the urban planning perspective. The paper analyses the Berlin case study Himmelbeet and its relation to the concept of…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine urban community gardens from the urban planning perspective. The paper analyses the Berlin case study Himmelbeet and its relation to the concept of critical placemaking (Toolis, 2017) and placemaking principles of Madden and Schwartz (1999).

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on participatory action research. It examines one specific case study in Berlin where the author volunteered for several years. The set of placemaking principles is used as an ex-post analysis tool to evaluate how the community garden meets the criteria of placemaking.

Findings

The paper shows that the urban community garden can be considered as a placemaking scheme although it was not planned with placemaking instruments. The garden’s placemaking process shows strategies to challenge issues of exclusion, disinvestment and depoliticization of public spaces and thus exemplifies the possibilities of citizen-controlled placemaking processes.

Originality/value

The paper links placemaking with urban community gardens by assessing the placemaking principles and discussing the criteria of critical placemaking. The paper also contributes to a better understanding of urban community gardens in relation to current trends of austerity and urban inequalities.

Details

Journal of Place Management and Development, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8335

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 July 2023

Triya Tessa Ramburn, Yufei Mandy Wu and Rachel Kronick

Community gardens are increasingly used as interventions during the resettlement of refugees and other migrants. Little is known about how garden programs might support their…

Abstract

Purpose

Community gardens are increasingly used as interventions during the resettlement of refugees and other migrants. Little is known about how garden programs might support their mental health and wellbeing. Given the links between climate change and forced migration, community gardens are especially relevant, as they can also support climate change mitigation. This study aims to document psychosocial outcomes of gardening programs for refugees and migrants, and mechanisms leading to these outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors searched major databases and the grey literature up to 2021, resulting in the inclusion of 17 peer-reviewed and 4 grey literature articles in a thematic, qualitative analysis.

Findings

Four consistent themes arose from the analysis: community gardening programs promoted continuity and adaptation (81% of articles), social connectedness (81%), overall wellbeing (95%) and a sense of meaning and self-worth (67%). The results suggest that community gardens can strengthen psychosocial pillars that are key to the recovery and resettlement of refugees and migrants. The land-based and social nature of community gardening may enable connections to the land and others, nurture a sense of belonging in the host country and provide a link to the past for those from agricultural backgrounds.

Research limitations/implications

Further participatory action research is needed to develop guidelines for the successful implementation of community gardens by resettlement organisations.

Originality/value

This review indicates that community gardens can be effective psychosocial interventions as part of a network of services supporting the resettlement of refugees and migrants.

Details

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, vol. 19 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-9894

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 August 2023

Paige Robillard, Fatih Sekercioglu, Sara Edge and Ian Young

Urban community gardens (UCGs) are important sources of community, food and greenspaces in urban environments. Though UCGs in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) of Ontario, Canada…

Abstract

Purpose

Urban community gardens (UCGs) are important sources of community, food and greenspaces in urban environments. Though UCGs in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) of Ontario, Canada, were considered essential during the COVID-19 lockdowns and therefore open to gardeners, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security and UCG use among garden members and managers is not fully understood.

Design/methodology/approach

This was an exploratory qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven managers and eight members of nine gardens in the GTA. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Findings

The results suggest that UCGs helped participants be resilient to COVID-19 pandemic-related stressors through the provision of cultural ecosystem services. Therefore, this study supports the current literature that UCGs can help foster resilience during crises. While participants in this study did not end up being food insecure, participants did express concern about community food security.

Practical implications

Results contribute to the current body of literature, and can be used to further update and develop UCG policies, as well as help develop UCG infrastructure and management strategies for future crises.

Originality/value

The impacts of the pandemic on Canadian UCGs are not well understood. This research paper investigated the impact of the pandemic on UCG use and food security, as well as the link between UCG use and increased resilience to COVID-19-related stressors.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 125 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 October 2015

G. Scott Erickson, Marlene Barken and David Barken

This study aims to examine the installation of a garden at an elementary school. Bringing in elements of healthy eating choices, the local food movement and social marketing…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the installation of a garden at an elementary school. Bringing in elements of healthy eating choices, the local food movement and social marketing implications for all stakeholders, this study examines the genesis and launch of the garden and related activities. It reviews initial results, again with an eye to different stakeholder groups.

Design/methodology/approach

The case study methodology was applied.

Findings

The case study method provides some depth of detail to a unique and specific circumstance. As such it allows bringing together so many streams of the literature in a social marketing context and illuminates how and why such an installation works (and does not work).

Research limitations/implications

This analysis focuses on a specific example, in a specific location and at a specific time. While potentially extendable, any such attempt should be made with care.

Practical implications

Social marketing installations are hard. This example demonstrates how even the best-intentioned program, with almost universal agreement on its positive aspects, can be difficult to execute.

Social implications

This case illustrates full range of social marketing concepts applied to an initiative but is particularly illustrative of the potential and importance of including all stakeholders in co-creation while fully understanding their context, perceived benefits and perceived costs/barriers.

Originality/value

This study uniquely brings together several strains of theory (food literacy, health eating choices by children, institutional food services and local food) and applies them separately and together in a single application.

Details

Journal of Social Marketing, vol. 5 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-6763

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 April 2008

Kristan L. McKinne and Angela C. Halfacre

This paper aims to examine the challenges of volunteer‐driven college campus sustainability projects through a case study of the development of an urban native plant species…

1534

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the challenges of volunteer‐driven college campus sustainability projects through a case study of the development of an urban native plant species garden on the College of Charleston campus in Charleston, South Carolina, USA.

Design/methodology/approach

The research used participant observation as the primary data‐gathering technique. The primary author coordinated this volunteer‐driven sustainability project, and recorded observations throughout the process. The authors used content analysis to examine garden volunteer interview data and campus/community documents. These methods allow the reader to view this case first‐hand, providing a unique look at undertaking projects of this nature.

Findings

The paper provides specific guidance for creating sustainable sustainability projects in similar communities and college campuses, identifies challenges specific to this case study that are easily generalized to other volunteer‐driven sustainability projects, and provides solution strategies to avoid or address these challenges.

Research limitations/implications

The findings have relevance for projects with similar campus and community characteristics as displayed in the case study, whilst the study provides important guidance for campuses seeking to initiate and sustain volunteer‐driven sustainability projects. Further, it offers a step‐by‐step account of the process of creating a native species garden in an urban environment.

Practical implications

The paper provides a “handbook” for undertaking similar volunteer‐driven sustainability projects.

Originality/value

This paper fulfills a need to provide first‐hand information for the ever‐growing effort to create more sustainable sustainability projects on college campuses world‐wide. It is the first paper of its kind to document the process of campus native species garden creation and the challenges inherent with this type of volunteer‐driven project. Solution strategies are offered that can be followed for those seeking to implement similar sustainability efforts on their campuses.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 July 2021

Linda Corkery, Paul Osmond and Peter Williams

This paper aims to examine the planning policy and legal framework governing the creation and operation of urban agriculture in Sydney, Australia’s global city. All levels of…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the planning policy and legal framework governing the creation and operation of urban agriculture in Sydney, Australia’s global city. All levels of urban agriculture are considered – from domestic and small community gardens to large agribusiness – as all make an important contribution to agricultural production in an urban context.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the Australian State of New South Wales and its capital Sydney, as a focus, the study examines the recent trend of the recognition and re-establishment of agriculture as a desired land use in cities. Three examples are selected for closer scrutiny – Horsley Park Urban Agriculture Precinct, located in the Western Sydney Parklands; City of Sydney’s City Farm, located in the inner suburb of St Peters; and the Western Sydney Aerotropolis Agribusiness Precinct, located at a new airport on the fringe of Sydney.

Findings

As more city-dwellers embrace urban food production and as city authorities seek to encourage and facilitate farming activities, it is clear that regulatory structures which allow it to happen should be incorporated into urban planning legislation at (in the Australian context) state government level. If cities want to encourage urban agriculture, planning legislation needs to be part of the broader legal framework for enabling it to germinate and thrive.

Originality/value

This paper explores the emergence of two new types of urban agriculture: first, the multi-functional, small-scale urban farming operation, situated conceptually between a community garden and a full-scale commercial agricultural enterprise, and located spatially in the midst of built-up urban form; and second, the intensive, high tech export-oriented model exemplified by the Aerotropolis Agribusiness Precinct.

Details

Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law, vol. 13 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9407

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 February 2021

Md. Saidur Rahaman, Syed Muhammod Ali Reza, Md. Mizanur Rahman and Md. Solaiman Chowdhury

Throughout history, tea garden workers are treated as slaves of employers and live an inhuman life in modern society. This paper aims to provide an account of the deplorable…

Abstract

Purpose

Throughout history, tea garden workers are treated as slaves of employers and live an inhuman life in modern society. This paper aims to provide an account of the deplorable community (workers) of the tea garden in Bangladesh.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used a mixed-method research approach to conduct this study. In the first stage, using a semi-structured questionnaire, Focus group discussions (FGDs) were done by forming two groups from two districts to get a clear picture of the tea garden workers’ living standards in Bangladesh. Based on the findings of the FGD, the researchers prepared a structured questionnaire containing the basic elements of their quality of work life. In this stage, the authors collected the information from 200 tea workers about their quality of work life.

Findings

The major finding showed that the overall country’s economy is booming because of tea workers’ contributions, but their economic conditions gradually become impoverished. The workers’ are living with colossal poverty and vulnerability. Besides, the workers are supposed to get fundamental rights, including food, clothing, shelter, education and health, but the higher authorities were found indifferent to take the necessary initiative to implement these rights.

Research limitations/implications

The data was collected only from the tea garden workers. This study excluded any other parties (trade union leaders, panchayats, garden managers and owners). Thus, it is suggested that the researchers should conduct a similar study covering the opinion, including all the parties.

Practical implications

Both the workers and the higher authorities of the tea garden might benefit from this study’s findings. Workers will be more aware of their basic rights. The authorities can also prepare some effective policies to improve the overall quality of life of the tea workers.

Originality/value

To the best knowledge of the authors, this is the first study on tea garden workers’ inhuman life in Bangladesh in the entire emerald insight publishers.

Details

Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, vol. 15 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6204

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 24 October 2023

Sarah Cramer and Mercedes Tichenor

School gardening and garden-based learning (GBL) have gained great popularity in recent years, and the COVID-19 pandemic forced many educators to think creatively about safe…

Abstract

Purpose

School gardening and garden-based learning (GBL) have gained great popularity in recent years, and the COVID-19 pandemic forced many educators to think creatively about safe, outdoor education. Scholarship from diverse disciplines has demonstrated the positive impact of GBL on student learning, attitudes toward school and various health outcomes. Despite widespread interest in school gardening, GBL remains absent from most teacher education programs. This is a critical disconnect, as teacher education programs deeply inform the pedagogy of future teachers. In this article, the authors discuss an independent study course for pre-service teachers designed to bridge this gap and share the perspectives of the future teachers who completed the course.

Design/methodology/approach

To understand and evaluate the experiences of the preservice teachers engaged in the GBL independent study course, the authors conducted an exploratory qualitative case study.

Findings

The authors argue that GBL curriculum integration in teacher education programs, along with garden-focused PDS partnerships, can be powerful levers in expanding gardening initiatives and preparing pre-service teachers to garden with their future students.

Originality/value

The authors also provide GBL suggestions for universities and partnership schools.

Details

PDS Partners: Bridging Research to Practice, vol. 18 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2833-2040

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 November 2019

Khairul Anwar

This paper aims to find the pattern of interaction of political actors in situations of tenurial conflict in the watershed through a review of cases of social conflicts of…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to find the pattern of interaction of political actors in situations of tenurial conflict in the watershed through a review of cases of social conflicts of plantation villages around Siak watershed 2009-2014.

Design/methodology/approach

In harmony with the Research Master Plan (RIP) of Riau University, the socio-political of Riau Malay society and the fundamental scientific pattern of Riau university, the development of the resources of area and waters and Malay culture, since 2001, the writer has conducted a study related to the issues of natural resources policy, especially oil palm in the era of regional autonomy and decentralization. This is in line with the umbrella of research developed by the University of Riau namely studying various aspects of natural resources (especially oil palm) and human resources of Watershed (DAS). The writer's review is; first, the dynamics of politics in relation to the issue of oil palm plantation policy in Riau. This study shows that there are many central policies when implemented at the local level including watersheds clashing with local interests such as forests and land ownership. Second, the writer has also reviewed the policy issues and problems of oil palm plantations in Riau watershed in 2000. This study shows there are many issues and problems formulated differently by different people.

Findings

Mapping and strategy are examined through the study of political strategies on oil palm plantations and use them to answer the following two questions: what kind of political model which can be used to manage the watershed conflict since regional autonomy is implemented. Economic factors are influential in mapping and management strategies for the emergence of tenurial conflicts in the Siak River Rivershed 2009-2014. The tenurial conflict management model of Siak rivershed, which is considered relevant, is a conflict-based model of cooperation with a partnership pattern between local government, watershed civil society and plantation business actors. The change of agrarian structure is directed to the effort to open the space for the accesibility of society in decision-making.

Originality/value

Some of these studies have not reached the tenurial conflicts in the watershed areas, especially Siak watershed. In fact, about 80 per cent of Riau province region consists of watershed. This becomes the originality and gap of this study with previous studies. This research was conducted further as an effort to synergize Riau's development policy with Riau University's research in harmony with RIP that was created and aimed to find the pattern of interaction of political actors in situations of tenurial conflict in Watershed through a review of cases of social conflicts of plantation around Siak watershed in 2009-2014.

Details

Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management, vol. 10 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4620

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2004

Stephen A. Doyle

This paper focuses on the decay and subsequent regeneration of Harlem, New York. It identifies the importance of retail provision in residential areas, not only in terms of…

1078

Abstract

This paper focuses on the decay and subsequent regeneration of Harlem, New York. It identifies the importance of retail provision in residential areas, not only in terms of service provision, but also in terms of its social and economic function. Furthermore, it reveals how residents view retailing activity as a health indicator, whereby low levels of retailing provision are signs of unattractiveness and disadvantage and, as such, the increase in retail activity is seen as indicative of regeneration and of affirmation of a community's “worth”. Finally, the paper highlights the high levels of awareness of the community in recognising the processes of decay and regeneration, and its role in arresting the spiral of decay.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 32 no. 12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

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