Imagine waking up to the sounds of chirping birds, walking by your favorite store while smelling the aromatic blooming flowers and drinking your coffee in the shade of large oak trees–all across from the subway station, in the center of the city. This very dream is a reality in many urban neighborhoods with community gardens. Community gardening is an immensely beneficial initiative for the establishment of a united community, specifically by responding to the lack of immigrant interaction, cooperation, and social harmony. Urban gardening encourages educational reform, political activism, socio-economical growth, and positive well being in a community. This process has successfully taken place in one of New York’s most diverse immigrant neighborhoods, Alphabet City.
• Community gardening is a recreational activity where a piece of land gardened by a group of people in either an urban, suburban, or rural environment. There are many positives and negatives to gardening, but there is not clear evidence to how this activity provides the broader social impacts that it does.
• History/institution of Gardens:
o Gardening was instituted into many immigrant neighborhoods because the conditions of the neighborhood were devastating. Crime, hunger, poverty, ethnic tension, lack of health, etc
o Immigration were disconnected; no connection to the land – immigrants have along rooted connection to gardening from a cultural connection to food and work, failure to assimilate, common language
Many benefits to gardening:
•1. Safety & Comfort in a neighborhood
o Provided a sense of ownership/pride to immigrants and low-income workers. (Food Justice) . gave them a way to communicate (interethnic dialogue)
o Diminished crime rates from promoted tolerance – more people watching out for each other. (Pennsylvania 2000 study). More people engaged in community public parks and spaces. Also a way to keep your mind off things.
• Crime rates were statistically shown to be lower in greener areas. (Texas A & M University). Apartment surrounded by greenery had ½ as many crimes compared to buildings with greenery (U. of Illinois)
o Good conduct – the domino effect o good deeds
2. Healthy Lifestyle
o The need for a healthier food environment is vital. – Obesity problem – If people grow their own food and are physically active to keep it up, they will stay healthier
o Limited food access problem – (especially seen in the low income/immigrant neighborhoods like Alphabet city)
o Even if the foods are being used to grow and provide food, they can enhance economic stability
3. Educational reform
o Gardening is a hands-on experience and can teach children about fresh produce, the importance of environmental sustainability. It also impacts their math, communication, and business skills.
• Case study in San Diego School district used gardening as an educational tool and had a direct influence on kids
• Sixth Street community Center in Alphabet City is a place for both adults and children to learn about sustainable agriculture.
4. Affordability – Gardens ARE affordable in most urban areas b/c the local residents are responsible for the upkeep of the garden. Plus, they need to buy equipment from the government to maintain the garden
• The political debate of urban gardening
o The existence of gardens has contributed to the process of gentrification
o The immigrants and low-income are suffering the most
o The fight against gentrification
• The non-profits and small interest groups: defend of squatters
We will compare the benefits for community gardening and its effects in Alphabet city to the Noris Square, Philadelphia has an almost identical history to Alphabet city and its use of. The many similarities suggest a high correlation between Alphabet City and Noris Square
Community Gardening has worked to connect the people of Alphabet city from intercity and interracial conflicts, intolerance, language barriers, and methods of accommodation.
Aliza Selter & Liron Siag
Hi Aliza and Liron,
So, as we discussed the other day, I’m okay with you two orienting this paper on the benefits that community gardens might provide for diverse urban neighborhoods generally. In this case, Alphabet City gardens would serve as case studies illustrating or complicating some of the arguments that scholars and other analysts have made for community gardens.
Beyond what we talked about, I have just a couple of suggestions now that I’ve had a chance to revisit your outline:
First, I’m a little worried that you two might like community gardens too much. I love community gardens personally (what’s not to like?) but I think it’s really important that you try to suspend your personal feelings and convictions about them in order to be fair and objective in assessing their local impacts. Don’t take everything that community garden advocates say at face value: be critical about the claims they make and honest in your assessment of the evidence they use to support these claims.
Second, you’re going to have to find a way to narrow the topic down a bit, since entire books could be (and have been) written about community gardens. In our Skype conversation I suggested organizing your paper around one or more interesting questions, and I think, looking at your outline again, that you’re already doing this in at least part of the outline, examining the role that community gardens play (have played) in two types of communities: immigrant neighborhoods and gentrifying zones. Obviously (since the whole class is really structured around these kinds of communities) I really like this as a focus, and I think it would provide a good lens through which to view community gardens – not too limiting and not too broad and most of all, interesting.
So those are my comments – feel free to contact me with any questions… we can even Skype again if you like.
Mike