Growing Vegetables and Values: Benefits of Neighborhood-Based Community Gardens for Youth Development and Nutrition

Allen, Julius C.; Alaimo, Katherine; Elam, Doris; Perry, Elizabeth

doi:10.1080/19320240802529169

Cited by 114 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Some reports suggest that UA is an important strategy to increase food and health literacy 7,20,21 . Several community and urban farm programs included nutrition information that discussed healthful food choices at the request of communities 2,[21][22][23][24][25][26] .…”

Section: Health Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A related impact of UA is the way it functions as a medium for learning experiences, educational programs and youth development opportunities 1,19,20,25,34,35 . Learning outcomes included awareness of environmental issues and ethics, sustainability and food systems 2,3,25,30,34 .…”

Section: Social Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The presence of community gardens and urban farms contributes to beautifying neighborhoods, creating safe spaces and employing residents, and that, in turn, creates a sense of pride in place [19][20][21] . Most recognized, however, is the community development potential of UA.…”

Section: Social Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Gearing up to support urban farming in California: Preliminary results of a needs assessment

Surls¹,

Feenstra

Golden

et al. 2014

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

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According to the United States Census, California is the most urban state in the nation. Although there are many outstanding examples of urban farms in California, in general, urban agriculture (UA) has been slower to gain momentum here than in some other states with large urban populations. Over the past several years, urban agriculture's popularity in California has begun to escalate, with strong emerging interest in San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, San Diego, Los Angeles and other metropolitan communities. One challenge for urban farmers and municipal decision makers engaged with UA in California has been limited availability of relevant information and technical assistance. A new project team at the University of California Cooperative Extension, part of the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) is working to develop web-based educational resources that will be grounded in a needs assessment that is currently underway. The needs assessment includes a literature review, an internal survey of UC ANR personnel, and community clientele interviews. This paper will report on preliminary findings and analyses of the needs assessment, particularly how UC ANR personnel are engaged with UA, and what tools they think would best serve urban farmers. We suggest implications for those involved with UA, such as personnel of land-grant universities, local governments and non-profits seeking to address the needs of urban farmers in an environment of constrained resources.

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Section: Health Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Social Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Gearing up to support urban farming in California: Preliminary results of a needs assessment

Surls¹,

Feenstra

Golden

et al. 2014

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

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show abstract

“…Among native people, gardening can be used as a tool for decolonization [10]. Community gardens can also provide opportunities for positive intergenerational learning [10,[13][14][15] and positive interracial interaction [16]. By participating in community gardens, neighborhood residents also build organizing skills useful for other programs in the community [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Growing Gardens in Shrinking Cities: A Solution to the Soil Lead Problem?

et al. 2016

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Abstract:As cities shrink, they often leave a patchwork of vacancy on the landscape. The maintenance of vacant lands and eventual transformation to sustainable land uses is a challenge all cities face, but one that is particularly pronounced in shrinking cities. Vacant lands can support sustainability initiatives, specifically the expansion of urban gardens and local food production. However, many shrinking cities are the same aging cities that have experienced the highest soil lead burdens from their industrial past as well as the historic use of lead-based paint and leaded gasoline. Elevated soil lead is often viewed as a barrier to urban agriculture and managing for multiple ecosystem services, including food production and reduced soil lead exposure, remains a challenge. In this paper, we argue that a shift in framing the soil lead and gardening issue from potential conflict to potential solution can advance both urban sustainability goals and support healthy gardening efforts. Urban gardening as a potential solution to the soil lead problem stems from investment in place and is realized through multiple activities, in particular (1) soil management, including soil testing and the addition of amendments, and (2) social network and community building that leverages resources and knowledge.

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“…The urban farming movement addresses these injustices in urban food systems. In addition to increasing access to fresh, healthy food, urban community gardens provide opportunities for youth empowerment, political organizing, and cultural preservation, all of which help create strong, supportive social networks that catalyze bottom-up neighborhood revitalization (Ober Allen et al, 2008;Okvat and Zautra, 2011;Saldivar-Tanaka and Krasny, 2004;Subica et al, 2016). The challenge, then, is to enable urban agriculture and its widespread benefits without perpetuating the injustice of urban gardeners having only highly lead-contaminated urban soil as an available growing media (Brown et al, 2016;Clark et al, 2006;Clark et al, 2008;Kessler, 2013;Kim et al, 2014;Säumel et al, 2012;Wortman and Lovell, 2013).…”

Section: Pb Bioaccessibility In the Built Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biogeochemical characterization of municipal compost to support urban agriculture and limit childhood lead exposure from resuspended urban soils

Fitzstevens

Sharp

Brabander

2017

Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene

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Chronic low-level lead exposure among low-income minority children is an urgent environmental justice issue. Addressing this ubiquitous urban public health crisis requires a new transdisciplinary paradigm. The primary goals of this work are to inform best practices for urban gardeners working in lead contaminated soils and to reimagine urban organic waste management schemes to produce compost, which when covering or mixed with urban soil, could minimize lead exposure. We investigate bulk and bioaccessible lead from five types of compost used in urban gardens in Boston, MA. We categorized them by feedstock and measured bulk elemental concentrations and physical characteristics. Our results show that different feedstocks exhibit unique geochemical fingerprints. While bulk lead concentrations in compost are a fraction of what is typical for urban soils, the bioaccessible lead fraction in compost is greater than the default parameters for the Integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic (IEUBK) model. The lack of geochemical differences across feedstocks for lead sorption to carbon indicates a similar sorption mechanism for all compost. This suggests that municipal compost would be suitable for capping lead contaminated urban soils. Risk assessment models should consider lead bioaccessibility, to prevent the underprediction of exposure risk, and should include compost along with soils as urban matrices. Based on the observed bioaccessibility in our compost samples, 170 mg/kg total lead in compost will yield the same bioaccessible lead as the IEUBK model predicts for the 400 mg/kg EPA soil lead benchmark. Local logistical challenges remain for interdisciplinary teams of city planners, exposure scientists, and urban agricultural communities to design organic waste collection practices to produce compost that will support urban agriculture and primary lead exposure prevention.

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Growing Vegetables and Values: Benefits of Neighborhood-Based Community Gardens for Youth Development and Nutrition

Cited by 114 publications

References 44 publications

Gearing up to support urban farming in California: Preliminary results of a needs assessment

Gearing up to support urban farming in California: Preliminary results of a needs assessment

Growing Gardens in Shrinking Cities: A Solution to the Soil Lead Problem?

Biogeochemical characterization of municipal compost to support urban agriculture and limit childhood lead exposure from resuspended urban soils

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