Community gardening in cities is increasing, driven by social interaction and food security. City soils are sinks for heavy metals; including neurotoxic lead (Pb). Exposure routes are primarily through inhalation/ingestion of soil, or second by ingestion of plants that have accumulated Pb. This research evaluates soil at three Liberty City, Florida sites estimating risk of Pb exposure through primary and secondary pathways. Soil cores were collected from Liberty City, and red Malabar spinach (Basella rubra) was grown in Pb soil treatments in a greenhouse. Total soil Pb levels and plant tissues were measured after acid digestion, by ICP-OES. In Liberty City, two sites had hotspots with areas of elevated soil Pb levels. Plants grown on Pb contaminated soil all accumulated statistically significant Pb concentrations. Therefore, there is a potential risk of Pb exposure to residents in Liberty City by exposure in hotspot sites through both the primary and secondary pathways.

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This thesis is based upon the phenomenon known as urban community gardening, and examines it with regards to conflicts within an intended environment. The theoretical section is based on a school of thought that holds nature as something that exists in both science and humanities, and which can be observed within the social world. As opposed to nature and society being divided, this part will address the term 'socionature', which comprises a current post-anthropocentric stream of humanities and social sciences. Essentially it stays on the theory of conflicts. The research posits answers to the question of how gardeners justify and reasonably support their activities at an urban community garden called "Smetanka garden" in Vinohrady, Prague. Two of the outcomes were: the cultivation of strong neighbourly relations; and encouragement of recreational family outings. The Smetanka garden was closed in 2017. The thesis sees the conflict that occurred around the closure as a socionatural conflict. One question is, what were the arguments for closing the garden? The main argument stated that the land should be used for construction of sports facilities to serve the schools nearby. Furthermore, the community garden was only meant to be temporarily from the beginning. Proponents maintained that the garden...

This master's thesis examines the delineation of a community garden centre including technical and applied theory, which is then incorporated into a functional model. The theoretical part focuses on the creation of community garden centre and the characterization of accompanying aspects from sociology, public spaces, environmental education, legislation and other topics. The second part of this thesis examines applied theory, focusing on the conversion of theoretical knowledge into a functional model of community garden centre. The model is created within a unified strategy and according to public demand. The informatical basis for deciding outputs includes local analysis, SWOT analysis and demand analysis.

Urban agriculture (UA) is an increasingly popular land use concept emerging in industrialized nations of the world. Although the phenomenon of UA is a common and well-documented form of food production in developing nations of the global south as well as in North America historically, only a small but growing body of literature exists that discusses UA implementation practices in a North American context today. The purpose of this research was to determine what factors contribute to successful planning and implementation of UA in North American communities. The following questions were addressed: What factors contribute to successful planning and implementation of UA? What stakeholders were most and/or least enabling in achieving success? How do UA projects demonstrate success, and how can these factors be used as a guide for future implementations of agriculture in urban environments? Additionally, how could GIS be employed to aid in spatial decision support for UA planning? Two North American cases (one in Ontario, Canada, and one in Colorado, USA) were analyzed through open-ended, semi-structured interviews, observations, and other data sources. This study involved the researcher’s direct participation with a newly-formed community garden group and the Community Garden Council of Waterloo Region. Findings of this study demonstrate that successful UA planning and implementation is not only the result of several factors and multiple stakeholder involvement, but also that UA—to be successful—should comprise a socially relevant, economically resilient, and environmentally sound system of production.

Urban agriculture (UA) is an increasingly popular land use concept emerging in industrialized nations of the world. Although the phenomenon of UA is a common and well-documented form of food production in developing nations of the global south as well as in North America historically, only a small but growing body of literature exists that discusses UA implementation practices in a North American context today. The purpose of this research was to determine what factors contribute to successful planning and implementation of UA in North American communities. The following questions were addressed: What factors contribute to successful planning and implementation of UA? What stakeholders were most and/or least enabling in achieving success? How do UA projects demonstrate success, and how can these factors be used as a guide for future implementations of agriculture in urban environments? Additionally, how could GIS be employed to aid in spatial decision support for UA planning? Two North American cases (one in Ontario, Canada, and one in Colorado, USA) were analyzed through open-ended, semi-structured interviews, observations, and other data sources. This study involved the researcher’s direct participation with a newly-formed community garden group and the Community Garden Council of Waterloo Region. Findings of this study demonstrate that successful UA planning and implementation is not only the result of several factors and multiple stakeholder involvement, but also that UA—to be successful—should comprise a socially relevant, economically resilient, and environmentally sound system of production.

abstract: The population of older adults and the percentage of people living in urban areas are both increasing in the U.S. Finding ways to enhance city-dwelling, older adults' social integration, cognitive vitality, and connectedness to nature were conceptualized as critical pathways to maximizing their subjective well-being (SWB) and overall health. Past research has found that gardening is associated with increased social contact and reduced risk of dementia, and that higher levels of social support, cognitive functioning, mindfulness, and connectedness to nature are positively related to various aspects of SWB. The present study was a pilot study to examine the feasibility of conducting a randomized, controlled trial of community gardening and to provide an initial assessment of a new intervention--"Mindful Community Gardening," or mindfulness training in the context of gardening. In addition, this study examined whether community gardening, with or without mindfulness training, enhanced SWB among older adults and increased social support, attention and mindfulness, and connectedness to nature. Fifty community-dwelling adults between the ages of 55 and 79 were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Traditional Community Gardening (TCG), Mindful Community Gardening (MCG), or Wait-List Control. The TCG and MCG arms each consisted of two groups of 7 to 10 participants meeting weekly for nine weeks. TCG involved typical gardening activities undertaken collaboratively. MCG involved the same, but with the addition of guided development of non-judgmental, present-focused awareness. There was a statistically significant increase in different aspects of mindfulness for the TCG and the MCG arms. The interventions did not measurably impact social support, attention, or connectedness to nature in this small, high functioning, pilot sample. Qualitative analysis of interview data from 12 participants in the TCG and MCG groups revealed that both groups helped some participants to better cope with adversity. It was concluded that it is feasible to conduct randomized, controlled trials of community gardening with urban older adults, and considerations for implementing such interventions are delineated. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Psychology 2011

The waterfront community of Sydhavn in Copenhagen, Denmark is architecturally praised, but also criticized for its lack of public green space. Residents in the area have self-organized a community gardening initiative to combat this lack of greenery. The thesis aims to explore this occurrence by providing an analysis of the attitudes and behaviors towards social and environmental aspects of sustainability and individual residents’ resistance or support towards community gardening initiatives. The research design is based on quantitative methods with an exploratory purpose, using an online survey methodology. The main findings show that there is an association among knowledge of sustainability concepts, sustainable attitudes and behaviors, and interest in community gardening participation in the study population. Moreover, individuals who indicate no interest in community gardening lack a desire to join in the future, although they may be encouraged to do so with more education and advertisement. Generally, the study population feels positively towards community gardening and feels there is a need for it in the area. Further research may investigate aspects such as politics and policies related to community gardening and replicate a similar study in a different sociodemographic context to see how the results differ. The results of this study have practical implications for academics, built environment practitioners, and community gardening organizers.

This thesis aims to explore how participants of community gardening understand and give meaning to gardening and everyday practices in the context of sustainability. It uses a theoretical framework of political discourse theory to examine how discourses of sustainability are created, negotiated and spread through everyday and gardening practices. The study concludes that community gardening provides an opportunity for participants to materialize discourses of ecological as well as social and economic sustainability. Ecological sustainability discourse is being materialized in gardening practices, while the community aspect provides opportunities for building local social and economic relationships with the potential to spread ideas of sustainability. While some real and potential problems are accounted for by participants, community gardening is mainly presented as positive and an essential part of a development towards a sustainable future.