Community Gardens

Community gardens are any garden cultivated by a group of people and are the primary space of urban agriculture in the United States. Historically, community gardens emerged in response to political economic crises in U.S. cities. Today, community garden participation is augmented by an interest in organic, local, and “slow” food; an increase in environmental concern; and urban struggles for public space.

The designation of a community garden includes any urban green space cultivated by a group of people, like this in Melbourne, Australia

Source: Dahliyani Briedis/Wikipedia

Historical and Geographical Context

Community gardens have an extensive history in the United States that is widely understood as seven separate but overlapping “movements” that emerged to try to address specific social problems: Potato Patches (1894–1917), School Gardens (1900–1920), Garden City Plots ...

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