Urban Agriculture in Philadelphia: Lessons for Citizenship and Ecological Democracy

Green Billy Penn, © by Kenneth Thomas 2009

Urban Agriculture in Philadelphia: Lessons for Citizenship and Ecological Democracy

Katharine Travaline, M.S. and Christian Hunold, Ph.D. Drexel University Philadelphia, PA
Paper presented at the annual meeting of the WPSA ANNUAL MEETING “Ideas, Interests and Institutions”, Hyatt Regency Vancouver, BC Canada, Vancouver, BC, Canada, Mar 19, 2009

Abstract:

The conventional agri-food system has become increasingly concentrated and centralized, leaving little room for public participation in its decision-making processes. Urban governance today also tends to offer little space for city residents to be involved in their agri-food system for reasons including historical trends that have defined food as a rural issue; urban land-use economics that leave little room for food production in cities; and the failure of municipalities to sufficiently include the public in decision-making processes.

Urban agriculture, on the other hand, provides city residents with opportunities to participate in the food system that feeds them. The inclusion of people, especially those from marginalized populations, in the decision-making processes that affect their agri-food system allows people involved with urban agriculture to be citizens, not just consumers.

Our study of seven urban agriculture projects in Philadelphia explores, first, ways farms and gardens foster citizenship by creating spaces for city residents to participate in their food systems and, second, how farms and gardens foster ecologically reflexive social learning by educating city residents about their food. By participating in food growing groups and learning where, how, and by whom their food is grown, people may be able to make more informed decision about their food system.

See the link to the complete paper here.

Also See:

Urban agriculture and ecological citizenship in Philadelphia

By Katharine Travaline; Christian Hunold
Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability, 1469-6711, Volume 15, Issue 6,
2010, Pages 581 – 590

Abstract

Green political theory has discovered urban areas as important spaces for the cultivation of ecological citizenship. Here, we explore urban agriculture’s contribution to ecological citizenship, a concept that emphasises opportunities for public participation in, and social learning about, environmental decisions. Our analysis is based on participant-observation and open-ended interviews with the leaders and community participants of seven urban agricultural organisations in Philadelphia. Following a brief discussion of urban ecological citizenship and our study design, we discuss how urban agriculture promotes participation and learning.

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