Community gardening in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Phoenix, Arizona, March 2010: Aligning programs with perceptions
Author(s):
- Thomas Bleasdale, School of Human Evolution and Social Change
Abstract:
This study examined a struggling community gardening program in a low-income minority community in Phoenix, Arizona. The gardening program exists within a larger local food initiative organized by a nonprofit community development organization. The nonprofit's goals for the community gardening program are to provide residents with opportunities for education, extra income and socializing. In partnership with the nonprofit and local residents, we undertook a study to determine the potential for increasing the recruitment and retention of local gardeners in order to sustain a successful community gardening program. We used interviews and participant observation to create an exploratory survey that measured residents' perceptions of benefits and burdens associated with gardening. Results revealed that while respondents had a level of gardening interest and experience in the community, they also lacked awareness about the gardening program. Perceptions of the benefits and burdens of gardening varied among current gardeners, ex-gardeners, and people who had never gardened. The benefits of gardening suggested by many residents differed from the local food initiative goals. If community gardens and local food initiatives are to succeed, organizers should align their programs with the desires of neighborhood residents and educate them about a wide range of potential benefits of gardening to both individuals and neighborhoods.
Keywords:
Temporal Coverage:
2010-03-13 to 2010-03-13Geographic Coverage:
Geographic Description: General research area of community gardens.Bounding Coordinates:
Longitude:-113.34 to -111.59
Latitude:+34.01 to +32.91
Contact:
Information Manager, Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University,POB 875402,TEMPE
caplter.data@asu.edu
Methods used in producing this dataset: Show
Data Files (1) :
Tabular: Central City South Community Garden Survey Data 2010
Description: The survey data from a 2010 Central City South community gardening event.
Column | Description | Type | Units |
---|---|---|---|
interest | Level of interest in gardening |
string |
Enumeration:
|
experience | Past gardening experience |
string |
Enumeration:
|
currently | Do you garden now |
string |
Enumeration:
|
homegarden | Prefer to garden at home |
string |
Enumeration:
|
commgarden | Prefer to garden in a community garden |
string |
Enumeration:
|
schoolgarden | Prefer to garden in a scool garden |
string |
Enumeration:
|
donknow | Do not know where I prefer to garden |
string |
Enumeration:
|
benextrafood | Important benefit is extra food |
string |
Enumeration:
|
benprettylook | Important Benefit is pretty to look at |
string |
Enumeration:
|
bennutritious | Important benefit is nutritious food |
string |
Enumeration:
|
benincreaselandvalue | Important benefit is an increase in land value |
string |
Enumeration:
|
bengoodexercise | Important benefit is good exercise |
string |
Enumeration:
|
benhelpenviro | Important benefit is helpful to the environment |
string |
Enumeration:
|
benextraincome | Important benefit is extra income |
string |
Enumeration:
|
benconectpeople | Important benefit is connection to people |
string |
Enumeration:
|
bencoolplants | Important benefit is cooling effects of plants |
string |
Enumeration:
|
benconnectnature | Important benefit is connection to nature |
string |
Enumeration:
|
benaccomplish | Important benefit is sense of accomplishment |
string |
Enumeration:
|
benrelax | Important benefit is relaxation |
string |
Enumeration:
|
benother | Other important benefit |
string |
Enumeration:
|
procost | Important problem is costs to much money |
string |
Enumeration:
|
protime | Important problem is takes to much time |
string |
Enumeration:
|
prospace | Important problem is lack of space |
string |
Enumeration:
|
prophysically | Important problem is physically not able |
string |
Enumeration:
|
prowork | Important problem is work is too hard |
string |
Enumeration:
|
prodirty | Important problem is don't like getting dirty |
string |
Enumeration:
|
proenjoyable | Important problem is not enjoyable |
string |
Enumeration:
|
protoohot | Important problem is too hot |
string |
Enumeration:
|
prounsafe | Important problem is feels unsafe |
string |
Enumeration:
|
proknowhow | Important problem is don't know how |
string |
Enumeration:
|
promessy | Important problem is messy to look at |
string |
Enumeration:
|
proshopping | Important problem is harder then shopping |
string |
Enumeration:
|
procroploss | Important problem is crop loss |
string |
Enumeration:
|
proother | Other important problem |
string |
Enumeration:
|
knowgardens | Do you know about any PRC community gardens near your home? |
string |
Enumeration:
|
knowqlp | Do you know about PRC Quality of Life Plan |
string |
Enumeration:
|
trustneighbors | Do you feel you can trust your neighbors |
string |
Enumeration:
|
visitneighbors | How often do you visit your neighbors |
string |
Enumeration:
|
seriouspro | Do you feel that if there were a serious problem residents would get together to solve it |
string |
Enumeration:
|
impact | Impact do you think people like you have in making your neighborhood a better place to live |
string |
Enumeration:
|
meeting | Have you attended a neighborhood meeting in past 12 months |
string |
Enumeration:
|
whichneighborhood | What neighborhood do you live in |
string |
Enumeration:
|
howlong | How long have you lived in your neighborhood |
double | nominalYear |
InCCS | Length of time in CCS by category |
string |
Enumeration:
|
stayneighborhood | Do you intend to stay in your neighborhood |
string |
Enumeration:
|
peoplehouse | How many people live in your house |
integer | dimensionless |
sex | Are you male or female |
string |
Enumeration:
|
age | How old are you |
integer | nominalYear |
agecateorgy | What age category do you belong |
string |
Enumeration:
|
education | Have you graduated from hight-school |
string |
Enumeration:
|
ethnic | What racial group or ethnicity do you identify with |
string |
Enumeration:
|