Green Care: A Conceptual Framework - Frisk i naturen

5.3.4 Food production in urban areas: city farms
and community gardening
Community gardening has been a success in the US for many years and
involves communities getting together to transform derelict spaces and
to mainly (but not exclusively) grow food. In New York, Green Thumb
is the city’s community gardening programme, promoted from within
the municipal authority, and aimed at turning vacant lots blighted with
rubbish, rats and abandoned cars into thriving community gardens (Pretty,
2002). In 1995, about twenty thousand households were actively involved
in managing seven hundred community gardens in New York (Weissman,
1995).
In the 1960s UK community groups were inspired by the community
gardening movement in the US and decided that derelict land in the
neighbourhood should be used as a community garden – a place that is run
by the community to meet their own needs. Over the years the number of
community gardens has increased and then the city farm concept in the
UK took off in 1972, when Kentish Town City Farm was established in
Kentish Town, London (Folkes, 2005). The local people that had formed
a community group decided to create a larger project, which included not
only gardening space, but also farm animals. The concept of introducing
farm livestock was also influenced by the children’s farm movement in the
Netherlands.
City farms and community gardens are community-managed projects in
urban areas, working with people, animals and plants. They range from
tiny wildlife gardens to fruit and vegetable plots on housing estates, from
community polytunnels to large city farms (FCFCG, 2009). Although
some city farms have paid employees or operate in partnership with local
authorities, most rely heavily on volunteers. The aim of city farms is to
improve community relationships and offer an awareness of horticulture
and farming to people who live in built-up areas.
City farms can give urban residents the opportunity to interact with farm
animals and crops. For some people who may never visit a rural farm
this provides a chance to see how farm animals are raised and to make
the link between ‘agriculture’ and ‘food’. City farms provide a focus for
educational, environmental and conservation activities and many city farms
also offer structured green care activities for a range of vulnerable people.
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