JOANA CHAN, BRYCE DUBOIS & KEITH TIDBALL

AAG PRESENTATION- APRIL 9 , 2014

New York City Community Gardens Cultivating Local Resilience

Post-Sandy

Photo: Hip Hop Community Garden

Community Gardens

Photo: Campos Community Garden, Map: Five Borough Farm

Community gardens are• Spaces where groups of people

cultivate edible & ornamental plants

• Diverse in form & composition• Community-driven stewardship

NYC Community Gardens• Over 600 gardens

Community Gardens History

Photo by  Donald Loggins

Poster: National Archives

Communal gardens served as buffers during times of crisis (Bassett 1979)

a. Great Depression: WPA Garden

b. WWII: Victory Gardens

c. Urban Decline of 1970s- Community Gardens

NYC Hurricane Sandy

Photo: Boardwalk Garden (T), Campos Garden (B)

Map adapted from Frantz (2012)

Research Question

What role have community gardens played in the resilience and recovery of New York City’s coastal “red zone” communities after Hurricane Sandy?

Literature Review

• Social-ecological Resilience• Capacity to buffer disturbances, renew &

reorganize in response to change (Tidball & Krasny, 2014)

• Factors for fostering resilience during change (Folke et al. 2002)

• Learning to live with change & uncertainty• Nurturing diversity (biological & cultural)• Combining knowledge for learning• Creating opportunities for self-organization

• Civic Ecology Practiceo Self-organized stewardship initiatives

(Krasny & Tidball, 2012)

• Post-Disaster Greening o Social mechanisms of adaptation and

transformation (Tidball, 2014)

o Community gardening provides cognitive, emotional & community benefits (Okvat & Zautra, 2013)

Case Study Sites

Map adapted from Keefe, Melendez & Ma (2012)

5 Coastal Community Gardens• Campos Community Garden

(Lower East Side, Manhattan)• Boardwalk Community Garden

(Coney Island, Brooklyn)• Hip Hop Community Garden

(Arverne, Queens)• Beach 91st Garden

(Rockaway Beach, Queens)• Smith Brothers Memorial

Garden (Rockaway Beach, Queens)

Qualitative Methods

Photo: Boardwalk Community Garden

Data Collection:April 2013- February 2014

• Key Informant Interviewso n= 7 (4 women, 3 men)o transcripts

• Participant Observationo garden visits (2- 4

visits/garden)o field notes & photos

• Archival Researcho documents & websites

• Data Analysiso thematic analysis

Neighborhood Convening Healing Circles

“Look at the 50 people eating homemade chili over an open fire two days after one of the most devastating hurricanes in the East Coast. ...standing around in our neighborhood when the National Guard can't even get through yet. ...that is the best defense we have against any fear. The best defense we have against looting, rioting, or any other kind of insecurity… And that is a direct result of the community garden. You know, being a hub for safety, security. A blanket of support between neighbors.” (Gardener, Beach 91st Street Community Garden)

Community Gardens as Local Havens

Photos: Beach 91st Street Community Garden)

Relief Distribution Sites Art & Memorialization Food, clothing, water

Solar electricity

Community Gardens as Adaptive, Open Community Spaces

Photo: Sea-Song Memorial at Hip Hop GardenPhotos: Padre Plaza Garden (T), Solar Sandy Project (B)

Greening to “Normal” Garden Adaptations

Community Gardening to Connect & Adapt with Nature

Photo: Campos Community Garden(Gardener, B91St Garden)

“...the garden has very much been a catharsis for [local residents]… and something that they're excited about- it's like some semblance of normalcy back in their lives.”

Social Connectivity Civic engagement & stewardship

Community Gardens as Supportive Communities of Practice

Photo: Campos Community GardenScreen capture: Campos Garden Facebook Page

Community Gardens as Sources of Local Resilience Post-Sandy

Community gardens catalyzing the resilience, recovery, regrowth of individuals , neighborhoods & local SES

Shorter-term: transformation, opportunities to empower, assist and reclaim environments, lives, sense of place and meaning

Longer-term: adaptation, fostering natural, human, social, etc. capital, social-ecological diversity, learning, support networks

Photo: Boardwalk Community Garden

Policy Implications

•SIRR’ s resilience - managing for status quo

• No civic stewardship in report

• Importance of managing for change and flexibility

• Recognize role of community capacity and environmental stewardship in catalyzing recovery

• Support emergent community greening practices and spaces to build natural and human/social capital

Acknowledgements & More!

http://www.thenatureofcities.com/2014/04/07/the-sky-is-the-limit-for-urban-agriculture-or-is-it-what-can-cities-hope-to-get-from-community-gardens-and-urban-agriculture/

- Community Gardeners from Boardwalk, Campos, Hip Hop, B 91st, Smith Brothers Memorial Gardens

- Colleagues at NYC Urban Field Station