Community Gardens As Alternative For Industrial Agriculture

Community Gardens as Possible Alternative to Industrial Agriculture Using Case Studies in Queensland, Australia Brief History and Context: Community gardening is â€Å"a solution emerging from grassroots environmental and food movements† (Nettle 2010) While community gardens are often discussed as a progressive, new practice in sustainability, community gardens have actually been cultivated â€Å"since at least the nineteenth century,† when community gardens were grown by many working-class neighbourhoods during large industrial periods (Lawson 2004). Furthermore, during both World War I and World War II, community gardens grew produce for middle-class families in times of war scarcity in Great Britain, the United States and Australia (Guitart†¦show more content†¦Community gardens offer a possible alleviation of global pressures in agriculture, as community gardens are small-scale, local agricultural modes of production Urbanisation trends have led to factors such as â€Å"declining access to yard space and rising levels of physical inactivity,† (King 2008). These factors, combined with rapidly rising knowledge and worries about the current dominant food production regime, have led to the re-emergence of community garden projects across Australia and the world. Motivations for Community Gardens: Previous studies on community gardens have reviewed the various motivations and community benefits (Byrne 2012) and provide valuable insight into the current movement. The vast majority of community gardens studies cite â€Å"capacity building† as the main motivator of community gardens, as well as crime reduction, mental health benefits, community building and physical health promotion (Holland 2004, Wakefield et al 2007). Apart from environmental benefits, community gardens have also been shown to ameliorate education related to plants, growing processes and production, as well as contact with nature, which is likely to be otherwise severely limited in urban areas, and may also ease racial tensions (Shinew et al 2004). Guitart’s 2013 study on community garden practices in Brisbane and Gold Coast cities reveals that the three most common