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Urban agriculture and the prospects for deep democracy

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  • David McIvor
  • James Hale

Abstract

The interest in and enthusiasm for urban agriculture (UA) in urban communities, the non-profit sector, and governmental institutions has grown exponentially over the past decade. Part of the appeal of UA is its potential to improve the civic health of a community, advancing what some call food democracy. Yet despite the increasing presence of the language of civic agriculture or food democracy, UA organizations and practitioners often still focus on practical, shorter-term projects in an effort both to increase local involvement and to attract funding from groups focused on quantifiable deliverables. As such, it seems difficult to move beyond the rhetoric of food democracy towards significant forms of popular participation and deliberation within particular communities. In this paper we provide a theoretical framework—deep democracy—that helps to contextualize nascent attempts at civic agriculture or food democracy within a broader struggle for democratic practices and relationships. We argue that urban agriculture efforts are well positioned to help citizens cultivate lasting relationships across lines of difference and amidst significant power differentials—relationships that could form the basis of a community’s collective capacity to shape its future. We analyze the theory of deep democracy through recent experiences with UA in Denver, Colorado, and we identify ways in which UA can extend its reach and impact by focusing more consciously on its political or civic potential. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Suggested Citation

  • David McIvor & James Hale, 2015. "Urban agriculture and the prospects for deep democracy," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(4), pages 727-741, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:32:y:2015:i:4:p:727-741
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-015-9588-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    8. Joshua Sbicca, 2012. "Growing food justice by planting an anti-oppression foundation: opportunities and obstacles for a budding social movement," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 29(4), pages 455-466, December.
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    Cited by:

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    5. Bastian Winkler & Anika Maier & Iris Lewandowski, 2019. "Urban Gardening in Germany: Cultivating a Sustainable Lifestyle for the Societal Transition to a Bioeconomy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-22, February.
    6. David W. Olivier & Lindy Heinecken, 2017. "Beyond food security: women’s experiences of urban agriculture in Cape Town," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(3), pages 743-755, September.
    7. Claire E Bach & Nathan McClintock, 2021. "Reclaiming the city one plot at a time? DIY garden projects, radical democracy, and the politics of spatial appropriation," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 39(5), pages 859-878, August.
    8. William Lacy, 2023. "Local food systems, citizen and public science, empowered communities, and democracy: hopes deserving to live," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(1), pages 1-17, March.
    9. Pingyang Liu & Paul Gilchrist & Becky Taylor & Neil Ravenscroft, 2017. "The spaces and times of community farming," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(2), pages 363-375, June.
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    11. Emmanuel O. Benjamin & Abiola Adegoke & Gertrud R. Buchenrieder, 2024. "The Disenfranchisement of Practitioners and the Public Sector in Innovative Urban Farming in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from Nigeria," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-15, July.
    12. Leslie Gray & Laureen Elgert & Antoinette WinklerPrins, 2020. "Theorizing urban agriculture: north–south convergence," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(3), pages 869-883, September.
    13. Michael Carolan & James Hale, 2016. "“Growing” communities with urban agriculture: Generating value above and below ground," Community Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(4), pages 530-545, July.
    14. Nicole Rogge & Insa Theesfeld & Carola Strassner, 2018. "Social Sustainability through Social Interaction—A National Survey on Community Gardens in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, April.
    15. Lya Cynthia Porto Oliveira & Emmanuel Raufflet & Mário Aquino Alves, 2022. "Urban agriculture in São Paulo: an analysis from the sociology of public action," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(6), pages 1537-1552, December.

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