User:Nathan.brenn/Community gardening in the United States

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San Francisco Bay Area

Further information: Urban agriculture in West Oakland

In San Francisco, community gardens are available through various public and private entities. Most community gardens in San Francisco are available through its Recreation and Park Department, which manages over 35 community gardens on city property. These are allotment gardens whereby individuals or groups volunteer to be assigned garden plots. Garden members within their respective gardens democratically organize themselves to set bylaws that are consistent with city policy. These gardeners often self-impose garden dues as a membership requirement to cover common expenses. To standardize the development and management of its community gardens, the Recreation and Park Commission adopted its Community Garden Policy in 2006.^{[citation needed]}

Though not plot-based, the city's Department of Public Works supports communal-style gardening on city property whereby community groups participate in the development and maintenance of public gardens. No one person is responsible for any portion of the site. One group, the Quesada Gardens Initiative, a community-based and resident-led volunteer group in an underserved neighborhood called Bayview Hunters Point, has created an enclosed food-producing garden on city-owned land, as well as developed many residential urban farms around privately owned homes.

All of the community gardens of San Francisco are listed on the San Francisco Garden Resource Organization web site with detailed directions and garden pictures of some of the gardens.

On the East side of the Bay, urban agriculture has become prominent in addressing food insecurity and accessibility to agricultural education . School programs, community farms, and more make up over 120 urban farms across East Bay cities . The City of Oakland has progressively invested in community gardens by revising zoning and land use policies to allow easier establishment of community farms . In addition to support from the City, universities also partner with community organizations (e.g. University of California, Berkeley, Gill Tract Community Farm).

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In social movements[edit]

Community gardens are seen as valuable in food systems movements such as food justice, food sovereignty, food security, and agroecology urban farming. Community urban farms also provide a medium for gender empowerment, racial inclusion, and alternative power structures. Food system movements are happening beyond the United States, transnationally in the Global North and the Global South in regions of Latin America, Asia, and Africa. The globalization of food production in the previous century has also globalized and connected community organizations and international NGOs working on food systems and food sovereignty **CITE**.

Benefits of gardening[edit]

Cultural[edit]

Community gardens create a common space are a way for people from diverse a variety of cultures, nationalities, and gender identities to come together and create strong a stronger community. Gardeners learn about new plants from each other, share seeds and plants, and expand their knowledge of each other's cultures and cuisines. This knowledge and cultural exchange increases community connectedness and the cultural specificity of foods grown.

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Michigan[edit]

Detroit

The decline of Detroit's population since the 1950s has led to an increase in depopulation and vacant land which has, in the 21st century, been utilized for urban agriculture as part of the planned revitalization of the city. Currently, Detroit is home to roughly 1,400 community gardens, including the Earthworks Farm, the North Cass Community Garden, and the Woodbridge Community Garden. Michigan Urban Farming Initiative, a nonprofit, has also introduced an agrihood which focuses on food insecurity for the surrounding community. Organizations like this have begun to transform Detroit from a destitute food desert to a thriving, food secure community .