City dwellers see urban farms as food and medicine, but not jobs
Urban Ecology
That raised bed in a vacant city lot or community plot down the street is doing more than growing tomatoes, it's quietly shifting how whole neighborhoods think about fresh food and wellbeing.
Researchers asked people in three Romanian cities what they thought about growing food within city limits, things like community gardens, rooftop plots, and urban farms. Almost everyone agreed these spaces provide fresh vegetables and fruit and make people feel healthier, with 80% saying the health boost is large or very large. But people disagreed more sharply, depending on their age or job, about whether urban farming actually reduces poverty or creates jobs.
Key Findings
80.0% of respondents rated urban agriculture's therapeutic and health impact on city dwellers as large or very large, with no significant disagreement across groups
Age groups differed significantly on whether urban agriculture improves access to fresh cereals, vegetables, and fruit
Occupational status significantly affected perceptions of urban agriculture's impact on poverty reduction, social exclusion, well-being, and employment growth
chevron_right Technical Summary
A survey across three Romanian cities found that residents strongly value urban agriculture for fresh food and health benefits, but opinions split by age and job status on whether it also fights poverty, isolation, and unemployment.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Analyzing perceptions of urban agriculture's contributions to sustainable city development
Implementing urban agriculture could reduce several urban inconveniences, such as biodiversity loss, food insecurity, health issues, and local economic decline, thereby supporting the sustainabilit...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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