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Digging for the roots of urban gardening behaviours

Lewis, Olivia; Home, Robert and Kizos, Thanasis (2018) Digging for the roots of urban gardening behaviours. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 34, pp. 105-113.

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Document available online at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866717303783


Summary

Urban green spaces make a significant contribution to the social and ecological environment in cities, and the decisions of green space managers have direct impacts at both local and city scales. However most studies have focussed on public green spaces, despite privately managed gardens collectively forming a large proportion of urban green. The aim of this qualitative paper is to understand why people become involved in gardening and why they choose environmentally friendly gardening practices. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 23 gardeners in Lausanne, Switzerland and analysed them according to their content. Three major themes emerged as motivations for gardening: wellbeing, social aspects, and outputs (both tangible, such as food, and intangible, such as the feeling of having produced food). Motivations for gardening practices were grouped into extrinsic factors, such as practical constraints, inspiration from neighbours, following regulations, and social controls; and intrinsic, which were primarily based on knowledge and experience. Our results provide some evidence of the tangible and beneficial outcomes of gardening and provide additional support to urban decision makers with an interest in the management of urban green spaces.


EPrint Type:Journal paper
Keywords:urban areas, rural sociology, gardening, urban green spaces, biodiversity
Subjects: Food systems > Community development
Environmental aspects > Biodiversity and ecosystem services
Food systems > Policy environments and social economy
Environmental aspects > Landscape and recreation
Research affiliation: Switzerland > FiBL - Research Institute of Organic Agriculture Switzerland > Society > Rural sociology
Greece
DOI:doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2018.06.012
Related Links:https://www.fibl.org/en/themes/food-systems-green-spaces.html, https://www.bettergardens.ch/en/home.html
Deposited By: Home, Dr Robert
ID Code:34733
Deposited On:27 Feb 2019 13:15
Last Modified:27 Oct 2021 14:00
Document Language:English
Status:Published
Refereed:Peer-reviewed and accepted

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