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Differences in motivations and social impacts across urban agriculture types: Case studies in Europe and the US

Kirby, Caitlin, Specht, Kathrin, Fox-Kaemper, Runrid, Hawes, Jason, Cohen, Nevin, Caputo, Silvio, Ilieva, Rositsa, Lelievre, Agnes, Ponizy, Lidia, Schoen, Victoria, and others. (2021) Differences in motivations and social impacts across urban agriculture types: Case studies in Europe and the US. Landscape and Urban Planning, 212 . Article Number 104110. ISSN 0169-2046. (doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104110) (KAR id:88317)

Abstract

Urban agriculture is an increasingly popular approach to addressing negative social and health effects of cities. Social benefits of urban agriculture include improved health and wellbeing, economic opportunities, social cohesion, and education. However, the extent to which urban agriculture participants are motivated by or experience these impacts has rarely been measured quantitatively, especially across the many different types of urban agriculture. We analysed survey data from 74 urban agriculture sites in France, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States to quantitatively assess the relationships between urban agriculture types, farmers and gardeners’ motivations, and the social impacts of urban agriculture. Through factor analysis, we established valid and reliable measurements of participants’ motivations and impacts. We identified four scales: general wellbeing impacts, nutritional health impacts, economic interests, and socialization motivations. Through multivariate analysis of variance, we document significant differences in motivations and reported impacts across types of urban agriculture. Finally, we conducted a multilevel multivariate analysis to explore the predictors of general wellbeing impacts. Participants with stronger economic interests, stronger socialization motivations, and who are owners or primary operators of their plots would be predicted to report greater general wellbeing impacts of urban agriculture. These results provide data about the impacts of urban agriculture projects that enable urban planners and policymakers to maximize the desired social benefits of urban agriculture.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104110
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Arts and Humanities > Kent School of Architecture and Planning
Depositing User: Silvio Caputo
Date Deposited: 21 May 2021 13:11 UTC
Last Modified: 08 Nov 2023 04:15 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/88317 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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