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Urban Gardening Practices and Culture

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Sowing Seeds in the City

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Abstract

Human-environment connection has progressed from basic survival to subsistence through the use of local ecosystem services and the domestication and cultivation of plants for food and medicine. Approaches of cultivation vary, with the use of geometric plots and linear rows, raised garden beds, rows and clusters of plants, container gardens, as well as the more natural state of permaculture. Across cultures, gardens are dynamic and may serve multiple purposes. Beyond food production and cultural cuisine, they create a use of space for health and well-being, sense of identities, sense of place, spirituality, social and multi-generational interactions, and for therapeutic/medicinal purposes. To develop and maintain healthy lifestyles and healthy communities, the role of gardens and the multi-use of public space deserve attention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, Alaska, USA

    Nancy A. Nix

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  1. Nancy A. Nix
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Correspondence to Nancy A. Nix .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, Alaska, USA

    Elizabeth Hodges Snyder

  2. Harvest Pierce County, Pierce Conservation District, Puyallup, Washington, USA

    Kristen McIvor

  3. School of Environmental & Forest Science, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Sally Brown

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Nix, N.A. (2016). Urban Gardening Practices and Culture. In: Hodges Snyder, E., McIvor, K., Brown, S. (eds) Sowing Seeds in the City. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7456-7_7

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