Community-Engaged Research for the Promotion of Healthy Urban Environments: A Case Study of Community Garden Initiative in Shanghai, China

Huaiyun Kou, Sichu Zhang and Yuelai Liu
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Huaiyun Kou: College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Institute for Advanced Study in Architecture and Urban-Rural Planning, Key Laboratory of Ecology and Energy-Saving Study of Dense Habitat of Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Sichu Zhang: Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College, Shanghai 200433, China
Yuelai Liu: College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Key Laboratory of Ecology and Energy-Saving Study of Dense Habitat of Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 21, 1-24

Abstract: The importance of community gardens in a healthy urban environment has been extensively documented, while the garden building involving communities has not been much explored in fast-developing cities. This study examines community engagement in garden building activities in a rapid urbanization context, aiming to explore the application of community-engaged research methods for the promotion of neighbourhood environments. The Community Garden Initiative consisting of an array of progressive actions is formulated by the research team, featuring a process of increasing involvement of community members and decreasing intensity of external interventions. These activities have been launched based on community-university partnerships in Shanghai since 2014, synchronising with a transformation of urban regeneration paradigm in China where people-oriented approaches are more emphasized. Five actions covering 70 community gardens are analysed through surveys on participants’ attitudes and perceptions towards the activities. The results of the study presented people’s rapid acceptance of participation in public affairs, reflected possible measures to promote public participation, and confirmed the positive impacts of the garden building on the neighbourhood environmental health as well as on the community-building. Taking into account that residents generally lack the consciousness and capacities required to implement actions at the initial stage of community engagement, we proposed in the conclusion to start with external interventions and capacity buildings carried out by professionals as a supplement to the ‘community-driven’ principle of CBPR methods.

Keywords: community garden; healthy environment; community-university partnerships; community-engaged research; community building (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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