Informal Community Growing Characteristics and the Satisfac-tion of Concerned Residents in Mountainous Urban Areas of Southwest China

Zhong Xing, Canhui Cheng (), Qiao Yu, Junyue Yang, Hao Ma, Jian Yang and Xiaomin Du ()
Additional contact information
Zhong Xing: Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Canhui Cheng: Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Qiao Yu: Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing 400074, China
Junyue Yang: Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
Hao Ma: Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Jian Yang: Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Xiaomin Du: China Aero Geophysical Survey and Remote Sensing Center for Natural Resources, Beijing 100083, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-23

Abstract: Due to the mountainous terrain in the urban areas of southwest China, there are a large number of barren slopes in the community unsuitable for construction. These areas, alongside other unusable space which is often cultivated by residents to create informal community vegetable gardens and fruit growing areas, have become a “gray area” for urban management. This paper attempts to study the characteristics of informal community growing, the composition of growers, the motivation for growing, and the satisfaction of residents in urban areas in mountainous southwest China to explore its relative value. The sample area for the study was Yongchuan, Chongqing, Southwest China. Through a field survey, a semantic differential questionnaire, and data analysis, we found that: (1) growers use traditional cultivation methods to grow diverse fruits and vegetables according to the size of the slope, and the scale is so large that it serves as a local food supply; (2) growers are mainly vulnerable groups who use the land for economic gain and green food acquisition; and (3) growers and non-growers are more satisfied with the food supply and economic benefits generated by cultivation, while they are dissatisfied with the environmental and social benefits and the planting process. Satisfaction also varies with age, occupation, income, education, household registration, and farming experience. Based on the findings, this paper presents recommendations for the future transformation and development of informal community cultivation in mountainous areas. The study has implications for the construction of community gardens and urban agriculture in the mountains.

Keywords: characteristics; informal community growing; reasons for growing; resident satisfaction; the urban areas of southwest China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/22/15178/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/22/15178/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:22:p:15178-:d:975657

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().