Attitudes and Perceptions of Community Gardens: Making a Place for Them in Our Neighborhoods

Sinan Kordon (), Patrick A. Miller and Cermetrius L. Bohannon
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Sinan Kordon: Department of Landscape Architecture, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Patrick A. Miller: Department of Landscape Architecture, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Cermetrius L. Bohannon: Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 22904 VA, USA

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 10, 1-25

Abstract: Although community gardens provide numerous economic, environmental, and social benefits, some have been lost to other land uses due to the lack of organized and effective public support. Knowledge about people’s attitudes and perceptions towards these landscapes is important to achieve greater public support. This study used a scene rating survey to investigate attitudes and perceptions of four different groups (community gardeners, community and home gardeners, home gardeners, and non-gardeners) in Roanoke, Virginia. Content analysis, factor analysis, descriptive statistics, customized Kruskal- Wallis test (ANOVA) and content identifying method (CIM) procedures were used. All statistical analyses were completed at a 95% significance level using SPSS version 21. Results showed that there are seven dimensions important to participants’ preferences in community gardens including “Gathering and Seating”, “Plots with Boundaries”, “Focal Points”, “Plots without Boundaries”, Garden Entrance”, Untidy Space”, and “Composting Structures”. Excluding the “Gathering and Seating” dimension, a significant difference was detected between participant groups. Based on these dimensions, this study provides design recommendations for community garden projects to minimize possible opposition between gardeners and non-gardeners and to develop more successful community garden programs for the long-term survival of these landscapes in cities.

Keywords: landscape preference; community garden design; environmental perception; urban agriculture; landscape architecture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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