Urban agriculture and ecological citizenship in Philadelphia

Abstract

Green political theory has discovered urban areas as important spaces for the cultivation of ecological citizenship. Here, we explore urban agriculture's contribution to ecological citizenship, a concept that emphasises opportunities for public participation in, and social learning about, environmental decisions. Our analysis is based on participant-observation and open-ended interviews with the leaders and community participants of seven urban agricultural organisations in Philadelphia. Following a brief discussion of urban ecological citizenship and our study design, we discuss how urban agriculture promotes participation and learning.© 2010 Taylor & Francis.