Social Sustainability in Backyard Gardens

One of the most eloquent examples of creating social sustainability can be found in a simple vegetable garden. In places where green space, healthy foods and economic resources are all in short supply, a backyard vegetable garden can help provide all three.

An article in today's New York Times describes a group called La Mesa Verde, which goes into people's homes in low income Latino neighborhoods to plant backyard organic gardens.

It's so simple: planting edible gardens contributes to economic sustainability by providing inexpensive, readily available food. One participant in the La Mesa Verde program described saving $90 a month on grocery bills because of the garden.

And the benefits extend beyond the pocketbook: Providing people with the means to accessing inexpensive, healthy foods is important to promoting health equity. An endemic problem in low income communities of color is lack of access to healthy foods (i.e., fresh produce) and a predominance of cheap, unhealthy foods. This, in turn, exacerbates health inequality. The article describes the efforts of La Mesa Verde, started by Raul Lozano, son of farmworkers and a passionate gardener, as part of a national movement "to make healthy food readily accessible to marginilized urban neighborhoods."

Participants also describe the social benefits of bringing their families together, of connecting with children and enhancing community connectedness. And, of course, planting a garden brings with it innumerable benefits to the planet.

Place Matters

We recently returned from another site visit to the High Point Re-development in West Seattle. We collected reems of data on the community aspects of this project and are in the process of developing research questions to hone in on the complex ways place matters to health and well-being. 

Our approach as medical sociologists focuses on the "the social determinants of health:" The idea that one's social class, immigration status, language, race/ethnicity, education, neighborhood and other social factors shape exposure to health risks (i.e., toxic chemicals, discrimination, stress, anxiety) as well as access to resources that can help mitigate the effect of those risks (i.e., education, health care, healthy foods, social mobility).  These social determinants directly correlate with health inequity as many of us are disproportionately affected by these social inequalities and their corresponding adverse health effects. 

One of the benefits of green communities, particularly those with an environmental justice component, may be to intervene into these inequalities. The High Point re-development is a great case study for exploring this and we aren't alone in thinking so: you can see High Point in the amazing 7-part documentary series Unnatural Causes.  The documentary series and accompanying website is an excellent resource into understanding health equity and the way that place matters in health and illness.