Community Gardens in Urban China

Community gardens have emerged as community development initiatives with proven environmental, social, and public health benefits. In high density urban residential neighborhoods in China, community gardens are blooming. This project, funded by Wheaton College (IL) global scholar award, conducts qualitative fieldwork study of community gardens in Beijing and Shanghai in summer 2020. I visited various types of community gardens and interviewed different stakeholders involved in garden development as well as management. I also interned with Friends of Nature- Gaiascape, a social enterprise leading community garden initiatives in Beijing, from 2020-2021.

Publications

M peer-reviewed article in Journal for Undergraduate Ethnography: Cultivating Vibrant Gardens in Urban Communities: Success Factors of Community Gardens in Beijing and Shanghai. While many studies evaluate the benefits of community gardens, fewer studies evaluate the success and failure of gardens, especially in China. Factors impacting success are multi-faceted and interactive, and relations between residents and local government staff determine success throughout different development stages. In the design stage, the involvement of residents and their vision are important to success. In the maintenance stage, the leadership of key actors, including Residents‘ Committee staff and volunteers, residents‘ preparedness for self-governance, and external recognition are the most significant factors.

Another manuscript that analyzes the governance models and challenges of different community gardens through the frame of placemaking. 

My research presentation for Wheaton College's global scholar award.