Beyond the Kale: Urban Agriculture and Social Justice Activism in New York City (Geographies of Justice and Social Transformation Ser.) - Softcover

Kristin Reynolds; Nevin Cohen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 082034950X ISBN 13: 9780820349503

Publisher: University of Georgia Press, 2016

Synopsis

Urban agriculture is increasingly considered an important part of creating just and sustainable cities. Yet the benefits that many people attribute to urban agriculture―fresh food, green space, educational opportunities―can mask structural inequities, thereby making political transformation harder to achieve. Realizing social and environmental justice requires moving beyond food production to address deeper issues such as structural racism, gender inequity, and economic disparities. Beyond the Kale argues that urban agricultural projects focused explicitly on dismantling oppressive systems have the greatest potential to achieve substantive social change.

Through in-depth interviews and public forums with some of New York City’s most prominent urban agriculture activists and supporters, Kristin Reynolds and Nevin Cohen illustrate how some urban farmers and gardeners not only grow healthy food for their communities but also use their activities and spaces to disrupt the dynamics of power and privilege that perpetuate inequity. Addressing a significant gap in the urban agriculture literature, Beyond the Kale prioritizes the voices of people of color and women―activists and leaders whose strategies have often been underrepresented within the urban agriculture movement―and it examines the roles of scholarship in advancing social justice initiatives.

About this title

Book Description:

Investigating and addressing the challenges of equity and social justice in the urban agriculture movement

About the Author:

Kristin Reynolds (Author)
KRISTIN REYNOLDS is a visiting assistant professor of Environmental Studies and Food Studies at The New School and a lecturer at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Nevin Cohen (Author)
NEVIN COHEN is an associate professor at the CUNY School of Public Health.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Georgia Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 082034950X
• ISBN 13: 9780820349503
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 216