Urban Agriculture and Ecological Citizenship in Philadelphia

Katharine Travaline & Christian Hunold

Drexel Engineering Cities Initiative,
Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA;
History and Politics, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Local Environment, 15: 6, 581 — 590, 2010

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.