2019 Volume 20 Issue 1 Pages 007-042
The community garden movement in New York City, which began with individuals designing and planting gardens on abandoned lots, grew into an urban environmental movement that has created over 600 community gardens, making green space commons an integral part of the city's landscape. Looking at the community garden movement and what it takes to maintain gardens in Manhattan, I argue that the long-term success of community gardens has been made possible by an organisational structure that includes volunteers taking leadership positions. Drawing from some of the new developments in social movement studies, I explore how garden participants who do not necessarily see themselves as activists contribute toward bringing changes to their communities and society. Based on my participant observation in two gardens, I show that everyday garden management and activities exemplify what comes after activism: the work it takes to nurture and maintain community gardens.
