Analyzing Public Urban Agriculture in Ottawa
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Growing in the city: Analyzing public urban agriculture in Ottawa by Lauren Allen A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Geography Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2015, Lauren Allen Abstract This thesis sought to explore the spatial and social distribution of publicly accessible urban agriculture in Ottawa, drawing on a conceptual framework linking concepts of food justice, the right to the city, and social capital. This study mapped existing food production practices in relation to local demographic conditions, revealing associations between the locations of community gardens and lower socio-economic indicators, and between the locations of school gardens and food-bearing trees with higher socio-economic indicators. A secondary area of focus considered the potential for increasing urban agriculture in Ottawa, through the creation of a GIS-based land inventory identifying vacant or underutilized land that could be available for food production. The inventory, a preliminary assessment of suitable land, revealed 1,380 hectares potentially available. Whether a dedicated or interim land use, or an integrated part of multifunctional spaces, there may be significant potential to increase the amount of urban agriculture in Ottawa. ii Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the contributions of many people. I am sincerely grateful to Dr. Patricia Ballamingie and Dr. Scott Mitchell for their guidance in completing this thesis. I am thankful to both of you for your kind encouragement, and feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to benefit from your combined and diverse expertise and insight. I would also like to thank the staff, faculty, and students in the Carleton Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, who create a supportive, challenging, and enjoyable environment in which to pursue graduate studies. I am very appreciative of the individuals who participated in interviews, who demonstrate a passion for urban agriculture in their work, and who are working towards a more sustainable and just food system in Ottawa. Their willingness to generously share their knowledge, perspective, and vision helped to make this thesis possible. I am grateful to Cadence Allen-Crawley and Karen Allen for being wonderful sisters. To Dustin Valen, I am thankful for your sense of humour, perspective, and encouragement. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my parents, Heather and Rick Allen, for their lifelong love and support. I dedicate this thesis to them. iii Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. iv List of Tables .................................................................................................................. viii List of Illustrations ........................................................................................................... ix List of Appendices ............................................................................................................ xi List of Acronyms ............................................................................................................. xii 1 Chapter: Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Preface ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Research Problem ........................................................................................................... 2 1.2.1 Research Justification ................................................................................................. 3 1.3 Study Area Context ........................................................................................................ 5 1.4 Descriptive Background ................................................................................................. 6 1.4.1 Food Systems and Urban Agriculture ........................................................................ 6 1.4.2 Urban Agriculture Initiatives in Ottawa ..................................................................... 8 1.5 Research Parameters ..................................................................................................... 12 1.6 Literature Review ......................................................................................................... 14 1.6.1 Urban Agriculture and Sustainability ....................................................................... 15 1.6.2 GIS and Urban Agriculture ...................................................................................... 18 1.7 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 22 1.8 Organization of Thesis ................................................................................................. 23 2 Chapter: Conceptual Framework ........................................................................... 24 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 24 2.2 Food Justice .................................................................................................................. 24 iv 2.2.1 Food Justice and Scale ............................................................................................. 26 2.2.2 Food Justice and Urban Agriculture......................................................................... 28 2.3 The Right to the City .................................................................................................... 29 2.3.1 The Right to the City and Urban Agriculture ........................................................... 31 2.4 Social Capital................................................................................................................ 33 2.4.1 Social Capital and Urban Agriculture ...................................................................... 35 2.5 Food Justice, the Right to the City, and Social Capital ................................................ 36 2.6 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 38 3 Chapter: Methodological Approach ....................................................................... 40 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 40 3.2 A Feminist Approach to Critical GIS ........................................................................... 40 3.3 Methodological Approach ............................................................................................ 41 3.3.1 Mixed-Methods Research ........................................................................................ 41 3.3.2 Interviewing ............................................................................................................. 43 3.3.3 GIS as Mixed-Methods Approach............................................................................ 43 3.3.4 Participatory Action Research & Participatory GIS................................................. 45 3.3.5 Policy Analysis......................................................................................................... 47 3.4 Methods ........................................................................................................................ 48 3.4.1 Interviews ................................................................................................................. 48 3.4.2 Assessing Demand for Urban Agriculture ............................................................... 49 3.4.3 Mapping Existing Urban Agriculture Practices ....................................................... 50 3.4.4 Spatial Analysis of Urban Agriculture Data ............................................................ 52 3.4.5 Creating a Land Inventory ....................................................................................... 60 3.5 Chapter Summary ......................................................................................................... 69 4 Chapter: Results and Discussion ............................................................................. 71 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 71 v 4.2 Descriptive Account of Urban Agriculture in Ottawa .................................................. 71 4.2.1 Organizational Network of Urban Agriculture ........................................................ 71 4.2.2 Spaces of Interaction, Community Development, and Food Justice ........................ 77 4.2.3 Conceptualizations of Public Access in Community Gardens ................................. 81 4.2.4 Competition for Space .............................................................................................. 84 4.3 Demand for Urban Agriculture..................................................................................... 87