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C.Walsh Dissertation FINAL Revised GARDENING TOGETHER: SOCIAL CAPITAL AND THE CULTIVATION OF URBAN COMMUNITY by COLLEEN C. WALSH Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY May 2011 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES We hereby approve the thesis/dissertation of _____Colleen C. Walsh_____________________________ candidate for the __Ph.D.______________degree *. (signed)_______Janet W. McGrath, Ph.D._____________________ (chair of the committee) _______Lawrence P. Greksa, Ph.D.______________ ______Jill E. Korbin, Ph.D.______________________ ______Elaine Borawski, Ph.D.__________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ (date) ____January 12, 2011___________________ *We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary material contained therein. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables 4 List of Figures 6 Acknowledgements 7 Abstract 10 Chapter 1: Introduction 12 Statement of the Research Problem 12 Research Objectives 15 Organization of the Dissertation Chapters 15 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE AND PROJECT BACKGROUND Chapter 2: Social Capital 18 Introduction and Overview of the Chapter 18 Theoretical Foundations of ‘Social Capital’ 19 Critiques of ‘Social Capital’ – Fleshing out the Concept 28 Social Capital and Health 38 Anthropology and Social Capital 46 Lessons Learned and the Strength of Anthropological Approach 49 Three Fundamental Components of Social Capital: Reexamining Putnam’s Formulation 51 Chapter 3: Race, Class, Gender and Social Capital 54 Introduction 54 Health Inequalities 55 The Historical Production of Race 57 From Race to Culture to Class: The ‘Culture of Poverty’ Debate 59 Ethnicity or Race? Recent Discussions of Race and Racism in Anthropology 63 Approaches to Race and Health: Social Capital as a Means to Explore the ‘Residual Racial Effect’ 66 Chapter 4: Urban Community Gardens: Physical and Social Transformations of Neighborhoods 70 Community Gardens As Sites of Social Capital Promotion 70 Community Gardening In Cleveland, Ohio: Rich History and Future Hopes 74 Support for Community Gardens: Current Local Initiatives 75 RESEARCH PURPOSE AND METHODOLOGY Chapter 5: Research Objectives and Methodology 79 Research Design and Objectives 79 Operationalizing Variables 79 2 Phase I: Garden Leader Interviews 83 Phase II: Gardener Interviews and Participant Observation 85 DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS Chapter 6: Sample Descriptions: Participant and Neighborhood Characteristics 92 Research Site: Cleveland and Its Neighborhoods 92 Phase I: Garden Leaders 95 Phase II: Gardener Interviews at Four garden Sites 97 Chapter 7: Results and Analysis 107 Overview of the Chapter 107 Definitions of Social Capital 108 Social Networks and Community Gardens 112 Trust and Community Gardens 118 Community Engagement among Gardeners 125 Community Gardens and Connections in Communities 129 Other Factors that May Shape Social Capital: Religion, Education and Occupation 137 Community Gardens, Social Capital and Health 140 Summary: Key Findings 151 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Chapter 8: Case Studies: Community Gardens, Social Capital and Inequality 154 Anita – How Race and Class Shapes Views of Race and Class in Communities 154 Lakisha – Whose Social Networks Matter? Bonding, Bridging and Linking Social 160 Capital Ben – The Social Benefits of Community Gardening 164 Iris – The Individual Benefits of Community Gardening and Psychosocial Measures of Social Capital 170 Chapter 9: Discussion: Gardening Together: Social Capital and the Cultivation of Urban Community 175 Discussion –Anita and Lakisha: Racial Segregation and the Influence of Race on Social Capital 175 Discussion – Ben and Iris: Community Gardens: Social Capital, Space and Health 182 Toward a Local and Contextualized Definition of Social Capital 188 Chapter 10: Conclusions: Community Connections that Create Trust: An Emic Definition of Social Capital 194 List of Appendices 199 Appendices 200 References 226 3 LIST OF TABLES Table 5.1: Research Variables 80 Table 5.2: Number of Gardeners Interviewed by Site 87 Table 6.1: Garden Leader Gender and Race/Ethnicity 95 Table 6.2: Garden Leader Employment/Occupation, Educational Attainment, and Household Income 96 Table 6.3: Number of Participants in Each of the Four Garden Sites 98 Table 6.4: Community Garden 1:Employment, Educational, and Household 99 Income Table 6.5: Community Garden‐2 Employment, Education, Household Income 101 Table 6.6: Community Garden 3: Employment, Education, Household Income 103 Table 6.7: Community Garden 4: Employment, Education, Household Income 105 Table 7.2: Frequency of Responses: Definitions of Social Capital 109 Table 7.1: Have you Ever Heard of the Term “Social Capital”? 109 Table 7.3: Frequency of Responses: Description of Social Networks in the Garden 113 Table 7.4: Frequency of Responses: Do you consider other gardeners to be friends? 114 Table 7.5: Frequency of Responses: Do you hang out outside of the garden? 115 Table 7.6: The Role of Gender and Race in Shaping Social Networks: by Garden and Gender 116 Table 7.7: Frequency of Responses: Definitions of Trust 118 Table 7.8: Frequency of Responses: Whom do you turn to when you have problems? 119 Table 7.9: Trust in Gardeners and Neighbors: by Race 120 Table 710: Frequency of Responses: Gardeners Trust the Garden Neighborhood 121 Table 7.11: The Role of Gender and Race in Who you Trust: by Garden and Gender 122 Table 7.12: Frequency of Responses: How Does Race Influence Who You Trust? 123 Table 7.13: Frequency of Responses: Definition of Community Engagement, by Race and Gender 125 Table 7.14: Frequency of Responses: Community Problems: by Garden 127 Table 7.15: Frequency of Responses: Does the Community Work on Issues Together? By Race, Gender 129 Table 7.16: Do Gardens Help Make Connections?, by Race, Gender 129 Table 7.17: Frequency of Responses: Gardens Help Neighbors Connect by Race, Gender 130 Table 7.18: Does Race Affect Views of Community?, by Race, Gender 131 Table 7.19: Frequency of Qualitative Responses: Race and Views of Community, by Race, Gender 132 Table 7.20: Frequency of Responses: Do People Talk about Race? By Race, Gender 136 Table 7.21: Education, Occupation, Religion and Social Capital: by Race, Gender 138 Table 7.22: Frequency of Responses: Greatest Benefit of Community Gardening: by Phase, Race, Gender 141 Table 7.23: Frequency of Responses: Like Best about Community Gardening, by Race, Gender 142 Table 7.24: Frequency of Responses: Meaning of the Garden, By Race, Gender 144 4 Table7.25: Frequency of Responses: Social Capital and Health 147 Table 7.26: Frequency of Responses: Why Care about Social Capital? by Race, Gender 149 5 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 6.1: Map of Cleveland Community Gardens by SPA 94 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There is no more cogent reminder of the limit of language than trying to find the words to adequately express gratitude. During my graduate training and dissertation work, I relied upon the guidance and support of so many mentors, friends, and family members and I can honestly say that completion of this project would not have been possible without them. First and foremost, I want to thank Dr. McGrath. You always believed in me, even when I did not believe in myself, encouraging me to keep going when I wanted to quit. I could always count on you to pick me up and put me back on track. Your sense of humor kept me laughing and your professionalism kept me focused. You are truly a consummate scholar and your ability to provide individual attention to so many students while juggling an impressive amount of work will always elude me, and inspire me to work harder. Your attention to detail and editor’s eye are remarkable and have surely made my work much stronger. I am forever grateful for the kindness and guidance you have offered me. Dr. Korbin and Dr. Greksa, you stepped in to complete my committee at a time when I was in need of guidance, and your questions and concerns certainly helped me to focus this project and make the methodology stronger. Dr. Korbin you always have a kind smile and encouraging words and I thank you for that. Dr. Greksa, you gave me confidence by trusting in my work and your departmental leadership and support has helped me immensely. Both of you amaze me in your ability to continue to contribute to anthropology while excelling at your academic posts. Thank you for exemplifying hard work. Dr. Borawski, thank you for stepping in right at the end to be my outside committee member. I have been thoroughly impressed and amazed by your work for the past few years and your insight and expertise in the field of health promotion in Cleveland is greatly appreciated and admired. I am honored to have you on my committee. Many thanks to all the gardeners who welcomed me in their gardens and their homes, who fed me and nourished me during my fieldwork, and allowed me to experience a new way of seeing community. Your candor and generosity made my fieldwork and exceptionally enjoyable experience. Special thanks to Morgan Taggart at the Ohio State University Extension Cuyahoga County Community Gardening Program for your help and support during this research. Your help made recruitment possible and provided me much needed credibility among the community gardeners. Thank you also to the anthropology students who helped with interview transcription, particularly Ariel Cascio and Sarah Robinson. You worked so hard on those sometimes lengthy and difficult recordings and I am so grateful for your help. I am forever grateful to Patti Choby and Mark Smith of Cobalt Group, Inc. for their professional, material and emotional support for this dissertation research. I have 7 worked at Cobalt during my entire tenure in graduate school and your flexibility and support allowed me to balance a career, graduate school and motherhood. Patti, you are my mentor, my cousin, my friend and I would not be the woman I am today if you had not taken me under your wing and helped me to grow.
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