Governmentality in urban food production? Following “community” from intentions to outcomes

Abstract

AbstractCommunity-produced spaces such as community gardens are attracting widespread scholarly interest for the potential of not only food production, but also for social, environmental, and educational benefits. Yet community gardens have also been scrutinized as sites of governmentality that produce neoliberal subjects. In this article, six case studies are analyzed as representative of three ways to organize and manage gardens—grassroots, externally-organized, and active nonprofit management. I use performativity theory to examine how definitions and enactments of community can be used to include, exclude, or bridge difference. The analysis highlights some of the specific moments in garden organizing and management that influence participation or resistance to community-oriented urban food production.Keywords: community gardenscommunityrelational spaceperformativity Notes1. Although it has been pointed out that some definitions of agency are problematic within Butler's theory of performativity, for the purposes of this paper the point is to examine how community identity is produced through performances (Nelson, Citation1999; Webster, Citation2000).2. The names of gardens and individuals have been changed to preserve anonymity.3. Cooperative Extension programs are operated by land-grant universities in the United States to provide agricultural outreach and education.4. I do not include references to Miami Herald articles that list the names of research subjects.