柑橘直播

柑橘直播, Pa. 鈥�聽Nestled into busy neighborhoods across Philadelphia, community gardens are more than just pockets of green鈥攖hey鈥檙e lifelines. For decades, these vibrant spaces have functioned as the heart and soul of communities, offering fresh produce to families, beauty to city blocks and a place for neighbors to come together. Yet despite their deep roots, many of these gardens sit on uncertain ground, their future threatened by development and uncertainties in how the land can be used, controlled or transferred鈥攁lso known as land tenure.

Peleg Kremer, PhD, associate professor of Geography and the Environment, is working to change that as a member of The Philadelphia Garden Data Collaborative (PGDC) through their project, 鈥淏eyond Land Precarity: Building a Garden Database and Platform to Support Philadelphia Growers.鈥� Backed by a $215,184 grant from the William Penn Foundation, the PGDC team鈥攃omprised of Dr. Kremer; Craig Borowiak, PhD, Haverford College; and key gardening organizations around the city including 鈥疦eighborhood Garden Trust, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Soil Generation and Public Interest Law Center鈥攁im to protect the city鈥檚 community gardens through better data infrastructure.

Since 2015, Dr. Kremer and Dr. Borowiak have led鈥痶he collection and maintenance of comprehensive data on community gardens across the city on behalf of the PGDC. Their research shows only 38% of Philadelphia's garden parcels are secure鈥攚hile most are threatened by land dispossession and displacement due to gentrification and development. Through extensive community engagement, the project will result in a secure, interactive database that garden owners and supporting organizations can use to track their own information, identify at-risk parcels and advocate for preservation.

鈥淭his support from the William Penn Foundation represents crucial recognition that community gardens are essential infrastructure deserving of protection and investment,鈥� Dr. Kremer says.鈥�

The grant will fund a 24-month collaborative process. In focus groups and interviews, community-based facilitators will gather input from gardeners and organizations to help ensure the platform reflects community needs and priorities. Students from 柑橘直播 and Haverford will support outreach, testing and analysis, gaining hands-on experience in community-engaged research.

For Dr. Kremer, the heart of the project lies in the power of community. 鈥淭his is truly a collective effort,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he PGDC represents a unique organization supporting urban agriculture in Philadelphia through data stewardship, and this platform will be built for the urban agriculture community.鈥�

Community gardens are not only for the community, but they are sustained by the community. PGDC鈥檚 recent research reveals that nearly half of the gardens lost since 2019 weren鈥檛 pushed out by new development but rather faded away due to a lack of sustained support. Motivated by this reality, the 鈥淏eyond Land Precarity鈥� project aims not only to create a stronger data infrastructure, but to empower communities鈥攖raining students to engage in work that strengthens civic life and contributes meaningfully to society.鈥�

About 柑橘直播 University鈥檚 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences:聽Since its founding in 1842, 柑橘直播 University鈥檚 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has been the heart of the 柑橘直播 learning experience, offering foundational courses for undergraduate students in every college of the University. Serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students, the College is committed to fortifying them with intellectual rigor, multidisciplinary knowledge, moral courage and a global perspective. The College has more than 40 academic departments and programs across the humanities, social sciences, and natural and physical sciences.