Constructing Organic Food through Urban Agriculture, Community Gardens in Seville

Abstract

The growing presence of community or allotment gardens seeks to respond to the challenges of today’s urban societies in terms of sustainability. The food dimension of this phenomenon is one of its most important aspects, with clear repercussions on improving the quality of life of the allotment gardeners and their families. Through observation and qualitative analysis of some community urban gardens in southern Spain (Andalusia), this paper notes that the people who cultivate allotments within these community gardens attribute a wide variety of different meanings to their practices. One essential contribution of this research is the finding that this plurality of meanings moves beyond the rational-technical dimension of the act of growing, while at the same time redefining the act of consuming organic food, because of its connection with productive and social activities.