Community Gardens in Gothenburg: Local Counter-actions in the Age of Globalization? - A Qualitative Study on Motives behind Urban Agriculture in Gothenburg

Abstract

Urban Agriculture in Community Gardens is an increasing phenomenon around the world. Gothenburg is following this trend. Extensive research on Community Gardens globally, shows that there are various objectives behind cultivating in cities. For poor people, Urban Agriculture may be a strategy of survival. Some Community Gardens around the world are described as community projects, others are analysed to work as spaces of resistance in urban landscapes. However, there is little research done on Community Gardens in Gothenburg. Accordingly, by conducting a qualitative study, interviewing six urban farmers, this thesis attempts to paint a picture of motives behind Community Gardens in Gothenburg. The theoretical lens of the thesis is that globalization is transforming cities and the people that live in them. Moreover, it is believed that globalization leads to counter-actions on the local level. These processes are assumed to be observed, also in Gothenburg. Thus, the main intent of this thesis is to explore motives behind Urban Agriculture in Community Gardens in Gothenburg, and how Urban Agriculture in Community Gardens may be described as counter-acts to globalization.