"Men jag kan väl inte vara med och odla..?": En kvalitativ studie om vilka hinder det finns, och hur de kan förebyggas, för att odlingsintresserade ska delta i kollektivodling på Ekobacken i Växjö.

Abstract

Rapid urbanization is threatening a sustainable development of cities. At the same time, cities possess a great opportunity to come up with sustainable solutions. As an urban strategy for sustainable development, urban agriculture has become more popular. This could be because it seems to be sustainable out of the concepts three aspects, economically-, socially- and environmentally sustainable. However the aspect of social sustainability usually gains the least attention, just like in the context of urban agriculture. Therefore, the aim of this study is to find out if people are included in urban agriculture and able to enjoy the advantages that comes with it. A qualitative case study, including document analyzes, interviews and observations, has been made to identify what kind of hindrances there are for cultivating-interested residents to join in urban agriculture and how the municipality of Växjö can improve their work to include more people. The collected material has been analyzed through the concepts of social sustainability and social equity to be able to identify hindrances and suggest improvements. The study concludes that urban agriculture is an important sustainable urban strategy but problematizes that it mainly is seen as an environmental one. The study also reveals that Växjö has to work with different forms of urban agriculture in different places around the city, since everybody has different preferences and abilities. More information about urban agriculture is needed both from the municipality but also from Odlarbacken since one major hindrance was prejudices and lack of knowledge.