As part of her fieldwork in community gardens in East Harlem threatened by the affordable housing plan, PSRG member, Chantal Gailloux, Ph.D. student in Anthropology at Concordia University (Montreal, Canada), invites 4 speakers to discuss NYC community gardens’ political practices, propriety relations, and contribution to gentrification and racial disparities.

Benjamin Shepard will present community gardens as sources for sustainable urbanism and will give a short review of their defense in NYC.

Melissa Checker will propose a reflection on the historical contribution of gardens to gentrification in the Lower East Side, and their potential participation in green gentrification.

Nevin Cohen and Krisitin Reynolds will co-present their recent book, Beyond the Kale, on gardens’ political practices to fight against the reproduction of economic and racial disparities.

Nevin Cohen will also present a discussion on the evaluation of urban agriculture’s impacts in NYCHA projects.

Kristin Reynolds will talk about participatory evaluation process with not-for-profit Farm School NYC.