Urban community gardens and urban justice in the Cape Flats of Cape Town

Abstract

Cities worldwide are undergoing neoliberal transformation processes, culminating in deep income inequalities, erosion of public space, and the depletion of social fabric across distressed communities. The process of neoliberalism has coincided with a renaissance of urban community gardens across the globe. This has been apparent, especially during financial crises, due to the failure of the capitalist system. Such crises have resulted in various unemployed and distressed citizens engaging in urban gardening activities for several reasons. Traditionally, the literature has observed that the motivations behind urban community gardening were to address the people's immediate needs such as food security and nutrition.