Browsing by Author "Kordon, Sinan"

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    Attitudes and Perceptions of Community Gardens: Making a Place for Them in Our Neighborhoods
    Kordon, Sinan; Miller, Patrick A.; Bohannon, C. L. (MDPI, 2022-10-11)
    Although community gardens provide numerous economic, environmental, and social benefits, some have been lost to other land uses due to the lack of organized and effective public support. Knowledge about people’s attitudes and perceptions towards these landscapes is important to achieve greater public support. This study used a scene rating survey to investigate attitudes and perceptions of four different groups (community gardeners, community and home gardeners, home gardeners, and non-gardeners) in Roanoke, Virginia. Content analysis, factor analysis, descriptive statistics, customized Kruskal- Wallis test (ANOVA) and content identifying method (CIM) procedures were used. All statistical analyses were completed at a 95% significance level using SPSS version 21. Results showed that there are seven dimensions important to participants’ preferences in community gardens including “Gathering and Seating”, “Plots with Boundaries”, “Focal Points”, “Plots without Boundaries”, Garden Entrance”, Untidy Space”, and “Composting Structures”. Excluding the “Gathering and Seating” dimension, a significant difference was detected between participant groups. Based on these dimensions, this study provides design recommendations for community garden projects to minimize possible opposition between gardeners and non-gardeners and to develop more successful community garden programs for the long-term survival of these landscapes in cities.
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    Understanding people’s perceptions and attitudes toward community garden landscape in Roanoke, Virginia
    Kordon, Sinan (Virginia Tech, 2022-05-11)
    The industrialized agricultural system has resulted in ecological, economic, and social imbalances in several ways. Community gardens have become a trending interest to minimize the negative consequences of the modern agriculture system, especially in food insecure disadvantaged neighborhoods. Although community gardens have numerous economic, environmental, and social benefits, they have faced considerable degradation in some of the neighborhoods. Also, many of them have been lost to other land uses due to the lack of powerful public support. To achieve greater public support, knowledge about people’s perceptions and attitudes towards the community garden environment is important. This knowledge can help to develop more successful community gardens that can foster an increased involvement and support of community gardens. Community gardeners and non-community gardeners in five different low-income and low-access neighborhoods were chosen as study participants in the City of Roanoke, Virginia. Quantitative and qualitative data were used together for this study. Factor analysis, descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and T-Test procedures were used for the quantitative phase. Content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. Findings showed that people’s preferences are based on several factors including content and spatial organization of the environment, maintenance level of the community garden site, and the opportunities that community gardens offer to its users and residents. Particularly, participants preferred well-maintained community garden landscapes equipped with well-constructed raised beds, pavilions, pathways, and sitting structures offering opportunities for gathering and social events. Participants negatively responded to untidy community garden scenes with features such as unorganized garden spaces, uncontrolled weeds, overgrown vegetation, and poorly constructed structures. Results also showed that mental health and stress relief, outdoor exercise and physical health, community pride, and food access were the main motivation themes to participate in community gardening. On the other hand, theft and damage, difficult access, too much effort, and no personal interest were the main motivations not to participate in community gardening. Findings from this study may help gardeners, community garden program managers, planners, and designers to develop more successful community garden projects that can expand involvement and support for community gardens and increase the permanence of these landscapes in urban neighborhoods.