ABSTRACT
Though limited statistics and the lack of a consistent definition for urban agriculture make it difficult to obtain an accurate profile of global operators, regional studies show that the majority of urban agriculturalists are women. A growing body of research strives to recognize how social identities such as socio-economic status, race, location, and gender complicate barriers and opportunities for urban farmers, especially as contemporary scholarship calls for a focus on the intersectional issues which lie at the core of social justice in agriculture. This chapter presents a review on the state of knowledge of gender and urban agriculture on a global scale and suggests a research agenda that addresses the needs of women urban growers. First, I discuss women’s motivations for involvement in urban agriculture opportunities and explore how these motivations have been linked to positive changes in local neighborhoods and communities. After providing a description of the seven challenges related to women’s urban agriculture operation I have identified within academic literature, I conclude with a discussion of future research directions that will continue to insert urban agriculture within discussions of social issues, increase our understanding of women agriculturalists in urban contexts, and meet the needs of local growers.
