Questioning care cultivated through connecting with more-than-human communities

This paper challenges the proposition that connecting with nature through direct encounters with nonhumans promotes ethical regard for them. It probes the limits of more-than-human ethics founded on personal encounters which struggle to cross distance and difference. I consider how personal engagement influences ethical perspectives and attend to processes by which care for nonhumans is learnt. Empirical research in community gardens reveals diverse relationships with nonhumans and underlines the importance of attending to qualities of relating. I propose typologies for thinking through more-than-human relationships, organising them according to degree of care. The research finds limits to gardening’s potential to promote more care-full relations with others, with care limited by the prevalence of instrumental relationships with nonhumans. Learning to care for nonhumans requires a sense of connection to combine with disconnection gained through reflection, setting specific encounters within the context of more extensive relations and their power dynamics. More important than encounters teaching care for specific nonhuman dependents are those promoting understanding of the interdependent nature of more-than-human communities, and that stimulate reflection on the cumulative impact of a human tendency to forget this

What prevents people accessing urban bluespaces? A qualitative study

Persistent inequalities in use of bluespaces mean their wellbeing benefits are not fairly shared, a situation which can only be addressed through understanding why people do not access them. This paper addresses complex influences on bluespace accessibility through qualitative research into perceptions of urban waterways, with a focus on non-use. It aims to reveal what distinguishes these as spaces available for outdoor recreation in terms of deterrents to access. Results highlight the significance of spatial characteristics as reasons for avoiding bluespaces: unguarded water and a history of negative narratives limit their appeal. Analysis finds risk perception a strong influence on choice of outdoor destinations, an absolute limit rather than a nuisance, particularly for vulnerable groups. Designers and managers of urban bluespaces can encourage use through enhancing environmental quality. Improved cleanliness, lighting, and surveillance will improve their sense of safety. This research suggests a need to assess sites from varied perspectives, mindful of vulnerable people’s experiences, to identify how perceived risks can be mitigated. To further equitable access to bluespaces future research should recognise that the influence of spatial characteristics means access constraints may not be generalised across types of space. Additional qualitative investigation of non-use of varied spaces is required to inform interventions to promote access amongst under-represented groups

Muddying the waters: what urban waterways reveal about bluespaces and wellbeing

This paper urges geographies of waterscapes beyond the blue to consider brown, grey and green waters, demonstrating the value of remembering water is not everywhere always the same. Inland urban waterways are introduced as places which might enhance wellbeing, broadening the variety of places and experiences considered as therapeutic bluespaces. This challenges assumptions that bluespaces are strongly salutogenic, and highlights the importance of a relational perspective. The relationship between bluespaces and wellbeing is revealed as less straightforward than previously suggested, muddying the waters. Qualitative research including participants not currently using them for health raises questions about waterscapes' enabling potential and demonstrates varied ways people experience them. Qualities associated with blueness - freshness, fluidity, luminescence, rippling - seem particularly therapeutic, but are not inherent to water, nor its only properties. Rather than assuming water is always everywhere the same, I propose the term wateriness helps attend to what is distinct about places with water, whilst recognising this varies across space, time and through interaction with other materials. Through such attention this study highlights elements of wateriness which can be highly disabling, including submersion, slipperiness and wetness. Considering urban waterways as potentially therapeutic bluespaces highlights the need to acknowledge the diversity, ambiguity and complexity of water experiences in relation to wellbeing. Waterways therefore takes geographers beyond the blue to consider a wider palette of water experiences and variations in their enabling potential. They are emblematic of waterscapes more brown than blue, offering deep waters for human geographers to wade into

Growing Together: A mixed methods evaluation of a community gardening project delivered by a social housing association. Year 1

Growing Together is a community gardening project delivered by Alliance Homes on the Bournville estate, Weston-super-Mare. This is the first year report on a mixed methods evaluation of the project. The record includes a summary version of the repor

Scaling up and out as a pathway for food system transitions

© 2016 by the authors. This paper contributes to the understanding of sustainability transitions by analysing processes of scaling up and out as change pathway. It defines scaling up and out as a distinct form of policy transfer focused on programme implementation, with continuity of actors across jurisdictions. We detail how scaling up and out occurs, introducing a new mechanism to policy transfer frameworks. This is explicated through the case study of Food for Life (FFL), a civil society innovation programme promoting sustainable healthy food in public settings. We highlight why FFL was scaled up and out, how this was achieved, by whom, and the results and success factors. The case study demonstrates the importance of interrogating motivations for transferring policies, and how these influence whether successful outcomes are achieved. This requires a revised framework for analysing policy transfer, with greater attention to the links between motives and outcomes, and a less binary understanding of agents' roles. Where scaling is the mode of policy transfer, we suggest that continuous involvement of at least one transfer agent across the process is significant to success. We conclude by highlighting implications for future research into policy transfer and food system transitions

The problems, promise and pragmatism of community food growing:Introduction to Special Issue: 'Critical Foodscapes'

Alongside associated forms of socially and politically conscious food production, community food growing is routinely connected to a wide range of social and environmental benefits. However, robust evidence in support of these associations remains scant, and while the conversation has shifted in recent years to take account of the sometimes unintended or negative aspects of these activities, no consensus has been reached about how such forms of food growing should adapt to new conditions, or be scaled up to maximize their positive impacts. A July 2016 conference was organized to address this strategic shortfall. This themed issue presents the papers resulting from the conference