Urban Agriculture and Community Resilience

Abstract

Urban agriculture has the capacity to support urban social‐ecological systems, yet little is known about how it is integrated into the community building processes and how it creates resilience for local communities. This research offers insight into post‐Katrina urban agricultural development in Village de L’Est in New Orleans, Louisiana. Based on a review of the rebuilding efforts for the Vietnamese village after Hurricane Katrina, it draws from archival research supplemented with interviews and field observations to reveal how urban agriculture becomes an integral part of community rebuilding schemes and contributes to resilience in the urban ethnic community. Results indicate that the development of urban agriculture has been essential to the community’s long‐term resilience strategies, while the sociocultural and economic values associated with urban agriculture promote community empowerment and enhance food security and resilience.