Date of Award
2011
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program
Anthropology
Supervisor
Dr. Adriana Premat
Abstract
Practices of urban agriculture in Detroit have been variously represented as a response to
economic crisis or as the emergence of a new green capitalism. In Havana, representations of similar practices also frame it as a response to economic crisis and highlight the role of the Cuban state in initiating and supporting the activity. Such representations submerge existent diversity and the potential for commonalities in perceptions and motivations across difference. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in Havana and Detroit, this thesis argues that practices of urban food production across different national contexts can be understood as place-making projects, exemplary of what J.K. Gibson-Graham term economic difference. Such a conceptualization unsettles some of the dominant narratives, specific to each city and in general, associated with urban food production. The research contributes to contemporary debates on place and discussions relating to economic diversity arising from the work of Gibson-Graham.
Recommended Citation
Lawrence, Aaron, "URBAN AGRICULTURE AS A PLACE-MAKING PROJECT IN HAVANA AND DETROIT" (2011). Digitized Theses. 3604.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/digitizedtheses/3604