Urban Environmental Stewardship and Civic Engagement

Once considered the antithesis of a verdant and vibrant ecosystem, cities are now being hailed as highly efficient and complex social ecological systems. Emerging from the streets of the post-industrial city are well-tended community gardens, rooftop farms and other viable habitats capable of supporting native flora and fauna. At the forefront of this transformation are the citizens living in the cities themselves. As people around the world increasingly relocate to urban areas, this book discusses how they engage in urban stewardship and what civic participation in the environment means for democracy. Drawing on data collected through a two-year study of volunteer stewards who planted trees as part of the MillionTreesNYC initiative in the United States, this book examines how projects like this can make a difference to the social fabric of a city. It analyses quantitative survey data along with qualitative interview data that enables the volunteers to share their personal stories and motivations for participating, revealing the strong link between environmental stewardship and civic engagement. As city governments in developed countries are investing more and more in green infrastructure campaigns to change the urban landscape, this book sheds light on the social importance of these initiatives and shows how individuals' efforts to reshape their cities serve to strengthen democracy. It draws out lessons that are highly applicable to global cities and policies on sustainability and civic engagement.

Autorentext

Dana R. Fisher is a professor of sociology and the Director of the Program for Society and the Environment at the University of Maryland, USA.

Erika S. Svendsen is a social scientist with the U.S. Forest Service and co-Director of the New York City Urban Field Station, USA.

James J.T. Connolly is an assistant professor in the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs and the Department of Political Science at Northeastern University, USA.

Inhalt

1. Urban Environmental Stewardship and Civic Engagement 2. Several Million Trees: How Planting Trees is Changing our Civic Landscape 3. Digging Together: Understanding Environmental Stewardship in New York City 4. Seriously Digging: Why Engaged Stewards are Different and Why it Matters 5. Tangled Roots: How Volunteer Stewards Intertwine Local Environmental Stewardship and Democratic Citizenship 6. Implications for Urban Environmentalism, the Environmental Movement and Civic Engagement in America