Growing in place: the interplay of urban agriculture and place sentiment By:

In this investigation, we drew from social constructivist understandings of place to explore both the meanings participants of an urban garden project in Austin, Texas, ascribed to place and the sentiment they attached to those meanings. Specifically, we asked participants to articulate the ways in which their participation was shaped by and/or had subsequently affected their feelings toward a given garden plot, neighbourhood, city, and/or the region of Central Texas. Our findings illustrate that participation in the gardening project shaped their place meanings and sentiment through two principal processes: (1) a sense of connection to the different garden plots through the resulting produce and the physical transformation of the site, and (2) a sense of connection to and identification with the community at large via links to other individuals who are involved in Urban Patchwork activities.