13. Black Urban Growers and the Land Question in Cleveland: Externalities of Gentrification

Abstract

Black gardeners and farmers in Cleveland, Ohio see themselves as stewards not only of the land they work and live on, but of a culture and historical past rooted in an agrarian relationship to land that is conceived of as a path to social, economic, political, and spiritual liberation. While community gardens (and most urban farms) do not create significant revenue for residents, they produce something outside of the traditional economy. This chapter explores the effects of development in other areas of the city on alternative land reuse, or how ancillary impacts of gentrification touch down to impact the efforts of urban farmers and gardeners to access land in a disinvested neighborhood with a seemingly endless supply of vacant lots.

Collaborative survival in the city: Envisioning alternative urban futures through Black agrarian praxis

“…Parcels of vacant land in the city have historically been the starting point and a necessary resource for both formal and informal practices of urban agriculture. And yet, wouldbe urban gardeners and farmers do not have consistent access to vacant land because of a planning paradigm and governance strategy that -despite favorable legislation and the support of some city officials -are still enmeshed in capitalist understandings of growth and development (Lindemann, 2020). The patterns and histories of creative destruction, demographic change, and socionatural transformation represented by the housing and foreclosure crisis (including a developmentalist politics of land management and assembly) have shaped a specifically Black agrarianism within Cleveland.…”