University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
The UWM Office of Undergraduate Research UR@UWM Summer Research |
Hidayah Osman Building-Landscapes-Cultures Field School Mentor: Arijit Sen Associate Professor of Architecture & Urban Studie |
Scope Of Project
The Cherry Street Community Garden is in the Midtown neighborhood of Milwaukee. Area Vibes, a website that evaluates livability of neighborhoods, gives this area an F, the lowest rating based on crime, employment, and housing statistics. However, this site and other media reports miss the story of residents who work hard to make this a vibrant community. These positive accounts are not known by a lot of the people, promoting an incomplete and one-sided narrative of this locality.
The objective of this project is to collect stories of resilience and community building by residents living in Cherry Court, a subsidized housing unit maintained by the Housing Authority of Milwaukee. These residents have planted a food garden called the Cherry Street Community Garden. As members of a garden club, they socialize, help each other, and learn how to produce, cook, and preserve healthy food. In doing so, these residents have reduced crime, built relationships, encouraged healthy lifestyles, and be- come stewards of their neighborhood. During the five weeks of the UR@UWM program, I joined the researchers of the 2022 Buildings-Landscapes-Cultures Field School to explore the Cherry Street Community Garden and collect human stories of those associated with the Garden Club. Our ethnographic study focused on the gardeners and the site of the garden itself.
The Cherry Street Community Garden is in the Midtown neighborhood of Milwaukee. Area Vibes, a website that evaluates livability of neighborhoods, gives this area an F, the lowest rating based on crime, employment, and housing statistics. However, this site and other media reports miss the story of residents who work hard to make this a vibrant community. These positive accounts are not known by a lot of the people, promoting an incomplete and one-sided narrative of this locality.
The objective of this project is to collect stories of resilience and community building by residents living in Cherry Court, a subsidized housing unit maintained by the Housing Authority of Milwaukee. These residents have planted a food garden called the Cherry Street Community Garden. As members of a garden club, they socialize, help each other, and learn how to produce, cook, and preserve healthy food. In doing so, these residents have reduced crime, built relationships, encouraged healthy lifestyles, and be- come stewards of their neighborhood. During the five weeks of the UR@UWM program, I joined the researchers of the 2022 Buildings-Landscapes-Cultures Field School to explore the Cherry Street Community Garden and collect human stories of those associated with the Garden Club. Our ethnographic study focused on the gardeners and the site of the garden itself.
Cherry Street Community Garden Club members and residents, water each other’s garden beds. July 2022.
|
CSCG Club members and residents gather in the community garden after a garden club meeting in order to pick their vegetables. July 2022.
|
Two free libraries in the garden hold books and food cans for community residents. July 2022.
|
CSCG club members, residents, and the Buildings-Landscapes-Cultures Field School scholars socializing. July 2022.
|
Literature Survey
This project draws on research on food Justice conducted by Jessica Sherlock. This research can be found in the buildings-Landscapes-Cultures archives (mkeEJlab.weebly.com). According to Sherlock, an urban food dessert can be found in “a low-income tract where thirty-three percentage of the population, … [live] more than one mile from the nearest supermarket, supercenter, or large grocery store” (See, Annah Mackenzie, Good Food In A Starving Neighborhood https://qr.page/g/3U64JmHZXR2.). Yet, although there are around thirty businesses in a five-mile stretch along Milwaukee’s North Avenue, we still find malnutrition and starvation in the area. This is because even though food is available and afford- able it is not of good quality and of nutritious value (See also, Schnabel, Fertile Ground). Sherlock also argues that good food is not only about nutrition but also “a powerful link in community and family relationships... and some of these struggling neighborhoods need the latter benefit of good food.” She adds that “food has the ability to create that community: at the point of production with urban gardening and local farmers; at the point of preparation with cooking workshops; at the point of consuming, when friends and neighbors share a table.
In “Beyond Food: Community Gardens as Places of Connection and Empowerment,” Annah Mackenzie argues that “urban gardens have become a symbol of community activism and empowerment, and they are part of a contemporary grassroots movement supporting environmental justice, collective action, and equitable access to nutrition and good health.” She also stresses “crime decreases in neighborhoods as the amount of green space increases.” Like Sherlock, Mackenzie argues that “Even beyond issues of food access, community gardens are about building social ties, sharing skills and experience, learning about nature and culture, and taking proactive measures to improve our physical and mental well-being.”
This project draws on research on food Justice conducted by Jessica Sherlock. This research can be found in the buildings-Landscapes-Cultures archives (mkeEJlab.weebly.com). According to Sherlock, an urban food dessert can be found in “a low-income tract where thirty-three percentage of the population, … [live] more than one mile from the nearest supermarket, supercenter, or large grocery store” (See, Annah Mackenzie, Good Food In A Starving Neighborhood https://qr.page/g/3U64JmHZXR2.). Yet, although there are around thirty businesses in a five-mile stretch along Milwaukee’s North Avenue, we still find malnutrition and starvation in the area. This is because even though food is available and afford- able it is not of good quality and of nutritious value (See also, Schnabel, Fertile Ground). Sherlock also argues that good food is not only about nutrition but also “a powerful link in community and family relationships... and some of these struggling neighborhoods need the latter benefit of good food.” She adds that “food has the ability to create that community: at the point of production with urban gardening and local farmers; at the point of preparation with cooking workshops; at the point of consuming, when friends and neighbors share a table.
In “Beyond Food: Community Gardens as Places of Connection and Empowerment,” Annah Mackenzie argues that “urban gardens have become a symbol of community activism and empowerment, and they are part of a contemporary grassroots movement supporting environmental justice, collective action, and equitable access to nutrition and good health.” She also stresses “crime decreases in neighborhoods as the amount of green space increases.” Like Sherlock, Mackenzie argues that “Even beyond issues of food access, community gardens are about building social ties, sharing skills and experience, learning about nature and culture, and taking proactive measures to improve our physical and mental well-being.”
Methods
The field school methods are called Spatial Ethnography (Sen, 2020). In summer 2022, the field school team analyzed the Cherry Street Community Garden site, and walked around the neighborhood, observing surroundings, documenting social and physical boundaries, and making connections with residents residing around the garden. Researchers conducted long, sit-down oral history interviews with Cherry Court residents and garden club members. Our goal was to look at the community and neighborhood from the residents’ perspective. Residents told stories of their lives, heritage, neighborhood, garden, and food habits. In addition, short form interviews (also known as vox pops) were collected during Cherry Street Garden Club harvest festival. Interviewers asked participants questions about the impact of community gardens. They also asked people how they remembered, felt, and experienced gardens. We went to multiple local archives to find census and demographic information. We also visited the City Permits office to collect histories of homes that once stood on the garden site.
After collecting these stories, we gathered and interpreted all the interview recordings. We created postcard exhibits with pictures and biographies of those who we interviewed. We collected family recipes from participants and produced a recipe book. We created a public website with their biographies, voice clips, and images (Seeblcfieldschool2023.weebly.com). This website includes a detailed analysis of the garden and its architectural and material characteristics. We brought our analysis, exhibits, and results back to our community partners in order to continue our conversations around food, heritage, and history. I had the opportunity to know and learn a less-known story of this neighborhood. I discovered the rich lives and histories of the residents of this area. I would never have had a chance to discover these positive stories had it not been for this field school.
The field school methods are called Spatial Ethnography (Sen, 2020). In summer 2022, the field school team analyzed the Cherry Street Community Garden site, and walked around the neighborhood, observing surroundings, documenting social and physical boundaries, and making connections with residents residing around the garden. Researchers conducted long, sit-down oral history interviews with Cherry Court residents and garden club members. Our goal was to look at the community and neighborhood from the residents’ perspective. Residents told stories of their lives, heritage, neighborhood, garden, and food habits. In addition, short form interviews (also known as vox pops) were collected during Cherry Street Garden Club harvest festival. Interviewers asked participants questions about the impact of community gardens. They also asked people how they remembered, felt, and experienced gardens. We went to multiple local archives to find census and demographic information. We also visited the City Permits office to collect histories of homes that once stood on the garden site.
After collecting these stories, we gathered and interpreted all the interview recordings. We created postcard exhibits with pictures and biographies of those who we interviewed. We collected family recipes from participants and produced a recipe book. We created a public website with their biographies, voice clips, and images (Seeblcfieldschool2023.weebly.com). This website includes a detailed analysis of the garden and its architectural and material characteristics. We brought our analysis, exhibits, and results back to our community partners in order to continue our conversations around food, heritage, and history. I had the opportunity to know and learn a less-known story of this neighborhood. I discovered the rich lives and histories of the residents of this area. I would never have had a chance to discover these positive stories had it not been for this field school.
Conclusion
The Cherry Street Garden has not only provided the neighborhood with nutritious food but has also produced a positive impact for this neighborhood. It has created a diverse and inclusive community in which, no matter who you are, you are accepted. After this summer program concludes, I hope to continue working in the BLC Field School project during my school years by applying for the Student Undergraduate Research Fellow program. I hope to continue to collect more oral histories of the residents of Cherry Street Apartments and learn how to analyze, index, and curate these stories. In addition, I hope to read secondary research on food justice and food systems to expand my knowledge on this subject.
The Cherry Street Garden has not only provided the neighborhood with nutritious food but has also produced a positive impact for this neighborhood. It has created a diverse and inclusive community in which, no matter who you are, you are accepted. After this summer program concludes, I hope to continue working in the BLC Field School project during my school years by applying for the Student Undergraduate Research Fellow program. I hope to continue to collect more oral histories of the residents of Cherry Street Apartments and learn how to analyze, index, and curate these stories. In addition, I hope to read secondary research on food justice and food systems to expand my knowledge on this subject.
Cherry Street Community Garden: Site Photos
References
Area Vibes. “Midtown, Milwaukee, WI Crime.” Midtown, WI Crime Rates & Map, https://www.areavibes.com/milwaukee-wi/midtown/crime/.
“Food Justice in Sherman Park.” Taking Back our Worlds Exhibit, Milwaukee Environmental Justice Lab, https://mkeejlab.weebly.com/food-justice-in-sherman-park.html.
Schnabel, Rebecca. “Fertile Ground.” Taking Back our Worlds Exhibit, Milwaukee Environmental Justice Lab, https://mkeejlab.weebly.com/fertile-ground.html.
Sherlock, Jessica. “The Community Table.” Taking Back our Worlds Exhibit, Milwaukee Environmental
Justice Lab, https://mkeejlab.weebly.com/the-community-table.html. Mackenzie, Annah. “Beyond Food: Community Gardens as Places of Connection and Empowerment.”
Project for Public Spaces, March 1, 2016, https://www.pps.org/article/beyond-food-community-gardens-as-places-of-connection-and-empowerment.
Area Vibes. “Midtown, Milwaukee, WI Crime.” Midtown, WI Crime Rates & Map, https://www.areavibes.com/milwaukee-wi/midtown/crime/.
“Food Justice in Sherman Park.” Taking Back our Worlds Exhibit, Milwaukee Environmental Justice Lab, https://mkeejlab.weebly.com/food-justice-in-sherman-park.html.
Schnabel, Rebecca. “Fertile Ground.” Taking Back our Worlds Exhibit, Milwaukee Environmental Justice Lab, https://mkeejlab.weebly.com/fertile-ground.html.
Sherlock, Jessica. “The Community Table.” Taking Back our Worlds Exhibit, Milwaukee Environmental
Justice Lab, https://mkeejlab.weebly.com/the-community-table.html. Mackenzie, Annah. “Beyond Food: Community Gardens as Places of Connection and Empowerment.”
Project for Public Spaces, March 1, 2016, https://www.pps.org/article/beyond-food-community-gardens-as-places-of-connection-and-empowerment.