Gathering in the City: An 

Annotated Bibliography and 

Review of the Literature 

About Human-Plant 

Interactions in Urban 

Ecosystems

R.J. McLain, K. MacFarland, L. Brody, J. Hebert, 

P. Hurley, M. Poe, L.P. Buttolph, N. Gabriel, M. Dzuna, 

M.R. Emery, and S. Charnley

United States 

Department of 

Agriculture

Forest Service

Pacific Northwest 

Research Station

General Technical Report 

PNW-GTR-849

February 2012

DEPAR TMENT OF AGRICULT URE
Authors

R.J. McLain, L.P. Buttolph, and M. Poe are social scientists, Institute for Culture 

and Ecology, P.O. Box 6688, Portland, OR 97228-6688; K. MacFarland and J. 

Hebert were student interns, Institute for Culture and Ecology; N. Gabriel is a 

Ph.D. candidate, Rutgers University, Department of Geography, Brunswick, NJ; 

P. Hurley is an assistant professor, Ursinus College in the Environmental Studies 

Program, Collegeville, PA 19426-1000; L. Brody and M. Dzuna were students, 

Ursinus College; M.R. Emery is a research geographer, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Burlington, VT 95403; 

S. Charnley is an environmental anthropologist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, 

P.O. Box 3890, Portland, OR 97208.

Cover photographs by Melissa Poe.

The Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is dedicated to the principle of 

multiple use management of the Nation’s forest resources for sustained yields of wood, 

water, forage, wildlife, and recreation. Through forestry research, cooperation with the 

States and private forest owners, and management of the National Forests and National 

Grasslands, it strives—as directed by Congress—to provide increasingly greater service 

to a growing Nation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and 

activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, 

sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic 

information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income 

is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all 

programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of 

program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET 

Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write 

USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 

20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal 

opportunity provider and employer.

Northern

RESEARCH STATION USDA Forest Service
Abstract

McLain, R.J.; MacFarland, K.; Brody, L.; Hebert, J.; Hurley, P.; Poe, M.; Buttolph, L.P.; Gabriel, N.; Dzuna, M.; Emery, M.R.; Charnley, S. 2012. Gathering in the city: an annotated bibliography and review of the literature about 

human-plant interactions in urban ecosystems. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-849. 

Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest 

Research Station. 107 p. 

The past decade has seen resurgence in interest in gathering wild plants and fungi 

in cities. In addition to gathering by individuals, dozens of groups have emerged in 

U.S., Canadian, and European cities to facilitate access to nontimber forest products 

(NTFPs), particularly fruits and nuts, in public and private spaces. Recent efforts 

within cities to encourage public orchards and food forests, and to incorporate more 

fruit and nut trees into street tree planting programs indicate a growing recognition 

among planners that gathering is an important urban activity. Yet the academic 

literature has little to say about urban gathering practices or the people who engage 

in them. This annotated bibliography and literature review is a step toward filling 

the gap in knowledge about the socioecological roles of NTFPs in urban ecosystems 

in the United States. Our objectives are to demonstrate that gathering—the collecting of food and raw materials—is a type of human-plant interaction that warrants 

greater attention in urban green space management, and to provide an overview of 

the literature on human-plant interactions—including gathering—in urban environments. Our review found that very few studies of urban gathering have been done. 

Consequently, we included gathering field guides, Web sites, and articles from the 

popular media in our search. These sources, together with the small number of 

scientific studies of urban gathering, indicated that people derive numerous benefits 

from gathering plants and fungi in U.S. cities. Gathering provides useful products, 

encourages physical activity, offers opportunities to connect with and learn about 

nature, helps strengthen social ties and cultural identities, and, in some contexts, 

can serve as a strategic tool for ecological restoration. These benefits parallel those 

identified in environmental psychology and cultural ecology studies of the effects 

of gardening and being in nature. The literature on human-plant interactions also 

emphasizes that humans need to be treated as endogenous factors in dynamic, 

socially and spatially heterogeneous urban ecosystems. Spatially explicit analyses 

of human-plant interactions show that the distribution of wealth and power within 

societies affects the composition, species distribution, and structure of urban ecologies. Our review also indicates that tensions exist between NTFP gatherers and land 

managers, as well as between gatherers and other citizens over gathering, particularly in public spaces. This tension likely is related to perceptions about the impact 
these practices have on cherished species and spaces. We conclude that gathering is 

an important urban activity and deserves a greater role in urban management given 

its social and potential ecological benefits. Research on urban gathering will require 

sensitivity to existing power imbalances and the use of theoretical frameworks and 

methodologies that assume humans are integral and not always negative components of ecosystems. 

Keywords: Cultural practices, green infrastructure, nontimber forest products, urban 

foraging, urban gathering, urban forestry, urban planning.
Contents

1 Introduction

2 Purpose

3 Scope

4 Definitions

7 Organization of Materials

10 References Cited in Introduction

11 Key Findings

15 Next Steps

17 Challenges to Urban Gathering Research

18 References Cited in Key Findings

19 Gathering Literature

19 Urban Gathering

27 Rural Gathering

34 Gathering Field Guides

43 Popular Media

49 Web Sites

55 Academic Literature Relevant to Urban Gathering

55 Cultural Ecology

61 Political Ecology

70 Environmental Psychology

78 Environmental Health

81 Urban Ecology

88 Urban Forestry

97 Urban Planning

104 Acknowledgments

105 Appendix: List of Keywords Used in Annotations

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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

Introduction

For much of humankind’s history, the gathering of plants, fungi, mosses, lichens, 

and their parts was essential to individual and group survival. With the domestication of animals and plants, reliance on gathered products diminished but did not 

cease. The gathering of wild and semi-wild products remains an important economic activity around the world, directly providing food and medicine for many, 

as well as raw materials for pharmaceuticals, health and beauty products, crafts, 

and the food and beverage industries. Additionally, the literature on contemporary 

rural gathering in developed countries highlights the many noneconomic values 

associated with gathering, including development and transmission of ecological 

knowledge, recreational opportunities, mental and physical well-being, spiritual 

fulfillment, reinforcement of cultural identities, and strengthening of social ties. 

In the United States, urban foresters have played a prominent role in persuading municipal governments of the importance of trees and green space in urban 

environments. They emphasize the benefits of urban vegetation, including better air 

quality, lower summer air temperatures, aesthetics, and improvements in psychological well-being. Rarely mentioned, however, are the numerous nontimber forest 

products (NTFPs), such as food, medicine, decorative materials, building materials, 

ornamental plants, and firewood, that are or could be gathered in urban ecosystems. 

Also unmentioned are the sociocultural, psychological, and physical fitness benefits 

people derive from taking part in gathering activities. 

For example, gathering of wild mushrooms and plants allows immigrants from 

many cultures to obtain fruits, nuts, berries, and medicinal plants that remind them 

of their homelands. Gathering also provides opportunities for humans to connect 

with nature, allowing them to develop long-term relationships with particular types 

of plants or fungi and gathering sites. Gathering frequently involves developing 

ecological knowledge about where and how particular kinds of plants and fungi 

grow, and sharing that information with family, friends, and neighbors. Gathering 

also has many health benefits. It gives people a reason to get outdoors and be physically active; it also relieves stress and is a way for people to relax. 

Despite the invisibility of gathering in urban forestry and planning discourse, 

a review of botanical field guides, news articles, and Web sites indicates that urban 

gathering is a geographically widespread practice in the contemporary United 

States. Individuals of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, age groups, and 

income levels participate in urban gathering. Additionally, the past decade has seen 

the emergence of dozens of formal groups dedicated to various forms of urban 

NTFP gathering. Among others, these groups include Fallen Fruit in Los Angeles, 

Urban Edibles in Portland, Oregon, the Philadelphia Orchard Project, and the 
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

Iskash*taa program in Tucson, Arizona. The emergence of these groups strongly 

suggests that gathering is gaining greater visibility and popularity. Moreover, 

recent research in Japan (Kobori and Primack 2003) indicates that the harvesting 

of culturally valued products such as fuel wood or edible roots on a regular basis 

is essential for restoring habitats for some endangered wildlife species. Thus in 

addition to its social, cultural, and economic values, strategic encouragement 

of urban gathering may be an important tool for developing and maintaining 

ecologically sustainable ecosystems. 

However, at present there is a dearth of scientific knowledge about gathering 

in urban ecosystems. Even very basic information, such as where gathering takes 

place, what products are gathered, who gathers them, and what motivates people to 

gather is nonexistent. Fields that strongly influence municipal vegetation management and open space policies, such as environmental psychology, urban forestry, 

urban ecology, and urban planning, are largely silent on the topic of urban gathering. Although gathering long predates activities such as gardening and tree planting, which are extensively researched by environmental psychologists and urban 

foresters, neither discipline examines how gathering in urban ecosystems affects 

individual or community well-being. Even the field of cultural ecology, with its long 

tradition of studying contemporary gathering practices in rural communities and 

more recent exploration of the cultural importance of gardens and yards in contemporary urban lives, has little to say about gathering in cities. Only very recently 

have restoration ecologists begun to envision integrating gathering activities into 

restoration programs. Likewise, ethnoecologists and political ecologists have just 

begun to turn their attention to studying the ways in which gatherers influence 

urban ecosystems and the ways in which urbanization processes affect gatherers.

Purpose

This annotated bibliography is intended for scholars, planners, and managers and 

seeks to address the gap in knowledge about the socioecological roles of gathering 

NTFPs in urban and periurban ecosystems in the United States, including impacts 

on biophysical components. We have documented through a review of the academic 

and popular literature that gathering persists and may be growing in U.S. cities, 

is of interest to people from many walks of life, and provides a wide range of 

benefits to gatherers and the communities in which they live. This bibliography 

also exposes planners, managers, and scientists to a range of approaches used to 

study human-plant relationships in urban environments. Our intention is to provide 

scientists and practitioners with a basic, albeit preliminary, knowledge of the social 

and ecological dimensions of urban gathering, as well as an introduction to the 
3

Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

intellectual tools that could be applied to broadening our understanding of how 

urban gathering can be integrated into sustainable urban ecosystem planning and 

management strategies. 

Scope

The materials included in this bibliography are drawn from the scientific and 

popular literature about gathering, human-plant interactions, and urban ecosystem 

dynamics in the United States, Canada, Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, 

and New Zealand. Our initial search of the scientific literature yielded only a handful of articles on urban-based gatherers or gathering. We therefore reconceptualized 

our purpose as an effort to develop better understanding of the interactions between 

humans and plants, fungi, mosses, and lichens in urban ecosystems, with gathering 

being a subset of such interactions. For the sake of brevity, we use the term plants to 

encompass these diverse organisms. 

This wide-angle approach led us to examine the literature in the fields of urban 

ethnoecology, cultural ecology, political ecology, urban ecology, urban forestry, 

environmental psychology, urban planning, and environmental health. Each of these 

areas of study speaks to some aspect of urban gathering, although few researchers in these fields examine urban gathering practices directly. For example, urban 

ecologists and urban foresters describe the biophysical dynamics that underlie specific types of ecological structures and processes, which in turn affect which plants 

and fungi are available to urban gatherers. Political ecologists show how social 

structures and distributions of power shape urban ecologies, as well as who has 

access to specific types of urban vegetation. Environmental psychologists, as well 

as some urban foresters, examine the effects of human interactions with vegetation 

on individual health and community well-being. Cultural and political ecologists 

document how individual and group identities both shape and are shaped by garden 

and yard ecologies. Ethnoecologists, a subset of cultural ecologists, explore how 

ecological knowledge is produced and passed on; they also document the uses that 

humans make of plants. Environmental health scientists provide information about 

the presence and distribution of toxic and beneficial elements in soil, air, and water, 

factors that potentially influence the health risks and benefits associated with the 

use of plant products originating in urban environments. Urban planners provide 

understanding of the institutional frameworks within which these activities take 

place, as well as ideas for ecologically sustainable urban designs. 

Additionally, we reviewed key articles on contemporary rural gathering, a topic 

that crosses many of the disciplines, fields, and subfields mentioned above. Foraging field guides were also included in the review as they provide important insights 

about the species present in U.S. cities as well as information about actual and 
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

recommended gathering practices. We supplemented our review of the scientific 

literature and field guides with a sampling of articles from major news publications, 

Web sites, and blogs related to urban gathering. 

Because of time constraints, we were unable to review planning ordinances, 

laws pertaining to urban trees and vegetation, and arborist trade journals. However, 

we recognize the critical importance of such an endeavor in future research on 

urban gathering.

Definitions

Studies of urban NTFP gathering are complicated by the slipperiness of the terms, 

“urban,” “NTFP,” and “gathering.” Additionally the term “urban forest” is challenging to define. A brief explanation of how we use each of these terms is provided 

below. 

Nontimber forest products—

There is no single widely used term for the plants, fungi, and other botanical products that humans gather in forested environments. Professional foresters currently 

use a number of terms to refer to these products (Belcher et al. 2003), including 

nontimber forest products, special forest products, alternative forest products, minor 

forest products, and nonwood forest products. Of these terms, “nontimber forest 

products” is the most widely used in academic publications and is also in common 

use among land management agencies in many parts of the world. We use this term 

throughout this publication. We define NTFPs broadly to include entire plants, plant 

parts (e.g., seeds, cones, leaves, branches, flowers, fruits, and nuts), plant exudates 

(i.e., resin, sap, and oils), fungi, mosses, and lichens. Following international 

convention, we also include wood products such as firewood, poles, and specialty 

woods for crafts.

Gathering—

There is no single term for the activities categorized in this document as “gathering.” Other terms commonly used for these activities include foraging, collecting, 

harvesting, gleaning, picking, and, depending on the product, tapping or digging. 

All of these activities involve the removal of fungi, plants, or parts of plants from 

where they are either growing (in the case of live plants) or where they have fallen 

or been transported by natural forces. 

An important question that surfaces repeatedly with the concept of “gathering” 

is how it differs from gardening or other forms of cultivation. Ford (1985) described 

a continuum of human-plant production interactions with foraging on one end, 

cultivation in the middle, and domestication on the other end. Ethnobotanists also 

often include the category of “tending” between foraging and cultivation. The fol-
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

lowing passage from Deur (2002: 12–13) clarifies the distinctions between tending, 

cultivation, and domestication. 

Plant “tending,” most scholars now agree, involves the minor modification of environments to encourage the growth of naturally occurring plants in situ, while plant “cultivation” involves a more intensive 

and extensive pattern of environmental modification. Cultivation, as 

it is now commonly defined, involves the seeding or transplanting 

of propagules, the intentional fertilization or modification of soils, 

improvements of irrigation or drainage, and the clearing or “weeding” of competing plants. “Domestication,” by contrast, involves 

the genetic modification of crops, likely resulting from the selective 

cultivation of plants with anomalous and desirable traits.

The boundaries between tending and foraging, however, are fuzzy, as are the 

boundaries between each of the other categories. Additionally, the particularities of 

urban environments, such as a high percentage of exotic species relative to native 

species and the presence of numerous and abundant naturalized domesticates make 

the use of Ford’s continuum problematic as a descriptor of human-plant production 

interactions in cities. A further complication in cities is that urban gatherers are 

highly likely to harvest products from plants cultivated or tended by others (including species that are legacies of historic management regimes), with or without the 

cultivator’s or tender’s knowledge or permission. 

To address these problems, we have modified Ford’s continuum to fit contemporary urban environments, drawing on the admittedly limited data available on 

urban gathering (see fig. 1). Our diagram represents the continuum from gatherer 

to plant tender to cultivator, as in urban areas, it is likely that many people harvest 

products from vegetation that are cultivated—albeit often by someone other than 

the gatherer. We have included examples of activities at different points along the 

continuum to give readers a sense of the people we would classify as gatherers, 

plant tenders, and cultivators. We see this continuum as a starting point for discussion and expect that it will be modified or replaced entirely as understandings of 

urban gathering practices increase.

Urban and periurban areas—

We look at the literature on gathering in both urban and periurban areas. We use 

the 2010 U.S. Census’ definition of urban areas, which is land area consisting of 

“densely developed territory, and encompass[ing] residential, commercial, and other 

non-residential urban land uses.” Periurban areas are defined as “regions adjacent to 

urban areas and clearly under their influence” (Konijnendijk et al. 2006: 9). 
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

Miriam collects cedar branches in a city park to use for firewood. The branches have fallen from 200-year old trees in a remnant late-successional forest.Savieng picks apples from a suburban nature reserve established in an abandoned apple orchard.

Bernadette collects huckleberries from the powerline easement behind her house. She removes the weeds around their base so they will be more productive.

Pablo harvests blueberries from bushes that he planted in his yard several years ago. He waters, prunes, and fertilizes the bushes to increase his berry yields.

Anna gathers rosemary from the space between the sidewalk and the street in Angela’s front yard. Anna lives several blocks away and does not know Angela.

Angela has planted rosemary, thyme, and basil in the space between the sidewalk and the street in her front yard. She regularly collects the herbs to flavor her meals.

Gatherer Plant Tender Cultivator

Volunteers with City Fruit Harvest pick plums and figs from backyards and street trees as part of a project to provide low-income residents with fresh fruit. As part of the project, the organization trains tree owners how to prune their trees so they will get more produce.

Lorraine harvests acorns from restored prairie in a local park. The area has been an important acorn gathering site for members of her tribe for centuries.

Figure 1—Activities along the gatherer–cultivator continuum.
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

Urban forest–

The 1978 Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act for the United States defines urban 

forestry as “the planning, establishment, protection, and management of trees and 

associated plants, individually, in small groups, or under forest conditions within 

cities, their suburbs, and towns.” Following this definition, the urban forest includes 

all trees and associated vegetation in urban and periurban areas. Trees and associated plants in private yards, as well as trees located along streets, in parking lots or 

stormwater management features, and in other green spaces (e.g., parks and institutional grounds) are considered part of the urban forest. Exotic fruit and nut-bearing 

trees, including those commonly thought of as orchard trees (i.e., cherry, apple, and 

peach trees) are also elements of urban forests. 

Organization of Materials

We have organized the bibliography into three major sections—“Key Findings,” 

“Gathering Literature and Web Resources,” and “Academic Literature.” Because of 

the large amount of bibliographic material, we have placed the “Key Findings” section first. Along with highlighting the key themes identified through synthesizing 

the many sets of literature pertinent to urban gathering, the “Key Findings” section 

suggests next steps for future research and discusses key challenges associated with 

research on urban gathering. 

The second major section includes annotated citations of literature that is 

specifically related to gathering and is divided into the following topics: 

• Academic literature on urban gathering, including research in 

urban ethnoecology 

• Academic literature on gathering in rural areas

• Field guides for gatherers

• Popular news articles

• Web sites related to urban gathering

The third section consists of academic literature drawn from areas of research 

with significant potential to inform studies of urban gathering conceptually or 

methodologically and is divided into the following topics: 

• Cultural ecology 

• Political ecology 

• Environmental psychology 

• Urban forestry

• Urban ecology 

• Environmental health 

• Urban planning 
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

Cultural ecology, political ecology, and environmental psychology tend to focus 

on the human side of human-plant interactions, whereas urban forestry, urban ecology, and environmental health emphasize the plant side. Urban planning is where 

the two aspects of human-plant interaction come together in on-the-ground practice. 

Table 1 summarizes the kinds of topics relevant to human-plant interactions that 

are the focus of each of these fields. Because much of the research on the topic of 

human-plant interactions is interdisciplinary, a number of the articles overlap two or 

more fields of study. Additionally, many of the articles cover multiple topics of relevance to urban gathering. To help readers identify articles relevant to a particular 

topic of interest or field of study, we have numbered the annotations in consecutive 

order and included keywords after each annotation. The appendix provides a list of 

all keywords and the number for each article associated with that keyword. 
9

Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

Table 1—Primary research topics covered by human-plant interaction studies

Research topics CE PE EP EH UE UF UP

Influence of human-plant interactions X X X X X

on mental health

Influence of human-plant interaction X X X

on physical health

Influence of human-plant interactions X X X X

on community well-being

Social distribution of environmental X X X

benefits and costs associated with 

vegetation management

Links between vegetation and X X X

individual identities

Links between vegetation and X X X X

cultural identities

Human uses of urban forest products X X

Urban forest assessments X

and valuations

Acquisition and transmission X X

of ecological knowledge

Urban forest tenure regimes X X

Differential access to urban X

forest products

Differences in species preferences, X X X X X

attitudes, and values

Urban forest biophysical conditions X X X X X

and characteristics

Spatial distribution of vegetation X X X X X

Impacts of human activities on X X X X X X

ecological conditions

CE = Cultural ecology (includes ethnoecology). UE = Urban ecology.

PE = Political ecology (overlaps with CE). UF = Urban forestry (overlaps with EP and UE).

EP = Environmental psychology. UP = Urban Planning (some overlap with EP).

EH = Environmental health.
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

References Cited in Introduction

Belcher, B.M. 2003. What isn’t an NTFP? International Forestry Review. 5(2): 

161–168. 

Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978; 16 U.S.C. Chapter 41 Section 2109.

Deur, D. 2002. Plant cultivation on the northwest coast: a reconsideration. Journal 

of Cultural Geography. 19(2): 9–35.

Ford, R.I. 1985. The processes of plant food production in prehistoric North 

America. In: Ford, R.I., ed. Prehistoric food production in North America. 

Anthropological Papers Number 75. Ann Arbor, MI: Museum of Anthropology, 

University of Michigan: 1–18.

Kobori, H.; Primack, R.B. 2003. Participatory conservation approaches for 

satoyama, the traditional forest and agricultural landscape of Japan. Ambio. 

32(4): 307–311.

Konijnendijk, C.C.; Ricard, R.M.; Kenney, A.; Randrup, T.B. 2006. Defining 

urban forestry—a comparative perspective of North America and Europe. Urban 

Forestry and Urban Greening. 4(3-4): 93–103.

U.S. Census Bureau. 2010. 2010 Census urban and rural classification and urban 

area criteria. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/ua/2010urbanruralclass.html. 

(November 13, 2010).
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

Key Findings

Our review of the literature and Web resources related to gathering indicates 

that gathering is a multifaceted, dynamic human practice that has much to contribute toward efforts to develop sustainable urban ecosystems. This section summarizes our key findings, suggests next steps for future urban gathering research, 

and discusses the major challenges that managers and researchers will face when 

implementing urban gathering studies.

1. Cities are dynamic, spatially and socially heterogeneous socioecological 

systems in which humans are most accurately viewed as embedded, rather 

than separate, components. 

In the past decade, both social and natural scientists have converged on the 

notion that humans need to be treated as endogenous factors in urban ecosystems. Urban ecologists emphasize the spatial heterogeneity of these systems, 

whereas political and cultural ecologists draw attention to their social heterogeneity. Spatially explicit analyses of human-plant interactions by both political 

and urban ecologists show that the distribution of wealth and power within 

societies affects the composition, species distribution, and structure of urban 

ecosystems. These characteristics of urban socioecological systems suggest 

important directions for research on urban nontimber forest products (NTFPs) 

gathering practices. One key question to ask is, “How does social heterogeneity 

in urban ecosystems, including the heterogeneity of gatherers themselves, affect 

heterogeneity in the biophysical attributes of those systems?” A second important question is, “How does patchiness of the biophysical system condition 

gathering practices, including the social relations in which they are embedded?” 

2. Interacting with plants significantly affects individual and community 

health and well-being.

A large body of evidence shows that being in the presence of plants and interacting with plants tactilely affect mood, stress levels, self-esteem, and ability 

to focus. Gathering promotes the physical and mental health benefits associated 

with active pursuits in the outdoors. Gathering can also increase connections to 

traditional foodways and healing practices, improving nutrition and reducing 

diabetes and stress-related illnesses. Additionally, the presence of vegetation 

can affect crime rates and social interaction. Often these influences are positive, 

but in some contexts, “messy” vegetation can signify that a place is dangerous 

or insecure. However, what constitutes “messy” vegetation is heavily influenced 

by cultural and neighborhood norms so that one person’s “messy” landscape 
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

might seem orderly to someone else. Plants also function as an important 

medium through which both individual and collective identities, values, and 

norms are developed and maintained. This has ecological consequences, as 

efforts to assert individual and cultural identities influence what species people 

choose to plant or retain, their use of fertilizers and herbicides, and the “messiness” of the vegetation on their properties. However, environmental health 

research shows that there are also potential physical health risks from consuming plants or fungi grown on contaminated soils or in heavily polluted areas. 

Accurately assessing those risks is a complex undertaking as species differ 

greatly in their uptake of contaminants and the parts in which contaminants 

are stored also differ, as does the spatial distribution of contaminants across 

city landscapes. Research on the health and safety aspect of urban gathering 

will help clarify potential contributions to policy considerations such as food 

security and public health.

3. Gatherers come from a diversity of sociocultural backgrounds. 

The evidence suggests that gathering, whether rural or urban, is an activity that 

cuts across divisions of age, gender, education, class, race, and ethnicity. By 

this we do not mean to say that there are no differences along these divisions 

in terms of numbers of practitioners, kinds of products gathered, harvesting 

methods, locations of gathering sites, or motivations for gathering. Indeed, we 

strongly suspect that such differences exist. Yet at the same time, it is important 

for scientists, planners, and managers to recognize that gathering is a form 

of practice (Robbins et al. 2008) and that gatherers come from diverse backgrounds and thus likely differ in their motivations for gathering, the kinds of 

products they gather, the depth of their ecological knowledge, and the techniques they use for gathering plants and fungi. Two key take-home messages 

for policymakers seeking to regulate gathering are that one-size-fits-all policies 

are likely to be both unpopular and ineffective and that developing effective and 

enforceable policies will require gaining the trust and involvement of a broad 

spectrum of people.

4. People participate in urban gathering for a variety of reasons. 

People gather plants in cities for many reasons. Some people gather plants to 

obtain foods or medicinal products that they cannot easily obtain in local stores 

or afford to buy. Others gather as a way to learn about the world around them, 

a reason to spend time outside, and an essential component of their quality of 

life. For some people, gathering is a long-standing family or cultural tradition, 
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

a conduit for intergenerational learning and transmission of local ecological 

knowledge, and a means for stewarding local and native plant populations. 

For still others, gathering is a means to earn income, whether as someone who 

teaches others how to forage or as a seller of harvested products. This diversity 

in motivations for gathering calls for policies and management strategies that 

are flexible and tailored to specific contexts. 

5. Urban gathering encompasses a diversity of species and products. 

Preliminary research indicates that a large number of species and products are 

gathered in urban ecosystems. Jahnige (2002) recorded 103 products gathered 

from 78 species in Baltimore; Gabriel (2006) documented 74 products gathered 

from 70 species in Philadelphia. The field guides annotated in this volume 

describe hundreds of plants and products that people gather, including many 

that are found in urban or periurban areas. The heterogeneity of species and 

products harvested argues for policymakers to avoid simplistic one-size-fitsall approaches, such as blanket prohibitions on all gathering in public spaces. 

Instead, gathering regulations should take into account the species, product, 

and socioecological context in which these activities take place. 

6. Land and resource tenure issues associated with urban gathering 

are complex. 

Tensions and questions over rights of access to gathering sites are common 

in rural areas, particularly where landowners recently have prohibited or 

restricted access to sites that previously were open to harvesters. In many U.S. 

cities, gathering challenges the sharp distinctions commonly drawn between 

public and private property. This is especially true for quasipublic spaces, 

such as vegetated strips between sidewalks and streets, where tenure is vague 

and enforcement of private or public claims to fruit, nuts, leaves, and other 

plant parts is costly. In some cases, areas that have historically been treated as 

neighborhood commons or de facto open access sites, such as vacant lots and 

woodlands, recently have shifted into commercial or residential use and access 

to NTFPs on those lands has become more restricted. In other areas, abandoned 

properties are being transformed into new de facto commons or open access. 

Knowledge of existing tenure regimes and how they are influenced by changes 

in land use and ownership is fundamental to understanding how policies affect 

different types of gatherers and their gathering practices.
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

7. Land use policies and management activities can have both negative and 

positive effects on urban gathering and gatherers. 

Relationships between gathering and land use policies and management are 

complex. Some land use policies, such as efforts to restore native vegetation in 

urban green spaces, could result in decreased access to valued exotic species 

that previously were gathered in those areas. At the same time, such efforts 

could increase access to products obtained from native species, provided that 

people are permitted to gather such products in those spaces. Species that are 

important to gatherers also may proliferate with urban expansion and suburban 

land management practices. Both negative and positive effects are associated 

with land use legacies. For example, vacant lots in deindustrializing areas of 

some cities can become spaces where people harvest plants; however, in some 

cases, residual toxic chemicals in the soil may pose health risks for consumers 

of gathered products. 

8. Gathering can have both negative and positive impacts on 

urban ecosystems. 

Many parks and open spaces prohibit gathering, and preliminary indications are 

that land managers hold diverse views about whether gathering has a negative 

impact on urban ecosystems. Many default to a stance that it does, while others 

may be more open to some collecting practices and harvest of specific target 

species. Documented evidence that gathering negatively affects urban ecologies 

is nonexistent. However, it is reasonable to assume that some types of gathering 

practices, such as the removal of whole plants or roots, might reduce desired 

plant (or indirectly animal) populations in urban environments. But human 

gathering practices could equally well have positive impacts on urban plant 

populations, and gatherers often perceive their activities in terms of environmental stewardship, employing a system of ethical norms in their gathering 

practices and sometimes directly tending to species and habitat health. The relative ecosystem impacts of gathering requires further examination that attends 

to both dispersed and intensive gathering techniques on specific plant and 

fungi. Researchers and planners might also contrast gathering with the impacts 

of other land uses, such as industrial development and commercial agriculture. 

From the standpoint of the social environment, the presence of gatherers in 

urban parks and vacant lots potentially supports the development of informal 

surveillance networks that can reduce crime rates and increase perceptions of 

public safety. 
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

9. Research on urban gathering requires sensitivity to existing power imbalances and the use of theoretical frameworks and methodologies that assume 

humans are integral (and not always negative) components of ecosystems. 

Urban gathering is largely a decentralized activity practiced by disparate 

individuals and organizations, with little to no municipal support or involvement. Decentralization coupled with low visibility allows gatherers to engage 

in practices that are often neither fully legal nor illegal. Indeed, they may be 

invisible to government officials, land managers, park users, landowners, and 

neighbors. However, this decentralization makes understanding urban gathering 

and identifying ways for urban planning and management efforts to support 

sustainable gathering practices more difficult. Interdisciplinary, participatory, 

and mixed-methods research approaches are needed to understand the complexities of urban gathering, the political ecologies that support gathering, and 

the people who participate in it.

Next Steps

The potential social and ecological benefits of urban gathering studies are numerous. Data from such studies would contribute to: 

• Urban NTFP management practices to maintain and enhance gathered species 

and associated habitats

• Efforts by “green” planners and urban food policy councils to reintegrate livelihood uses into urban green spaces

• Food security programs aimed at improving access of low-income populations 

to fresh fruits and nuts

• Public health programs aimed at reducing obesity and associated risks such 

as diabetes

• Programs such as the U.S. Forest Service’s More Kids in the Woods 

initiative that aim to connect people, especially children, to nature in 

urban environments 

• Efforts to improve the ecological literacy of urban populations

• Social and cultural traditions that revolve around gathering by urban residents

However, realizing these benefits requires support for research that draws on 

and integrates methods and theories from both the natural and social sciences. 

Future research will therefore need to address the following considerations.
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

1. Integrate studies of gathering into ongoing urban ecosystem research

An overwhelming conclusion from reading the literature on human-plant 

interactions in contemporary urban ecosystems in the second half of this 

document is that gatherers and gathering are strikingly absent from view. Does 

this silence reflect a lack of gathering activity taking place in cities? The news 

articles, Web sites, gathering field guides, and the handful of scientific articles 

included in the following sections of this document suggest otherwise and 

argue for research to fill the gap in scientific knowledge about urban gathering. 

A critical first step to address this gap is to integrate studies of gatherers and 

gathering practices into on-going urban ecosystem research. One approach 

is to develop gathering research that parallels studies that have already been 

done on other types of human-plant interactions. For example, environmental 

psychologists have documented at length the effects that activities such as 

gardening, walking or being in wooded areas, and participation in tree-planting 

programs have on people’s moods, sense of self, and levels of stress. Similarly, 

cultural ecologists have conducted numerous studies that show how gardens 

and gardening challenge binary categorizations of the world. Parallel studies 

of gathering that draw on the conceptual frameworks and methodologies used 

in these studies would help round out scientific understandings of human-plant 

interactions. A second approach is to include questions about gathering in new 

research where appropriate. For example, an urban planner doing a comparative 

study of stewardship activities in different neighborhoods might investigate 

whether gatherers in those areas conceptualize their activities as a form of 

stewardship. The new national system of Urban Long Term Research Areas 

for integrated social and ecological research on urban ecosystems provides 

an excellent framework for integrating gathering research into broader urban 

ecosystem studies. 

2. Develop a holistic research program focused on gathering

Also needed are studies that focus specifically on gathering as an everyday 

practice in urban ecosystems. These would provide extensive and detailed looks 

at the world(s) of urban gathering and would complement the integrative studies 

described above. Such studies would address urban ecologists’ concerns with 

understanding the “who, what, when, how, why, and where” of human activities in cities (Grove and Burch 1997: 269). They would also address political 

ecologists’ concern for understanding how the distribution of power influences 

human-environment interactions. The following aspects of gathering would be 

important to include in the initial phases of such research. 
17

Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

• The different types of gathering practices utilized

• The diversity of species and products gathered

• Demographic characteristics of the individuals who engage in gathering 

• Motivations for gathering

• How people use gathered products

• The economic, social, and cultural importance of gathering and gathered 

products to individuals, households, and communities

• Where gathering and gathered products occur and the attributes of these 

spaces, including land cover types, land uses and history, and property 

regimes

• How gathering and gathering practices complement or conflict with existing ecosystem management and planning institutions (e.g., regulations) and 

activities (e.g., restoration and tree-planting programs)

Once these basic data have been collected, research targeting particular issues 

or concerns can be conducted, such as studies examining the ecological impacts 

of specific gathering practices on a particular species, the relationship between 

spatial ecology and access to valued species by diverse gatherers, or the comparative ethnoecological systems in urban nature, including the role of social 

media in the creation and transmission of gathering knowledge. 

Challenges to Urban Gathering Research

Integrating gathering into urban ecosystem research, management, and planning 

will require overcoming two major challenges. One challenge is the everyday 

nature of gathering, particularly in its noncommercial forms, which Robbins et 

al. (2008) argued has made it easy for academicians to overlook and methodologically difficult to study. This challenge has diminished somewhat with the recent 

emergence of widespread interest in developing urban food production systems, 

including programs that emphasize the establishment of public orchards and edible 

streetscapes. The focus on edible landscapes, however, carries with it the risk that 

the gathering of nonedibles and noncultivars will continue to be marginalized. 

Qualitative social science methods are particularly well suited for studying the 

quotidian and less visible aspects of gathering as an urban practice. Another challenge is the “museumification” of nature (Gobster 2007) trend in which humans’ 

opportunities for tactile interactions with nature are increasingly restricted that 

dominates green space management and planning. Overcoming this challenge 

will require demonstrating the positive, as well as negative, impacts that gathering 
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

activities can have on urban ecological systems, and shifting toward a paradigm 

that envisions urban nature as a place inhabited by people. Recent efforts to reintegrate the gathering of bamboo and bamboo shoots into restoration programs for 

Japan’s satoyama forests (Kobori and Primack 2003, Terada et al. 2010) provide a 

model for how gatherers can support ecologically sound green space management. 

A network of similar action-research projects for U.S. urban ecological restoration 

programs has the potential to provide both social and ecological benefits to a broad 

spectrum of urban inhabitants.

References Cited in Key Findings

Gabriel, N. 2006. Urban non-timber forest products in Philadelphia. Philadelphia, 

PA: Temple University. 89 p. M.S. thesis.

Gobster, P. 2007. Urban park restoration and the “museumification” of nature. 

Nature and Culture. 2(2): 96–114.

Grove, J.M.; Burch, W.R., Jr. 1997. A social ecology approach and applications 

of urban ecosystem and landscape analyses: a case study of Baltimore, MD. 

Urban Ecosystems. 1: 259–275.

Jahnige, P. 2002. The hidden bounty of the urban forest. In: Jones, E.T.; McLain, 

R.J.; Weigand, J.F., eds. Nontimber forest products in the United States. 

Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Press: 96–101.

Kobori, H.; Primack, R.B. 2003. Participatory conservation approaches for 

satoyama, the traditional forest and agricultural landscape of Japan. Ambio. 

32(4): 307–311.

Robbins, P.; Emery, M.; Rice, J.L. 2008. Gathering in Thoreau’s backyard: 

nontimber forest product harvesting as a practice. Area. 40(2): 265–277.

Terada, T.; Yokohari, M.; Bolthouse, J.; Tanaka, N. 2010. “Refueling” satoyama 

woodland restoration in Japan: enhancing restoration practice and experiences 

through woodfuel utilization. Nature and Culture. 5(3): 251–276.
19

Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

Gathering Literature

This section includes annotations drawn from the academic literature on urban 

gathering, urban ethnoecology, and rural gathering. Field guides for wild plant and 

fungi gatherers, as well as articles in the popular media and Web sites for projects 

related to urban gathering also provide a wealth of information on gathering 

practices and gatherers. They also provide information that can serve as a foundation for integrating urban gathering into sustainable urban ecosystem management 

strategies. Additionally, the Internet and Web 2.0 technologies appear to be key 

communication and organizing tools for many urban gatherers.

Over the past two decades, a body of literature focused on contemporary 

nontimber forest products (NTFPs) gathering in countries of the global North has 

emerged. Scholars of contemporary gathering work in a variety of fields including 

anthropology, geography, sociology, rural sociology, social anthropology, cultural 

geography, environmental studies, and forestry. Most contemporary gathering 

research looks at gathering in rural areas; only a handful of studies examine NTFP 

gathering in urban or periurban settings. The emerging field of urban ethnoecology sheds light on urban gatherers and their practices in a few cities in the United 

States, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. Studies of rural gathering suggest 

methods, approaches, and conceptual frameworks that are likely to be applicable in 

urban contexts as well. 

Urban Gathering

The topic of contemporary urban gathering in countries of the global North has 

received little scholarly attention over the past century. However, in the past decade, 

a handful of scholars have published results drawn from studies of gathering in cities such as Baltimore (Jahnige 2002), Philadelphia (Gabriel 2006), and in periurban 

Charleston, South Carolina (Hurley et al. 2008, 2010). These studies suggest that 

the number of species and products harvested in urban and periurban settings is 

large. They also indicate that people from all walks of life gather plants and fungi 

in the city, and that people’s motivations for gathering are diverse. Additionally, 

urban gathering sites are ecologically heterogeneous, ranging from sidewalk strips 

in residential developments to vacant lots to large public parks. Resource access is 

a key issue for gatherers and is conditioned by historical and present-day vegetation 

management policies and land use practices, as well as by public and private rules 

governing vegetation removal. 

Konijnendijk et al.’s (2006) chapter on the importance of urban forests in 

Europe over time as sources of products such as firewood, game, mushrooms, 

fruits, and berries serves as a reminder that gathering in cities is a very old practice 

rather than something entirely new. In contrast, Nordahl’s Public Produce (2009) 
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

focused on new forms of urban gathering, such as fruit mapping and backyard fruit 

gleaning, both of which have recently begun to be practiced in the United States 

and may be linked to wider food movements. Additionally, Nordahl argued for 

planners to rethink the ways in which public green space is used and managed. He 

further suggested that policies encouraging urban gathering, such as fruit and nut 

tree plantings along streets and in public parks, are important elements of sustainable urban ecosystems. 

Ethnoecologists also recently have turned their attention to studies of plant 

and mushroom knowledge and practices in urban areas. A few of these studies 

have examined the linkages between migration, environmental knowledge, and 

cultural identity, suggesting that recent immigrants to urban, postindustrial places 

maintain connections to their cultural practices and form new social networks 

through ongoing uses of important plant materials (Balick et al. 2000, Ceuterick et 

al. 2008, Hodges and Bennett 2006). However, the plant material in these studies is 

frequently imported from areas outside the new urban context rather than gathered 

locally inside urban areas. Finally, one study (Wehi and Wehi 2009) of traditional 

plant harvesting in urban landscapes in New Zealand noted that urban public areas 

may be more important than nonurban areas for accessing important plants. This 

study also found that not only was urban gathering vitally important for supporting the maintenance of cultural practices and identities of people in urban areas 

(particularly indigenous people who may have been dislocated from their traditional 

resources areas), but that gathering was also positively correlated with ecosystem 

stewardship and biodiversity conservation. Studies of urban gathering indicate 

that ethnographies, user group surveys, and grounded theory are useful methods 

for urban gathering research. Additionally, Hurley et al. (2008) demonstrated the 

importance of including spatial analyses in urban gathering research toolkits. 

1. Balick, M.; Kronenberg, F.; Ososki, A.L.; Reiff, M.; Fugh-Berman, A.; 

O’Connor, B.; Roble, M.; Lohr, P.; Atha, D. 2000. Medicinal plants used 

by Latino healers for women’s health conditions in New York City. Economic 

Botany. 54(3): 344-357.

Discusses the use of plants by Latino healers in New York City to treat women’s 

health. The authors interviewed eight Latino healers from the Dominican Republic 

and Puerto Rico who have been practicing traditional medicine in the United States 

between 3 to 51 years to identify the range and frequency of medicinal plants used 

to treat women and the methods used to collect medicinal plants. Sixty-seven plants 

were prescribed by the healers in this study and were administered as teas, aromatherapy, baths, herbs, rinses, and through ritual and dietary methods. Most plants 

were acquired through neighborhood herb shops, or Botanicas, and availability of 
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

traditional healing plants was presented as somewhat of a challenge. Four healers 

collected a few plant parts (leaves, flowers, roots) in New York City. They used 

specific knowledge to determine the timing (time of day, moon phase, etc.) to collect for best healing results, suggesting that traditional plant harvesting knowledge 

has been retained by these healers. The authors concluded by stating that ongoing 

use of traditional healing through plants by Latino immigrants has played a role in 

maintaining cultural ties and that the dynamic exchange of medicinal plants and 

knowledge give richness and complexity to urban ethnobotany and the study of 

people-plant relationships. 

Keywords: Cultural practices, ethnobotany, ethnoecology, ethnomedicine, 

human health, immigrants, medicinal plants, urban gathering.

2. Ceuterick, M.I.V.; Torry, B.; Pieroni, A. 2008. Cross-cultural adaptation in 

urban ethnobotany: the Colombian folk pharmacopoeia in London. Journal of 

Ethnopharmacology. 120: 342–359.

The study, which took place in London between 2005 and 2007, documents the 

extent to which Colombian migrants have maintained traditional health care practices and the extent to which traditional knowledge and practices have been lost 

and new knowledge has been incorporated into health care practices. Twenty-three 

individuals of Colombian descent between 18 and 78 years old were included in 

the study. Data were gathered through semistructured interviews conducted in 

Spanish by using a snowball sampling strategy. Participants listed 46 species used 

in the treatment of 53 ailments and including 108 different uses. The authors found 

evidence of deculturation, with traditional treatments requiring fresh plant material 

tending to be abandoned and replaced with treatments based on plants more easily 

acquired in London. Treatments for conditions that occurred frequently in Colombia but rarely in London were also abandoned. Many of the plants used in migrant 

herbal remedies were purchased or sent by relatives still in Colombia. However, 

interviewees also obtained common plants, such as parsley, sage, lemon balm, aloe, 

and eucalyptus, from their own homes. The authors concluded that cross-cultural 

adaption of traditional health practices in cities like London needs to be understood 

as a multifaceted, multicultural process with both utilitarian and symbolic-cultural 

aspects. 

Keywords: Cultural practices, ethnobotany, ethnoecology, ethnomedicine, 

human health, identity, immigrants, medicinal plants, urban gathering.

3. Gabriel, N. 2006. Urban non-timber forest products in Philadelphia. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University. 89 p. M.S. thesis.

Gabriel used a political ecology framework to explore how park policies favoring 

native ecosystem restoration in Philadelphia have affected gatherers and gathering 
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

activities in the city’s parks. He carried out semistructured interviews with eight 

gatherers, supplementing these data with information obtained by interviewing 

park employees, horticultural society members, and individuals associated with 

other conservation-oriented organizations. The gatherers reported using more than 

70 species of plants, evenly divided between native and nonnative species. The 

majority of interviewees gathered products for personal use or to share with others. 

Gathering was a source of food, medicine, and craft material; a form of recreation; 

a means for connecting with and learning about nature; and a way to share ecological knowledge. Most of the interviewees preferred to gather in large parks because 

they were less likely to be noticed by park officials or other park users. Vacant 

lots were infrequently used as gathering sites because of concerns about toxins 

from contaminated soils. Gabriel argued that involving nontimber forest product 

gatherers in park planning could be mutually beneficial as many gatherers develop 

specific and very detailed ecological knowledge in the course of their harvesting 

activities. 

Keywords: Cultural practices, ecological knowledge, human health, policy, 

stewardship, urban gathering, urban planning, urban political ecology.

4. Hodges, S.; Bennett, B.C. 2006. The ethnobotany of Pluchea carolinensis (Jacq.) 

G. Don (Asteraceae) in the botánicas of Miami, Florida. Economic Botany. 60(1): 

75–84.

Examines the uses of the plant Pluchea carolinensis (Jacq.) G. Don (commonly 

known as salvia and la choige) by Cuban and Haitian immigrant populations in 

southern Florida. Pluchea carolinensis is a shrub that grows naturally throughout 

the West Indies and from Mexico to northern parts of South America. The leaves of 

the plant are used medicinally and ritually for a wide range of ailments and spiritual 

practices. The researchers interviewed owners and employees at 27 botanicas

(herbal shops) in north and south Miami. Seven of the botanicas served Haitian 

immigrants, and 20 served Latino immigrants. Research questions addressed plant 

identification, medicinal uses, ailments plant is used for, plant form, and method 

used to obtain the plant. Employees at 22 of the botanicas recognized the plant; two 

Haitian shops claimed they did not recognize the plant. Sixteen of the botanicas

had P. carolinensis in stock at the time of the interview. Sources for the plant material included purchasing, growing in nurseries, or wild collecting. Employees at one 

Haitian store stated that P. carolinensis is easily found growing wild in disturbed 

areas around Miami. The authors considered employees at botanicas as urban 

ethnobotanical specialists, i.e., specialists who hold specific rather than generalized 

plant knowledge, and who acquire such knowledge in urban settings through both 

oral and written transmission. The authors concluded that botanicas in southern 
23

Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

Florida are important sources of ethnomedicinal knowledge and play a significant 

role in the region’s health care system. This paper is relevant to urban nontimber 

forest products research because it adds to our understanding of the types and uses 

of plants in urban settings as well as the methods used to obtain them. Specifically 

the paper discusses the importance of plant use by immigrants living in urban areas 

of the United States.

Keywords: Cultural practices, ethnobotany, ethnoecology, ethnomedicine, 

human health, immigrants, medicinal plants, urban gathering.

5. Hurley, P.T.; Halfacre, A.C.; Levine, N.S.; Burke, M.K. 2008. Finding a “disappearing” nontimber forest resource: using grounded visualization to explore 

urbanization impacts on sweetgrass basketmaking in Greater Mount Pleasant, 

South Carolina. The Professional Geographer. 60(4): 1–23.

Examines how urbanization in formerly rural areas has affected gatherers of 

sweetgrass basketry materials on lands that had been treated as commons but over 

which private claims are now being exercised. The study took place in Mount 

Pleasant, South Carolina, and focuses on the gathering of sweetgrass (Mulenbergia 

sericea). Members of the Gullah community use these materials to make baskets, 

which command significant prices as a cultural art form. Hurley et al. used an 

approach known as grounded visualization in which grounded theory methods are 

combined with geographical information system methods to iteratively produce 

a series of maps representing harvesting sites and changes in those sites open to 

harvesters over time. Indepth interviews were conducted with 23 basket makers by 

using convenience and snowball sampling to select interviewees. Interview data 

were supplemented with participant observations of local government meetings and 

field tours with basket makers. Gatherers have lost access to many sites as a result 

of development. Additionally, the privatization of areas that were once de facto 

commons has cut gatherers off from areas where sweetgrass still grows. In some 

cases, gatherers can obtain access, but the terms are dictated by the landowners. 

On the positive side, some of the new developments are restoring native vegetation, 

and a few land managers are working with gatherers to ensure that they have access 

to basketry materials. The authors concluded that while sweetgrass resources and 

access to them are declining, sweetgrass continues to grow in interstitial spaces 

such as vacant lots and parking strips. These “fringe” ecologies persist in the face 

of urbanization, highlighting the shifting notions of property rights as development 

activities expand in rural areas. Importantly, some landowners have made efforts to 

both restore sweetgrass and allow access to those sites. 

Keywords: Cultural practices, ecological knowledge, property regimes, urban 

gathering, urban political ecology.
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6. Hurley, P.T.; Halfacre, A.C. 2010. Dodging alligators, rattlesnakes, and backyard docks: a political ecology of sweetgrass basket-making and conservation in 

the South Carolina lowcountry, USA. GeoJournal. Published online March 24, 

2010. DOI: 10.1007/s10708-009-9276-7. 

Examines the role that amenity-driven urbanization plays in reshaping access to 

and use of nontimber forest products (NTFP) that are found on privately owned 

lands. The research focuses on the case of sweetgrass basket making, a key marker 

of the Gullah-Geechee culture that is historically grounded in ties to the land, and 

which persists in the greater Mount Pleasant area of the South Carolina Lowcountry. As rapid residential development has grown in the area, concerns about landscape changes have led to a number of new efforts to protect the region’s distinctive 

natural resources and cultural landscapes. These include efforts to discursively 

construct a regional greenbelt and “conservation developments.” Yet, rarely do 

these discourses intersect in ways that resonate with the needs of basket makers. 

The findings emphasize the extent to which disparate conservation discourses—in 

this case variously focused on natural resources and cultural landscapes, but not 

local ecologies—remain disconnected from one another, thereby creating sites of 

NTFP resource conservation that are likely to remain inaccessible to basket makers.

Keywords: Cultural practices, environmental justice, urban gathering, urban 

planning, urban political ecology.

7. Jahnige, P. 2002. The hidden bounty of the urban forest. In: Jones, E.T.; McLain, 

R.J.; Weigand, J.F., eds. Nontimber forest products in the United States. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Press: 96–101.

In the late 1990s, Community Resources, a nonprofit organization, conducted 

a descriptive study of urban gathering for the Baltimore Long Term Ecological 

Research project. Researchers carried out semistructured interviews with 80 

individuals, including environmental professionals, community leaders, vendors 

at farmers markets, and gatherers. They found that although few people earned 

income from gathering, far more people than they had expected gathered urban 

forest products. Gathering took place on public and private lands, in unmanaged to 

highly managed habitats, and from sites located in the inner city to woodlands on 

the city’s edges. Most gatherers harvested for personal use, but many also gifted, 

shared, or traded products they gathered. Gathering was an important means for 

exercising social reciprocity and building social capacity. For example, holiday 

greens and seedlings were gathered and sold to raise funds for churches. Gatherers 

came from diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. For some immigrant 

gatherers, gathering was a means to retain ties with their homeland, either through 

gathering itself or through the foods prepared from the products harvested. A few 
25

Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

products (berries and chestnuts) attracted gatherers from outside the city, with 

some coming from as far away as New England. The researchers had expected that 

most gatherers would have rural roots, but instead found that many gatherers were 

urbanites seeking to build connections with urban nature. 

Keywords: Cultural practices, immigrants, urban forestry, urban gathering.

8. Konijnendijk, C. 2008. The fruitful forest. In: Konijnendijk, C., ed. The forest 

and the city: the cultural landscape of urban woodland. New York: Springer: 

49–62. 

Konijnendijk examined the subsistence functions of European urban forests from 

the Middle Ages onward. Medieval cities had few trees inside their walls, but 

adjacent forests provided food, fuel, and fodder for the urban poor. Many of these 

forests were held as commons, and access to resources such as wood, pasture, 

resins, fruits, and nuts was regulated through customary rights. Others were royal 

woodlands or belonged to members of the aristocracy and were managed for timber 

or as habitat for game. Many of these wooded estates have since become municipal 

property and are now managed as public woodlands or parks. City forests in Europe 

were initially important as sources of wood, pasture, and other products. However, 

by the early 20th century, city forests became valued as places where urbanites 

could recreate and escape the stresses of city life. In the 20th century, European 

cities also began to view woodlands as important for water quality and nature 

protection. Urban forests in Europe have long been a source of food and fuel for city 

residents during wars and economic crises. However, the recent focus on recreation, 

watershed protection, and aesthetics in municipal forest management has led to a 

decline in the use of city forests as sources of products. Exceptions to this trend 

include Finnish cities, many of which still manage their forests for commercial 

timber production, as well as Paris’ Forêt de Saint-Germain and several community 

forests in England. Additionally, berry and mushroom gathering are popular activities in many city forests in eastern and northern Europe. 

Keywords: Policy, urban forestry, urban gathering, urban planning.

9. Nordahl, D. 2009. Public produce: the new urban agriculture. Washington, DC: 

Island Press. 236 p.

Nordahl described the diverse and expanding efforts of grassroots organizations 

and municipal governments in the United States to promote the use of public urban 

space for food production. These efforts include community gardens, edible landscaping, and public orchards, as well as fruit sharing and fruit mapping projects. He 

argued that municipal governments can simultaneously address food insecurity and 

environmental sustainability concerns by dedicating land and funding toward the 
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

production of “public produce.” Such produce is public in two senses—it is grown 

on public land, and it is available for a broad spectrum of urban residents to harvest. 

Nordahl argued that urban-based food production systems will require thinking of 

urban trees and vegetation as providers of food as well as providers of ecosystem 

services and aesthetic values. He devoted an entire chapter to examples of efforts 

to strengthen and expand age-old activities such as gleaning and foraging in urban 

areas, focusing in particular on cities in California and Iowa. He contended that 

planners can maximize the access of homeless people to nutritious food by dedicating a significant percentage of public space, such as street strips and parks, to the 

production of edible plants. 

Keywords: Community gardens, fruit sharing, gardening, gleaning, human 

health, public orchards, urban food production, urban gathering, urban planning.

10. Wehi, P.M.; Wehi, W.L. 2009. Traditional plant harvesting in contemporary 

fragmented and urban landscapes. Conservation Biology. 24(2): 594–604.

Examines the harvesting practice of Maori elders in Waikato, New Zealand, and 

considers the importance of various landscapes (conservation lands, fragmented 

and urban landscapes) as sites for traditional harvesting. The authors interviewed 

seven elders about culturally important plant species (for medicine, crafts and 

foods) and about where they harvest these species. The authors compared interview 

data with information collected on government permits for harvesting plants on 

conservation lands. Maori elders identified 58 culturally important plants that are 

currently harvested on a regular basis. Very few of these species are harvested from 

conservation lands; the majority of culturally important plant collecting by Maori 

elders occurs in urban public areas and along roadsides, and occasionally on indigenous resource areas. Findings indicate that urban harvesting reduces pressure on 

species that might otherwise be harvested in conservation areas. More significant, 

however, are the authors’ findings that urban areas are vitally important for supporting the maintenance of cultural practices and identities of people in urban areas 

(particularly indigenous people who may have been dislocated from their traditional 

resources areas). These cultural values of urban ecosystems should be considered 

when managing public lands in urban areas. Moreover, the authors advocated for 

including indigenous users (and ostensibly, other nonindigenous harvesters with 

local ecological knowledge and cultural harvesting practices) in the planning 

processes for managing urban sites, arguing “the ecological stewardship approach 

increases the effectiveness of monitoring and assessment protocols and the conservation of urban biodiversity and has many other positive spinoffs” (p. 603). This 

paper acknowledges that urban ecosystems are important to gatherers and may 

even be more important than other nonurban areas. Also, urban public areas are 

significant for maintaining cultural practices. And finally, the paper positively links 
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

urban resource gatherers to ecosystem stewardship as an effective way to conserve 

urban biodiversity.

Keywords: Conservation, cultural practices, ecological knowledge, ethnoecology, stewardship, urban ecology.

Rural Gathering

The academic literature on contemporary rural gathering in countries of the global 

North provides many insights about gatherers and gathering practices that are 

potentially applicable in urban settings. We include annotations from a few key 

studies to highlight themes that researchers are likely to encounter in studies of 

urban gatherers. One common theme is that gathering is a complex set of practices 

and thus is challenging not only to study but also to regulate (Anderson 2000, Carroll et al. 2003, Emery et al. 2006, Love et al. 1998, Richards and Creasey 1996). A 

related theme is that the social heterogeneity of those who practice gathering makes 

the conceptual category, “gatherer” extremely problematic as it potentially includes 

people with little in common other than that they harvest plants or fungi (Robbins 

et al. 2008). As pointed out by Emery and Pierce (2005), efforts by policymakers to 

distinguish subsistence gathering from other types of gathering are equally problematic. Carroll et al. (2003) pointed to similar problems when policymakers seek 

to categorize huckleberry pickers into mutually exclusive categories such as “commercial,” “subsistence,” and “recreational.” 

Another theme running through rural gathering studies is that motivations for 

gathering differ widely, and gatherers frequently list multiple reasons when asked 

why they gather plants or fungi (Anderson et al. 2000, Carroll et al. 2003, Emery et 

al. 2006, Love et al. 1998). One of the most commonly listed reasons for gathering 

is that it provides health benefits such as reducing mental and emotional stress and 

providing opportunities for keeping physically fit (Anderson et al. 2000, Carroll et 

al. 2003, Emery et al. 2006, Love et al. 1998). Samson and Pretty’s (2006) research 

on the Innu in northern Labrador indicates that diets rich in gathered foods may 

also be far more nutritional than those dominated by processed foods. 

The rural gathering literature highlights the important role gathering plays 

in helping individuals and households maintain cultural identities and strengthen 

social ties (Anderson et al. 2000, Carroll et al. 2003, Richards and Creasey 1996). 

Gathering also provides opportunities for people to connect with nature. Long-term 

pickers often have substantial ecological knowledge, and many gatherers report that 

they engage in practices aimed at maintaining resource productivity over the long 

term (Love et al. 1998, Richards and Creasey 1996). Incorporating such knowledge 

into policy processes, however, is often challenging because of language and other 

cultural barriers (Love et al. 1998, McLain 2008, Richards and Creasey 1996). 
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

Additionally, many policymaking processes are structured in ways that inadvertently exclude gatherers unless they belong to formal organizations such as amateur 

mycological societies (Love et al. 1998).

Rural gathering studies suggest that a variety of data collection methods, 

including participant observation, semistructured interviews, and regional and sitespecific user surveys can be successfully applied to the study of urban gathering 

and gatherers. Multiyear ethnographic studies, such as those carried out by Love 

et al. (1998) and McLain (2008) are particularly useful for understanding complex 

socioecological interactions for specific areas or products as well as changes in 

harvesting patterns over time. Large-scale random sample surveys, such as those 

carried out by Robbins et al. (2008) provided less detail but are indispensable for 

gaining an understanding of the spatial extent and social distribution of gathering 

practices. Qualitative research conducted at a regional scale, such as Carroll et al.’s 

(2003) study of huckleberry pickers and Emery et al.’s (2006) research on nontimber forest product gatherers in northeastern Scotland and the Scottish Borders, is 

helpful for establishing broad patterns in the characteristics of gatherers, gathering practices, and the social meanings assigned to gathering activities. Finally, 

geographically limited user surveys, such as Anderson et al.’s (2000) study of fern 

gatherers and Richards and Creasey’s (1998) study of matsutake mushroom gatherers are useful for managers wishing to gain a picture of resource users’ motivations, 

gathering patterns, and social characteristics in a relatively short period. 

11. Anderson, J.A.; Blahna, D.J.; Chavez, D.J. 2000. Fern gathering on the San 

Bernardino National Forest: cultural versus commercial values among Korean 

and Japanese participants. Society and Natural Resources. 13: 747–762.

Examines the noncommercial gathering of bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum (L.) 

Kuhn var. pseudocaudatum (Clute) A. Heller) fiddleheads on the Arrowhead Ranger 

District (ARD) of the San Bernardino National Forest in southern California by 

people of Korean and Japanese ethnic backgrounds. The study examined picking 

experiences, motivations for picking, stewardship behavior, and sociodemographics 

such as age, occupation, and income. Data were gathered through a mail survey 

of 146 fern permit holders. Fern gathering was done primarily in family groups or 

with family and friends, and most harvesters had moderate incomes and post-high 

school educations. The two most common reasons people gave for what motivated 

them to gather ferns were to spend time with family and friends and to be outdoors. 

Other reasons people cited for fern gathering included to teach their children 

cultural traditions, because it reminded them of their homelands, and to have 

ingredients for holiday and nonholiday meals. Only one person picked ferns to earn 

money. The authors concluded that policies based on those for commercial uses are 
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

inappropriate for this fern gathering program. They noted that fern gathering on 

the ARD is “primarily a social and recreational activity that is laden with cultural 

meanings” (Anderson et al. 2000: 759) and which reinforces ethnic group affiliations. 

Keywords: Cultural practices, gathering, identity, immigrants, policy.

12. Carroll, M.S.; Blatner, K.A.; Cohn, P.J. 2003. Somewhere between: social 

embeddedness and the spectrum of wild edible huckleberry harvest and use. 

Rural Sociology. 68(3): 319–342.

The researchers used a grounded theory approach to studying huckleberry harvesting in northeastern Washington and northern Idaho. Based on 93 indepth 

interviews of harvesters, they identified four sometimes overlapping categories of 

pickers: native harvesters, nonnative household harvesters, income supplementers, 

and full timers. In some cases, individuals changed categories over time depending 

on economics and life cycle. Differences and tensions exist among these categories along ethnic and racial lines as well as along lines of difference over picking 

behavior. The authors argued that the range of motivations for harvesting huckleberries can best be understood if one views huckleberry harvesting as embedded 

within a network of social and economic relations and activities. They asserted that 

labels such as commercial, recreational, and subsistence use are not particularly 

useful for things like huckleberries where people have a broad spectrum of reasons 

(held simultaneously) for picking and using them. They argued that part of what 

huckleberry picking is about is identity formation and linking of identities to the 

natural world. The tensions over huckleberries also reflect larger struggles linked to 

differences in views about the purpose of national forests. 

Keywords: Cultural practices, gathering, identity, policy.

13. Emery, M.; Martin, S.; Dyke, A. 2006. Wild harvests from Scottish woodlands: social, cultural and economic values of contemporary nontimber forest 

products. Edinburgh, United Kingdom: Scotland Forestry Commission: 38 p. 

This study looks at nontimber forest product (NTFP) gathering practices in the 

Scottish Borders and northeastern Highlands of Scotland. Data were gathered 

through 30 formal semistructured interviews with NTFP harvesters. Supplemental 

interviews were conducted via e-mail and telephone with another 12 harvesters. 

The respondents listed more than 200 products that they gathered, representing 173 

species. These products fell into six functional use categories (edibles, beverages, 

crafts, garden materials, medicinals, and others), with edibles, beverages, and crafts 

being the most frequent uses. Most harvesters collected products for domestic 

consumption or to share with friends and family; none harvested large quantities for 
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

sale in the formal economy. Gatherers acquired knowledge about NTFPs through 

diverse sources including family members and friends, as well as books and field 

guides. Many gatherers mentioned that their gathering activities were an important 

means of enhancing their physical and emotional well-being. Key policy recommendations include the need to review current legislation impacting NTFP collection and including harvesters in woodland management decisions. They concluded 

that gathering remains an important activity for a substantial subset of the Scottish 

population and provides an array of benefits ranging from access to material 

products to enhanced social interaction to maintenance of cultural traditions and 

physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. 

Keywords: Cultural practices, gathering, human health, policy, well-being.

14. Emery, M.R.; Pierce, A.R. 2005. Interrupting the telos: locating subsistence in 

contemporary U.S. forests. Environment and Planning A. 37: 981–993.

Summarizes the major issues linked to policies regulating subsistence harvesting 

in the United States in the early 21st century. One challenge is that it is difficult to 

measure the importance of subsistence harvesting to households and individuals 

in formal economic terms. Additionally, there is considerable debate over how to 

define subsistence, and whether it is possible to make a meaningful distinction 

between subsistence and recreational gathering practices and between subsistence 

and small-scale trade and barter. The authors suggested that it is helpful to look 

at subsistence as being defined by particular types of relationships between individuals and between individuals and the resources they gather. They argued that 

subsistence gathering can be seen in part as the persistence of precapitalist forms 

of production relations, which are geared toward reproduction of social networks 

rather than economic profits. Emery and Pierce noted that the majority of the 

literature on subsistence practices in the United States examines subsistence rights 

guaranteed to tribes by treaties. However, they pointed out that subsistence gathering occurs in many other contexts as well and is likely practiced by people from 

many walks of life, ethnicities, and income levels. 

Keywords: Cultural practices, gathering, policy, subsistence.

15. Love, T.; Jones, E.; Liegel, L. 1998. Valuing the temperate rain forest: wild 

mushrooming on the Olympic Peninsula Biosphere Reserve. Ambio Special 

Report. 9: 16–25.

Love et al. looked at who harvests chanterelles (Cantharellus formosus (cibarius) 

and C. subalbides (E. J. H. Corner)) on the Olympic Peninsula, as well as their 

reasons for harvesting and their harvesting practices. Methods used included participant observation, a mail survey, and informal and formal interviews. They found 

that harvesters represented a broad spectrum of ethnic backgrounds, social classes, 
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

age groups, and included both men and women. All of the pickers interviewed 

expressed the importance of being in the woods and the thrill of finding mushrooms 

as reasons for picking. Another value commonly expressed was the sense of independence and autonomy pickers got from harvesting mushrooms. As a rule, most 

were ambivalent or resistant to regulations. Many harvesters practiced stewardship 

behaviors and have acquired substantial ecological knowledge through their picking 

activities. Despite having similar values and norms about mushroom harvesting, 

considerable tension existed between recreational and commercial pickers. The 

authors attributed this to differences in ethnicity and social class, as well as the lack 

of shared gathering places. Authors suggested the need for forums that foster public 

dialogue on regulations so that commercial harvester knowledge and concerns are 

included in policymaking.

Keywords: Cultural practices, gathering, policy, stewardship, wild mushrooms.

16. McLain, R.J. 2008. Constructing a wild mushroom panopticon: the extension 

of nation state control over the forest understory in Oregon, USA. Economic 

Botany. 62(3): 343–355.

McLain draws on Foucault’s theory of disciplinary power, which posits that modern 

state control is made possible through processes of categorization, monitoring, 

and tracking carried out within the framework of a panopticon surveillance system, to understand conflicts over wild mushrooms in Oregon in the late 1990s. A 

panopticon is a structure designed in such a way that a watcher is able to see all 

the individuals within the structure without being seen herself; the effect of the 

panopticon is to encourage self-regulation of behavior with maximum efficiency. 

Data were gathered between 1994 and 2000 by using participant observation, direct 

observation, semistructured qualitative interviews, permit analyses, and archival 

analyses. The U.S. Forest Service employees came to view wild mushroom pickers 

as destructive resource users during the early 1990s despite the lack of scientific 

evidence to support their beliefs. State and federal resource managers subsequently 

created systems for monitoring and tracking wild mushroom pickers. McLain 

argues that these systems remained largely ineffective until the Forest Service 

established a wild mushroom panopticon in the form of a centralized camp that 

enabled law enforcement officials to keep track of pickers and buyers with minimal 

effort. The article highlights the tensions and resistance to regulation that surrounded the initial selection and subsequent relocation of the camp, tensions that 

reflected deep differences in how mushroom pickers, Forest Service ecologists, and 

local environmentalists viewed humans’ place in nature.

Keywords: Gathering, identity, policy, political ecology, wild mushrooms.
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17. Richards, R.T.; Creasey, M. 1996. Ethnic diversity, resource values, and ecosystem management: matsutake mushroom harvesting in the Klamath bioregion. 

Society and Natural Resources. 9: 359–374.

Richards and Creasey’s study documented harvesting patterns, practices, and values 

of wild mushroom pickers in the Pacific Northwest in the early 1990s. The impetus 

for the research was the entry of several thousand southeast Asian harvesters into 

the wild matsutake (Tricholoma matsutake, T. nauseosum ) industry in the late 

1980s and subsequent conflicts with the Karuk tribe, for whom matsutake was a traditional food. A variety of research methods were used, including a survey administered to 106 pickers of various ethnic groups, semistructured interviews with 15 

Hmong households and 10 Karuk tribal members, and an analysis of matsutake 

permit data. The study found that most non-Asian pickers were local rural residents, 

whereas the majority of Asian pickers resided in northern and central Californian 

cities and towns. Many Southeast Asian pickers stated that mushroom picking and 

camping was a way to recapture the sense of village life back in their homelands. 

The Karuk interviewees highlighted the importance of matsutake harvesting as a 

means for bringing the family together, sharing resources, and reaffirming ancient 

traditions. Many had harvested the same sites since childhood and reported that 

they used practices such as spreading and replacing leaf litter from harvest sites, 

aimed at maintaining site productivity. Richards and Creasey argued that current 

Forest Service participation processes are ill-suited to encouraging participation 

by southeast Asian pickers, many of whom speak little English, and reside in cities 

located at a considerable distance from the sites where public meetings on forest 

management are held. 

Keywords: Gathering, immigrants, policy, stewardship, wild mushrooms.

18. Robbins, P.; Emery, M.; Rice, J.L. 2008. Gathering in Thoreau’s backyard: 

nontimber forest product harvesting as a practice. Area. 40(2): 265–277.

In 2004, Robbins et al. conducted a random sample telephone survey of residents of 

four New England states (Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine). 

Their study is one of the few studies that examine the prevalence of gathering as 

a practice among the general population rather than looking at practices among 

specific populations of harvesters. Data were gathered through a random sample 

survey of 1,650 residents of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. 

Respondents were asked if they had gathered from woodlands in the past 5 years 

and if yes, whether they had gathered in the past 12 months. The survey showed that 

roughly 26 percent of the respondents had gathered wild products in the past 5 years 

and about 18 percent had gathered them in the previous 12 months. Robbins et al. 
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

pointed out that this rate of participation is higher than many other outdoor activities, such as golfing, skiing, and mountain climbing. Gatherers tended to have more 

formal education, somewhat higher income, and were less likely to be members of 

racial or ethnic minorities than the population as a whole. Gatherers were also a heterogeneous group and included both wealthy and poor, White and non-Whites, and 

varying levels of education. Roughly 60 percent of the respondents gathered edibles 

and decoratives, 16 percent gathered cultural or religious products, and 8 percent 

gathered medicinal or dietary supplements. Virtually everyone harvested for their 

own use (88 percent), and less than 3 percent of the respondents sold the products 

they gathered. The authors concluded that wild plants “are normal parts of many 

people’s lives” (p. 272) and that “the vast majority of gatherers are likely disassociated individuals coming from a wide range of socio-economic circumstances” 

(p. 272). They asserted that gathering as a practice muddies “the taken-for-granted 

divisions of public and private nature and society, which commonly dominate and 

define modern life” (p. 273), and argued that the study of gathering and gatherers 

has great potential to inform understandings of the diversity of ways in which 

people interact with nonhuman nature. 

Keywords: Cultural practices, gathering.

19. Samson, C.; Pretty, J. 2006. Environmental and health benefits of hunting 

lifestyles and diets for the Innu of Labrador. Food Policy. 31: 528–553.

Describes the deleterious effects on health and nutrition among the Innu in northern 

Labrador, Canada resulting from the shift in their lifestyle from nomadic hunting 

and gathering in rural areas to sedentary lives in towns and villages. Drawing on 

ethnographic data gathered over several decades together with nutritional analyses 

of wild and store-bought foods, the authors showed how the transition from wild 

to processed foods has resulted in diets that are significantly higher in fats and 

significantly lower in protein, vitamins, and essential minerals. The shift toward 

foods rich in fats and low in nutrients is most marked among younger Innu. Government policies favoring the delivery of health, education, and welfare services to 

centralized villages rather than to hunting and trapping outposts has contributed 

to a further decline in the percentage of the Innu diet coming from wild-harvested 

foods. Sedentarization and increased reliance on store-bought foods has been 

accompanied by a decline in physical activity among the Innu as well, with potentially negative impacts on both physical and mental health. The authors suggested 

four policy changes to address the health and nutritional problems linked to recent 

sedentarization of the Innu: establish a food policy that would encourage people 

to continue to hunt and gather foods in rural areas; reinstate the outpost program, 
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

which previously provided services to Innu living in hunting and trapping camps; 

promote ecotourism; and amend the school calendar so that children could accompany their parents on hunting and gathering expeditions.

Keywords: Food security, gathering, human health, nutrition.

Gathering Field Guides

Many field guides are available to foragers seeking to learn how to identify and 

locate the many plant and mushroom species of North America. Many of these 

helpful guides are full-length books, containing descriptions of anywhere from 20 

to 500 species as well as accompanying illustrations. Although most of these guides 

have a North American focus (e.g., North American wild plants), some are focused 

on plant species found in specific states, such as Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

With the exception of a few guides that give foragers specific advice on how to forage in urban environments (Curran and Taylor 1998, Gould 1991, Henderson 2000, 

Jacobson 2008, Page and Weaver 1975), most of these field guides do not include 

indepth discussion that covers this form of foraging. Rather, many include brief 

and to-the-point statements regarding safety precautions that foragers should take 

to avoid, for example, gathering plants and other materials contaminated by pollutants (e.g., auto exhaust), foraging in parks and other areas controlled by regulations 

prohibiting the collection of plants and other materials, and collecting poisonous 

or harmful species that may resemble edible species. Many of these field guides 

also contain nutritional information about various plant and mushroom species and 

include easy-to-follow recipes. Further, although foraging is clearly a practice that 

is encouraged by the authors of these field guides, many of them emphasized the 

importance of not taking “too much” (except for invasive species) and avoiding the 

disturbance of habitats. The span of time for publication of these guides indicates 

that gathering is not a recent activity in the United States, but a set of ongoing and 

evolving practices related to developing landscapes. Although few of these guides 

focus solely on urban or periurban environments, all of the field guides provide 

valuable tips and advice that can be put to use by foragers who seek species located 

in urban, periurban, and suburban settings. 

20. Brill, S.; Dean, E. 1994. Identifying and harvesting edible and medicinal plants 

in wild (and not so wild) places. New York: HarperCollins. 336 p. 

Documents over 500 of the most common and easy-to-prepare edible and medicinal wild plants found within the range of the continental United States (with the 

exception of subtropical Florida) and southern Canada. It includes helpful, indepth 

descriptions of wild edible and medicinal plants as well as over 260 illustrations 

portraying plant characteristics and plant parts as they appear throughout the 
35

Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

seasons. The introductory section includes a brief overview of gathering wild 

plants, cautionary notes regarding poisonous plants, useful equipment for gathering, preparation methods, and an overview of nutritional and medicinal benefits of 

wild plants. In addition, this section touches on several issues pertaining to urban/

periurban foraging practices and management. The authors warned foragers to 

wash any collected plants prior to preparing them and to refrain from collecting 

plants in areas that may have been sprayed with harmful herbicides or in areas near 

heavy traffic where lead pollution may pose a substantial health threat. The authors 

also advised foragers to never collect any rare or endangered or legally protected 

plants, thereby helping to promote their recovery and prevent their extinction. The 

majority of this book provides useful information for identifying wild plants and 

contains a species list arranged according to the seasonal availability of each plant. 

Each species description includes information concerning physical characteristics, 

historical facts, preparation and cooking instructions, nutritional content, edible 

and medicinal properties, look-alikes, and related species to each listed plant; 

some descriptions are longer than others, depending upon the author’s personal 

experience with each species. This guide also includes a separate section providing 

detailed cooking instructions and recipes as well as an index for referencing various 

edible and medicinal plants.

Keywords: Edible plants, medicinal plants, recipes, stewardship, toxics.

21. Coon, N. 1969. Using wayside plants. New York: Hearthside Press. 284 p.

First printed in 1957, this field guide provides an overview of uses for plants that 

are commonly found along country roads, and features approximately 160 illustrations and 10 black and white photographs. The guide is divided into two sections: a 

section describing the various uses of wild plants, and a section describing some of 

the wild plants that can be found in these areas. The first section focuses on recipes, 

arts, and crafts that use wild plants (e.g., dyeing with roadside plants), medicinal 

remedies, and use of wild plants as decorations inside the home and as natural 

landscaping materials. There are about 90 recipes, and over 20 different craft ideas 

ranging from dolls and toys for children to making brooms and ink. The book 

also makes mention of about 30 dye plants and 60 plants with medicinal uses. The 

second section is divided into useful trees, useful shrubs, herbaceous plants, plants 

found in wet places, lichens and fungi, and poisonous plants. The book describes 

over 90 species of useful plants, collapsing some into broader categories instead 

of focusing on a single species, and points out another 37 as poisonous plants to be 

approached with caution or avoided. A reflection of its time, the book generally suggests collecting along back country roads and near highways and byways as they 

provide areas that have various amounts of sun and moisture allowing for greater 
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

plant diversity. Further, the author implied that collecting along old roadsides avoids 

the problem of wandering onto private property. The author also suggested that collecting along rights-of-way might also be a good idea, as long as the collector does 

not overly disturb the land. The author suggested people gather to provide themselves with free food and interesting conversation pieces. The book also features 

a chapter on bringing wayside plants into one’s own backyard, which focuses on 

creating gardens in backyards rich with wild plants or involving the community and 

creating nature gardens on public and institutional lands. There is also a chapter on 

naturalist camping, featuring recipes and remedies that can be used while camping. 

Keywords: Edible plants, medicinal plants, property regimes, 

recipes, subsistence.

22. Curran, D.G.; Taylor, B. 1998. Urban fruit guide to the publicly accessible 

fruit, nuts, and berries in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, and Somerville. 

Boston, MA: EarthWorks Projects, Inc. 66 p.

Describes the publicly accessible fruit, nuts, and berries in Boston, Brookline, 

Cambridge, and Somerville, Massachusetts. Its focus is on foraging in urban 

areas. It includes information on a dozen species, organized within species by city, 

neighborhood, and street. The guide also discusses some issues related to history, 

liability, responsibility, and toxicity. It includes contact information for local open 

space organizations. 

Keywords: Edible plants, toxics, urban gathering.

23. Duke, J.A. 1992. Handbook of edible weeds. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press 

Inc. 246 p.

Focuses on edible weeds and includes a discussion about how eating these weeds 

can reduce the energy costs of producing and using herbicides to combat them. 

The introduction of the book focuses on how weeds can be useful, mentioning 

specifically a case of a weed being used to combat malaria. One hundred different 

plants are described; entries are listed in alphabetical order and include a detailed 

illustration and written description of each plant as well as a section that describes 

the plant’s uses (both modern and historical) across various cultures. Distribution of 

the plants is described by using the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, with notes on 

the specific states where the plants may appear. The author noted that these weeds 

are found nearly everywhere and mentioned gathering in urban vacant lots directly, 

but also expressed worry about the contaminants that plants growing in vacant lots 

and related areas may have. The book also has a very useful index of all the plants 

mentioned and their potential uses and medicinal properties.

Keywords: Edible plants, medicinal plants, toxics.
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

24. Elias, T.; Dykeman, P. 1982. Edible wild plants: a North American field 

guide to over 200 natural foods. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 288 p.

Provides information concerning some of the most popular and common wild 

edible plant species present in North America (excluding the subtropical areas of 

southern Florida). Although this book does not include any indepth discussion of 

the availability of various plant species to foragers in urban/periurban locations, 

species that can be found in disturbed sites, such as vacant lots, roadsides, and 

fencerows (e.g., places often found in urban areas), are mentioned. This field 

guide describes approximately 220 plant species and includes range maps for 

each species, noting whether the species is native to North America or introduced 

from elsewhere. It provides valuable information pertaining to (1) identifying 

plants according to certain physical characteristics; (2) the habitat types in which 

plant species are found; (3) the uses of plants and specific plant components, 

complete with helpful symbols identifying ways to use each species as food; 

(4) detailed cooking instructions and recipes; (5) the seasonal availability of 

each species; (6) references to closely related species that are also edible but not 

described in the guide; and (7) poisonous plant species similar in appearance 

to those listed in the guide. In addition, the introductory section contains clear 

instructions on how to use the guide; background information surrounding 

the uses, locations, and histories of various wild edible plant species; scientific 

information on the chemical properties of poisonous plant species; harvesting and 

preparation methods; nutritional information; and Native Americans’ utilization 

of wild edible plants. From an urban management perspective, the introduction 

also considers “overharvesting” and the ecological damage that may result from 

unsustainable use of plant species. The guide is primarily organized according 

to the seasonal availability of listed species, with additional information noting 

other times of the year when additional parts of the plants can be harvested and 

used. Each species is accompanied by a paragraph-long description and color 

photographs to aid foragers in locating and identifying them. There are nearly 

400 photographs, and a separate section of the guide devoted to describing and 

warning potential foragers about poisonous plant species. For reference, the index 

includes both common and scientific names as well as an appendix with nutritional contents of selected species. 

Keywords: Edible plants, nutrition, stewardship.
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

25. Fisher, D.W.; Bessette, A.E. 1992. Edible wild mushrooms of North America: 

a field-to-kitchen guide. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. 264 p.

Features information on approximately 88 species of edible North American 

mushrooms and another 18 species that are poisonous and should be avoided, along 

with 180 color photographs. Each mushroom entry includes key identifying characteristics, its fruiting locations, a list of similar edible and nonedible species and how 

to distinguish between them, and a section describing either the species’ edibility 

or its toxicity. Each section also has a full color photograph allowing for quicker 

identification. Authors discuss what a mushroom is, their taste and nutritional values, and a description of what tools to take while looking for mushrooms and where 

to start looking. Along with the descriptions of everything a budding mycophagist 

needs to know, the authors urge the gatherer to take caution around fringe habitats. 

Gathering near landfills and toxic dump sites is discouraged. Finding out which 

chemicals are used in areas such as lawns and golf courses is recommended before 

gathering, as is asking landowners for permission. The authors also suggested 

avoiding gathering along roadsides, giving specific recommendations about safety 

zones: 100 yards from interstates, 100 hundred feet from secondary highways, 50 

feet from secondary roads, and 10 feet from one-lane dirt roads, also pointing out 

that vegetation and wind patterns will alter the safety zones. Power lines, railroads, 

firebreaks, and areas near industrial sites—areas noted for their use of herbicides or 

the risk of contaminated soils—are highlighted as being unsuitable for gathering. 

The book also explains how to correctly identify mushrooms featuring 10 illustrations showing the parts of the mushrooms and describing how to make spore prints. 

The introduction then ends with the “Mycophagist’s Ten Commandments” which 

sum up the introductory information in a concise way. The book also features about 

76 recipes.

Keywords: Nutrition, recipes, toxics, wild mushrooms.

26. Gould, D.R. 1991. Beyond blackberries: a foraging guide to the publicly accessible fruit and nut trees in Seattle. Seattle, WA: SockMonkey Productions. 46 p.

Describes the publicly accessible fruit and nut trees in Seattle. It focuses extensively on foraging in urban areas. It describes 11 major species available in Seattle, 

including identification characteristics, edibility, harvest times, and locations. It 

also describes the locations of fruit and nut trees in seven districts of Seattle. Other 

discussions include the legality of foraging, responsible gathering practices, edibility, and toxicity. 

Keywords: Edible plants, regulations, toxics, urban gathering.
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

27. Henderson, R.K. 2000. The neighborhood forager: a guide for the wild food 

gourmet. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing Company. 240 p.

Focuses on wild plants in North America. It covers foraging in urban and suburban areas quite extensively and includes information on foraging topics such 

as tools and preservation. The book is divided into sections covering resinous 

herbs, broadleaf trees, flowers, hedges and ornamentals, greens, and roots. Each 

section describes several species and then provides recipes for their use. Photos, 

illustrations, and stories are provided for the species. Approximately 70 species are 

described. A calendar of seasonal availability is provided. 

Keywords: Edible plants, recipes.

28. Jacobson, A.L. 2008. Wild plants of greater Seattle. Seattle, WA: Arthur Lee 

Jacobson. 496 p. 

Focuses on wild plants in greater Seattle. It describes all types of plants, including medicinals, edibles, and others. It acknowledges that foraging for edibles is an 

important motivator for understanding wild plants and briefly mentions foraging 

ethics. It includes roughly 500 species and identifies them by their characteristics, 

scientific and common names, and provides additional information. Illustrations 

are also provided for many plants. The guide is organized by species and does not 

include locations for finding plants. History, habitats, uses, a calendar, and conservation suggestions are also included. 

Keywords: Edible plants, medicinal plants, stewardship, urban gathering.

29. Kallas, J. 2010. Edible wild plants: wild foods from dirt to plate. Layton, UT: 

Gibbs Smith. 416 p.

With nearly 300 full color photos, this field guide introduces the practice of collecting edible wild plants, focusing on making collecting easy and accessible to everyone. The field guide focuses on 15 different but common species, which the author 

has selected based on the ease with which they are found and accessed. These 

species can be found in the reader’s yard or neighborhood, an inducement for urban 

and suburban gathering. The author discussed finding these species in disturbed 

areas such as vacant lots. Species are divided into four categories based principally 

on taste considerations: foundation greens, tart greens, pungent greens, and bitter greens. Each plant has its own chapter, with full color photographs of every 

life stage as well as look-alikes (edible, toxic, and poisonous) intended to make 

identification easier. Distribution maps and lists of common names for each plant 

provide further information. The plant chapters feature detailed instructions on how 

to collect and prepare the plants, with recipes for every plant. The book also has 
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

extensive chapters geared toward understanding the concept of edible wild plants, 

how the author defines the words, and what people need if they want to get into collecting. Although the author does not mention any regulations surrounding collecting, he does provide a disclaimer that collecting and eating wild plants involves a 

certain amount of risk. Concluding chapters discuss the diverse reasons people may 

have for collecting as well as suggestions about the ways collecting wild edibles can 

improve social and family networks. Besides further encouraging individuals to 

create their own gardens of wild edibles, the book’s appendices contain nutritional 

information and brief explanations about how these plants benefit people. 

Keywords: Edible plants, nutrition, recipes.

30. Medve, R.; Medve, M. 1990. Edible wild plants of Pennsylvania and neighboring states. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. 260 p.

Describes approximately 102 wild edible plant species found in Pennsylvania and 

other states in the mid-Atlantic region. Descriptions are well-organized, with each 

occupying two pages and containing identical categories of information. Species 

descriptions are arranged according to the size of each plant, moving from smallest to largest. Each species description provides common and scientific names; 

black and white illustrations; and information regarding taxonomic family, plant 

characteristics, habitat, distribution, the edible parts of plants, food uses, warnings 

of possible dangers that the plant may pose, preparation techniques, recipes, and 

additional interesting remarks, including historical medicinal uses of plants. The 

authors discuss reasons for foraging for wild edible plants; important safety rules to 

follow when foraging; and general instructions for how to go about foraging, where 

to find wild edible plants, and how to prepare and consume plants once harvested. 

The book discusses the possibility that plants may be contaminated from vehicle 

emissions and other harmful chemicals present in our environment and emphasizes 

gathering plants in locations likely to contain minimal pollution. Although this 

book contains no sections specifically focused on foraging in urban or periurban 

environments, it does discuss the possibility of foraging for wild edible plants in 

settings such as vacant lots and roadsides—which are sites found in greater abundance within urban areas than in rural areas. The authors also suggest that foragers 

obtain permission from property or landowners and learn about state and federal 

regulations associated with any potential foraging locations prior to gathering 

plants. This book also contains sections on the nutritional content of selected plant 

species, toxic look-alikes of listed plants, helpful indexes, and a glossary for reference. 

Keywords: Edible plants, nutrition, property regimes, toxics.
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

31. Page, N.M.; Weaver, R.E.J. 1975. Wild plants in the city. New York: Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Company. 117 p.

Identifies nearly 80 wild plant species or suites of species that grow in Boston and 

other cities of the Northeastern United States. The list is not exhaustive but, rather, 

includes what the authors considered to be the most common, conspicuous, or interesting wild plants. A forward briefly describes urban successional processes and 

habitats such as vacant lots, roadsides, cracks in pavement, and water courses. An 

introduction discusses the ecological conditions and biological characteristics that 

allow some species to thrive in urban environments before musing on the role of 

wild plants and the city spaces that contain them. A majority of this 117-page book 

is dedicated to species descriptions, divided into four categories: (1) herbaceous 

flowering plants, (2) grasses and grasslike plants, (3) trees and shrubs, and (4) ferns. 

Each description provides information such as species height, leaf dimensions, 

habitat, place of origin, and growth habits, as well as one or more illustrations. 

Although not expressly meant to be a guide to urban gathering, many descriptions 

conclude with mention of uses for food, medicine, or dyes. Species descriptions are 

preceded by a key to aid in the identification of herbaceous flowering plants. The 

book is indexed and includes a brief bibliography.

Keywords: Edible plants, medicinal plants, urban gathering.

32. Russell, B. 2006. Field guide to wild mushrooms of Pennsylvania and the midAtlantic. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press. 248 p.

Features 100 species of mushrooms, both edible and inedible, with color photographs at the end of each chapter. The mushrooms are divided according to the 

season in which they are available, and then further divided into gilled mushrooms, 

pored mushrooms, and mushrooms that are neither. Each gilled mushroom is 

presented according to the color of its spore print. The author gives a very brief 

overview of mushroom hunting and some advice to beginners, including a brief 

cautionary statement about collecting in contaminated areas and within 50 feet of 

roadways. Concise mushroom descriptions follow, with a few paragraphs devoted 

to where each species is found and a species history. Descriptions also detail caps, 

gills, the spore print, the stem, growth habit, edibility, any of the species’ copycats, 

and other brief tips. The author includes four recipes that can be used with any of 

the collected mushrooms.

Keywords: Recipes, toxics, wild mushrooms.
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

33. Still, C. 1998. Botany and healing: medicinal plants of New Jersey and the 

region. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. 280 p.

Describes about 495 wild medicinal plant species found in New Jersey and surrounding areas, including southeastern Pennsylvania. The introductory section 

provides a brief account of the history of wild medicinal plant use, the author’s 

personal experience with collecting such plants, and instructions for how to use 

the guide to identify and locate various species. This section also describes the 

physical and chemical properties of medicinal plants, methods of preparing these 

plants, harvesting directions, and cautionary notes. The guide consists primarily of 

a species list, organized according to taxonomic family and genus, and is accompanied by thorough descriptions and illustrations of listed species. Each description includes information on the average plant size, other physical characteristics; 

habitat, geographic range, seasonal availability, modern medicinal uses of plants, 

and ways in which Native Americans have historically used plants for medicinal 

purposes. There is minimal reference within this guide to foraging in urban or 

periurban locations, but the information contained in the guide can be applied to 

urban foraging. The guide contains a brief discussion of the current environmental 

problem associated with invasive species and the concurrent loss of native species 

in the mid-Atlantic and other regions of the United States. A set of appendixes 

arranged by medicinal plant use, glossary, and an index provide further reference 

materials for foragers. 

Keywords: Cultural practices, medicinal plants.

34. Thayer, S. 2006. The forager’s harvest: a guide to identifying, harvesting, and 

preparing edible wild plants. Ogema, WI: Forager’s Harvest. 360 p.

Describes wild edible plant species in North America. Each of the 32 species 

descriptions contained in this guide draw on the author’s foraging experience. 

The introduction contains an interesting discussion of general locations that offer 

good opportunities for collecting wild food within both rural and urban areas. The 

introduction also touches on the laws and regulations that pertain to certain foraging locations (e.g., public parks), including those that may prohibit the taking or use 

of plant species growing there; foragers are warned to be cautious when collecting 

plants in these areas. The introduction also addresses overharvesting and the importance of species conservation; foragers are cautioned to refrain from harvesting 

species in an unsustainable manner so as to ensure the continued health and abundance of valuable wild edible plant populations. Further described is the history 

of foraging and wild food literature, reasons for foraging for wild edible plants, 

cooking with wild edible plants, identifying plants and safety precautions, methods 

of harvest and preparation of wild edible plants, storage of these species, and ideal 
43

Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

harvesting times and seasons for particular species. Each of the 32 individual 

descriptions that compose the bulk of this guide includes information relating to 

identification, the species range, habitat characteristics, seasonal availability, edible 

versus inedible parts of plants, harvesting methods, and preparation methods for 

that particular species. In addition, there are helpful indexes, a glossary, and species 

identification diagrams included in the back of the guide. This guide is organized 

according to taxonomic order of species; descriptions of related plants are situated 

side by side. This helps familiarize the reader with differentiating among plant species that share similar physical characteristics and will help foragers develop skills 

in identifying wild edible plants. The guide includes over 200 color photographs, 

which may also help foragers learn to identify edible plant species.

Keyword: Conservation, edible plants, recipes, regulations.

Popular Media

Articles appearing in the popular media reveal trends about urban nontimber 

forest products (NTFPs) that are only just beginning to be investigated in the 

peer-reviewed literature. They indicate the existence of both new and old gathering 

practices in urban areas, describe some of the tensions and conflicts associated with 

urban gathering, and discuss the environmental health risks associated with gathering in cities. Reflecting themes in the academic literature on rural gathering, these 

articles collectively suggest that urban gathering occurs in many U.S. cities, takes a 

variety of forms, and that motivations for participating in gathering are diverse. 

Many recent articles highlight the emergence of organized fruit-gathering 

projects. These articles reflect the convergence of local food, food security (largely 

focused on low-income city dwellers), and environmental sustainability movement 

concerns. These articles speak to the diversity of these urban fruit gleaning efforts, 

as well as to the challenges associated with the coordination of activities that seek to 

link people who need fruit to people who have surplus fruit. Another topic that has 

received coverage is the emerging phenomenon of Web-based fruit-mapping projects 

that seek to increase access of citizens to public and privately owned fruit trees. 

Both the gleaning and Web-based mapping projects are uncoordinated at a 

regional or national scale. Neither topic is examined in the peer-reviewed literature. 

Consequently, policy related to these diverse urban gathering practices, as well as 

individual gathering practices, is being created in a knowledge vacuum. To fill this 

vacuum, basic research about who gathers, what is gathered, and where gathering 

takes place is needed. Policy-oriented research examining the linkages between 

food security and urban gathering, the role of urban gathering in expanding access 

to locally produced food, and the role of social media and geospatial technologies in 

fruit mapping and urban gleaning projects is also called for. 
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

35. Bleyer, J. 2006. Fort Tyron Park: where the fruits of autumn might include 

a summons. New York Times. 17 September 2006. http://www.nytimes.

com/2006/09/17/nyregion/thecity/17ging.html?fta=y. (September 11, 2011). 

Bleyer described gathering activities that take place in Fort Tryon Park in Upper 

Manhattan in the fall. Asian park visitors come to the park to harvest gingko nuts, 

Russians gather hawthorn berries, and other visitors collect jewelweed, pokeweed, 

mulberries, and linden berries. Although removing or mutilating plants is illegal 

and can lead to fines of up to $4,000, plant parts that fall to the ground, such as nuts 

and fruits, can legally be harvested. Park officials reported that they see gingko nut 

harvesters as providing a valuable service but discourage park visitors from cutting 

or removing plant parts.

Keywords: Immigrants, policy, urban gathering.

36. Gordon, D. 2008. Nonprofit groups reap forgotten fruit. The Star. 23 September 

2008. http://www.thestar.com/article/503866. (September 11, 2011).

Describes Not Far From the Tree, a nonprofit founded in 2007 in Toronto, Canada 

and coordinated by Laura Reinsborough. The group uses volunteers to pick fruit 

and distribute it by bicycle and on foot. The program benefits owners, volunteers, 

and community groups that help the homeless and disadvantaged.

Related project Web site annotation: Not Far From the Tree. http://www.

notfarfromthetree.org/. (September 11, 2011). 

Keywords: Food security, fruit sharing, gleaning, urban food production, urban 

gathering, volunteers.

37. Green, M.E. 2008. Oakland’s fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree. San Francisco 

Chronicle. 30 August 2008. http://articles.sfgate.com/2008-08-30/home-andgarden/17123934_1_west-oakland-east-oakland-suzan-bateson. 

(September 11, 2011).

Describes Urban Youth Harvest, run by the nonprofit People United for a Better 

Life in Oakland. This program hired young adults and teenagers to harvest backyard fruit trees. Fruit donations were given to low-income senior centers and youth 

and community programs. The article also describes Cycles of Change, a local 

program in which youths transport harvested fruit by bike. Youths gain an alternate 

perspective on local harvesting through their participation in the program. The 

program is surveying residents throughout the city about food access and is creating 

a database of houses that have fruit trees. 

Keywords: Food security, fruit sharing, gleaning, mapping, urban food production, urban gathering, volunteers.
45

Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

38. Hong, H. 2007. City gardens: harvesting dinner and snacks from the grounds 

around you. Baltimore City Paper. 11 July 2007. http://www2.citypaper.com/eat/

story.asp?id=14760. (September 11, 2011).

Hong suggested that rather than going to farmers’ markets for local fresh food, city 

residents should try harvesting plants along streets, in yards, and in parks in the 

city. He recounts memories from his childhood of Korean grandmothers, including 

his own, harvesting gingko nuts and acorns from trees along Baltimore’s streets and 

in city parks. He describes his mother’s delight in finding perilla plants shortly after 

immigrating to the United States from Korea, noting that “It is common in Korea 

but was an utterly unexpected and welcome sight in this strange new land.” Other 

edible plants that he gathers in Baltimore’s city parks include walnuts, burdock root, 

and wormseed. 

Keywords: Immigrants, urban gathering.

39. Hsu, H. 2007. Roadside concoction: an expert forages for weeds, fruit, fungi, 

and other wild edibles. Dandelion greens anyone? Seattle Weekly. 8 August 

2007. www.seattleweekly.com/2007-08-08/food/roadside-concoction-an-expertforages-for-weeds-fruit-fungi-and-other-wild-edibles/. (September 11, 2011).

This article is primarily about Linda and Roger Urbaniak who live in Seattle, 

Washington, and hunt, fish, and gather about a third of the food they eat. Both 

have day jobs, but Linda also teaches classes on edible plants. Linda (age 66) has a 

mental map of all of the foraging hot spots throughout the city, including fruit trees 

on private property and city nature parks. The author also interviews Linda Conroy, 

a traditional herbalist, who describes the nutritional value of many wild foods, and 

how they can be eaten (e.g., in salads, pesto). The article mentions that Seattle Parks 

and Recreation forbids the removal of any plant or animal matter from its parks. 

The article cautions potential foragers about collecting foods within 10 feet of roads 

as the Department of Transportation commonly sprays herbicides on roadsides. 

Keywords: Ecological knowledge, environmental health, regulations, urban 

gathering.

40. Kaufman, R. 2010. Urban foragers cropping up in U.S. National Geographic 

green guide. 3 September 2010. http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/

thegreenguide/2010/09/urban-foragers-cropping-up-in.html. 

(September 11, 2011).

Features the emergence of urban foraging across cities in the United States. The 

author highlighted current research being conducted by collaborators at the Institute 

for Culture and Ecology and interviewed researcher Melissa Poe about preliminary 

findings of an ethnographic and institutional analysis of urban foraging in Seattle. 
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

Preliminary findings of the Institute for Culture and Ecology’s research highlighted 

in the article indicated that foraging as a practice is not new, and that more than 250 

species of wild plants and fungi are gathered in Seattle. According to Poe, people 

who forage develop strong connections to the plants and ecosystems that yield 

important foraging products. In both the interview with Poe and the author’s survey 

of other popular media coverage of urban foraging—namely, the New York Times 

blogger Ava Chin—Kaufman raised important questions about regulations, sustainability, and exposure to toxins. 

Keywords: Regulations, sustainability, toxics, urban gathering.

41. Mahany, B. 2008. Foraging ahead in the urban jungle. Chicago Tribune. 8 June 

2008. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-06-08/features/0806040417_1_foraging-plants-tracks. (September 11, 2011).

This newspaper article is about Nance Klehm who lives primarily by foraging in 

Chicago. She has been foraging in Chicago for 19 years as a way to connect to the 

land and live a healthy life. Klehm notes how the taste of wild plants is completely 

different from store-bought food. She commonly meets first-generation immigrants, 

including Poles, Russians, Mexicans, Chinese, also foraging for wild weeds. When 

asked about eating foods that might be dangerous or toxic, she states there is more 

medicinal and food value in local food than in food brought into the city from other 

areas.

Keywords: Immigrants, toxics, urban gathering.

42. McGuire, V.C. 2007. Replacing neglect with peach trees. The New York Times. 

2 September 2007. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/realestate/02nati.html. 

(September 11, 2011).

Describes the Philly Orchard Project in Philadelphia founded by Paul Glover. It is a 

nonprofit organization with the goal of planting fruit trees on Philadelphia’s vacant 

lots, creating edible community centers. The project targets vacant lots in south 

Philadelphia and New Kensington, areas of the city where population decline has 

been the greatest. The goals of the project are to help existing neighborhood groups 

(particularly schools and community centers) plant gardens with help from interns 

and volunteers. The conversion of land into green space and gardens increases 

property values and decreases litter and vandalism. Philadelphia has started a new 

initiative, GreenPlan Philadelphia, and public orchards are part of that plan.

Related Web site annotation: Philadelphia Orchard Project. http://www.

phillyorchards.org/. (March 20, 2010). 

Keywords: Food security, fruit sharing, gleaning, public orchards, urban food 

production, urban gathering, volunteers.
47

Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

43. Mulady, K. 2007. When it’s harvest time, you offer the tree and volunteers pick 

the fruit. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 19 August 2007. http://seattlepi.nwsource.

com/local/328216_fruit19.html. (September 11, 2011).

Describes the Community Fruit Tree Harvest program operated by Solid Ground, a 

local nonprofit organization. The program relies on volunteers to pick fruit harvested in yards and along streets in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood. The fruit is 

then delivered to local food banks and meal programs. 

Related Web site annotation: Community Fruit Tree Harvest. http://www.

solid-ground.org/programs/nutrition/fruittree/Pages/default.aspx. (September 11, 

2011). 

Keywords: Food security, fruit sharing, gleaning, urban food production, urban 

gathering, volunteers.

44. Nakao, A. 2005. Fruitful project helps the needy: homeowners also benefit from 

program that harvests backyard bounty. San Francisco Chronicle. 26 August 

2005. http://articles.sfgate.com/2005-08-26/news/17385592_1_huge-harvestsgrapefruit-backyard-fruit. (September 11, 2011).

Describes a backyard fruit gleaning program piloted by Village Harvest, a San Jose, 

California nonprofit founded in 2001. In 2005, Village Harvest had 200 volunteers 

and harvested 79,000 pounds of fruit from backyards and commercial property. The 

program emphasizes educational programs that teach people how to care for fruit 

trees. Fresh produce is given to food banks and a transitional home. The program 

is growing, but currently the only funding is provided by sales of jam made from 

bruised/unusable fruit. 

Related project Web site annotation: Village Harvest. www.villageharvest.org. 

(September 11, 2011). 

Keywords: Food security, fruit sharing, gleaning, urban food production, urban 

gathering, volunteers.

45. Pack, M.M. 2005. Harvesting history: an appreciation of the pecan. The Austin 

Chronicle. 5 November 2005. http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/

story?oid=oid:313554. (September 11, 2011).

Describes the history of the pecan (Cary illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch) in Texas 

and pecan harvesting and processing activities taking place in Austin, the state’s 

capitol city. Archeological evidence indicates that humans have consumed pecans 

in Texas for at least 8,000 years, and pecans have a long history as a commodity. 

Texans first established pecan orchards in the 1880s, and the state now produces 

an average of 60 million pounds per year. Pecan trees are common in many of 

Austin’s parks and yards, and many people harvest them for their own use. The city 
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

allows people to harvest nuts that have fallen from city-owned trees, but prohibits 

the shaking of trees to bring nuts to the ground. Many yards also have pecan trees 

and Pack described one harvester who collects more than 200 pounds of nuts from 

her yard every year. Since 1983, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department has 

sponsored a program in which seniors volunteer to crack pecans for city residents. 

The program charges 25 cents a pound for processing the nuts and uses the money 

to supplement its funding from the city. 

Keywords: Policy, urban gathering.

46. Priesnitz, W. 2007. A fruity harvest: growing community and creating a local, 

public food supply. Natural Life Magazine: 36–37. http://www.naturallifemagazine.com/0706/fruitharvest.htm. (September 11, 2011).

Priesnitz described a project known as Fallen Fruit, which is working to map fruit 

trees in public spaces in Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles law states that fruit 

is public property if it is located on a branch that overhangs onto public property. 

He also describes Common Vision, a fruit tree planting program that benefits inner 

city students. Common Vision runs a fruit-tree-grafting training program called 

Roots to Fruits and Harvest Hip Hop, a roots rhythm rap contest. Priesnitz linked 

these projects back to the guerilla gardening movement initiated in New York City 

in 1973.

Related project Web site annotation: Fallen Fruit. http://fallenfruit.org/. (September 11, 2011). 

Keywords: Food security, fruit sharing, gleaning, mapping, urban food production, urban gathering, volunteers.

47. Rich, S. 2006. Mapping Tucson’s fruit trees. Worldchanging. 25 November 

2006. www.worldchanging.com/archives/005408.html. (September 11, 2011).

Describes Iskash**taa, a nonprofit organization founded in 2003 by Barbara 

Eiswerth with the goal of providing elderly and low-income residents of Tuscon, 

Arizona, greater access to fresh food. Initially the project focused on providing fruit 

to Somalian refugees living in Tuscon. Refugee students were recruited to participate in the Tucson Youth Mapping and Gleaning Project (http://tug.bara.arizona.

edu/jpproject.htm), which included mapping fruit tree locations, harvesting fruit, 

and distributing produce that would have otherwise gone to waste. The organization 

now has over 70 volunteers and serves refugees from around the world. 

Keywords: Food security, fruit sharing, gleaning, immigrants, mapping, urban 

food production, urban gathering, volunteers.
49

Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

48. Seversen, K. 2009. Neighbor, can you spare a plum? New York Times. 10 June 

2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/10/dining/10Fruit.html. (September 11, 

2011).

Describes the urban fruit tree gathering movement across the country. It focuses 

on Asiya Wadud, who organized a neighborhood fruit exchange called Forage 

Oakland. It mentions the similarities between this exchange and others across the 

country, including those accessed through Web sites like neighborhoodfruit.com, 

veggietrader.com, and others in Oregon, Michigan, and Alaska. The article says 

that urban fruit gathering has two basic principles: fruit should not go to waste, and 

fruit is better when it is free. The article addresses issues of legality and pricing. 

Related project Web site annotations: Forage Oakland. http://forageoakland.

blogspot.com/. (September 11, 2011); Neighborhood Fruit. http://www.neighborhoodfruit.com/. (September 11, 2011). 

Keywords: Food security, fruit sharing, gleaning, urban food production, urban 

gathering, volunteers.

Web Sites 

Web sites are an important means by which urban gatherers connect with each other 

and share information. Web sites related to urban gathering fall into three sometimes 

overlapping groups: (1) sites focused on the mapping of locations of fruit trees, 

berries, and other nontimber forest products; (2) sites for gleaning or food-sharing 

projects that connect landowners having excess fruit or other tree products with 

people or organizations wanting fruit or other tree products; and (3) sites for projects 

that sponsor the planting of fruit and nut trees in public spaces. Blogs are also an 

important source of information on urban gathering. However, with the exception 

of sites with feral fruit maps, they were not included in this review owing to space 

limitations. Most Web sites related to urban gathering are local, usually to a city or 

town. These Web sites often address key issues related to urban gathering including 

property rights, monetary exchange (or free exchange), and public lands issues.

49. Appleseed Collective. http://www.appleseedcollective.org/. 

(September 11, 2011). 

The Appleseed Collective seeks to increase the production and accessibility of 

locally and sustainably grown food within Guelph, Ontario. Their work includes 

mapping public and private fruit trees, sponsoring edible and medicinal plant 

walks, and harvesting fruit trees. Their Web-based maps are interactive, allowing 

site users to add fruit trees to the map. 

Keywords: Fruit sharing, gleaning, mapping, sustainability, urban food production, urban gathering.
50

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

50. Champaign-Urbana Fruit Map. http://maps.google.com/maps/

ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=109653875096993106128.0004566f3d06

2304bcf61&ll=40.117430,-88.255234&spn=0.183539,0.291824&z=12&source=em

bed. (September 11, 2011). 

This is a Google-based interactive map that shows locations for publicly accessible 

edible plants and fungi in the Champaign-Urbana region of Illinois. It includes 

apples, plums, cherries, mulberries, persimmons, bananas, serviceberry, aronia berries, crabapples, pears, chicken of the wood mushrooms, cattails, and filberts. The 

map includes photos for some entries and information about fruiting periods and 

possible contamination by pesticides. Some entries include cautions against picking 

fruits on private land. 

Keywords: Edible plants, mapping, urban gathering.

51. City Fruit. http://city-fruit.appspot.com/display. (September 11, 2011). 

This interactive fruit map is managed by City Fruit, a nonprofit group based in 

Seattle, which provides assistance to residential tree owners interested in growing, 

harvesting, and sharing fruit. They sponsor fruit tree harvests, donations, and tree 

care workshops in addition to mapping fruit tree locations. City Fruit’s fruit tree 

map includes apple, cherry, pear, fig, and plum trees. Information about the precise 

location, age, and fruit quality of the tree is included for some entries. 

Keywords: Food security, fruit sharing, gleaning, mapping, urban food production, urban gathering, volunteers.

52. Cleveland Fruit Share. http://www.localfoodcleveland.org/group/clevelandfruitshare. (September 11, 2011). 

Cleveland Fruit Share is part of Local Food Cleveland, an online social network that 

is working toward creating a locally based food economy. It relies on volunteers 

who pick fruit in private yards, vacant lots, and on quasipublic lands. The volunteers share a portion of the harvest with the owner and keep the rest for themselves. 

Keywords: Fruit sharing, gleaning, urban gathering, volunteers.

53. Community Fruit Tree Harvest. http://www.solid-ground.org/programs/

nutrition/fruittree/Pages/default.aspx. (September 11, 2011). 

This Web site, part of Solid Ground’s Lettuce Link program, shares information 

about harvesting from community fruit trees. It includes a comprehensive handbook on how to start volunteer-based fruit harvesting projects and describes actions 

volunteers can take to help promote community fruit harvesting. Through these 

programs, volunteers pick fruit from private yards and deliver it to food banks. 

Keywords: Food security, fruit sharing, gleaning, mapping, urban 

gathering, volunteers.
51

Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

54. Good Food ‘N’ Greenways Project. www.lifecyclesproject.ca/initiatives/

fruit_tree/gfgw_index.php. (September 11, 2011). 

The Good Food ‘N’ Greenways Project is an effort to plant food-bearing trees in the 

public spaces of Victoria, British Columbia. The project is a partnership of LifeCycles, five neighborhood groups, and the Tsartlip First Nation. Its goals include 

increasing community and regional biodiversity, mapping the community’s green 

spaces, increasing the amount of fresh produce in the region, and raising awareness about the interdependence between the environment, food, quality of life, and 

public green spaces. 

Keywords: Biodiversity, food security, mapping, urban gathering, volunteers.

55. Fallen Fruit. http://fallenfruit.org/. (September 11, 2011). 

Fallen Fruit is a community-based mapping project that was initiated in the early 

2000s. The project began with the idea of creating a map of “public fruit” in the 

Silver Lake neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. The group’s founders wished 

to increase public awareness that fruit that grows on or hangs over onto public 

property is legally public property and can be gathered by anyone. The founders 

believe that fruit is a resource to be shared. Fallen Fruit has inspired fruit mapping 

efforts in other neighborhoods and in cities around the world. The founders would 

like to see fruit maps created for the entire United States. Included on the Web site 

are directions and tips on how to make an interactive digital map. The Fallen Fruit 

Project also hosts Public Fruit Jam sessions, workshops that teach people how to 

make jam from gathered fruit. The Fallen Fruit Project has recently redirected its 

mapping efforts toward active city planning that incorporates the planting of fruit 

trees in public places. 

Keywords: Food security, mapping, property regimes, public orchards, urban 

gathering. 

56. Forage Oakland. http://forageoakland.blogspot.com/. (September 11, 2011). 

This blog documents and coordinates the activities of members of Forage Oakland, a 

group that maps and shares fruit harvested in neighborhoods in Oakland, California. 

It includes an extensive list of foraging projects in cities around the world. 

Keywords: Food security, fruit sharing, gleaning, mapping, urban food production, urban gathering.

57. Fruit Tree Gleaning Project. www.nanaimofoodshare.ca/. (September 11, 2011). 

A partnership initiative of the Nanaimo Community Gardens Society, Nanaimo 

Foodshare Society, and Nanaimo Community Kitchens Society, the Fruit Tree 

Gleaning Project links people who have extra fruit and vegetables with volunteers 
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willing to pick them in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Gleaners are encouraged to 

share the food that they pick with family, friends, neighbors, or local food banks. 

The project also offers canning and dehydrating workshops. 

Keywords: Food security, fruit sharing, gleaning, urban food production, urban 

gathering, volunteers.

58. Fruit Tree Planting Foundation. http://www.ftpf.org/. (September 11, 2011). 

The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (FTPT) is a nonprofit charity that plants fruit 

trees and edible plants to benefit needy populations and improve the surrounding 

air, soil, and water in villages and cities around the world. The foundation strategically plants orchards where the harvest will best serve the community, such as 

public schools, homeless shelters, drug rehabilitation centers, low-income areas, 

international hunger relief sites, and animal sanctuaries. The FTPF has programs 

in several U.S. cities, including Chicago (public orchard), San Diego and Santa 

Rosa (tree plantings at drug rehabilitation centers), and Hayward, California (edible 

school yards).

Keywords: Food security, public orchards, sustainability, urban 

food production.

59. London Orchard Project. http://thelondonorchardproject.org/. (September 11, 2011). 

The London Orchard Project was established in 2009 by two permaculturalist 

designers interested in integrating fruit trees into London’s community spaces. Its 

goal is to develop a “skilled community of Londoners to plant, care for and harvest 

fruit trees,” activities which the founders see as important for “connecting urban 

communities and increasing access to fruit.” The London Orchard Project focuses 

on restoring orchards, and offers courses open to the public on how to revitalize and 

maintain fruit trees. They also have produced Web-based maps of both historical 

and current orchards in and around the city of London.

Keywords: Food security, fruit sharing, gleaning, mapping, public orchards, 

stewardship, urban food production, urban gathering, volunteers.

60. Madison Fruits and Nuts. http://madisonfruitsandnuts.org/. (September 11, 2011).

This grassroots initiative is aimed at encouraging people to plant fruit and nut trees 

in public spaces in Madison, Wisconsin, as a means to expand the availability of 

fresh and local produce. Once the trees begin producing fruits and nuts, the produce 

would be freely available to the public. The project encountered considerable resistance from the city’s Parks Commission, which expressed concerns about how the 

trees would be maintained and whether the park would be held liable if people were 
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

injured while caring for or harvesting from the trees. The project also maintains an 

interactive map of fruit and nut trees in Madison.

Keywords: Food security, mapping, policy, public orchards, urban food production, urban gathering.

61. Neighborhood Fruit. http://www.neighborhoodfruit.com/. (September 11, 2011). 

This national Web site seeks to help people find and share fruit across the United 

States. Its current focus is making fruit consumption a more local activity. It creates 

formal, sometimes monetary relationships between those who have fruit and those 

who want fruit. They address issues of liability, payment, and labeling through their 

system. So far, over 10,000 trees have been registered. The project also includes 

maps of publically available fruit. 

Keywords: Fruit sharing, mapping, urban gathering.

62. Not Far From the Tree. http://www.notfarfromthetree.org/. (September 11, 2011). 

Not Far From the Tree is a fruit sharing program in Toronto, Canada that relies 

on volunteer harvesters. The fruit is split equally between the tree owner, the 

volunteers, and local community organizations. Not Far From the Tree is working 

with a local partner, Growing for Green, to develop a community orchard in one of 

Toronto’s public parks.

Keywords: Fruit sharing, gleaning, public orchards, urban food production, 

urban gathering, volunteers.

63. Philadelphia Orchard Project. http://www.phillyorchards.org/. 

(September 11, 2011). 

The Philadelphia Orchard Project plants orchards in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The purpose of the orchards is to provide healthy food, green spaces, and 

community food security. Community organizations own, maintain, and harvest 

the orchards. 

Keywords: Food security, fruit sharing, gleaning, public orchards, urban food 

production, urban gathering, volunteers.

64. Portland Fruit Tree Project. http://portlandfruit.org/. (September 11, 2011). 

The Portland Fruit Tree Project began in 2006 with the goal of assisting fruit tree 

owners in Portland, Oregon, with the harvest of unwanted fruit, and redistributing 

the excess fruit to families in need. The project identifies fruit tree owners who are 

willing to register harvestable trees (usually on private property) and organizes volunteer groups to harvest these trees before the fruit falls. Volunteers are low-income 

individuals who are allowed to keep as much fruit as they want in return for their 

work. The remaining fruit is distributed to emergency food sites. The project also 
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offers workshops on food preservation and tree care. The organization has plans to 

develop a community orchard program that would plant orchards in public areas in 

partnership with churches, schools, and community gardens.

Keywords: Food security, fruit sharing, gleaning, mapping, urban food production, urban gathering, volunteers.

65. Urban Edibles. http://urbanedibles.org/. (September 11, 2011). 

Urban Edibles is a fluid network of Portland community members who share 

information about urban foods and foraging. The Urban Edibles Web site is a 

community-created database and mapping project where community members are 

invited to post the location (nearest street address) of a wide variety of available 

plant sources including nuts, berries, dandelions, and fruit trees. Each location or 

source is plotted on a digital map that specifies the type of plant and any additional 

information that might be useful for urban foragers such as accessibility, description 

of quantity, and even comments on taste. Also available at the Web site is information about lawful and ethical considerations when urban foraging. The group has 

partnered with other neighborhood projects to coordinate public education workshops, presentations, exhibitions, interpretive plant walks, and posters. 

Keywords: Mapping, regulations, stewardship, urban gathering.

66. Urban Orchards-Earthworks. http://www.earthworksboston.org/urbanorchards. (September 11, 2011). 

Earthworks’ Urban Orchards project works to plant, maintain, and harvest fruit 

and nut trees, vines, and shrubs in urban areas. The project provides trees, mulch, 

fertilizer, and horticultural and organizing experience to communities interested in 

revitalizing. Earthworks monitors the new orchards for at least 3 years. Information 

about how to grow a community orchard is included on the Web site. 

Keywords: Food security, fruit sharing, public orchards, urban food production, 

urban gathering, volunteers.

67. Vancouver Fruit Tree Project. http://www.vcn.bc.ca/fruit/about.html. 

(September 11, 2011). 

The Vancouver Fruit Tree Project is a community-based, registered charity that 

works to increase access to fresh local fruit in communities throughout Vancouver, 

British Columbia. The group connects people who have fruit trees, people who 

can help harvest fruit, and community groups that distribute the fruit or use it in 

their programs. 

Keywords: Food security, fruit sharing, gleaning, urban food production, urban 

gathering, volunteers.
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

68. Village Harvest. www.villageharvest.org. (September 11, 2011). 

Village Harvest is a nonprofit, Web-based organization founded in 2001. It began 

in the Santa Clara Valley as a volunteer project of the local 4H Club and the Master 

Gardeners. The organization fosters community relationships, practices sustainable 

urban harvesting, and provides food to those in need. Groups of volunteers assist 

elderly fruit tree owners who can no longer pick the fruit that their trees produce. 

Village Harvest’s 200 volunteers pick 80,000 pounds of fruit each year, mainly 

from private property. The fruit is distributed to food banks. 

Keywords: Food security, fruit sharing, gleaning, urban food production, urban 

gathering, volunteers.

Academic Literature Relevant to Urban Gathering

This section includes annotations from the fields of cultural ecology, political 

ecology, environmental psychology, environmental health, urban forestry, urban 

ecology, and urban planning. Scholars in each of these fields have contributed to 

understandings of human-plant interactions. However, with the exception of cultural and political ecologists, rarely have scholars in these fields explicitly studied 

gatherers, gathering practices, toxicity of gathered materials, or the ecological 

impacts of gathering. Nonetheless, research in these fields can identify key questions for studies of urban gathering and provide theoretical concepts, frameworks, 

and methods of value to urban gathering scholars. Conversely, studies of urban 

gathering also can inform research in these academic fields. For example, research 

on the sociocultural values of urban nontimber forest products (NTFPs) would 

address a major gap in forest valuation studies, and studies of the impacts of 

gathering on urban forest ecologies could help land managers identify practices that 

support the restoration of threatened anthropogenic ecosystems such as Tokyo’s 

satoyama forests. 

Cultural Ecology

Cultural ecology examines the relationship between societies and their environments, and is predicated on the idea that humans are a part of ecological processes 

and structures. Whereas early research in the field focused on the way cultures 

adapted to changing environments, today cultural ecologists increasingly draw on 

actor-network theory to highlight environments as biocultural products of “complex 

networks of humans and non-humans” (Head 2007: 839). Recent work in cultural 

ecology focuses attention on the positive role of humans in ecosystems and the 

need for conservation policies that recognize that humans are potentially positive 

actors in the production and maintenance of sustainable landscapes (Head and 

Atchison 2009). Although most cultural ecologists study rural places and people, 
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cultural ecology approaches are increasingly used to examine the complex interactions of humans and nonhumans in urban ecosystems. It is this body of literature 

that is most directly relevant to studies of urban gathering. 

In particular, the subfield of human-plant geographies has much to offer in 

terms of methods and theoretical constructs for urban gathering research. Humanplant geographies highlight how everyday “nature” practices, such as lawn care 

and gardening, are bound up with personal and cultural identities, social class, 

and societal and individual views about nature (Head and Atchison 2009). This 

literature, which emphasizes the liminal, or “borderland” characteristics of gardens 

and yards, demonstrates the inadequacy of the binary categorizations (e.g., human/

natural, urban/rural, public/private) that underlie much current urban planning and 

policy, including so-called best management practices, and points to the need for 

more complex understandings of how humans inhabit the world (Bhatti and Church 

2001, Head and Muir 2006a, Longhurst 2006). Research on the cultural meanings 

and functions of yards and gardens also shows that caring for yards, gardening, and 

participating in ecological restoration provide important opportunities for urban 

residents to develop relationships with nature and to acquire and transmit ecological knowledge (Gross and Lane 2007; Head and Muir 2006a, 2006b). Importantly, 

human-plant geographies demonstrate that plants are an important medium through 

which humans create and maintain identities and social relationships (Longhurst 

2006, Morgan and Poynting 2005). Everyday nature practices can have a huge 

influence on ecosystems at all scales, and because they are wrapped up in identities, norms, and values, they can be exceedingly difficult to change. The use of 

ethnographic methods, such as participant observation, photo elicitation, and 

semistructured interviews, have proved particularly effective for studying everyday 

human interactions with plants and for identifying the range of individual and 

cultural meanings, values, and norms associated with particular plants and types of 

landscapes. 

With the exception of a small number of studies on urban ethnoecology similar 

to those annotated in the “Gathering Literature” section of this volume, cultural 

ecologists have been surprisingly silent about urban gathering. A logical starting 

point for research on urban gathering would be the development of studies that parallel the yard and garden studies described in the annotations. Integrating gathering 

into this research would expand our understanding of the range of human-plant 

interactions to include forms of interaction that predate gardening and yard care 

activities. Additionally, studies of gathering are likely to prove particularly useful in 

helping cultural ecologists break down conceptual binaries such as wild/cultivated, 

urban/rural, and native/exotic. Finally, it would be useful to examine whether 
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

and how the knowledge acquired by gatherers differs from that acquired through 

gardening and ecosystem restoration activities.

69. Bhatti, M.; Church, A. 2001. Cultivating natures: homes and gardens in late 

modernity. Sociology. 35: 365–383.

Bhatti and Church approached the debates concerning human-nature interactions 

through the lens of the domestic garden. They argued that everyday spaces such 

as gardens are important as sites where humans acquire knowledge of and form 

connections with nature. Additionally, they claimed that gardens reflect how people 

and society in general view nature and its relationship with culture. Bhatti and 

Church conducted a survey of 150 customers at three garden centers, including 

one in London, one in a periurban area, and one in a rural area. Respondents also 

completed a written questionnaire with open-ended questions at their homes. Many 

survey participants described their gardens as spaces that provided opportunities to 

sense plants, animals, and the landscape in multiple ways. Additionally, the study 

revealed that social interactions, past and present, are an important part of the 

meaning of gardens to many people. Bhatti and Church concluded that studies of 

home gardens can help us understand how “very personalized human relationships 

imbue and mediate human-nature relations” (Bhatti and Church 2001: 380), and 

thereby can contribute toward efforts to challenge the view that humans are separate from, rather than embedded in, nature. 

Keywords: Cultural ecology, gardening, human-plant geographies, identity.

70. Gross, H.; Lane, N. 2007. Landscapes of the lifespan: exploring accounts of 

own gardens and gardening. Journal of Environmental Psychology. 27: 225–241.

Gross and Lane’s study differs from most other garden studies in that it explores 

how meanings change for individuals over the course of their lifetime, rather than 

focusing only on present-day meanings. Gross and Lane used a grounded theory 

analysis, and carried out semistructured interviews with 18 people from 18 to 85 

years of age in small villages and towns in the South Midlands area of the United 

Kingdom. For many participants, gardens offered a place to escape. However, 

what they were escaping from differed over the course of their lives. Respondents 

talked of gardens during their childhood as places where they could have a bit of 

space of their own to explore and play. Gardens declined in importance during 

early adulthood but emerged as important in later adulthood as spaces to escape 

from the worries and cares of their work and home lives. The opportunities gardens 

and gardening provided for active engagement with the natural environment was a 

critical aspect of this escape outlet. Ownership and identity became more important as people became adults and acquired their own homes. Among the elderly 
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respondents, gardens became a source of anxiety as they became less able to care 

for them, and their relationships with their gardens became more passive. Gardens 

were also identified as places where people developed relationships with nature, 

such as with wild animals that came to their gardens. Finally, gardens also embodied memories of relationships with other people. Gross and Lane concluded that 

domestic gardens are valuable resources for maintaining psychological well-being 

and that urban developments should include opportunities for people to engage with 

gardens. 

Keywords: Environmental psychology, gardening, human health, human-plant 

geographies, identity.

71. Head, L. 2007. Cultural ecology: the problematic human and the terms of 

engagement. Progress in Human Geography. 31(6): 837–846.

In this first of a series of progress reports on emerging trends in cultural ecology, 

Head examined how cultural ecologists are coming to (re)conceptualize the relationship between the cultural and the ecological. Head provided ample citations of 

recent work in cultural ecology to support her argument that the field of cultural 

ecology is undergoing a significant shift in how it approaches human-nature connections. She argued that cultural ecology no longer puts forth the view of humans 

as external to ecological systems, but rather envisions landscapes as “biocultural 

collaborative projects” (Head 2007: 840). This paradigm shift in cultural ecology 

has led to a more focused attention on understanding the range of environmental 

knowledges—technical, indigenous, and local—as well as the roles of everyday 

human practices in ecosystem sustainability. This shift has also created a space for 

seeing humans as “a force for environmental good as well as destruction” (Head 

2007: 841). Head pointed to the work of European landscape ecologists as particularly influential in the shift toward seeing humans as important co-participants in 

protected ecosystems. She argued that similar trends have emerged in conservation 

biology, particularly within the field of urban ecology and restoration ecology. Head 

concluded that cultural ecology will be most effective if it continues to look for 

ways to meld the ecological and the cultural. 

Keywords: Cultural ecology, ecological knowledge, human-plant geographies.

72. Head, L.; Atchison, J. 2009. Cultural ecology: emerging human-plant geographies. Progress in Human Geography. 33(2): 236–245.

This is the second of a series of progress reports on emerging trends in cultural 

ecology (see Head 2007 for the first report in the series). Head and Atchison outlined the contributions of cultural ecology to understandings of human-plant relationships. They noted that the recent flurry of relational geographies focuses largely 
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

on human-animal connections, and pays short shrift to human-plant relations. 

Head and Atchison divided human-plant geographies into the following schematic: 

studies that look at plants as food; studies that look at plants in gardens; studies that 

look at how plants are intertwined with feelings of belonging and the delineation 

of boundaries such as those drawn between human/nature, alien/invasive, public/

private, and urban/rural; and studies that demonstrate ongoing links between 

contemporary and historical human-plant relationships. They concluded that such 

work may permit us to “(re)imagine a future of diverse and necessarily sustainable 

human-plant relations in a world of ongoing change” (241). This article provides an 

extensive bibliography of materials that are relevant to understanding human-plant 

relationships, and as such provides very useful background for urban gathering 

research. Although an entire section is devoted to plants in gardens, gathering as a 

theoretical construct is not touched upon in this article, nor does any of the research 

cited look at contemporary gathering in urban environments. 

Keywords: Cultural ecology, gardening, human-plant geographies.

73. Head, L.; Muir, P. 2006a. Suburban life and the boundaries of nature: resilience and rupture in Australian backyard gardens. Transactions of the Institute of 

British Geographers. 31: 505–524.

Head and Muir explored the notion of liminal zones, which occur at conceptual and 

material boundaries when humans seek to place things, spaces, activities, and people into categories, such as nature-culture, public-private, or native-invasive. They 

argued that gardens are useful places to look at these boundary-making practices 

as these are spaces where the line separating humans from nature has often been 

drawn in Western thought. They studied 265 backyards and their owners or users in 

three cities in Australia by using targeted sampling to capture socioeconomic and 

ecological variability. They identified four categories of gardening behavior—people 

who had no gardens, people who planted only exotic plants, people who planted 

only native plants, and people who planted both native and exotic plants. They also 

found that boundaries between in and outside were blurred in most yards, with some 

respondents treating their yards as partly inside space and others treating the inside 

of their homes as partly outside space. In some yards, the boundaries between the 

yard and the adjoining nature reserves are physically blurred as well. The study 

indicated that people engage with nature in a variety of ways and confirmed that 

gardens are places where humans and nonhumans are actively made and remade. 

Because some practices and attitudes break down the human-nature divide, whereas 

others reenforce it, the authors concluded that ecologists wishing to encourage more 

native biogeography need to pay attention to the social fabric as well as the biological landscape. They noted that sprawl reduction policies reduced the possibilities for 
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humans to engage with the environment in ways that create empathy for plants and 

animals, thus exacerbating the human-nature divide.

Keywords: Cultural ecology, ecological restoration, gardening, human-plant 

geographies, property regimes.

74. Head, L.; Muir, P. 2006b. Edges of connection: reconceptualising the human 

role in urban biogeography. Australian Geographer. 37(1): 87–101.

The authors used backyards in several Australian cities as a lens to understand 

the hybridities of suburbia. They interviewed people whose yards abutted nature 

reserves and asked them to describe their engagement with nature. These people 

were a subset of a larger sample of backyard owners interviewed for a broader study 

of suburban yard care behavior (see Head and Muir 2006a). Examples of nature 

engagement identified through this study included birdwatching, bird feeding, looking at the landscape, working the soil, and walking. They did not mention gathering 

plants. They found that interviewees differed substantially in how they talked about 

their engagement with nature. For example, the native species gardeners tended to 

talk about putting species back in, whereas the exotic species gardeners focused on 

the importance of making things nice so that the reserves could support many types 

of use. Restorationists had very detailed ecological knowledge based on observations they had made over time and often controlled weeds so as to encourage local 

species. Conventional gardeners were more interested in removing weeds as a 

means for enhancing the safety of the area and removing pests. The authors concluded that environmental managers need to acknowledge the complexity of human 

presence rather than assuming that it is a threat. 

Keywords: Cultural ecology, ecological restoration, gardening, human-plant 

geographies.

75. Longhurst, R. 2006. Plots, plants, and paradoxes: contemporary domestic gardens in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Social and Cultural Geography. 7(4): 581–593.

Illustrates the ways in which gardens challenge efforts to divide the world into 

binary categories such as nature-culture, work-leisure, and public-private. Combining data from interviews of gardeners in New Zealand with the literature on the 

cultural meanings of gardens, Longhurst showed how studying gardens and their 

social meanings leads to better understandings of how nature permeates cities. 

Many of the people he interviewed saw gardens as a means for expressing individuality, but, at the same time, they often sought to conform to social expectations of 

what gardens were “supposed” to look like in their neighborhoods. Gardens were 

paradoxical in that they were simultaneously spaces of work and spaces of pleasure 

and leisure. Likewise, gardens troubled the private-public binary in that they were 
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

nominally private spaces but subject to broader social norms and laws. Gardens 

played an important role in connecting parents with their children and people with 

seeds, soils, and plants. They were also important as spaces where individuals could 

build self-identities and retain their links to cultural traditions. 

Keywords: Cultural ecology, gardening, human-plant geographies, identity, 

property regimes.

76. Morgan, G.; Rocha, C.; Poynting, S. 2005. Grafting cultures: longing and 

belonging in immigrants’ gardens and backyards in Fairfield. Journal of Intercultural Studies. 26(1-2): 93–105.

This article looks at how immigrants to Australia in the post World War Two period 

used gardens as a means for both retaining their ties with their homeland and forging new cultural identities in their new homes. Morgan looked at the backyards of 

17 immigrants in a suburb of Sydney. He developed life histories by using openended semistructured interviews. Interviews were done onsite, and Morgan also 

toured and took photos of the gardens. The interviews focused on understanding the 

meanings of the plantings and practices of gardening relative to the interviewees’ 

origins. Morgan found that many of the interviewees used their yards to grow foods 

that reminded them of home. The processing of food grown in gardens was often 

associated with larger community events, such as wine-making and tomato canning. Additionally, many of the backyards contained motifs of their owner’s homeland, such as altars, sculptures, and temples. Gardens and yards also were places 

where these immigrants developed social ties to their neighbors, typically people 

coming from cultures other than their own. Consequently, the gardens and yards are 

spaces where immigrants combine elements of the old and new cultures. Morgan 

concluded that immigrants create new relationships to nature and culture through 

their interactions with plants in backyards and gardens. 

Keywords: Cultural ecology, gardening, human-plant geographies, identity, 

immigrants, property regimes.

Political Ecology 

Given that urban gathering takes place within a built environment characterized 

by complex patterns of land ownership and diverse management regimes, the 

interdisciplinary field of political ecology has a number of key contributions to 

offer research on urban gathering. A key feature of political ecological research is 

its emphasis on the role of power in shaping natural resource use and management, 

including the often unacknowledged assumptions about how resources are defined, 

and how resource access is determined, the logics and rules that construct what 

is accepted as appropriate use (Robbins and Sharp 2003), and the communities 
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or groups that do or do not benefit from access to and use of these resources (see 

Hurley and Halfacre 2010 in the urban gathering section). Political ecologists have 

examined the intersection of changing property and management dynamics—community natural resource use and forms of enclosure (e.g., Hurley and Halfacre 

2010), rural gentrification and environmental conflict (see Hurley et al. 2008 in the 

urban gathering section), the neoliberalization of conservation practices and environmental governance in urban and rural areas (e.g., Hurley and Halfacre 2010), and 

the production and management of lawnscapes as emerging commons characterized 

as moral economies (Robbins and Sharp 2003). This focus places social justice 

outcomes at the center of changing socioecological systems (e.g., Brownlow 2005, 

Heynen 2003, Hurley and Halfacre 2010). For example, Foster’s (2005) research 

on community gardens in Toronto, Canada demonstrated the ways elites excluded 

marginalized groups from accessing plots. Another feature of political ecology is 

the examination of subsistence activities, such as gathering, and why these persist 

within the rural spaces of advanced capitalism (see Emery and Pierce 2005 in the 

Rural Gathering section). Political ecologists have also questioned the ways that elements of nonhuman nature become actors in the staging of human-environmental 

interactions and politics (Robbins and Sharp 2003, Staddon 2009).

Within the urban realm, the urban political ecology literature seeks to locate 

the role cities play as structural components of global economic and ecological 

processes (Keil 2003), examining the diverse ways in which nature in cities is 

transformed by capitalist processes and who does and does not benefit from this 

transformation. This focus has led to better understandings of the efforts by marginalized groups to resist ideological and hegemonic management discourses as 

well as the ways vegetated lands are understood by diverse groups within the city 

as different forms of nature (e.g., Byrne and Wolch 2009). In identifying the forces 

that shape the material, social, and discursive dimensions of urban nature, urban 

political ecology suggests two important directions for research on urban gathering 

practices. On the one hand, it asks how patterns of development and the distribution 

of urban nature potentially affect gatherers (Heynen 2003), what spaces are available to them (e.g., Byrne and Wolch 2009), and how they navigate power relationships with formal land managers and owners (e.g., Brownlow 2005). Further, it 

provides a broader framework for understanding how the production of green space 

can operate counter to gatherers’ interests, and conversely how these processes 

benefit gatherers. In the first case, Whitehead’s (2009) case study of the Black 

County Urban Forest in the United Kingdom suggested that injustices result from 

the management of seemingly banal species. In the second, Brownlow’s (2005) case 

study of ecologies of fear in Philadelphia—while highlighting the role a demise of 
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

social control plays in maintaining safe parks—points to the potential of emergent 

weedy ecologies to produce gatherable species. On the other hand, although much 

urban political ecology takes for granted the centrality of capitalist modes of 

production in the formation of urban nature, gathering in some of its forms must be 

acknowledged as a noncapitalist practice (see Emery and Pierce 2005 in the rural 

gathering section). Urban political ecological explanations, in their focus on urban 

nature (re)production by noncapitalist processes and practices (Domene and Sauri 

2006) thus offer us insight into the study of these dynamics.

77. Brownlow, A. 2005. An archaeology of fear and environmental change in 

Philadelphia. Geoforum. 37: 227–245.

Brownlow’s study of Cobb Creek Park in Philadelphia illustrates the ways in which 

social control mechanisms influence the viability of socioecological relationships in 

urban areas. His analysis is based on a narrative analysis of data gathered through 

semistructured interviews with individuals and through focus group discussions 

with residents near Fairmount and Cobb Creek Park. Individuals and focus group 

participants included both adult men and women as well as teens. He found that 

prior to the surrounding area’s racial integration in the 1950s, the park was viewed 

as a positive space within the community. Over the next 20 years, the park came to 

be seen as a place of danger and fear. This fear is reflected in the physical landscape 

itself, which Brownlow describes as a “weed based” ecology. Brownlow traces 

the decline in the park’s ecology and its emergence as a landscape of fear to the 

city’s efforts to get rid of black militants and break up the gangs that had come into 

the Cobb Creek community in the 1960s. Prior to the city’s war on the gangs, the 

park had been seen as neutral ground and thus was a place where residents of the 

neighborhood could go to escape violence on the streets. In breaking up the gangs, 

the city created a power vacuum and opened the way for more violent gangs to 

move into the area in the 1980s. Additionally, the city removed the park benches, 

which meant that fewer people went to the park and thus the system of informal 

social control also disappeared. The result is that women and elderly have lost 

access to the park. Brownlow concluded that access to urban green space is linked 

to the presence of healthy and diverse social control networks, and that when such 

controls are absent, physical changes occur in the landscape that reflect the uneven 

distribution of power and work to exclude economically and politically marginal 

populations. He argued further that restoration ecologists need to understand how 

vegetation affects people’s psychological well-being. 

Keywords: Crime, environmental history, environmental justice, human health, 

parks, urban political ecology.
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78. Byrne, J.; Wolch, J. 2009. Nature, race, and parks: past research and future 

directions for geographic research. Progress in Human Geography. 33(6): 

743–765.

Byrne and Wolch reviewed the vast literature on urban park use and users and outlined a conceptual model for guiding future research on park use, users, and spaces. 

They pointed out that parks are important tools for promoting particular ideologies 

of nature-culture as well as mechanisms of social control. Urban planners and 

social reformers of the late 19th and early 20th century saw parks as important for 

promoting democracy as well as spaces where urban residents’ could improve their 

physical and emotional well-being. However, in many U.S. cities, parks were also 

spaces of exclusion, with ethnically and racially specific behavioral codes. Leisure 

researchers attribute these differences to the limited physical mobility and wealth of 

certain groups, cultural preferences, and discrimination. Byrne and Wolch argued 

that these explanations pay insufficient attention to how park landscapes shape who 

uses them. They proposed a conceptual model for parks research that blends cultural landscape, environmental justice, and political ecology perspectives to develop 

spatialized understandings of ethno-racial differences in park use. The model has 

four components: the pool of potential park users, the nature of the park space, 

perceptions of parks, and the historical and cultural context of parks in general. 

Byrne and Wolch concluded that a blend of political ecology, environmental justice, 

and cultural landscape perspectives will enable geographers to better understand 

the ways in which structure and agency interact to produce particular spatial and 

societal distributions of environmental harms and benefits at local, neighborhood, 

and regional scales. 

Keywords: Environmental justice, parks, research framework, urban political 

ecology.

79. Castree, N. 2001. Socializing nature: theory, practice, and politics. In: Castree, 

N.; Braun, B., eds. Social nature: theory, practice, and politics. Malden, MA: 

Blackwell Publishers, Inc: 1–21. 

Introduces an anthology that critiques the ontological separation of nature and 

society in European thought since the late 1700s. Castree argued that “nature” is 

not self-evident and that views of what is natural are socially constructed. Much of 

critical geography centers on showing how knowledges of nature reflect social and 

power relations, as well as how these knowledges affect the physical world in which 

humans are embedded. By showing that these knowledges are social products 

serving specific ends, critical geography opens up the possibility of questioning 

those ends. Castree stresses, however, that one cannot separate the social from the 

natural, and that all material forms are more properly thought of as socionatures. 
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

In other words, “...the physical characteristics of nature are contingent upon social 

practices, they are not fixed” (Castree 2001: 13). Nature is not merely socially constructed; it is produced through social processes and as such is inherently political. 

He concludes that anyone wishing to develop policy measures capable of addressing 

environmental issues will need to acknowledge the sociality of nature. 

Keywords: Urban political ecology.

80. Domene, E.; Sauri, D. 2006. Urbanization and class-produced natures: vegetable gardens in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region. Geoforum. 38: 287–298.

Describes the tensions over urban vegetable gardening on public lands in Barcelona, Spain, a city where such gardens are typically not officially sanctioned. The 

researchers use urban political ecology as their analytical framework, a framework 

which they argued allows one to escape the nature/society dualism. They argued 

that the differing views of what kind of nature is appropriate for cities are largely 

class based. Methods used included surveying and mapping plots, direct observation, and interviews with 132 gardeners. Planners were also interviewed both 

before and after the Local Master Plan revisions that took place in the early 2000s. 

Domene and Sauri found that most of the gardens are located on the urban fringe, 

and are often sited on flood plains and slopes on both publicly and privately owned 

lands. Most of the gardeners were retired working-class men and had emigrated 

from rural parts of southern Spain. Gardeners cite multiple reasons for gardening, 

with exercise and fresh food being particularly important. Gardeners also view 

gardening as important for providing them a connection with nature, and many see 

it as a therapeutic activity. The authors considered the gardens to be examples of 

socionatures in that their production includes both material elements and cultural 

meanings. These meanings, however, are contested, with planners seeing the 

gardens as wastelands and inappropriate for cities, whereas the gardeners view 

them as sites of personal fulfillment and a means for retaining links with their rural 

identities. 

Keywords: Environmental justice, gardening, urban food production, urban 

political ecology.

81. Foster, J. 2005. Restoration of the Don Valley brick works: Whose restoration? 

Whose space? Journal of Urban Design. 10(3): 331–351.

This history of planning article reports on exclusionary politics associated with 

efforts to restore a disused industrial site in the city of Toronto, Canada. After the 

Don Valley Brick Factory closed its doors in 1989, local residents began to discuss 

what was to be done with the site. Two opposing viewpoints were involved in the 

conflict. One sought ecological restoration of the site to encourage environmental 
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education and ecological health; the opposing view criticized these efforts as the 

imposition of elite values on the urban landscape at the expense of the less fortunate. Foster concluded that this “elite” view exhibits a tendency toward social 

exclusion; a preference for ecological restoration; and promotion of a particular 

environmental aesthetic. She showed how the science and practice of ecological restoration have been mobilized in the pursuit of a politics of exclusion that empowers 

the elite to control the site’s spatial arrangement and limit participation in site planning for those at the margins. This control by elites has limited access to marginal 

would-be users, allowing the site itself to become host to recreation activities (most 

notably, off-leash dog-walking) that in some ways undermine restoration efforts 

(killing of wildlife by dogs), but are a priority for wealthy visitors. Plans to use the 

site to enhance education and recreation by children have also been undermined 

by the prevalence of unleashed dogs. In sum, Foster effectively showed how power 

structures and environmental politics work to shape urban space, and how those 

spaces consequently reinforce the relationships that produced them.

Keywords: Ecological restoration, environmental justice, urban planning, urban 

political ecology.

82. Heynen, N.C. 2003. The scalar production of injustice within the urban forest. 

Antipode. 35(5): 980–998.

In this conceptual article, the author took a radical geography perspective to the 

unevenness of urban environments, and the political ecology of where trees are 

planted in cities and by whom. Urban forests have benefits and other spillover uses 

(“externalities”) that include moderating the urban climate; energy and water conservation; carbon offsets; improving air quality; reducing flooding and rainfall runoff, 

and noise levels; providing habitat for wildlife; reducing stress; enhancing child 

development; and increasing the attractiveness of cities. Understanding the distribution of urban trees requires an understanding of planning policies, economic dynamics, and cultural processes. Heynen argued that the distribution of urban trees is often 

associated with income, with low-income residents at an environmental disadvantage. 

The author cited a study from Indianapolis comparing a map of median household 

income and urban forest canopy cover, showing a positive correlation. The author also 

explored the importance of scale when looking at who benefits from urban forests. For 

example, at a global scale, urban forests serve as critical biodiversity sinks, whereas 

at a micro scale (household), individual trees offer psychosocial benefits (e.g., stress 

reduction). Heynen explored the question of whether reforestation efforts should focus 

on an equal distribution of trees across all neighborhoods to mitigate inequities in 

income, or focus on larger tracts of land (forest islands), where ecological efficiency 

(e.g., improvements to wildlife habitat) could contribute to global sustainability. 
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Keywords: Ecological restoration, environmental justice, urban forestry, urban 

political ecology.

83. Keil, R. 2003. Urban political ecology. Urban Geography. 24: 723–738.

Keil offered a “progress report” on the field of urban political ecology (UPE) in 

which he sought to capture the tensions between notions of the city as natural and 

unnatural (in the sense that it is produced and maintained through human labor). 

Keil considered UPE to be derived in part from such radical, critical political 

traditions as eco-Marxism, eco-feminism, and eco-anarchism, and went to some 

lengths to draw clear connections among these roots and recent contributions to the 

field. The article then takes in turn each of the three concepts that make up the term 

“urban political ecology.” Keil explained that the field tends to accept the urban as 

the “currently-relevant incarnation of historical capitalist forms.” He cast UPE as a 

nebulous, but increasingly important subfield, addressing long-neglected questions 

in four “clusters” of research in UPE, including a body of work centered around 

Los Angeles, intent on rescuing human agency from a reductionist vision of urban 

development as a natural and inevitable process; another that focuses substantively 

on urban water, but more broadly works toward articulating a Marxist UPE; the 

third revolves around critical examination of urban environmental and economic 

policy; finally, the fourth takes an environmental justice approach to understanding environmental politics in the city. Taken together, Keil sees the nascent field 

of urban political ecology as a promising new development in understanding, and 

providing a critical political stance on, urban environmental questions.

Keywords: Research framework, urban political ecology.

84. Robbins, P.; Sharp, J.T. 2003. Producing and consuming chemicals: the moral 

economy of the American lawn. Economic Geography. 79(4): 425–451. 

Examines the factors that push suburban U.S. households to use a variety of chemical products to produce monoculture lawns at a time when interest in being “green” 

is particularly high. Robbins and Sharp used a political ecology framework to 

examine the social, political, and economic processes that shape decisions about 

lawn care and to understand the ecological effects of those decisions at multiple 

spatial scales. Their study showed that the huge geographic area now under 

monoculture lawn cover is the product of the intersection of a sustained lawn care 

product marketing campaign to equate monoculture lawns with healthy environments, orderly communities, and happy families. They used a mixed-methods 

approach including an analysis of the lawn care industry, a national survey of 594 

adults responsible for caring for their residence’s lawn, and phone and in-person 

interviews with a sample of Ohio residents. 
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The industry analysis showed that demand for chemical lawn products grew 

during the 1990s, despite widespread evidence of the toxicity of the chemicals and 

other negative effects of monoculture lawns. Interestingly, use of lawn chemicals 

was highest among those who were most aware of their negative effects on water 

quality. Robbins and Sharp attributed this counter-intuitive result to two factors. 

At the macro level, lawn care product manufacturers have mounted an effective 

campaign to persuade householders that monoculture lawns are a sign that the owners have pride in their community and uphold traditional family values. At the same 

time, they also have marketed green lawns (produced through the application of 

chemicals) as places where yard owners and their families can connect with nature. 

At the micro level, the same values shape lawn managers’ decisions about lawn 

care. People living in areas where lawn care chemicals were the norm felt an obligation to support their community by adhering to the same lawn care practices. Lawn 

managers saw traditional lawn management as a way to build and maintain family connections, and many stated that working in yards was important because it 

allowed them to connect with nature. Thus lawns have multiple meanings attached 

to them—they are status symbols, examples of collective consumption, a means 

to strengthen nuclear family ties, and a link to the natural world. Authors briefly 

mentioned the gathering of plants for food as an activity sometimes associated with 

lawns. They concluded that the lawn may not be a particularly special case of land 

use behavior mediated through the moral economy, noting that “sustained attention 

to urban ecologies may yet reveal the plural character of many urban spaces, from 

parks and gardens to sidewalks and houses” (p. 445). 

Keywords: Human health, human-plant geographies, identity, political ecology, 

property regimes, yards.

85. Staddon, C. 2009. Towards a critical political ecology of human-forest interactions: collecting herbs and mushrooms in a Bulgarian locality. Transactions of 

the Institute of British Geographers. 34: 161–176.

Staddon’s work examined mushroom and herb gathering in postsocialist Bulgaria 

by using a modified political ecology framework that puts humans and nonhumans 

on equal footing in the examination of the politics of nature. He argued that this 

framework allows for an understanding of the “phenomenal realities” that produce 

spaces and environments. Staddon understood mushroom and herb collecting not 

as a unidirectional relationship between gatherer and gathered, but as a complex 

network of interactions between collectors, mushrooms, plants, landscapes, 

birds, and a host of other nonhuman actors. Borrowing from Bruno Latour’s 

Actor Network Theory, Staddon framed these actors as collectively constituting 
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

a network of interactions to produce the phenomenon of foraging. Drawing from 

ethnographic surveys of rural villagers collected annually for over a decade and a 

half, Staddon argued that, though forests provide for a diverse array of extractive 

economies (including timber cutting; gathering for food, fire, and medicine; fishing; 

and pasturing of livestock), the state has so far proved incapable of capturing this 

diversity in its “regulatory vision.” Instead, mushroom gathering and other informal 

economic activities tend to upset preconceived notions of the proper use of forest 

resources. Staddon concluded that researchers and policymakers need to understand 

nature not merely as a backdrop in which human drama is played out, but as an 

actor in that drama as well. Staddon also urged us to acknowledge “alterities, aporia, [and] slippages”—those phenomena that arise unexpectedly from systems we 

think we understand, brought about by as yet unaccounted for actors and interests. 

Only by doing so can we approach a just political ecology.

Keywords: Gathering, policy, political ecology.

86. Whitehead, M. 2009. The wood for the trees: ordinary environmental injustice 

and the everyday right to nature. International Journal of Urban and Regional 

Research. 33(3): 662–681.

Whitehead developed a framework for an everyday environmental justice derived 

in part from the management strategy in the Black Country Urban Forest (BCUF), 

the largest urban forest project in the United Kingdom. The BCUF employs an 

understanding of environmental justice and urban space in which traditional themes 

of structural injustice are suspended and a notion of ordinary injustices takes hold. 

Whitehead argued that this notion of ordinary injustice is not simply a concentration of undesirable environmental ill effects, nor the immobility of the people who 

live near them. Instead, everyday spaces of injustice are produced when these two 

factors converge. Managers of the BCUF have sought to remedy environmental 

injustice by focusing on development of ordinary environments like vacant lots. 

Based on interviews with BCUF employees and managers, the case study explores 

how the BCUF worked toward everyday environmental justice through tree plantings and remediation of derelict sites with significant community input. Whitehead 

praised the BCUF’s focus on “remaindered injustice” (structural inequalities 

expressed through left-over spatial and material landscapes), but laments the fact 

that its focus on ecological restoration has often served to hide “industrial ruination” behind “ecological screens.” Furthermore, he is concerned that the initial 

interest and funds that enabled the BCUF project to operate are waning, and that 

the project has failed to empower local communities in any lasting way. Although 

Whitehead’s final judgment of the BCUF forestry project is cautious, he provides a 

powerful framework for thinking about the challenges associated with access and 
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control over the banal spaces of the urban environment, and the people who face 

these challenges in the everyday.

Keywords: Ecological restoration, environmental justice, urban planning, urban 

political ecology.

Environmental Psychology

The discipline of environmental psychology includes studies related to the restorative effects of nature on individuals and communities. Research in this area 

highlights the positive effects of both the mere presence of vegetation and active 

engagement with nature. Environmental psychologists also explore the impacts of 

active living, which encourages physical and mental well-being through environmental design. Althouhgh we did not find any environmental psychology studies 

that examined urban gathering, these studies elucidate many of the reasons that 

might explain the persistence of gathering in urban areas. 

For example, studies by environmental psychologists show that merely seeing 

and being near vegetation in built environments improves emotional well-being 

(Fuller et al. 2007, Hull 1992), improves physiological health (Ulrich 1984), and 

heightens the ability of adults and children to sustain attention (Kaplan 1995, Wells 

2000). Horticultural therapy research links direct long-term interaction with plants 

to improvements in individuals’ physical and mental health (Söderback et al. 2004). 

Stress reduction and heightened feelings of connectedness with the biophysical 

world figure high on the list of benefits individuals derive from their participation in 

urban restoration ecology projects (Miles et al. 1998) and gardening (Kaplan 1973). 

Additionally, activities such as gardening, tree planting, and ecological restoration 

can affect positively both social relationships within neighborhoods and strengthen 

connections between older and younger generations (see Westphal 2003 and Kuo 

2003 in the urban forestry section). These diverse positive feedbacks associated 

with human interactions with plants can reasonably be hypothesized to extend to 

urban nontimber forest product gathering. Indeed, gatherers interviewed in many 

of the studies included in the gathering section of this document indicate that mood 

improvement and stress reduction are key reasons why they practice gathering. 

Studies that explore whether and how participation in urban gathering activities 

affects stress, mood, and cognitive function in both adults and children would be a 

significant new contribution to the field of environmental psychology.

Environmental psychologists also have shown that the presence of vegetation 

may result in reduced crime in public housing sites (Kuo and Sullivan 2001). 

Donovan and Prestemon’s (2010) study of crime and vegetation for single-family 

homes in Portland, Oregon, showed that crime occurrences were consistently 

lower in areas with street trees. A caveat to these studies is that under some 
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

circumstances, the presence of vegetation—particularly vegetation perceived as 

overgrown or that obstructs views—can produce negative reactions and feelings 

of insecurity (Brownlow 2005, Talbot and Kaplan 1984). Such fears may be justified as Donovan and Prestemon (2010) found that crime occurrences in their study 

site were higher in single-family residential areas dominated by smaller trees that 

obstructed first-floor window views. 

In their work on human psychological responses to landscapes, Nassauer (1995) 

and Nassauer et al. (2010) reported that well-manicured vegetated landscapes tend 

to be viewed more favorably than “messy” landscapes. However, they pointed out 

that this poses a problem for ecological restoration programs as the goals of such 

programs often are to produce landscapes many people perceive of as overgrown 

and disorderly. Linking these studies to gathering in a practical fashion, urban 

planners might wish to encourage gathering in some types of green spaces to foster 

a more manicured look while maintaining the structures and functions of restored 

ecosystems. A potential side benefit is that the presence of gatherers on a regular 

basis might serve as an informal surveillance network that could increase park 

users’ feelings of security. 

87. Donovan, G.H.; Prestemon, J.P. 2010. The effect of trees on crime in Portland, 

Oregon. Environment and Behavior. Online version published October 19, 2010. 

DOI: 10.1177/0013916510383238.

Examines the relationships between vegetation and crime occurrences in singlefamily residential areas controlling for differences in vegetation structure. Donovan 

and Prestemon used Routine Activity theory as a guide for understanding the 

effects of trees on crimes. Adapting this theory to trees, they postulated that trees 

could affect crime by obstructing views, thereby reducing the risk to criminals of 

getting caught while also reducing the effectiveness of surveillance systems. Trees 

might also attract people to public spaces, however, which would increase the risk 

to criminals of being seen. They used tree size and location to assess the degree 

to which trees obstructed views. The study was conducted in one police precinct 

in Portland, Oregon, with a sample size of 2,813 single-family homes. County 

crime data for the precinct was analyzed by using a geographic information system 

to determine the number of crimes within 50, 100, and 200 m of each house. In 

addition to measuring the number and size of trees around each building, other 

factors, including type of building, porches, fences, window bars, and streetlights 

were incorporated into the model. Donovan and Prestemon found that the presence of trees had a mixed effect on crime occurrences. Smaller trees that blocked 

views from first-story windows were positively associated with crime occurrences, whereas larger trees and street trees were negatively associated with crime 
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occurrences. The authors provided two possible explanations for their findings. 

One explanation is that the presence of larger trees is a sign of a well-maintained 

neighborhood and thus criminal behavior is more likely to be noticed. The other 

explanation is that trees in public spaces (i.e., street trees) attract passers-by and 

thus discourage criminals. 

Keywords: Crime, environmental psychology, urban forestry.

88. Fuller, R.A.; Irvine, K.N.; Devine-Wright, P.; Warren, P.H.; Gaston, K.J. 

2007. Psychological benefits of greenspace increase with biodiversity. Biology 

Letters. 3(4): 390–394.

Fuller et al. examined how species richness in urban green spaces is related to 

psychological well-being. The study was conducted in Sheffield, United Kingdom, 

in 2005. Species richness was calculated for plants, butterflies, and birds. The 

researchers surveyed 312 green space users to measure how being in or near green 

spaces affected respondents mental fatigue, emotional attachment to green space, 

and sense of identity. They also asked respondents to provide an assessment of 

species richness for the green spaces included in the study. The study lends support to the hypothesis that species richness and green space user well-being are 

positively linked. However, they found that respondents were better able to assess 

plant species richness than bird or butterfly species richness. They concluded that 

heterogeneity in structure, as well as species diversity, may be an important element 

of psychological well-being associated with green spaces. An important implication 

of this research for policymakers is that consideration must be given to both the 

quality and quantity of green spaces available to urban residents. 

Keywords: Biodiversity, ecological knowledge, environmental psychology, 

green space, human health, urban ecology, well-being.

89. Hull, R.B.I. 1992. Brief encounters with urban forests produce moods that 

matter. Journal of Arboriculture. 18(6): 322–324.

Hull surveyed 108 people visiting a community park in 1992, asking them to 

describe their mood based on Thayer’s Mood Activation Checklist (energetic, 

tired, calm, anxious). The location of the park is not indicated in the article. He 

interviewed park visitors as they were entering the park and then as they were 

leaving the park. He asked those leaving the park to list up to 3 activities from a list 

of 12 developed by Hull that they had done while at the park as a way to rate the 

activeness or passiveness of their visit. Gathering was not included on Hull’s list. 

Improvements in mood most commonly took place within 30 minutes of entering 

the park. More active visitors had higher increases in mood changes, but the link 

was not very strong. Hull concluded that visiting urban parks is associated with 
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positive moods. The study also showed that the effect tends to occur fairly quickly. 

He speculated that just having views of nature should improve people’s moods and 

argued that planners should integrate more trees into roadsides, schools, prisons, 

streets, and residential communities.

Keywords: Environmental psychology, human health, urban forestry, urban 

planning.

90. Kaplan, R. 1973. Some psychological benefits of gardening. Environment and 

Behavior. 5(2): 145–162.

Carried out in 1971, Kaplan’s now-classic study of the benefits that people derive 

from gardening helped lay the groundwork for legitimizing studies of “everyday” 

nature within the discipline of environmental psychology. Survey questionnaires 

were administered to a nonrandom sample of three types of gardeners: 29 participants in a community-based garden operated as a communal endeavor, 50 individuals with garden plots at their homes, and 17 people with access to individual plots 

in community-based gardens. The location of the study is not indicated. Home 

gardeners expressed much higher levels of satisfaction with their gardening than 

either of the other two groups. Vegetable growers were more likely to emphasize 

tangible outcomes such as producing food or cutting food expenses as a benefit of 

gardening. Flower growers were more likely to list nontangibles such as relaxation, 

pleasure, and having a sense of accomplishment as the benefits of gardening. No 

differences were found along gender, age, education level, or experience with 

respect to the benefits of gardening. Kaplan concluded that “gardening plays a role 

in people’s lives not unlike that played by more dramatic, more distant and less 

frequent encounters with nature” (Kaplan 1973: 159). She argued that the appeal of 

gardening lies in the opportunities it provides for humans to meet deeply ingrained 

information processing needs while engaging with natural processes and objects.

Keywords: Environmental psychology, gardening, human health.

91. Kaplan, S. 1995. The restorative benefits of nature: toward an integrative 

framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology. 15: 169–182.

Identifies the restorative power of natural environments to alleviate fatigue. Kaplan 

outlined a conceptual framework that explains how being in natural environments 

helps alleviate fatigue and reduce stress. The key to the framework is an attentional 

mechanism Kaplan labels “directed attention.” This mechanism requires effort, 

can be controlled, and is susceptible to fatigue. He argued that directed attention 

fatigue is a key factor leading to ineffectiveness and stress, and that activities that 

induce fascination can provide relief. Kaplan uses the term fascination to refer to 

activities that are intrinsically compelling and thereby require effortless attention. 
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However, fascination alone is insufficient to relieve directed attention fatigue. Other 

components of the framework include being in an environment that shifts one’s 

perspective (being away), is rich yet coherent (extent), and where one can engage 

in activities without struggling (compatibility). Kaplan noted that many activities 

that occur in natural settings such as hunting, fishing, gardening, and bird watching 

have all four components. He argued further that directed attention is a resource, 

and that the depletion of this resource, or attentional fatigue, is the cause of stress. 

He concluded that taking part in activities in natural landscapes restores attention 

resources and thereby has the ability to decrease and prevent stress. 

Keywords: Environmental psychology, human health.

92. Kuo, F.E.; Sullivan, W.C. 2001. Environment and crime in the inner city: Does 

vegetation reduce crime? Environment and Behavior. 33(3): 346–367.

Examines the belief that vegetation conceals and facilitates malicious acts. The 

authors gathered police reports on crimes committed in and around 98 apartment 

buildings in an inner city neighborhood in Chicago and then looked at whether the 

vegetation density around the buildings could be used to predict crime. By using 

a series of regression analyses, the authors found a negative relationship between 

vegetation density and crimes, even when the data were controlled for potentially 

confounding factors such as number of residents, vacancy rates, and building 

height. This relationship held true for both violent and property crimes. They 

conclude that high-canopy trees and other visibility-preserving forms of vegetation 

such as grassy areas do not promote crime and may actually deter crime by increasing surveillance and by mitigating mental fatigue. 

Keywords: Crime, environmental psychology.

93. Miles, I.; Sullivan, W.C.; Kuo, F.E. 1998. Ecological restoration volunteers: 

the benefits of participation. Urban Ecosystems. 2: 27–41.

Systematically measures the benefits volunteers derive from participating in 

ecosystem restoration activities. A random selection of participants in the Chicago 

metropolitan area’s Volunteer Stewardship Network was asked to complete a survey 

with questions designed to measure levels of satisfaction with both restoration 

activities and life in general, as well as level of involvement in restoration activities. 

A total of 306 people completed the survey. Ratings were high for all categories 

of satisfaction, suggesting that restoration volunteering provides a multifaceted 

and highly meaningful experience for most participants. However, volunteers with 

higher levels of involvement and more responsibility had higher satisfaction levels. 

The study suggests that like gardening, restoration work provides participants 
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with a challenging, yet rewarding, opportunity to interact with nature, and results 

in enhanced feelings of personal well-being. These feelings are enhanced by the 

satisfactions associated with doing volunteer work. The study demonstrates that 

other forms of “nature-work” have psychological benefits similar to those associated with gardening. The study is important for urban gathering because it suggests 

the strong possibility that gathering would provide similar types of psychological 

benefits. 

Keywords: Ecological restoration, environmental psychology, volunteers.

94. Nassauer, J.I. 1995. Messy ecosystems, orderly frames. Landscape Journal. 

14(2): 161–170.

In this essay on landscape design, Nassauer argued that humans interpret landscapes through cultural lenses and concluded that when evaluating ecological 

quality, “What is good may not look good, and what looks good may not be good” 

(p. 161). She pointed out that resistance to landscape restoration programs is often 

rooted in cultural perceptions of what landscapes ought to look like, and the dominant view is that tidy landscapes reflect civic pride, neighborliness, and individual 

worth. Yet, such tidy landscapes often impede ecological functions. Nassauer also 

highlighted the difficulties of distinguishing visually between “natural” and anthropogenic landscapes. Although research on landscape perceptions clearly shows that 

most people prefer “natural” looking landscapes, what people consider “natural” 

looking is influenced by their cultural background. Nassauer described the results 

of a study in a Midwestern suburb in which respondents were asked to rate images 

of different home landscapes. She found that neat and well cared for landscapes 

were identified as the most attractive, whereas the most ecologically complex 

designs were considered least attractive. She argued that landscape designers need 

to use “cues to care” when designing more biodiverse landscapes. Cues to care are 

landscape elements that make it clear that messy landscapes are part of an intended 

pattern. These cues are culturally specific and might include such things as mowing 

in some areas (but not in others), wildlife feeders, and trimmed shrubs. She cited 

an example of a wetland project that used large bands of wet meadow plants as cues 

to care to give an orderly appearance to the restored wetland in its initial phases. 

She concluded that the use of orderly frames for otherwise messy landscapes can 

enhance acceptance of new landscape patterns. 

Keywords: Urban ecology, urban planning, vegetation preferences.
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95. Nassauer, J.I.; Wang, Z.; Dayrell, E. 2010. What will the neighbors think? 

Cultural norms and ecological design. Landscape and Urban Planning. 92: 

282–292.

Nassauer et al. described how cultural norms influence ecological design adoption 

in periurban residential areas. They argued that city landscapes have an inherently 

public quality to them as they can be seen by anyone and thus are subject to being 

judged. They noted that certain “cues to care,” such as mown lawns, dominate 

American conceptions of what yards ought to look like. These conventions pose a 

challenge to ecological design projects that emphasize less orderly landscapes. Nassauer et al. looked at how the appearance of neighboring yards affected homeowner 

perceptions of how attractive their yards were. They conducted a Web survey of 494 

homeowners in southeast Michigan and asked respondents to choose among five 

different front yard landscape design alternatives. They found that most respondents 

preferred the conventional yard design and also that their preferences tended to 

follow neighborhood norms. When cultural norms and neighborhood norms conflicted, however, the neighborhood norms dominated. The authors concluded that 

new ecological designs are likely to be more successful if introduced at the scale of 

neighborhoods rather than individual properties. 

Keywords: Cultural practices, urban planning, vegetation preferences, yards.

96. Söderback, I.; Söderström, M.; Schälander, E. 2004. Horticultural therapy: 

the healing garden and gardening in rehabilitation measures at Danderyd Hospital Rehabilitation Clinic, Sweden. Pediatric Rehabilitation. 7(4): 245–260.

Söderback et al. briefly reviewed the history of horticulture therapy in Western 

Europe during the 20th century, and then described Sweden’s Danderyd Hospital 

Horticultural Therapy Garden and its associated horticultural therapy program. 

Healing gardens and gardening first gained importance in hospital settings as 

treatments for mental health patients. Over time, hospitals developed a diverse set 

of horticultural treatments, including active gardening, making gardens available 

for patients to sit in, and incorporating plants into hospital interior design. They 

also expanded these techniques to treat clients with physical and developmental 

disabilities, as well as mental health clients. Söderback et al. provided sketches of 

the physical layout of the Danderyd Horticultural Therapy Garden to illustrate how 

elements of a built landscape can be structured to address multiple sensory, emotional, and healing needs. Of particular interest for urban gathering researchers is 

the list of specific plant species associated with different therapeutic uses. 

Keywords: Environmental psychology, gardening, human health.
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97. Talbot, J.F.; Kaplan, R. 1984. Needs and fears: the response to trees and 

nature in the inner city. Journal of Arboriculture. 10(8): 222–228.

Examines preferences of 97 Black inner-city residents in Detroit about different 

kinds of natural areas. They used a photo sort, asking respondents to rate 26 photos 

and then to describe the elements that led them to like or dislike a particular photo. 

Most said that they found outdoor environments relaxing and enjoyable; a substantial number said that being outdoors helped them escape worries and have some 

time to think. Most respondents expressed a preference for more neatly manicured 

areas than for areas with dense and “disorderly” vegetation. The study didn’t reveal 

any significant differences based on demographic variables such as age or gender. 

The authors noted that this study demonstrates that inner-city Black residents value 

nature, but that the kinds of nature most preferred were landscapes that were wellmanicured, open, with little underbrush, and with built facilities such as benches 

and paths. However, respondents who had previously lived outside the city were less 

likely to dislike the photos of landscapes with overgrown or disorderly vegetation. 

The authors suggested that urban planners should take these concerns into account 

when designing public parks. 

Keywords: Environmental psychology, parks, urban planning, vegetation 

preferences.

98. Ulrich, R. 1984. View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. 

Science. 224: 420–421.

Ulrich’s study measuring how vegetation affects patient recovery in hospital 

settings was a seminal article for environmental psychology research about humannature interactions. He used a retrospective longitudinal experimental design by 

using data from a Pennsylvania hospital’s records for the period 1972 to 1981 to 

compare recovery data for 46 cholecystectomy patients, 23 of whom had wall views 

and 23 of whom had views of trees from their windows. Patients with tree views 

had shorter hospital stays after surgery, required less pain medication, and had 

fewer postsurgery complications. Ulrich concluded that having a view of trees had 

a measurable restorative effect on these patients, but he cautioned that comparisons 

with a built environment more interesting than a blank wall are needed to sift out 

whether complexity or naturalness are the more important factors.

Keywords: Environmental psychology, human health, well-being.

99. Wells, N.M. 2000. At home with nature: effects of greenness on children’s 

cognitive functioning. Environment and Behavior. 32(6): 775–795.

Wells examined the effect of greater exposure to vegetation on the cognitive 

functioning of low-income children in public housing environments. The study 
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compared parents’ assessment of their children’s cognitive function and attentionfocusing ability while living in substandard housing and then a year later after having moved into new single family dwellings. Data were obtained from parents of 17 

children. The location of the study is not specified. Wells developed a naturalness 

scale based on the amount of vegetation visible from windows and present in the 

yard to compare the greenness of the pre- and post-move housing environments. A 

hierarchical regression analysis was performed to measure the relationship between 

naturalness of the environment and the children’s directed attention capacity scores, 

with change in housing quality being taken into account. The greatest increase in 

directed attention capacity scores occurred in children who experienced the greatest increase in their home environment’s naturalness scores, lending support to 

the hypothesis that natural settings have a positive influence on children’s ability 

to focus their attention. However, additional research is needed to determine how 

much of the increase in naturalness scores was attributable to the children having 

“greener” views and how much was due to the children having the opportunity to 

play in more heavily vegetated surroundings. The research highlights the health 

benefits associated with trees and other vegetation in urban areas, and points to the 

importance of policies that encourage the preservation of existing trees, the planting 

of new trees, and the expansion of ground-level vegetation in and around public 

housing complexes. 

Keywords: Environmental psychology, human health.

Environmental Health

The environmental health literature highlights the need for urban gathering studies 

to take into account the biochemical characteristics of existing and potential gathering sites. This vast literature documents the presence of toxins in urban soils and 

water bodies and varying levels of air pollution in many cities (Carvalho et al. 2005, 

Clark et al. 2006, Griffith et al. 2009). Soil contaminants are of particular concern 

as many nontimber forest products are used for foods or medicine and field guides 

indicate gathering may take place near diverse types of hardscape infrastructure 

(e.g., roads, railroads). The environmental health literature discusses the risks 

various soil contaminants pose to human health (Finster et al. 2003, Intawongse 

and Dean 2006). However, it also indicates the extent to which adsorption of toxins 

differs greatly by plant or fungal species (Finster et al. 2003, Intawongse and Dean 

2006). Plants also differ in where they store chemicals that are toxic to humans 

(Finster et al. 2003). Most of this research focuses on common garden vegetables 

and fruits. However, Carvalho et al. (2005) looked at differences in heavy metal 

uptake in wild mushrooms, and Itoh et al. (2007) compared the elemental composition of wild and domestic plants. 
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Environmental health studies emphasize that levels of soil toxicity and air 

pollution are unevenly distributed and are influenced by both historical and current 

land and water uses (Carvalho et al. 2005, Clark et al. 2006, Finster et al. 2003). 

This literature points to the importance of incorporating geographic information 

system-based analyses of the distribution of toxics and pollutants into urban gathering research; the need for understanding which plants and plant parts people gather 

are likely to have environmental toxins in concentrations that pose risks to human 

health; and the rules (informal and formal) and types of local ecological knowledge 

that govern gathering practices relative to these geographies.

100. Carvalho, M.L.; Pimentel, A.C.; Fernandes, B. 2005. Study of heavy metals 

in wild edible mushrooms under different pollution conditions by x-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Analytical Sciences. 21: 747–750.

Compares the metal uptake in seven edible mushrooms relative to pollution conditions. The three pollution conditions examined included heavy automobile traffic, 

soil pollution linked to the use of pesticides and fertilizers in former vineyards, 

and incineration of hospital wastes. The sampling sites were in the Douro Valley in 

Portugal. At some sites, soil was collected in addition to mushrooms. Samples were 

analyzed by using x-ray fluorescence. High levels of copper and iron were found 

in some species in former vineyards. These findings are likely attributable to the 

persistence of residues of sulfate applied to control pests in previous decades. In 

areas near highways, lead contamination was 10 times higher than in other areas. 

Mushrooms collected at sites where hospital wastes had been incinerated were not 

contaminated with heavy metals. 

Keywords: Environmental health, heavy metals, soil toxicity.

101. Clark, H.; Brabander, D.J.; Erdil, R.M. 2006. Sources, sinks, and exposure 

pathways of lead in urban garden soil. Journal of Environmental Quality. 

35: 2066–2074.

This article found increased levels of lead in backyard gardens of members of The 

Food Project, a garden project in Roxbury and Dorchester, Massachusetts. The lead 

came from sources such as wind-blown lead particulates from leaded gasoline and 

from lead paint. The authors concluded, however, that gardeners risk greater exposure to lead through their drinking water than through their produce. They noted 

that the rapid screening procedures used to assess lead levels in their study make it 

feasible to conduct similar studies across large-scale areas.

Keywords: Environmental health, soil toxicity, toxics.
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102. Finster, M.E.; Gray, K.A.; Binns, H.J. 2003. Lead levels of edibles grown in 

contaminated residential soils: a field survey. The Science of the Total Environment. 20: 1–13.

Examines levels of lead concentrations in urban garden soils and crops. It focuses 

especially on measuring contaminants in the edible portion of plants produced 

from two study sites in Chicago. Plants tested in the study included fruits, fruiting 

vegetables, leafy vegetables and herbs, and root vegetables. Both roots and shoots 

were tested for all plants. A total of 87 produce samples were obtained from 17 

different properties distributed across the two study sites. Soil lead concentrations 

varied from 27 to 4,580 parts per million (ppm), with a median concentration of 

800 ppm. The Environmental Protection Agency soil lead hazard cut-off values 

for soils in yards are 400 ppm for play areas and 1,200 ppm for nonplay areas. The 

authors found that all of the plants sampled accumulated lead to some extent but 

that concentrations of lead were much less detectable in fruiting parts of the plants 

and highest in the leaves. They concluded that eating plants from contaminated 

soils poses a potential hazard, depending on the type of plant and the part of the 

plant consumed. They recommended that urban gardeners have soils in prospective 

garden areas tested for lead, locate gardens away from buildings (which might have 

peeling paint), and avoid planting root or leafy vegetables in contaminated soils. 

Keywords: Environmental health, soil toxicity, toxics.

103. Griffith, D.A.; Johnson, D.L.; Hunt, A. 2009. The geographic distribution of 

metals in urban soils: the case of Syracuse, NY. GeoJournal. 74: 275–291.

The objective of this research was to better understand the geographic distribution 

of metal contaminants across urban areas. Most previous research has focused 

on superfund sites. This study focuses on Syracuse, New York. Using 3,627 soil 

samples, the researchers used x-ray fluorescence to measure levels of 15 metals 

by using inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy. The distribution of the metal 

contaminants was compared to a nonurban landscape (a nearby river flood plain). 

The distribution of the metal contaminants was also aggregated by census block 

group and census tract. Lead levels were found to be both higher and more variable 

in Syracuse compared with the flood plain. Zinc levels were higher in the flood 

plain, but the variability in both landscapes was similar. Older housing and perhaps 

the presence of adolescents seem to be covariant with lead and zinc contamination. 

Newer, owner-occupied homes seem to be covariant with rubidium and zirconium 

contamination. This research recognizes a gap in the literature in understanding 

urban metal contamination, a topic highly relevant to urban foraging. 

Keywords: Environmental health, heavy metals, soil toxicity, toxics.
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104. Intawongse, M.; Dean, J.R. 2006. Uptake of heavy metals by vegetable plants 

grown on contaminated soil and their bioavailability in the human gastrointestinal tract. Food Additives and Contaminants. 23(1): 36–48.

This research sought to understand the effects of contaminated soils on vegetable 

crops by measuring heavy metal concentrations of lettuce, spinach, radishes, and 

carrots grown in compost containing cadmium, copper, manganese, lead, and zinc. 

Total metal concentrations in the plants were determined from their roots and leaves 

by using various spectroscopy techniques. The results showed that the uptake of 

cadmium, copper, manganese, and zinc corresponded to increasing soil concentration, whereas uptake of lead was low. Individual plant types differed in their metal 

uptake. There was no significant correlation between concentration and root versus 

leaf matter. 

Keywords: Environmental health, heavy metals, soil toxicity, toxics.

105. Itoh, J.; Saitoh, Y.; Futatsugawa, S.; Ishii, K.; Sera, K. 2007. Elemental 

analysis of edible plants in natural environment: trace elements in wild plants. 

International Journal of Particle-Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE). 17(3/4): 

119–127.

Examines the concentration of various harmful and beneficial elements in wild 

plants. These plants were collected in Iwate prefecture in Japan. Levels of iron, copper, and zinc were found to be similar for wild plants and market vegetables. Wild 

plants had the same or lower levels of toxic elements such as chromium and lead 

as vegetables in the market. Additionally Itoh et al. found that the concentration of 

heavy metals in wild plants did not directly reflect the heavy metal concentrations 

of the soils in which they grew. 

Keywords: Environmental health, heavy metals, nutrition, soil toxicity, toxics.

Urban Ecology

Urban ecologists examine the socioecological structures and functions of urban 

and urbanizing ecosystems. In the past decade, urban ecologists have focused 

their attention on developing conceptual models and research methods appropriate 

for gathering data about and analyzing coupled human-natural systems (Alberti 

et al. 2003, Grove and Burch 1997, Pickett et al. 1997). Much urban ecology 

research takes ecological concepts developed through the study of ecosystems 

with (assumed) limited human impact and applies them to urban ecosystems. For 

example, many urban ecologists specifically use the concepts of patch dynamics 

and gradients in their work to capture spatial patterns associated with, and degrees 

of, human alteration (e.g., Pickett et al. 1997). This transfer of concepts raises some 

process questions, such as, “What is the best way to add humans to ecological 
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concepts that often intentionally did not include humans when they were originally 

developed?” To the extent that these models adequately address human practices 

and institutions, they can provide an effective framework for research on urban 

nontimber forest products. The social ecology approach put forth by Grove and 

Burch (1997), which pays particular attention to how ecological benefits and costs 

are both socially and spatially distributed, is particularly promising as an approach 

for research on urban gatherers. 

Urban ecology studies that look at questions of distribution and access to green 

space, biological diversity, and tree types are of particular relevance to urban gathering research (Barbosa et al. 2007, Hope et al. 2006, Turner et al. 2004, Whitney 

and Adams 1980). Access to vegetation is a key concern for gatherers, and the 

composition, structure, and distribution of vegetation all shape whether and where 

desired species and products will be available in sufficient quantities for gathering. 

Also of interest to urban gathering research are the techniques urban ecologists 

have developed for analyzing species composition and vegetation structures by 

using hyperspectral satellite and LIDAR imagery analysis. As these techniques 

are refined, it will become possible to develop land use categorizations at the very 

fine scale required for mapping the interstitial spaces that appear to be important 

sources of products for urban gatherers (see Gabriel 2006, Hurley et al. 2008, and 

Jahnige 2002 in the urban gathering section).

Much urban ecology research discusses the (often negative) environmental 

impacts caused by humans; it rarely discusses humans as consumers of urban forest 

products. Kobori and Primack’s (2003) account of the use of gathering as a strategy 

for restoring Tokyo’s endangered anthropogenic satoyama forest habitat is a rare 

exception to urban ecologists’ silence on gathering. Their work suggested that under 

some circumstances, managers might find that they can accomplish ecological goals 

through the strategic encouragement of certain types of gathering (see also Terada 

et al. 2010 under the urban forestry section). Finally, McDaniel and Alley’s (2005) 

study, which found a correlation between participation in interactive outdoor activities and high local ecological knowledge scores, highlighted the need for similar 

studies comparing local ecological knowledge scores of gatherers and nongatherers.

106. Alberti, M.; Marzluff, J.M.; Shulenberger, E.; Bradley, G.; Ryan, C.; 

Zumbrunnen, C. 2003. Integrating humans into ecology: opportunities and 

challenges for studying urban ecosystems. BioScience. 53(12): 1169–1179.

Describes the properties of urban ecosystems and argues that humans need to be 

included as components of ecological analyses as they add selection pressures at all 

spatial and many temporal scales. Urban ecologists now think of cities as emergent, 

complex ecological entities and change in these systems is influenced by global 
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as well as local drivers. The authors stressed the need to see human and ecological patterns as products of socioeconomic processes interacting with biophysical 

processes. Additionally, urbanization is multidimensional and variable over time 

and space. The authors proposed a model for urban ecology research that calls for 

looking at four elements: (1) the forces that drive urbanization, (2) the patterns 

that emerge on the land from the interaction of these forces, (3) how these patterns 

affect ecosystem function and human behavior, and (4) how ecosystem and human 

processes operate as feedback mechanisms. By using this model, researchers can 

identify the forces that drive urbanization, the patterns that emerge on the land, how 

these patterns affect ecosystem function and human behavior, and how ecosystem 

and human processes operate as feedback mechanisms. The authors recommended 

using complex adaptive systems theory for analyzing how urban structures and 

processes evolve over time through many local interactions at small scales among 

many agents. They concluded that urban ecosystem management requires interdisciplinarity and two-way communication between policy and science.

Keywords: Research framework, urban ecology.

107. Barbosa, O.; Tratalos, J.A.; Armsworth, P.R.; Davies, R.G.; Fuller, R.A.; 

Johnson, P.; Gaston, K.J. 2007. Who benefits from access to green space? A 

case study from Sheffield, U.K. Landscape and Urban Planning. 83: 187–195.

Looks at green spaces within cities, focusing on the distribution and access to green 

spaces within the city of Sheffield, United Kingdom. The authors measured the 

distance and access to both public and private green spaces for Sheffield residents, 

and how access varies among different socioeconomic and demographic sectors. 

The authors mapped all green spaces by using aerial photographs and survey maps, 

and calculated the distance to the nearest green space by using road network data. 

Ten socioeconomic and demographic groups were analyzed by using Experian’s 

Mosaic United Kingdom demographic database. These groups were ranked based 

on deprivation, wealth, and age. Results showed that wealthier households had to 

travel longer distances to public green spaces, but had more access to private green 

spaces. Although wealthier households tended to have greater access to private 

green spaces (i.e., backyards), these spaces do not provide the same opportunities 

for social interaction and integration as public spaces. They are also more vulnerable to conversion into developed lots, and thus may be less persistent over the 

long term. The authors recommended that future research look more closely at how 

green spaces are actually used by residents, as this may not be purely based on 

distance, but could also be due to other factors such as the quality of green spaces.

Keywords: Environmental justice, green space, parks, urban ecology, 

urban planning.
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108. Grove, J.M.; Burch, W.R., Jr. 1997. A social ecology approach and applications of urban ecosystem and landscape analyses: a case study of Baltimore, 

Maryland. Urban Ecosystems. 1: 259–275.

Articulates a model for integrating social components into urban ecosystem studies. 

The authors situated the study of urban ecology within the social sciences into historical perspective, tracing its origins to work by human ecology scholars (known 

as the Chicago School) carried out in the early 20th century. However, these human 

ecology scholars used ecology as a metaphor and did not actually look at how 

humans, plants, and animals integrated with each other. The late 1990s saw a new 

interest in looking at the flows and cycles of resources, social as well as biological, 

as well as at the biological and social mechanisms for allocating those resources 

within ecosystems that include humans. This analytical framework, which provides 

the framework for research in the Baltimore Long Term Ecological Research 

program, allows one to look at interactions at multiple scales, and to understand 

patterns of variability, resilience, and persistence. By using spatial analysis of land 

cover types and sociodemographics, they found that communities with higher 

income levels are more likely to have trees and grass. They attributed this to inequities in “green” investment by both the private market and the government. They 

concluded that the kinds of measures ecologists use for measuring other communities (population characteristics, patterns and processes, diets, time budgets, health, 

and actuarial dynamics) can also be used to measure human communities. 

Keywords: Research framework, social ecology, urban ecology.

109. Hope, D.; Gries, C.; Casagrande, D.; Redman, C.L.; Grimm, N.B.; Martin, C. 2006. Drivers of spatial variation in plant diversity across the Central 

Arizona-Phoenix ecosystem. Society and Natural Resources. 19: 101–116.

Compares plant species diversity and composition in the Phoenix metropolitan 

area to the surrounding desert, looking at the relative importance of socioeconomic 

variables (such as land use history; social, economic, cultural, and technological 

factors) in determining spatial variability of the vegetation. They used a probabilitybased sampling approach to distinguish the social and biophysical variables that 

influence vegetation diversity. The biophysical variables used in this study include 

elevation, latitude, longitude, distance from urban center, population density, 

distance to the nearest freeway, soil nitrate levels, land use cover, percentage of 

impervious surface, and history of agricultural use. Socioeconomic variables used 

were median household income, past and current land use, and median housing age. 

Results showed that urban plots had higher levels of diversity and about twice as 

many exotic species as desert sites. Diversity at urban sites was explained best by 

land use, family income (increased diversity with increased household income up 
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

to $50,750), and past agricultural use (lower diversity where past agricultural use 

removed native vegetation). The authors point out that as wealth increases, residents 

inhabit landscapes with higher plant diversity, either through preference or planting. 

The authors recommended that future research further explore the wealth-diversity 

relationships, such as factors that influence individual decisionmaking around plant 

diversity.

Keywords: Biodiversity, social ecology, urban ecology.

110. Kobori, H.; Primack, R.B. 2003. Participatory conservation approaches for 

satoyama, the traditional forest and agricultural landscape of Japan. Ambio. 

32(4): 307–311.

Kobori and Primack described efforts to restore Japan’s satoyama forests, an 

anthropogenic landscape mosaic composed of forests, rice paddies, dry rice fields, 

grasslands, and water courses. This mixed landscape provides a variety of habitats 

for wildlife and plants and is critical habitat for a number of rare and endangered 

insect and floral species. Human activities, such as harvesting fallen leaves for 

fertilizer, cutting grass, and harvesting wood, are essential for maintaining several 

species of threatened wildflowers as well as these and other flowers on which the 

rare and endangered insect species depend. Over the past half-century, the transition out of farming and a shift from wood to coal and oil as the main heat source 

for homes has led to the deterioration of the satoyama woodlands. An effort to 

restore the woodlands in the Sayama Hills on Tokyo’s periphery began in the early 

1990s and involves planting seedlings, mowing grass, and harvesting trees. Another 

conservation effort in the city of Yokohama is being carried out as a partnership 

between the local university and citizen volunteers. Among other activities, the 

harvesting of bamboo and bamboo shoots is an important aspect of this effort to 

restore the satoyama landscape. The Sayama Hills and Yokohama conservation 

efforts indicate that the harvest of urban nontimber forest products and biodiversity 

conservation can be mutually compatible. 

Keywords: Biodiversity, conservation, ecological restoration, sustainability, 

urban ecology, urban gathering, volunteers.

111. McDaniel, J.; Alley, K.D. 2005. Connecting local environmental knowledge 

and land use practices: a human ecosystem approach to urbanization in West 

Georgia. Urban Ecosystems. 8: 23–38.

Examines the loss of local environmental knowledge (LEK) associated with 

urbanization. The researchers compared LEK along a variety of social dimensions 

(gender, income, education, and participation in various outdoor activities) in three 

places (rural, urban, and developing areas) in west Georgia through a close-ended 
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survey of 447 residents in two counties. The researchers looked at how these data 

correlated with land use practices. People living in managed pine watersheds had 

the highest average LEK scores, whereas those living in urban areas had the lowest. 

Active participants in outdoor recreation (especially bird watching) had the highest 

LEKs. Timber owners and landowners who participated in streamside management 

activities had higher LEK scores than other survey participants. The study suggests 

that proximity to natural environments and more interactive types of engagement 

with natural environments are associated with greater levels of LEK.

Keywords: Ecological knowledge, urban ecology.

112. Pickett, S.T.A.; Burch, W.R.J.; Dalton, S.E.; Forsman, T.W.; Grove, J.M.; 

Rowntree, R. 1997. A conceptual framework for the study of human ecosystems 

in urban areas. Urban Ecosystems. 1: 185–199.

Describes a framework for studying urban ecosystems that seeks to satisfy both 

natural and social scientists. This framework is based on an expansive definition 

of urban that includes cities, suburbs, exurbs, and rural hinterlands of cities. The 

authors proposed a dynamic model capable of including many social components 

and that can account for hierarchies of wealth, education, and power at different 

spatial scales. Their model acknowledges the existence of social and spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of wealth, knowledge, status, territory, and power. 

Patch dynamics can be used to describe human ecological systems and how they 

change over time as different social groups occupy particular spaces. The authors 

noted that the classical ecosystem approach is to look at fluxes in matter and energy, 

focusing attention on flows of nutrients, toxins, wastes, and energy. In contrast, the 

patch-dynamics approach focuses attention on the “cause, structure, and change of 

spatial patterns and the processes that are affected by the spatial dynamics (Pickett 

et al. 1997: 192). Combining these two approaches (flows and patch dynamics) 

allows for much more powerful studies of ecosystem change. 

Keywords: Research framework, social ecology, urban ecology.

113. Shandas, V. 2007. An empirical study of streamside landowners’ interest in 

riparian conservation. Journal of the American Planning Association. 73(2): 

173–184.

Shandas conducted a survey of households in the Seattle area with land adjacent to 

riparian areas to determine their vegetation preferences and vegetation management 

behavior on those parcels. Surveys were mailed to all 667 households in the area 

with homes along streams; however, only 272 responded. Only those who owned 

their homes were included in the analysis. The survey included photographs of different types of riparian vegetation, which respondents were asked to rank in order 
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

of preference. Shandas used geographic information system software to calculate 

the total area in vegetation for each parcel so that he could compare the landowner’s 

stated preferences with the actual vegetation on the parcel. Among the respondents, 

photos with more vegetation received higher ratings than those with moderate or no 

vegetation. However, the actual amount of vegetation on their parcels tended to be 

much lower than on the photos that received higher rankings. Answers to openended questions on the survey indicated that the disconnect between stated preferences for and actual amounts of vegetation on properties could be linked to three 

factors. These included lack of clarity about what actions were permitted along the 

streams, fears about negative impacts of making changes to their parcels, and the 

cost and time it would take to make changes. Additionally, landowners expressed 

a high level of distrust about information from government agencies. Shandas suggested that planners clarify land use ordinances to make them more understandable 

to property owners. He also suggested that when making land use policies and decisions, that planning agencies take into account landowners’ ecological knowledge. 

Keywords: Conservation, stewardship, urban planning, vegetation preferences, 

yards.

114. Turner, W.R.; Nakamura, T.; Dinetti, M. 2004. Global urbanization and the 

separation of humans from nature. BioScience. 54(6): 585–590.

Measured biodiversity in urban areas as a proxy indicator of how much contact 

humans have with nature. The researchers used human census data and data on 

birds and ferns from five cities (Tucson, Arizona; Berlin, Germany; Washington, 

D.C.; Florence, Italy; Chiba City, Japan) to see whether and how biodiversity levels 

differed with population density. The study showed that most people in all of the 

cities except Chiba City lived in areas with lower than average biodiversity. The 

study’s overall conclusion is that most of the world’s urban population lives in 

biological poverty. This means that most people are experiencing poor ecological 

conditions and that over time, those conditions will become normalized. Additionally, because studies show that human health is linked to presence of vegetation, 

the lack of biodiversity affects human health negatively. The authors noted that 

city structure as well as population density affects the extent to which humans are 

exposed to biodiversity. For example, residents in the much more densely populated 

city of Berlin have access to greater biodiversity than residents of the less densely 

populated Tucson. The authors concluded that because it is unlikely that dispersing 

people away from urban areas will be beneficial for the environment, it would be 

better for policies to focus on increasing biodiversity within urban areas.

Keywords: Biodiversity, human health, sustainability, urban ecology.
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115. Whitney, G.G.; Adams, S.D. 1980. Man as maker of new plant communities. 

Journal of Applied Ecology. 17: 431–448.

Whitney and Adams used ordination techniques coupled with correlation analysis 

and an overlay of socioeconomic variables to identify the major factors contributing 

to the observed distribution of vegetative complexes in Akron, Ohio. They used 

1970 Census data for income, education, and age of the development, with analysis 

taking place at the census tract and block levels. They used a purposive sampling 

strategy structured to capture the likely range of variation across the city. Data 

were gathered on species and size of ornamental and shade trees in front lawns. 

Ordination along with reciprocal averaging was used to categorize sites according 

to size and species. Five major complexes emerged from this analysis: old oak, 

mixed suburban, conifer, maple, and inner city. The old oak and mixed suburban 

complexes tended to occur in more recently developed sites and where residents had 

higher incomes, higher house values, and more education. The conifer complex was 

associated with blue collar residential areas, and the inner city complex tended to 

occur in older areas of the city and where income and educational levels were lower 

on average. Fruit trees were an important component of the inner city complex, 

but much less common in the other complexes. Whitney and Adams speculated 

that the high percentage of fruit trees in the inner city may be linked to the influx 

of African Americans from the rural south during and after World War Two. They 

concluded that urban vegetation patterns needed to be viewed as products of both 

cultural and biophysical processes. 

Keywords: Cultural practices, urban ecology, yards.

Urban Forestry

Within the vast literature on urban forestry, research on urban forest assessments, 

tree preference studies, and community forestry have particular relevance for 

gathering-related research and policy. Urban forest assessments describe the current 

status of the urban forest including species composition, spatial distribution, and 

health (McPherson et al. 2008); others also assign monetary values to the different 

services urban forests provide (Donovan and Butry 2010, Nowack et al. 2006). 

Such assessments play an important role in garnering support and funding for 

tree-planting campaigns, open-space reserves, and basic maintenance of “green 

infrastructure” in urban areas. However, we located no assessments that included 

economic or cultural values of harvested products such as fruits, nuts, wood, or 

leaves. By excluding nontimber forest products (NTFPs) from consideration, the 

assessments omit a significant value of urban forests. Their exclusion means that 

policymakers and planners are unlikely to take NTFPs or the concerns of the people 

who gather them into account when developing or revising policies and manage-
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ment plans. Urban gathering research structured in ways that produced data that 

could be integrated into urban forest valuation models would not only help inform 

urban NTFP policymaking but would also improve the accuracy and relevance of 

these assessments.

Tree preference studies, which often apply methods and theoretical frameworks from environmental psychology, seek to understand the types, forms, and 

placement of trees humans prefer, as well as how preferences differ along racial, 

gender, age, land tenure, and other socioeconomic dimensions (Elmendorf et al. 

2005, Fraser and Kennedy 2000, Lohr et al. 2004, Schroeder et al. 2006). Where 

urban forest assessments seek to measure the value of urban forests to communities 

as a whole, tree preference studies typically are structured to measure the value 

of urban trees to individuals. Additionally, Wolf’s (2003) research suggested that 

streetscape vegetation influences consumer purchasing patterns and perceptions 

about businesses. Data from such studies often guide urban forest planning and 

extension programming. Among the articles we reviewed, availability of NTFPs 

does not figure prominently among the reasons why householders prefer or dislike 

particular tree species. However, the lack of mention of NTFPs may be due to use 

of close-ended questionnaires in which NTFPs are not included among the options. 

One NTFP that does show up in some studies is fruit. Householder views on fruit, 

however, are ambivalent. Barker (1986) stated that many householders see fruit as 

potential “litter” and consider fruit trees as problems. Fraser and Kenney (2000) 

found that householders in Italian and Portuguese neighborhoods in Toronto greatly 

preferred fruit trees over shade trees. By contrast, householders of British descent 

preferred shade trees over fruit trees. 

Urban community forestry research points to the social benefits of vegetation 

(Kuo 2003) as well as to the individual and social benefits associated with active 

involvement in tree-planting, restoration, and other urban forestry activities (Westphal 2003). Like tree preference studies, much of this work draws on theories and 

methods of environmental psychology. The recent resurgence in urban agriculture 

also has brought community gardens within the purview of urban community forestry (see Svendsen 2009 in the urban planning section). Efforts to restore Tokyo’s 

satoyama forest rely heavily on community input, and Terada et al. (2010) found 

that reintroducing traditional coppicing practices along with the use of thinned 

wood for fuel has the potential to reconnect humans with nature while reducing 

carbon emissions.

Although the urban forestry literature is virtually silent on gathering and the 

sociocultural values of urban forest products, it nonetheless provides concepts and 

research methods that can inform urban gathering studies. Westphal’s (2003) social 
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benefits framework, for example, can be used to evaluate urban gathering policies. 

For example, a question that one might ask is “What benefits accrue to individuals, 

organizations, and neighborhoods when gathering of fruits and nuts is permitted 

in city parks?” Kuo (2003) found that greenery around public housing attracted a 

more diverse set of people outdoors, creating an informal surveillance network that 

reduced crime. As mentioned earlier, this finding raises the question of whether 

the presence of gatherers in parks might also function as an informal surveillance 

network that enhances public safety in city parks. 

Tree preference studies also have some important lessons for urban gathering 

research and policy. For example, given that cultural background appears to affect 

tree preferences (Fraser and Kenney 2000, Schroeder et al. 2006), it is likely that 

cultural background also shapes which products (and tree species) are preferred. 

Such preferences may also differ along other socioeconomic dimensions such as 

race, age, gender, and educational level. Urban gathering research thus needs to be 

designed in ways that can determine whether such differences exist. In addition, 

urban forest policies should be developed through processes in which an appropriately diverse set of gatherers participate as stakeholders. 

116. Barker, P.A. 1986. Fruit litter from urban trees. Journal of Arboriculture. 

12(12): 293–298.

Barker had a negative view of fruit trees, noting that their litter is a major problem 

for householders in urban areas, who are typically responsible for maintaining 

sidewalk and street easements. He discussed examples of two common “problem” 

fruit trees, American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) and Lavelle hawthorn 

(Crataegus x. lavallei), two species commonly found in urban areas. Sweetgums 

are frequently planted in yards, but their fruits are tough and get caught up in mowers. Hawthorns are often planted adjacent to streets, and their soft, red-orange fruits 

fall onto sidewalks, creating a safety hazard (slipping) as well as staining carpets. 

He argued that the remedies for fruit litter are unsatisfactory, and therefore householders are ambivalent about the planting and presence of fruit trees even though 

they appreciate the shade these trees provide. He recommended that urban foresters 

select nonfruiting tree varieties for street tree plantings. 

Keywords: Street trees, urban forestry.

117. Donovan, G.H.; Butry, D.T. 2010. Trees in the city: valuing street trees in 

Portland, Oregon. Landscape and Urban Planning. 94(2):77–83.

This research sought to determine the effect of street trees on sales prices and time 

on market of houses in Portland, Oregon. Researchers collected onsite and remote 
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data about each of the 3,479 house sales on the east side of Portland between July 

2006 and April 2007. By using the hedonistic price method, the researchers found 

that the presence of street trees added $8,870 to the sales price and reduced time on 

the market by 1.7 days. Benefits also spill over to neighboring houses. The article 

discusses the distribution of responsibilities for tree upkeep, which in Portland is 

largely the responsibility of the landowner adjacent to the street strip. Although 

the paper discusses shading and other benefits of the urban forest, nontimber forest 

products, urban foraging, and fruit use are not discussed. 

Keywords: Street trees, urban forestry, valuation.

118. Elmendorf, W.F.; Willits, F.K.; Sasidharan, V.; Godbey, G. 2005. Urban 

park and forest participation and landscape preference: a comparison between 

blacks and whites in Philadelphia and Atlanta. U.S. Journal of Arboriculture. 

31(6): 318–326.

Reports the findings of a comparative study of the use and preferences of Black 

and White users of public urban open spaces in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and 

Atlanta, Georgia. Data were gathered through surveys in Philadelphia (300 respondents) and Atlanta (359 respondents). The researchers measured frequency of park 

visitation, whether respondents thought urban open spaces were beneficial, and the 

types of activities respondents participated in while in the park. Landscape preferences and willingness to volunteer also were measured. They found that Blacks 

were less likely to agree that “nature” amenities were important, but more Blacks 

than Whites thought that “traditional park” landscapes and recreational facilities 

were important. The authors concluded that differences exist between Blacks and 

Whites regarding their participation, preferences, and perceptions of urban open 

spaces, a finding that is consistent with other studies. They emphasized that the differences observed in the study argue for park managers to pay attention to ensuring 

there is not discrimination in terms of making decisions about what park landscapes 

will look like.

Keywords: Parks, urban forestry, vegetation preferences.

119. Fraser, E.D.G.; Kenney, W.A. 2000. Cultural background and landscape history as factors affecting perceptions of the urban forest. Journal of Arboriculture. 

26(2): 106–113.

Compares attitudes toward trees among four ethnic communities in the city of 

Toronto, Canada. By using a list of names for household heads interviewed in the 

1991 Canadian census, Fraser and Kenney selected prospective respondents whose 

last names indicated a strong likelihood that they were of British, Chinese, Italian, 

or Portuguese descent. Potential interviewees were randomly selected from each of 
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the ethnic groups. A total of 210 residents participated in the survey. In addition to 

face-to-face interviews, the research team inventoried the vegetation on the respondent’s property. The authors found that householders of British origin were most 

likely to have and appreciate shade trees; householders of Chinese origin were least 

likely to have and appreciate either fruit or shade trees. Yard owners of Italian and 

Portuguese origin were most likely to have or appreciate fruit trees and vegetable 

gardens and were uninterested in having shade trees when they conflicted with their 

gardens.

Keywords: Cultural practices, immigrants, urban forestry, vegetation preferences, yards.

120. Konijnendijk, C. 2008. The forest and the city: the cultural landscape of 

urban woodland. New York: Springer. 245 p. 

Konijnendijk examines urban forests as cultural landscapes drawing extensively 

on examples from northern Europe but also including illustrative examples from 

cities around the globe. He noted that cities and forests have long been linked, 

often in mutually beneficial relationships. He provided examples of the multiple 

and frequently overlapping roles of urban forests in human lives, such as improving 

human emotional and spiritual well-being, providing opportunities for recreation 

and physical exercise, and improving the aesthetic qualities of urban environments. Konijkendijk calls attention to the importance of urban forests as sources of 

products, devoting an entire chapter to examples of the variety of products, such as 

wood, berries, and mushrooms humans derive from woodlands in and around cities. 

Keywords: Gathering, human health, policy, urban forestry, well-being.

121. Kuo, F. 2003. The role of arboriculture in a healthy social ecology. Journal of 

Arboriculture. 29(3): 148–155.

Kuo draws on defensible space theory to examine the relationship between the 

presence of vegetation and social ecosystem health in inner city Chicago. Defensible space theory posits that physical features of neighborhoods affect community 

strength and crime rates by influencing informal contacts among people and 

increasing informal surveillance. Kuo argued that by extension, if the presence of 

trees and grass draws people to use spaces, then their presence should have a positive effect on public safety. She summarized findings from a series of large-scale 

studies conducted in Chicago to support her argument. These studies used a variety 

of methods including photo simulations and respondent reports of their behavior. 

She found that green cover was linked to greater and more positive social interactions in residential outdoor space. Kuo also found that residents who interacted 
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more were more likely to share resources. She argued that by strengthening social 

ties among residents, the presence of trees contributed to the expansion of social 

networks. Kuo concluded that urban foresters need to integrate trees into residential 

areas if they wish to maximize the social benefits of trees. 

Keywords: Crime, environmental psychology, human health, social benefits, 

urban forestry.

122. Lohr, V.I.; Pearson-Mims, C.H.; Tarnai, J.; Dilllman, D.A. 2004. How 

urban residents rate and rank the benefits and problems associated with trees in 

cities. Journal of Arboriculture. 30(1): 28–35.

Looks at how beliefs and attitudes about trees are related to the care, management, 

and protection of trees. Lohr et al. conducted a nationwide phone survey of about 

2000 adults. They found that people gave the highest ratings to shading and cooling functions of trees. Other benefits that received high ratings included calming 

functions and air and noise pollution reduction. The study did not include gathering of products on the list of benefits. Annoyances related to trees that were rated 

the highest included allergy effects and the blocking of street and business signs. 

However, in general, respondents had difficulty ranking the annoyances of trees. 

More than 80 percent of the respondents stated that trees were important to their 

quality of life. Although there was some difference in responses by race, none were 

significant, and all categories felt trees contributed positively to their quality of life.

Keywords: Urban forestry, vegetation preferences.

123. McPherson, E.G.; Simpson, J.R.; Xiao, Q.; Wu, C. 2008. Los Angeles 

1-million tree canopy cover assessment. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-207. Albany, 

CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research 

Station. 52 p.

Measured Los Angeles’ existing tree canopy cover to determine whether there is 

space for an additional 1 million trees, as proposed under the Million Trees Los 

Angeles’ initiative. The research also estimated future benefits from the plantings. 

Remote sensing data, aerial photographs, geographic information systems, and 

image-processing software were used in this research. These techniques classified 

land cover types, measured total canopy cover, and identified potential tree planting 

sites. Benefits were estimated by using data from previous studies and were applied 

to tree planting sites in Los Angeles. The study found that Los Angeles has 10.8 

million trees. McPherson et al. identified 2.5 million potential tree-planting sites; 

however, they concluded that only 1.3 million of those sites could realistically be 

planted. Their data suggested the average annual benefit per tree is between $38 and 
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$56. Most of these benefits were classified as aesthetic or other. Stormwater runoff 

reduction, energy savings, air quality improvement, and atmospheric carbon reduction were also noted as benefits. Products derived from trees were not mentioned (or 

measured) in this study.

Keywords: Economic benefits, urban forestry, valuation.

124. Nowack, D.J.; Hoehn, R.E.I.; Crane, D.E.; Stevens, J.C.; Walton, J.T. 

2006. Assessing urban forest effects and values: Minneapolis’ urban forest. Res. 

Bull. NE-166. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest 

Service, Northeastern Research Station. 20 p. 

Examined what urban forests contribute to local and regional societies and economies. The Northeastern Research Station of the USDA Forest Service developed the 

Urban Forest Effects (UFORE) model to understand the forest resource; improve 

urban forest policies, planning, and management; provide data; and determine how 

trees affect and enhance the environment. This study focused on Minneapolis, Minnesota. It determined values of the forest structure, risk of insect pests and diseases, 

air pollution removal, carbon storage, annual carbon sequestration, and changes 

in building energy use. Minneapolis’ 979,000 trees remove 384 tons of air pollution annually, providing a service valued at $1.9 million. The trees sequester 8,900 

tons of carbon annually, a service valued at $164,000. Trees in Minneapolis reduce 

energy costs in residential buildings by $221,000 annually, and reduce carbon emissions in those buildings by 900 tons, thus creating an additional $15,900 value. The 

replacement value of Minneapolis’ urban forest is $756 million. The UFORE model 

does not include sociocultural values derived from trees. 

Keywords: Economic benefits, urban forestry, valuation.

125. Schroeder, H.; Flannigan, J.; Coles, R. 2006. Residents’ attitudes toward 

street trees in the U.K. and U.S. communities. Arboriculture and Urban Forestry. 

32(5): 236–246.

Compares data about tree preferences from surveys in two communities in England with results of an earlier survey conducted in the Midwestern United States. 

Researchers received 130 useable surveys. The results showed very similar results 

on the overall opinion of trees in front of homes—generally good to excellent—in 

both U.K. and U.S. communities. Dominant reasons for liking street trees included 

that they were pleasing to the eye, they enhance the look of the garden and home, 

and that they bring nature closer to people. In the United Kingdom, autumn color 

was also listed as important. More communities mentioned falling leaves, seeds, 

and sticks as an annoyance in the United Kingdom, but still this was only a minor 

annoyance. United Kingdom residents had definite preference for smaller trees 
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than residents in the United States. Tree products were not mentioned as a benefit. 

The researchers concluded the differences observed between the United States and 

United Kingdom are likely related to climate differences and the size and layout 

of homes (i.e., United Kingdom residents prefer smaller trees, are less likely to list 

shade as a benefit, and less likely to see debris as an annoyance than U.S. residents). 

The authors noted that arborists need to take these conditions into account when 

selecting species and locations for tree plantings. 

Keywords: Cultural practices, street trees, urban forestry, vegetation preferences.

126. Terada, T.; Yokohari, M.; Bolthouse, J.; Tanaka, N. 2010. “Refueling” 

satoyama woodland restoration in Japan: enhancing restoration practice and 

experiences through woodfuel utilization. Nature and Culture. 5(3): 251–276.

Argues that ecological restoration requires paying attention to sociocultural values 

and identifying instances where productive uses of urban forests has net ecological 

and social benefits. The authors argued that volunteers alone cannot accomplish 

the work needed to restore Tokyo’s satoyama woodlands, which provide habitat 

for a number of rare or endangered species. These woodlands are anthropogenic 

in their origins, created through centuries of complex and intensive human use 

of the landscape. In particular, regular coppicing of the oaks that dominate the 

satoyama woodlands to produce poles for fuel wood was an important component 

of this socioecological system. Very light thinning is currently done by volunteers 

as a recreational activity. However, the authors found that recreational thinning 

is insufficient to maintain satoyama woodlands. They conducted four restoration 

scenarios and found that traditional coppicing, which involves removing a much 

larger amount of wood than is currently removed through recreational thinning, had 

greater potential than the other three scenarios examined (ground cover removal, 

light thinning, and intensive thinning) to reduce carbon emissions. They recommended that urban ecological restoration place “greater emphasis on restoring 

mutually beneficial connections between people and nature.”

Keywords: Conservation, ecological restoration, stewardship, sustainability, 

urban forestry, volunteers.

127. Westphal, L.M. 2003. Urban greening and social benefits: a study of empowerment outcomes. Journal of Arboriculture. 29(3): 137–147.

Westphal outlined a social benefits framework that urban planners can use in 

crafting urban greening programs. Her framework asks planners to examine three 

aspects of urban greening programs: (1) Who gets the benefits of green space? (2) 

What benefits do passive experiences with green space provide? And (3) What 

benefits accrue from active involvement in urban greening activities? She 
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emphasized the need for planners to understand whether benefits accrue at the 

individual, organizational, and community level. She focused on the concept of 

empowerment, which she argued is often incorrectly applied to community forestry 

projects. By using photoelicitation and semistructured interviews, she examined 

the empowerment outcomes of a greening program implemented in Chicago during 

1995. Respondents on four different blocks were asked to take photos of things 

on their block that had improved or gotten worse since the greening program. 

Respondents were also asked to discuss why they chose those items to photograph 

and what their views of the greening project were. Drawing on empowerment 

theory, she then analyzed the data to identify indicators of empowerment including 

efficacy, mastery, control, proactive behavior, and sense of competence. She found 

that in two cases, individuals associated with the project felt empowered but that the 

communities in which they lived did not become empowered. By contrast, empowerment in another block occurred at both the individual and block level. Westphal 

concluded that social benefits are not inevitable outcomes of urban greening 

projects and that to structure empowering projects, planners need to understand the 

social milieu in which the project takes place. 

Keywords: Research framework, social benefits, urban forestry.

128. Wolf, K.L. 2003. Public response to the urban forest in inner-city business 

districts. Journal of Arboriculture. 29(3): 117–126.

Wolf evaluated how the presence of trees affects retail businesses located in revitalization districts. Previous research indicated that business owners tended to see 

trees as nuisances if not outright detrimental to their business. This study explored 

how street vegetation affected consumer perceptions of businesses in the area, 

whether vegetation influenced shopping behavior, and whether perceptions and 

behaviors differed by demographic categories. In a mail survey, residents of business revitalization districts in seven U.S. cities were provided with different vegetation scenarios and asked to describe their perceptions of those streetscapes and 

their willingness to pay for a specified set of goods and services from businesses 

located in each of the streetscapes. Wolf found that respondents gave higher visual 

quality and comfort ratings to scenarios with more trees; they also indicated a 

willingness to travel farther to shop in retail areas with trees. The author concluded 

that programs for planting and maintaining treescapes in business districts have the 

potential to positively affect consumer experiences and business revenues.

Keywords: Economic benefits, urban forestry, vegetation preferences.
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129. Zube, E.H.; Kennedy, C.B. 1990. Urban forests in the desert? Journal of 

Arboriculture. 16(4): 95–98.

The authors conducted a mail survey of 192 Tucson residents to assess their 

attitudes toward street trees and their views about the values of trees. Street trees 

received a high average ranking for contributing to better quality of life. About 80 

percent of the respondents indicated that they viewed trees as important for shading 

yards, 60 percent felt they were important for making a pleasant street environment, 

and 52 percent stated that trees contributed positively to the quality of the city. 

Authors concluded that there was only moderate support for street trees, but very 

strong support for yard trees that provide shade. 

Keywords: Social benefits, street trees, urban forestry, vegetation preferences.

Urban Planning 

The urban planning literature is expansive, with emphasis historically placed on 

issues of urban renewal, transportation planning, and growth management. Within 

these arenas, concerns about food issues were largely confined to discussions about 

agricultural land conservation, whereas discussions about nature tended to be 

wrapped up with a broad focus on open space or parks provision. Yet, intentionally or not, the plans and policies of municipalities long have variously hindered 

or promoted urban food production and urban gathering (Falck 2002, Howe 2002, 

Moore 2006). At the same time, early literature in urban planning and design 

emphasized the importance of integrating dynamics of the countryside into urban 

places and discussions of what today would best be described as green infrastructure (greenfrastructure). In the past decade, however, the urban planning literature 

has witnessed a renewed interest in, among other things, biodiversity in the city and 

a blossoming of concerns for issues surrounding urban sustainability (Berke 2008). 

Urban planning scholarship has a renewed and sustained focus on the role of parks 

and open space in contributing to the provision of ecosystem services and better 

quality of life (Berke 2008), as well as crime reduction (Blomley 2004) and physical 

fitness (Floyd et al. 2008). 

Recent discussions on the role of green space in urban ecosystems have paved 

the way for work that (re)considers the role of local food and gardening as part 

of creating and maintaining sustainable cities (Stuart 2005, Svendsen 2009, Van 

Hassell 2005). Reintegrating the gathering of edible nontimber forest products into 

urban ecosystems, however, potentially challenges prevailing conceptions of public 

and private property and successful reintegration is likely to require the development of new institutions for managing streetscapes and other quasipublic spaces 
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planted with edible species (see Nordahl 2009 in the urban gathering section). 

Blomley’s (2004) work on greenways in Vancouver, British Columbia, for example, 

provides an interesting example of how informal tenure systems regulating access 

to tree products can emerge on publicly held lands.

Urban planners and landscape architects have pointed out the need for rethinking the “nature-as-backdrop” mentality that drives much current green space management. For example, Gobster (2007) called for ecological restoration programs 

that involve rather than exclude the public from restored green spaces. Similarly, 

Thompson (2002) argued for the importance of green spaces where children and 

adults can interact tactilely with natural processes. She limited her examples to 

children’s play. Van Hassell (2005), Stuart (2005), and Svendsen (2009) provided 

similar examples in the context of community gardening. However, it is a short 

step to extend their conclusion to tactile interactions with nature through gathering. 

Indeed, as described in the urban gathering section, recent ecological restoration 

programs in Japan are already taking advantage of the human propensity for gathering to accomplish restoration and environmental education goals simultaneously 

(see Kobori and Primack 2003 in the urban forestry section). 

The emerging literature in urban planning that considers greenfrastructure 

and sustainability in tandem suggests potential areas for fruitful engagement with 

work on gathering. For example, the literature on sustainable planning emphasizes 

the need for more vegetation in cities. However, a question yet to be adequately 

addressed is how and by whom this vegetation will be managed. For centuries if 

not millennia, gathering has been a practice by which humans inadvertently and 

intentionally shaped vegetated sites, patches, landscapes, and regions. Studies of 

urban gathering have the potential to identify gathering practices that could be 

productively integrated into greenfrastructure management as well as those that are 

inappropriate in particular socioecological contexts. 

130. Berke, P.R. 2008. The evolution of green community planning, scholarship, 

and practice. Journal of the American Planning Association. 74(4): 393–407.

Examines how visions of urban form have influenced green communities. It examines secondary sources to describe main themes in green communities: harmony 

with natural systems, human health, spiritual well-being and renewal, livable built 

environments, and fair-share communities. Berke concluded that bioregionalism 

and other environmental ideas of the early 20th century did not take hold in planning practice. Although there is a demand for green communities, efforts to integrate green communities into conventional planning have not been satisfactory. 

Keywords: Sustainability, urban planning.
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131. Blomley, N. 2004. Un-real estate: proprietary space and public gardening. 

Antipode. 36(4): 614–641.

Blomley critiqued an urban planning practice known as crime prevention through 

environmental design (CPTED). This practice is based on Newman’s concept of 

defensible space. This theory assumes that people will care for things over which 

they exercise proprietary control, and thus urban designs that tacitly extend private 

space into public space will encourage “natural” surveillance and reduce crime. 

Blomley called this “un-real space” as it is extra-legal in the sense that people 

exercise private control over what is legally public property. Blomley examined the 

use of CPTED on the Atlantic Street Greenway in a low income area of Vancouver, 

British Columbia. Methods included indepth interviews with 42 respondents, as 

well as participant observation. The goal of the Greenway was to transform what 

had been a high-crime “wild” space into a low-crime domesticated space by requiring the community to maintain the greenway. Although many residents referred to 

the greenway as “our” space, even those who invested a lot of time into maintaining 

it did not talk about it as “my” space. Many residents planted trees, but while other 

residents considered those trees as property of the person who had planted them, 

the space itself was considered neighborhood space. Interestingly, however, the 

fruits from privately planted trees were felt to belong to the planter and not to the 

community as a whole. Blomley concluded that greenways are important as spaces 

where community and citizenship are produced and that it is important to make 

streets into places that encourage the intertwining of public and private space.

Keywords: Crime, property regimes, urban planning, vegetation preferences.

132. Falck, Z.J.S. 2002. Controlling the weed nuisance in turn-of-the-century 

American cities. Environmental History. 7(4): 611–631.

Falck examined the emergence of weed control laws in late 19th and early 20th

century American cities. In the developing urban landscapes of that era, weeds 

were ubiquitous, cropping up in vacant lots, along streets, and in many yards. Urban 

elites equated weeds with filth and disease, and believed that property owners who 

failed to control weeds were morally suspect and civically irresponsible. By the 

late 19th century, many cities had weed ordinances aimed at ensuring that property 

owners eradicated or at least minimized the weeds growing in their yards. Falck 

described a court case brought by the city of St. Louis against a property owner 

who refused to eradicate the sunflowers growing in his yard. City officials considered sunflowers a public health risk because they blocked the sun from reaching 

the soil, an action which was thought to promote soil pathogens. The defendant 

argued—unsuccessfully—that sunflowers were beneficial to human well-being. 

Enforcing weed ordinances, however, proved very difficult and costly with 
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enforcement being most likely to occur in elite residential areas. Falck noted that 

weed control laws essentially codified notions about which plants were appropriate in urban spaces and who would control them. He concluded that weed control 

efforts played an important role in demarcating boundaries between civilized nature 

and wild nature, rich and poor neighborhoods, and safe and dangerous places. 

Keywords: Environmental history, policy, urban planning, vegetation 

preferences, yards.

133. Floyd, M.F.; Spengler, J.O.; Maddock, J.E.; Gobster, P.H.; Suau, L.J. 

2008. Park-based physical activity in diverse communities of two U.S. cities. 

American Journal of Preventative Medicine. 34(4): 299–305.

Considers how the design of public parks affects physical activity. It uses the 

ecologic model of health behavior to assess how changing built environments 

affects behavior. It assesses levels of physical activity in selected neighborhood 

parks in Chicago, Illinois and Tampa, Florida. The researchers compared physical 

activity levels of park users with different ethnic/racial and income compositions, 

and examined whether level of activity is associated with race/ethnicity or income. 

Methods include use of census block group data and geographic information 

systems to identify sample parks, and direct observation. Physical activity was measured by modifying the System for Observing Play and Leisure in Youth approach, 

categorizing observed individuals by age group, gender, park activity zone, and 

neighborhood racial/ethnic and income composition. Results showed that activity 

level for more than half of park users is sedentary, and suggests that the design of 

activity areas in parks can enhance physical activity. 

Keywords: Environmental psychology, human health, parks, urban planning.

134. Gobster, P. 2007. Urban park restoration and the “museumification” of nature. 

Nature and Culture. 2(2): 96–114.

Gobster examined urban ecological restoration of city parks, drawing on his 

experiences in Chicago and San Francisco. He reviewed the evolution of natural 

experiences in urban parks, starting in the 18th century. He concluded that urban 

ecological restoration often results in a “museumification” that restricts interactions 

between people and nature to certain activities and experiences. The researcher 

argues that other types of management in urban green spaces may create better 

experiences for users while still encouraging ecological restoration. These include 

involving the public in the process of restoration, blurring the line between visitors 

and managers, and more generally increasing interaction with the environment. 

Keywords: Green space, parks, urban planning.
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135. Howe, J. 2002. Planning for urban food: the experience of two UK cities. 

Planning Practice and Research. 17(2): 125–144.

This comparative study of urban agriculture and green space policies for the cities 

of Leeds and Bradford explains the implications of urban agriculture for the planning system in the United Kingdom. Bradford has made efforts to develop policies 

related to urban food, whereas Leeds has made fewer efforts in these areas. Howe 

stated that there are barriers to how effective planning can be in promoting or even 

being involved with urban food production. However, there are opportunities in 

promoting urban regeneration, allowing nonplanning department control of some 

agricultural lands, and planning ahead for green space and agricultural space. 

Howe concluded that planning can have an important role in urban food production 

of particular types and at particular times. More generally, the planning barriers to 

urban food production tend to be political not physical. Howe also concluded that 

planners should see urban food production as an important instrument for promoting sustainable development. 

Keywords: Food security, sustainability, urban food production, urban planning.

136. Moore, S. 2006. Forgotten roots of the green city: subsistence gardening in 

Columbus, Ohio, 1900-1940. Urban Geography. 27(2): 174–192.

Describes how two discourses, the urban narrative and crisis narrative, have 

divided concepts of urban (city) and rural (nature). The author conducted a literature review of urban gardening in Columbus, Ohio, from 1900 to 1940 to show 

that gardening has always been part of the cityscape despite common perceptions 

that subsistence gardening has only been practiced as a means of crisis mediation. 

This article raises questions about the tendency for urban activists and planners to 

overlook historical practices within a given jurisdiction.

Keywords: Community gardens, environmental history, gardening, subsistence, 

urban food production.

137. Stuart, S.M. 2005. Lifting spirits: creating gardens in California domestic 

violence shelters. In: Barlett, P.F., ed. Urban place: reconnecting with the natural 

world. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press: 61–68.

Stuart described Project GROW (Gardens for Respect, Opportunity, and Wellness), a pilot project in California that provided 1,500 women and children living in 

domestic violence shelters during the late 1990s and early 2000s with opportunities 

to participate in community gardening and related activities, such as food preservation and cooking workshops. Project GROW grew out of research in the field of 

horticultural therapy that showed that being around and working with plants can 

positively affect people’s mental outlook and improve self-esteem. Stuart conducted 
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an evaluation of the project, interviewing 60 women and 21 children who participated in the program, as well as 18 project administrators. Major impacts of the 

project listed by participants included improvement in emotional well-being (66 

percent), educational benefits (34 percent), and access to fresh produce (16 percent). 

Adult participants from rural backgrounds stated that gardening evoked childhood 

memories and cultural and family traditions from earlier days. This was especially 

important for immigrant women, but also held true for American-born women who 

had grown up in rural parts of the United States. Participants also noted that gardening offered opportunities for them to connect with other residents, particularly 

those from other cultures. Stuart concluded that gardening programs are important 

as much for the psychological and social benefits they provide as for improving 

access to fresh, nutritional food.

Keywords: Community gardens, gardening, human health, identity, social 

benefits, urban food production, well-being.

138. Svendsen, E.S. 2009. Cultivating resilience: urban stewardship as a means to 

improving health and well-being. In: Campbell, L.; Wiesen, A., eds. Restorative 

commons: creating health and well-being through urban landscapes. Gen. Tech. 

Rep. NRS-P-39. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest 

Service, Northern Research Station: 54–72.

Svendsen argued that over the past few decades, urban planning discourse has shifted 

from one emphasizing public health (the “Sanitary City”) to ecosystem health (the 

“Sustainable City”). Svendsen suggested that the discourse on sustainability needs 

to continue to bring in public health connections, focusing in particular on links 

between environmental stewardship and individual and collective well-being. She 

argued that there is a distinction between passive and interactive ways of engaging 

with the environment, and that active stewardship differs from passive interaction in 

that it involves responsibilities, rights, and preferences. She tested whether there is a 

link between stewardship and well-being through studying 3,000 community garden 

groups in New York City. The majority of individuals interviewed stated that they 

participated in the gardens to beautify their neighborhoods, to create or improve green 

space, and to create a place where they could relax and feel at peace. Only 40 percent 

stated that they gardened for food or to contribute to economic development. Other 

important motivations included teaching their children and passing on a legacy to 

others. Svendsen concluded that planners need to recognize that green urban designs 

require a complementary social network to be sustainable. 

Keywords: Community gardens, economic benefits, green space, human health, 

social benefits, stewardship, sustainability, urban food production, urban planning, 

well-being.
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139. Thompson, C.W. 2002. Urban open space in the 21st century. Landscape and 

Urban Planning. 60: 59–72.

This article looks at how open spaces can be defined in ways that accommodate 

the value differences that exist in a heterogeneous society. Today’s urban parks 

reflect the values of late 19th-century planners who saw parks as places for bringing together people of all walks of life so as to create a unified democratic Nation. 

However, this vision carried with it specific views about what was considered 

appropriate behavior in such places, focusing on nature as a backdrop rather than 

nature as a place where people could have tactile interactions with the biophysical 

environment. Thompson observed that carefully tended environments do not appeal 

to everyone, and there is a need to recognize the value of “waste lots.” In particular, 

she noted that these are places where children can “break sticks and branches” 

and “learn about the physical properties of things by testing them to destruction” 

(Thompson 2002: 67). She pointed to community gardens as a place where interactive engagement with nature can happen, and stressed their importance for human 

well-being and psychological growth. She argued for urban planning to include 

more “loose-fit” places, which “allow for a variety of functions and which are often 

undersigned, unregulated spaces” (Thompson 2002: 69), in their repertoire of green 

spaces. These would not only provide children with places to test their environment 

but they would also be ecologically appropriate, mimicking cycles of growth and 

decay. At a larger landscape scale, she called for rethinking the impending transformation of the countryside into spaces where productive uses are not permitted. She 

concluded that there is a need for spaces where humans can tactilely interact with 

natural processes.

Keywords: Green space, urban planning, well-being.

140. Von Hassell, M. 2005. Community gardens in New York City: place, community, and individuality. In: Barlett, P.F., ed. Urban place: reconnecting with the 

natural world. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press: 91–116.

Provides a short history of the community garden movement in the United States, 

with emphasis on recent efforts to prevent the destruction of community gardens in 

the lower east side of New York City. Von Hassell distinguished between two major 

eras in urban garden initiatives in the United States. The first took place between 

1894 and 1945 and was largely government initiated. In this era, urban gardens 

were viewed primarily as sources of food for the poor, tools for reducing social 

tensions and improving psychological well-being, and a means to promote selfreliance and a strong work ethic. The second era features grass-roots community 

gardens, and began in the 1970s. Von Hassell argued that community gardens are 

places where people are active participants in processes of growth and decay. Far 
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more than mere green spaces, they offer a wide range of benefits including social 

interaction, fresh and nutritious produce, physical exercise, as well as psychological 

benefits and opportunities for learning, teaching, and engaging with nature. 

Keywords: Community gardens, gardening, human health, social benefits, 

urban food production, urban planning, well-being.

Acknowledgments

We thank Jay Bolthouse, John C. Dwyer, and Jenna Tilt for their insightful comments and suggestions for revising the peer review draft of this manuscript. Funding for the project was provided by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research 

Station in Burlington, Vermont, and the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest 

Research Station in Portland, Oregon, under contract AG63PX080095.
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

Appendix—List of Keywords Used in Annotations 

Numbers are citation numbers, not page numbers.

biodiversity—54, 88, 109, 110, 114

community gardens—9, 136, 137, 138, 140

conservation—10, 34, 110, 113, 126

crime—77, 87, 92, 121, 131

cultural ecology—69, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76 

cultural practices—1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 33, 95, 115, 119, 125

ecological knowledge—3, 5, 10, 39, 88, 71, 111

ecological restoration—73, 74, 81, 82, 86, 93, 110, 126

economic benefits—123, 124, 128, 138

edible plants—20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 34, 50

environmental health—39, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105

environmental history—77, 132, 136

environmental justice—6, 77, 78, 80, 81, 82, 86, 107

environmental psychology—70, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 96, 97, 98, 99, 121, 133

ethnobotany—1, 2, 4

ethnoecology—1, 2, 4, 10

ethnomedicine—1, 2, 4

food security—19, 36, 37, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 48, 51, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 

62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 68, 135

fruit sharing—9, 36, 37, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52, 53, 56, 58, 59, 61, 62, 63, 

64, 66, 67, 68

gardening—9, 69, 70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 80, 90, 96, 136, 137, 140

gathering—11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 85, 120

gleaning—9, 36, 37, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52, 53, 56, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 67, 

68

green space—88, 107, 134, 138, 139

heavy metals—100, 103, 104, 105
106

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-849

human health—1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 13, 19, 70, 77, 84, 88, 89, 90, 91, 96, 98, 99, 114, 120, 

121, 133, 137, 138, 140

human-plant geographies—69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 84

identity—2, 11, 12, 16, 69, 70, 75, 76, 84, 137

immigrants—1, 2, 4, 7, 11, 17, 35, 38, 41, 47, 76, 119

mapping—37, 46, 47, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 56, 59, 60, 61, 64, 65

medicinal plants—1, 2, 4, 20, 21, 23, 28, 31, 33

nutrition—19, 24, 25, 29, 30, 105

parks—77, 78, 97, 107, 118, 133, 134

policy—3, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 35, 45, 60, 85, 120, 132

political ecology—16, 84, 85

property regimes—5, 21, 30, 55, 73, 75, 76, 84, 131

public orchards—9, 42, 55, 57, 59,, 60, 62, 63, 66

recipes—20, 21, 25, 27, 29, 32, 34

regulations—26, 34, 39, 40, 65

research framework—78, 83, 106, 108, 112, 127

social benefits—121, 127, 129, 137, 138, 140

social ecology—108, 109, 112

soil toxicity—100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105

stewardship—3, 10, 15, 17, 20, 24, 28, 59, 65, 113, 126, 138

street trees—116, 117, 125, 129

subsistence—14, 21, 136

sustainability—40, 49, 57, 110, 114, 126, 130, 135, 138

toxics—20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 30, 32, 40, 41, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105

urban ecology—10, 88, 94, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 114, 115

urban food production—9, 36, 37, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 

62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 68, 80, 135, 136, 137, 138, 140

urban forestry—7, 8, 82, 87, 89, 116, 117, 118, 119, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 

128, 129 
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Gathering in the City: An Annotated Bibliography and Review of the Literature About Human-Plant Interactions in Urban Ecosystems 

urban gathering—1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 22, 26, 28, 31, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 

43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 

66, 65, 67, 68, 110

 urban planning—3, 6, 8, 9, 81, 86, 89, 94, 95, 97, 107, 113, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 

135, 138, 139, 140

urban political ecology—3, 5, 6, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 86

valuation—117, 123, 124

vegetation preferences—94, 95, 97, 113, 118, 119, 122, 125, 128, 129, 131, 132

volunteers—36, 37, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 48, 51, 52, 53, 54, 58, 59, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 

67, 93, 110, 126

well-being—13, 88, 98, 120, 137, 138, 139, 140

wild mushrooms—15, 16, 17, 25, 32

yards—84, 95, 113, 115, 119, 132 

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