Project Overview:
Introduction
Trenton, the State Capital of New Jersey, suffered a serious decline in the 20th Century. A decline in manufacturing and related employment, population exodus to the suburbs, Urban Renewal and the State Governments interest in concentrating facilities in the city, and failed attempts at improving conditions for the enduring residents of Trenton, have left the city pockmarked with underused or abandoned, sometimes dangerous vacant spaces. A Community Based Organization, Isles, Inc. has transformed many of these spaces with and for the community, into productive gardens.
Trenton is home to many people living in poverty. Food access is limited as the supermarket business model was better suited for growing suburbs than the deteriorating cities. For the poor children in Trenton the importance of access to enough quality food should not be understated. A select number of Isles’ community gardens are built on or near school grounds for the purpose of educating children about their environment, their health and nutrition, and also providing fruits and vegetables. The effects of supplementary education and nutrition should have an effect on the performance of students in Trenton’s historically troubled school system.
Objectives
Create a map showing all community and school gardens in Trenton.
-Provide a context for the economic conditions of Trenton by comparing garden locations with median income and neighborhoods with children living at or below poverty.
Create a map showing the schools in Trenton and gardens.
-Analyze performance indicators in a spatial context over a period before and after the construction of the school gardens.
-Project change in performance as a function of the neighborhood the school is located in.
Create a map showing type of school vs. performance indicators and garden locations.
-Problems and future considerations.
References
Isles, Inc. (http://isles.org/main/services/environment/planting-school-gardens/)
Newman, K., Glickman, N.J., et al. 2005. A Community Food Assessment of Trenton, New Jersey. Graduate Studio Project, Rutgers University.
NJ Department of Education (http://www.state.nj.us/education/data/)
Smith, J. L., Stovall D. 2008. ‘Coming home’ to new homes and new schools: critical race theory and the new politics of containment. Journal of Education Policy, 23(2) 135-152.
Trenton School District (http://www.trenton.k12.nj.us/)
U.S. Census Bureau, American FactFinder. (http://factfinder.census.gov)
