Urban food production limits and the viability of community gardens: The case of hartford, connecticut

Hartford, the state capital of Connecticut, is a typical example of a former manufacturing oriented1 industrial city and, like much of the urban northeastern United States, has gone through a period of economic deindustrialization and consequent urban decay. Since the departure of the manufacturing base, Hartford has refocused its economic development on the service economy, and first and foremost, the insurance industry. The city even proclaims itself the “insurance capital of the world.” Yet, even though the insurance industry as well as other service oriented development strategies (a new convention center, science museum, and retail developments) have been quite successful in fostering economic activity and attracting employees (mostly residents of the surrounding suburbs commuting into white collar jobs), the spatial manifestations of deindustrialization are still visible and persistent in the physical as well as the social fabric of the city. © 2012 Neil Reid, Jay D. Gatrell and Paula S. Ross All rights reserved.

Journal Abbreviation: Local Food Systems in Old Industrial Regions: Concepts, Spatial Context, and Local Practices