Urban Farm DB
Research catalogue
Database research record2018·United States

Chinatown and Beyond: Ava Chin, Urban Foraging, and a New American Cityscape

Shiuhhuah Serena Chou

ISLE Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment

Urban Farm DB summary

Urban foraging reemerged at the turn of the twenty-first century as a mode of urban food production, leading to a diverse body of literature including field guides and personal accounts. This literature suggests that the resurgence of urban foraging, as seen in works like Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma (2006) and Tama Matsuoka Wong's Foraged Flavor (2012), may be more than a fad. The practice of finding, harvesting, and consuming edible wild plants challenges the idea of American cities as food deserts, presenting urban spaces as sites of cultural and environmental sustainability.