Collective action and social contagion: Community gardens as a case study

Urban Farm DB summary

This study investigated whether Institutions for Collective Action (ICAs), using community gardens as a case study, exhibit dynamics of social contagion and diffuse in accordance with patterns prevalent in self-organized complex systems. Quantitative methods derived from the field of complexity were applied to measure the temporal, spatial, and spatiotemporal diffusion of community gardens in the city of Jerusalem. The results suggest that the spread of community gardens in the urban space displays patterns of self-organization and social contagion.