Gardens as Immigrant Homelands

Urban Farm DB summary

This article examines urban community gardens and urban farms in Los Angeles as sites for the recreation and re-creation of homelands for Mexican and Central American immigrants. Based on ethnographic research conducted between 2010 and 2023 across several sites, the author demonstrates that these gardens function as hybrid spaces where everyday home-making practices unfold. Gardeners cultivate Mesoamerican plants, materially and symbolically reshaping urban space while forging bonds of attachment to place and community.