When Vacant Lots Become Urban Gardens: Characterizing the Perceived and Actual Food Safety Concerns of Urban Agriculture in Ohio

Urban Farm DB summary

Focus groups (n=67) in four low-income Ohio neighbourhoods plus soil tests at six sites. Residents wanted gardens for fresh produce but worried about soil. Lead, zinc, cadmium and copper were present (paint likely main source); arsenic/chromium and PAHs were low. Further management to cut Pb/Cd bioavailability is needed before food crops; longer-established gardens showed lower contaminant signals. Critical evidence that vacant-lot gardening requires soil risk assessment.