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作者

来源

JOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS,Vol.41,Issue3,P.413-415

语言

英文

关键字

作者单位

University of Cincinnati

摘要

Lindsay Campbell’s City of Forests, City of Farms is organized into two main parts as implied by the title. The first half of the book explores how political fortitude combined with a generous budget, involvement of private organizations, and wealthy individuals successfully achieved the MillionTreesNYC initiative under Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration. Along the way, we learn of the political compromises and communication strategies that the Bloomberg administration used in setting a goal of 1 million trees to be planted. In the second half of the book, Campbell shows how traditional community gardening took root in the “hipster” culture around the time of the 2008 recession, how the movement struggles with its identity, and the difficulty of finding adequate space in the city. We learn of the many threats faced by urban agriculture (the modern term for community gardening) in New York City, from the Rudy Giuliani administration of the 1990s to the present as the city seeks to house a growing population.Campbell supplements her analysis of related plans and reports with 65 interviews with those familiar with or involved in their implementation. The candid nature and plain talk of respondents enhances our understanding of the motivations and feelings of those involved. Respondents also reveal, sometimes colorfully, the in-group conflict and lack of a consensus often present in sustainability planning.Campbell describes the MillionTreesNYC initiative in lively and rich detail as only one close to the project could. Her clearly written book is well researched and thoughtfully organized. Campbell provides valuable insights into the sometimes strategic and sometimes opportunistic nature of plan making and goal setting to satisfy politicians, bureaucrats, celebrities, the media, and the public. This is made clear with the unique nature of Mayor Bloomberg’s personal network of wealth and fame that was instrumental in the completion of the MillionTreesNYC initiative. Campbell shows how policy does not simply get acted upon in one moment and then passed down and implemented by governmental actors (bureaucrats) in the next. Rather, it is a process of feedback, adjustment, and pragmatic goal setting by various actors with varying agency.Whether intentional or not, Campbell shows that without strong political and public support, and a little bit of good timing, ambitious plans may be doomed for failure. In the case of MillionTreesNYC, Mayor Bloomberg’s personal determination and his appointment of cabinet members with similar goals still may not have been enough were it not for fortuitous revenue streams up front. Campbell further notes that the momentum of strong public support for his initiatives empowered Bloomberg to persuade the city council to permit him to run for an unprecedented third term. His third term combined with creative budgeting and tree-counting practices during times of relative fiscal constraint also permitted the MillionTreesNYC to continue despite threats.Where Campbell’s study of the discourse and politics of urban forests (or, more generally, a collection of trees in urban locations) is predicated on a major initiative (MillionTreesNYC) and specific public actors, her analysis of urban agriculture is less focused and, necessarily, more exploratory. We are provided historical context for how community gardening was rebranded as urban agriculture in New York City and some of the economic and social forces that have been influential in shaping it. Campbell then puts urban agriculture in New York City in political and social contexts by assessing the many and diverse actors involved—usually those with little or no ability to directly affect policy. She notes that urban agriculture in New York City is often tied to vibrant civic engagement and activism. Yet land (even rooftops) is under the constant threat of development. Continued cultivation requires sustained support from long-time community gardeners along with backing from “hipster” urban agriculturists and local politicians.Campbell makes a connection between the relatively new popular interest in consuming food locally grown and the recent surge in urban agriculture. She analyzes several New York City food initiatives by quasigovernmental actors, like the Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation’s use of temporarily vacant land as a raised-bed garden. Along with portrayals of food in film and popular culture, like the documentary film The Greenhorns and the television show Portlandia, Campbell criticizes New York City’s 2007 comprehensive plan PlaNYC for not mentioning urban agriculture or food. However, PlaNYC 2.0 (2011) does deal with this subject.Campbell explores difficulties in ensuring the continuity of discourse in implementing plans that stretch from one mayoral administration to the next; for example, the words and language used to communicate the goal of planting 1 million trees for the MillionTreesNYC initiative. In analyzing the discourse used by political actors who worked to shape ideas and opinions about green infrastructure campaigns, Campbell finds that they can be classified into five types. She then shows how the discourse was successfully framed by all actors involved and then picked up and repeated by media reports.Campbell’s apparent target audience is other cities, and actors within them, interested in sustainability planning, especially investments in green infrastructure. She seeks to enhance understanding of political processes at the municipal level through her discourse analysis of two such New York City green infrastructure experiences: MillionTreesNYC and urban agriculture. Light on jargon and easy to read, this book is well suited for students, practitioners, and academics interested in urban forests, urban agriculture, or, more generally, urban politics. This book would make a suitable companion for a college course on the politics of plan making viewed through New York’s experiences.A cautionary note to potential readers: There is only one New York City and one Michael Bloomberg. Those practitioners seeking to replicate New York’s successes in other large and medium-sized cities will likely glean few generalizable insights. Still, Campbell tells the compelling stories of unlikely initiatives and how public and political narratives were framed and used to build and maintain momentum through to completion. City of Forests, City of Farms serves as an interesting story of how urban politics and plan implementation play out in real life and provides some basis for optimism about future efforts.