COMMUNITY GARDENING, NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS, AND SOCIAL CAPITAL

This study examined associations between, participation in community gardening/beautification projects and neighborhood meetings with perceptions of social capital at both the individual and neighborhood levels. Data were analyzed from a cross-sectional stratified random. telephone survey conducted in Flint., Michigan (N = 1916). Hierarchical linear and logistic regression analyses were used to study associations, controlling for individual and Census block group-level confounders. At the individual level, household involvement in community gardening/beautification activities and in neighborhood meetings were associated unlit residents' perceptions of bonding social capital, linking social capital, and neighborhood norms and values. Household involvement in gardening/beautification and meetings had stronger associations with residents' perceptions of social capital than did neighborhood-level involvement measures. Results suggest involvement in neighborhood meetings augment the individual and neighborhood-wide perceptions of social capital associated with community gardening and beautification projects. Neighborhood community gardens impact on neighborhood residents' perceptions of social capital can be enhanced by neighborhood-wide meetings. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.