16. Using mixed methods to confront disparities in public health interventions in urban community gardens

This chapter details a mixed methods approach to investigate how contaminant concentrations of heavy metals, petroleum products, and the herbicide glyphosate impact urban community gardeners and farmers in and near Seattle, Washington. Using a mixture of soil and plant sampling, interviews, surveys, informal conversations, and advocacy, the study revealed that many pathways of exposure to contaminants are often overlooked. The study also examined how traditional risk assessment has not served communities being impacted by contamination in urban community gardens, particularly those from marginalized communities. Using an environmental justice framework, the chapter further elaborates on how politics, subjectivity, and environmental racism all shape risk assessment. Finally, the chapter offers suggestions for better ways to analyse risk, harm, and exposure in urban community gardens, and for reciprocal research that benefits community partners.