The Art of the Town-Gown Dance: Healing Legacies of Harm in our Food System through Equitable Pedagogy

As legacies of harm are surfacing in the 21st century, universities have new opportunities for addressing past traumas and transforming historically tense town-gown relationships. Food systems planning and urban agriculture faculty are perfectly positioned to help bridge the university-community divide because their work so often centers on community and equity. Urban ag and food systems faculty can use academy resources as a force for good, to advance equity and system change in the neighboring community. But this goal is challenged by the constraints of the one-semester classroom, along with the lack of adequate guidelines for faculty and students in how to navigate the complex world of community engagement that seeks systemic change to advance equity. Using the University of Virginia experience with Charlottesville, authors provide examples of why university classroom engagement with the community is fraught with landmines that can perpetuate inequities and legacies of harm. This dynamic can further erode relationships and lead neighboring communities to view universities as “extractive industries.” Coining the term “equitable pedagogy,” the authors draw on three different sets of values and best practices to propose a new framework for how university classes might engage with community. Equitable pedagogy distinguishes between engagement that aims to support grasstops and that which aims to support long-term systemic change through the grassroots. A decision tree and core values help faculty navigate these complexities, to avoid perpetuating privilege and systemic inequities and, instead, foster a relationship with community that is mutually beneficial and synergistic.