Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
1204 results(14 / 49)
Cash for assets during acute food insecurity: an observational study in South Sudan
2023Shannon Doocy, Emily Lyles, Robert Kenyi Morjan, Kayla Pfieffer-Mundt, Courtland Robinson, Kevin Savage · Agriculture & Food Security · South Sudan
A prospective cohort study in South Sudan (2019–2021) examined the impact of cash assistance for work in community gardens on food security among 1213 cash-receiving, 582 non-intervention, and 300 later cash-receiving households. The study found no significant differences in changes over time in household hunger, coping strategies, or meal frequency between participants and the comparison group. Cash transfers did not appear to have lasting benefits on food security and livelihoods coping strategy use.
Limited or null effectWelfareCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceThe role of Design Thinking to promote a sustainability transition within participatory urban governance: Insights from urban agriculture initiatives in Lisbon
2023Sandrine Simon · Urban Governance · Portugal (Lisbon)
This study examined urban agricultural initiatives in Lisbon, Portugal, and their integration into urban planning strategies for sustainability, using Design Thinking methodology for a literature review. The integration of urban agriculture into urban planning is identified as a complex problem due to conflicting goals among actors. The research suggests that Design Thinking could assist urban planners in addressing this challenge by providing flexible, iterative, and participatory approaches.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceUnderstanding Multiple Ecosystem Services of Urban Agriculture Across Scales
2023Jiangxiao Qiu, Hui Zhao · EDIS · Global
This overview identified eight ecosystem services generally attributed to urban agriculture, including food production, microclimate regulation, stormwater retention, and social-cultural values. However, the study found that quantitative evidence for many of these ecosystem services, especially intangible ones, is scarce. It suggests that while urban agriculture could be integral to green infrastructure, further consideration is needed for types, technology, management, and potential tradeoffs.
Methodological critiqueBiodiversityClimate changeHealthOrganic cyclePolicyCommunityRacism in paradise: Being migrants in urban agriculture in Aotearoa New Zealand
2023Marcela Palomino‐Schalscha, Maria Teresa Braga Bizarria, Isabella Sánchez‐Bolívar · New Zealand Geographer · New Zealand
This collective autoethnography project explored the experiences of Latin American migrant women of color joining urban agriculture (UA) in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. The research revealed that while UA spaces offer community-building opportunities, they can also reproduce exclusionary practices, particularly towards minority groups. The study highlights experiences of racial oppression within UA settings.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceCultivating an Alternative Subjectivity Beyond Neoliberalism: Community Gardens in Urban China
2023Xin Mai, Yueli Xu, Yungang Liu · Annals of the American Association of Geographers · China (Shanghai)
This study investigated the emergence and development of two flagship community garden cases in Shanghai, China, initiated in 2016. Observations revealed that a nonprofit organization, not local citizens or municipal government, proactively advanced community garden production and participation. The community garden phenomenon was found to reify an alternative subjectivity, emphasizing social organizations as a state "flanking mechanism" for extraeconomic urban governance objectives.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceAquaponics and Urban Farming Solutions in the US: A Comprehensive Review - Assessing the Viability, Benefits, and Challenges of Integrating Fish and Plant Farming in Urban Settings
2023Olasumbo Olagoke-Komolafe, Joshua Oyeboade · International Journal of Multidisciplinary Futuristic Development · United States
This study comprehensively reviewed the viability, benefits, and challenges of urban aquaponics systems in the United States. Through a systematic literature review and content analysis, significant environmental benefits were identified, while economically, long-term benefits potentially outweigh initial setup costs. Challenges such as technical complexities, financial barriers, and the need for specialized knowledge are also notable.
Economic viabilityDigital agricultureEconomicsCommunityFood educationSocial and Community Benefits and Limitations of Urban Agriculture
2023Alicia Papanek, Catherine Campbell, Hannah Wooten · EDIS · Global
This publication, authored by Alicia Papanek, Catherine G. Campbell, and Hannah Wooten and published in January 2023 by the UF/IFAS Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, provides an overview of urban food production. It discusses the benefits of urban agriculture alongside potential challenges that can limit the success of these operations, including economic viability.
Economic viabilityCommunityHealthEconomicsOrganizing Tensions in Community-Supported Agriculture
2023Megan K. Schraedley · · Global
This chapter examines Sweet Water Farm, a Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm, through a participant's perspective, analyzing organizing practices by highlighting three tensions. These include the tension between community creation and customer management, issues of inclusion and exclusion from CSAs, and the challenge of transforming capitalist economic structures while operating within them. The study reveals that while CSAs offer potential for addressing equity in the food system, questions persist regarding their long-term adoption by diverse communities as an alternative to conventional agriculture.
Equity & displacementCSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceFarming under Urban Pressure: Business Models and Success Factors of Peri-Urban Farms
2023Wojciech Sroka, Piotr Sulewski, Jarosław Mikołajczyk, Karol Król · Agriculture · Poland
This study, based on a survey of economically successful peri-urban farms in Poland, identified success factors and major barriers to their development. The research shows a considerable convergence in business solutions in recent years, particularly in customer relationships and channels. According to respondents, the success of peri-urban farms is primarily determined by three groups of factors: motivation, diligence, and creativity; high quality of products and services; and cultivating deep bonds with customers. While farm managers indicated relatively few internal problems, urban pressure was considered the most significant external barrier to development.
Economic viabilityPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsCommunityHow common is greening in gentrifying areas?
2023Jessica Quinton, Lorien Nesbitt, James J. Connolly, Elvin Wyly · Urban Geography · Canada
This descriptive analysis identified gentrifying areas in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto, Canada, from 1996–2006 and 2006–2016, to determine the prevalence of greening interventions. The study found that greening, including parks, cycle lanes, and community gardens, frequently occurred before, during, and after gentrification. These results indicate that greening is common in gentrifying areas throughout the gentrification process, suggesting a need for a broader understanding of the relationship between urban greening and gentrification.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyEconomicsCOLLECTIVELY GARDENING THE URBAN PUBLIC SPACE IN MEXICO CITY: When Informal Practices Interact with the State
2023Martine El Ouardi, Françoise Montambeault · International Journal of Urban and Regional Research · Mexico (Mexico City)
This study of citizen-led gardens in Mexico City reveals that informal urban gardening becomes a practice disconnected from the state. Despite the Mexico City government's interest in regulating urban agriculture, gardeners are increasingly formalizing their practices independently. This disconnection is attributed to a weak institutional context, characterized by top-down policymaking and the city government's incapacity and unwillingness to effectively implement policies, leading to mistrust among gardeners.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyResilience processes and positioning of agroecological farmers in an urban horticultural fair in northwest Patagonia
2023Ana H. Ladio, Melisa Longo, Soledad Molares · Ethnobotany Research and Applications · Argentina (San Carlos de Bariloche)
This qualitative study analyzed the resilience processes of agroecological farmers at the Free Fair of Family Farmers from Nahuel Huapi in San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina. The fair's main resilience principles include high agrobiodiversity, learning and connectivity, cooperation, and adaptive systemic thinking. However, the economic and cultural viability of this fair is uncertain due to the drastic socio-environmental changes experienced in the region.
Economic viabilityCommunityBiodiversityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsA Social-Ecological Model for Inclusion Processes in Urban Agriculture of Vienna, Austria
2023Sophie Kathrin Schaffernicht, Elisabeth Quendler · Merits · Austria
This study aimed to identify systemic barriers to inclusion in horticultural working life and potential solutions for people with disabilities within urban agriculture in Vienna, Austria. A pilot project was conducted from May to October 2019, involving a university, three social institutions, two horticultural farms, and fifteen people with disabilities. The findings suggested that urban agriculture opportunities should extend beyond simple cooperation between social institutions and horticultural farms.
Equity & displacementWelfareCommunityProspecção Científica e Tecnológica sobre o Uso de Softwares para a Oferta e a Comercialização em Hortas Comunitárias
2023Jamille Anderson Luiz da Silva, Paula Tereza de Souza e Silva · Cadernos de Prospecção · Global
This study aimed to identify mobile applications developed or used for offering and trading food products in community gardens, through scientific and technological prospecting. Searches were conducted across multiple databases using keywords like "Aplicativo," "App," "Software," "Horta," and "Agricultura urbana." The results showed few applications associated with the theme, with most intended for specific localities and few available for widespread use, indicating a limited effect of existing tools.
Limited or null effectDigital agricultureCommunityEconomicsTranslating unique agricultural precedents into public urban agriculture design
2023Joshua Zeunert, Tanya Court · Elsevier eBooks · Global
Public urban agriculture (PUA) in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia faces challenges, including aesthetics and negative perceptions of its spatial presence and visual performance. In these contexts, PUA often remains limited to allotments, community gardens, education gardens, and street verge gardens, which frequently suffer from negative aesthetic perceptions in highly visible public settings. This chapter explores how eight distinctive rural food production practices could be translated into urban contexts to address aesthetic shortcomings in PUA design.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageNurturing soil-adarities
2023Bethaney Turner · · Global
This chapter explored human-soil relations in urban home and community gardens through ethnographic fieldwork. While biodiverse soil offers direct health benefits, the presence of contaminated, toxic soils, prevalent in lower socio-economic neighborhoods, was shown to expose inequities in access to safe gardening sites and hinder the realization of potential therapeutic benefits. It argues that the therapeutic benefits of gardens are best realized when humans cultivate attentive relationships with myriad multispecies companions.
Contamination & food safetyCommunityHealthBiodiversityOrganic cycleWelfareIMPLEMENTASI PROGRAM URBAN FARMING PADA KELOMPOK TANI ELOK MEKAR SARI KOTA SURABAYA
2023Shinta Diah Wulandari, Tukiman Tukiman · Jurnal Mediasosian Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Administrasi Negara · Indonesia (Surabaya)
The implementation of an urban farming program at the Elok Mekar Sari farmer group in Semolowaru Village, Surabaya City, Indonesia, was investigated using descriptive qualitative research and the van Meter van Horn model. Policy objectives and standards were achieved, and inter-organizational communication was optimally implemented. However, human resources and social environment aspects were not optimal, and implementers' understanding of the urban farming policy's objectives was found to be lacking.
Limited or null effectCommunityPolicyEconomicsFarmers’ Independence Level in the Urban Area of Subak Sembung Denpasar City, Bali Province, Indonesia
2023Dwi Putra Darmawan, Gede Mekse Korri Arisena, A.A.A. Wulandira Sawitri Djelantik, Anak Agung Keswari Krisnandika, Ni Ketut Sri Utari, Nyoman Tri Lukpitasari Korri · Journal of Agricultural Sciences – Sri Lanka · Indonesia (Denpasar City)
This study observed the independence of 66 urban farmers in Subak Sembung, Denpasar City, Indonesia, using observation and interviews. Findings revealed that the majority of farmers had a high level of independence in cultivation tool preparation, crop production, capital, capital providers, and type of cultivated commodity. However, a lack of independence was identified in post-harvest handling, management, self-development, collaborating to provide agricultural services, and technology adoption.
Limited or null effectCommunityEconomicsPolicy“It’s Not Only Our Task”
2023Krista Willman · ACME · Finland (Tampere)
This article explores the "operational space" of urban community gardening (CG) from the viewpoint of city officials in Tampere, Finland. Two rounds of interviews with eight officials and discourse analysis were used, and the operational space, shaped by administrative policies and practices, was found to be rather rigid and narrow. Five main discourses aimed to enable urban gardening but were restricted to strategic, limited, and instrumental levels, as political-strategic aims contradicted administrative practices, and cautiousness and unclarity in the administrative-political culture led to institutional ambiguity.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyReview: The $16 Taco: Contested Geographies of Food, Ethnicity, and Gentrification, by Pascale Joassart-Marcelli
2023Sean M. Crotty · California History · United States (California)
Pascale Joassart-Marcelli's book "The $16 Taco" examines how food and power intersect to create landscapes of hunger and plenty in U.S. cities, using San Diego as a case study. It argues for the centrality of food in broader structural issues of social, political, and cultural inequalities, which manifest as material inequality. The book explores the impacts of food apartheid, a system of segregation that prevents certain groups from accessing nourishment, and explains the role of racist real estate practices in devaluing neighborhoods of immigrants and people of color.
Equity & displacementEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityProductivity and Efficiency of Community Gardens: Case Studies from the UK
2023Silvio Caputo, Victoria Schoen, Chris Blythe · Land · United Kingdom (London)
Data was collected from seven community gardens and one community farm in London, UK, during the 2019 and 2020 growing seasons using a citizen science approach, investigating crop yield, resource inputs, and social benefits. Results showed very mixed levels of crop and social productivity depending on organizational structure and agenda, with no clear pattern emerging. This study suggests that citywide productivity evaluations based on small data samples may not be reliable.
Limited or null effectCommunityEconomicsHealthClimate changeStrengths and Weaknesses of Non-chemical Weed Management Strategies in Small-scale Vegetable Production
2023Mahbuba Ferdous · Asian Journal of Advances in Agricultural Research · Australia (Armidale)
This case study investigated non-chemical weed management strategies in a small-scale vegetable garden in Armidale, Australia, through observation and an in-depth, unstructured interview with the garden's convener. Growers primarily used mechanical and cultural methods, including mulching, hand weeding, tillage, and grazing, to manage weed infestation. While mulching with wood chips and hand weeding were considered more effective in minimizing weed competition during critical crop development periods, they could not reach a satisfactory level. Further improvements by integrating several approaches simultaneously are needed for more effective and economical weed control.
Limited or null effectCommunityOrganic cycleDIYUnderstanding vulnerability and resilience of urban food initiatives in Morocco
2023Patrizia Pugliese, Cosimo Rota, Fatima Zohra Sabrane, Marie Reine Bteich, E.J. Veen · · Morocco
A mixed-methods study of four urban agriculture initiatives in Morocco found that while all cases struggled with certain perturbations, some were able to turn them into more hopeful situations, whereas others could lead to new perturbations or increased vulnerability. The study concluded that the outcomes were highly case-specific and related to existing resources, highlighting the complex and fluid nature of these initiatives.
Governance failureCommunityClimate changePolicyCharacteristics and Roles of School Gardens in Urban Areas of Japan: Perspective of School Managers
2023Rushi Wang, Shigeto YANAI · Land · Japan
This study surveyed school garden managers at public elementary schools in an urban area of Japan to analyze school garden characteristics and influencing factors. Findings indicated that school gardens inside schools offer better safety but less community connection, while external school farms provide more agricultural experience space. Schools with both types showed stronger community ties but decreased safety, and a notable lack of budget, teachers, supportive policies, and manager motivation was observed in operating school gardens.
Governance failureFood educationCommunityPolicyCommunity gardens and the social solidarity economy
2023Jade Morkel, Noxolo Dumani, Nick Malherbe, Shahnaaz Suffla · Community Development · South Africa
This case study, conducted in a low-income South African community, explored how a community gardener engages with the social solidarity economy (SSE) using thematic analysis of triangulated data from an interview, participant observation, and a participatory film. The study analyzed how the community garden fostered solidarity and established alternative micro-economic practices. It also considered challenges facing community gardens when connecting with the SSE.
Economic viabilityCommunityEconomicsHealthFood sovereignty & justice