Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
721 results(21 / 29)
Food security and productivity among urban farmers in Kaduna State, Nigeria
2018M.K. Saleh, Azher Mustafa · Journal of Agricultural Extension · Nigeria (Kaduna State)
This study investigated food security and productivity among 213 urban farmers in Kaduna State, Nigeria, using interviews and statistical analysis. Results showed that 54.5% of households were food insecure. A regression model predicted that the probability of urban farming households being food secure was 51%, indicating a limited effect on food security despite urban farming efforts.
Limited or null effectFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsWelfareL’agriculture urbaine comme opportunité de construction politique
2018Marie Gisclard, Richard Raymond · Institut français d’études anatoliennes eBooks · Turkey (Diyarbakır)
This article examines the Hevsel Gardens in Diyarbakır, Turkey, which face sustainability challenges due to the city's growth and an asymmetric relationship where the city dominates the gardens. It highlights the unbalanced relationships between the gardens and the city, stemming from a lack of quality and quantity in water resources. The coexistence and competition of three socio-political projects, including centralized political networks and farmer-specific adaptations, call for a re-examination of this relationship and an alternative to the concentration of powers in the metropolis.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceGoverning the peri-urban agricultural territory. Opportunities and obstacles of integration between spatial planning and the Common Agricultural Policy
2017Annalisa Lodigiani · · Europe
This research addresses the ineffective governance of peri-urban agricultural territory in Europe, noting that spatial planning lacks the tools to guide agricultural sector forces influencing landscape transformation. Public action, through agricultural and rural development policies, significantly transforms the environment and territory but does not directly target space. The study finds that the separation between spatial planning and rural development policy creates ineffectiveness and stalemates in governing peri-urban agricultural land, concluding that integration of these two fields is required.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Agriculture: Search for Agricultural Practice in Urbanized Rural Areas
2017Celile Özçiçek Dölekoğlu, Sema Gün · Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology · Global
Urban agriculture, practiced by 800 million people globally, offers economic, social, and environmental benefits but also carries risks and adverse effects. This study presents developments in urban agriculture in Turkey and worldwide, discussing all aspects of its effects and outcomes.
Limited or null effectUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCommunityClimate changeAgriculture urbaine, agriculture locale, et nouveaux systèmes alimentaires territoriaux.
2017Elsa Perroit · · France
This article reflects on the French agricultural model and the absence of urban agriculture from the "Etats généraux de l’Alimentation" (General Assembly on Food). Despite its multifaceted nature and role in urban food security, urban agriculture was relegated to a non-productive status, with its food functions disregarded. The article concludes that while urban agriculture possesses many qualities, it is not and will not be sufficient to feed urban areas.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justicePolicyUrban Agriculture, Food Justice, and Neoliberal Urbanization
2017Michelle Glowa · · United States (San Francisco)
In the San Francisco region, highly competitive land markets increasingly force landowners to use properties for purposes other than gardening, despite the popularity of urban agriculture. This situation compels gardeners to develop strategies to gain and maintain land access, linking gardening to broader land politics and urban design. The chapter explores how gardeners influence space production and property institutions.
Economic viabilityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyCommunityEconomicsMonitoring of heavy metal residues in cauliflower and their respective health hazards
2017Muhammad Asif Khan Rai Muhammad Amir · International Journal of Biosciences (IJB) · Pakistan (Faisalabad)
To investigate heavy metal residue levels in cauliflower grown in the peri-urban area of Faisalabad district, Pakistan, 30 cauliflower samples were collected from 10 selected farmers. Analysis revealed variable heavy metal residue levels (nickel, lead, zinc, copper, arsenic, and mercury) in the samples, indicating that the cauliflower was contaminated with multiple heavy metals. This contamination is attributed to the use of untreated sewage water for cultivation, which is the single largest contributor to heavy metal accumulation in cauliflower.
Contamination & food safetyHealthPeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceURBAN AGRICULTURE AS A FOOD SECURITY STRATEGY FOR URBAN DWELLERS: A CASE STUDY OF MKOBA RESIDENTS IN THE CITY OF GWERU, ZIMBABWE
2017Nyasha Chaminuka, Ernest Dube · PEOPLE International Journal of Social Sciences · Zimbabwe
This qualitative study, involving 26 participants in Mkoba suburb, Gweru, Zimbabwe, analyzed urban agriculture as a food security strategy. It found that urban agriculture's growth is driven by population growth, poverty, high food prices, and unemployment, and it promotes food security, employment, and savings. However, existing legal frameworks, including the Urban Councils Act and Regional Town Planning Act, do not support but rather impede urban agriculture, alongside challenges like lack of supportive legislation, government support, and funding.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsCommunity“The Lucky country”? A critical exploration of community gardens and city–community relations in Australian cities
2017Alec Thornton · Local Environment · Australia
This study, based on Australian city case studies, explored community gardeners' views and engagement in community gardens. Findings revealed that community gardeners identified local councils as barriers to the emergence of community gardens and other forms of urban agriculture. Unlike other Western cities, effective city–community relations for community garden growth have not yet emerged in Australian cities.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsKETAHANAN PANGAN DAN COPING STRATEGY RUMAH TANGGA URBAN FARMING PERTANIAN DAN PERIKANAN KOTA SURABAYA
2017Fika Mayrlina Anggrayni, Dini Ririn Andrias, Merryana Adriani · Media Gizi Indonesia · Indonesia (Surabaya)
This observational study, conducted in Surabaya, Indonesia, analyzed differences in food security and coping strategies between agriculture and fisheries urban farming households. Among 62 households, 64.7% of the agriculture group were food secured, while 75% of the fishery group were food insecure with severe hunger. There was no statistical difference in household food security between the agriculture and fisheries urban farming groups (p=0.255). However, a difference in coping strategy was found (p=0.021), with agriculture urban farming households being more food secure and rarely employing coping strategies compared to fishery urban farming households.
Limited or null effectFood sovereignty & justiceHealthCommunityPengembangan Urban Farming Berdasarkan Preferensi Masyarakat Kecamatan Semampir Kota Surabaya
2017Nadia Belinda, Dian Rahmawati · Jurnal Teknik ITS · Indonesia (Surabaya)
This study in Semampir District, Surabaya City, Indonesia, aimed to develop urban farming based on community preferences. It identified potentials and problems using theoretical descriptive techniques, identified community preferences using confirmatory factor analysis, and formulated development directions using qualitative descriptive analysis. The study found that urban farming activities in Semampir District had not developed optimally due to the suboptimal role of the community and local institutions.
Governance failureCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsWelfareMapeo de la agriricultura urbana y periurbana en el área metropolitana Santa Rosa-Toay: aproximaciones metodológicas para la lectura territorial
2017P. V. ERMINI, M. R. DELPRINO, B. GIOBELLINA · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Argentina (Santa Rosa-Toay)
In the Santa Rosa-Toay metropolitan area of Argentina, urban and peri-urban agriculture is noted for its scarce recognition in urban development policies and food security policies. Despite the region's urbanization, the absence of political recognition as a metropolitan area has hindered planning and management of land use and occupation according to its potential and limitations. This study developed and applied a methodological proposal to generate information on urban and peri-urban agricultural activities, integrating a spatial perspective with participatory procedures.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyHealthFood sovereignty & justiceRelying on urban gardens for survival within the building of a modern city in Colombia.
2017Colleen Hammelman · CABI eBooks · Colombia
In Medellín, Colombia, displaced women utilize urban gardens as a survival strategy amidst food insecurity and tenuous support from local government. Urban planning permits these gardens under the guise of supporting displaced families, but also for preserving open space and halting the growth of informal settlements. This chapter provides a clear example of how urban planning impacts the critical survival strategy of growing food.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareCommunityPolicyDan Carmody
2017· Policy Press eBooks · United States (Detroit)
Dan Carmody, President of Detroit's Eastern Market Corporation, discussed the market's history and its importance for food access in Detroit. He addressed the role of urban agriculture and the new wave of gentrification, which has the potential to significantly impact the Market.
Equity & displacementFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicyCommunityCuatro iniciativas de agricultura en la ciudad frente a la banalización del paisaje histórico urbano | Four urban agriculture initiatives against the banalization of urban historical landscape
2017David Arredondo Garrido · ZARCH · Spain
This study analyzed four urban agriculture and gardening initiatives in the city centers of Seville, Barcelona, Madrid, and Zaragoza, Spain, over the last decade. These projects aimed to counteract the homogenization of urban historical landscapes and create spaces for culture and social interaction. Despite difficulties in their management and their minor impact, these interventions demonstrated a method for reconfiguring urban landscapes in abandoned central areas.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceThe contribution of smallholder irrigated urban agriculture towards household food security in Harare, Zimbabwe.
2017Never Mujere · CABI eBooks · Zimbabwe (Harare)
This case study in Harare City, Zimbabwe, examined an urban irrigated agriculture project's contribution to household food security and poverty alleviation, including crop types, productivity, and farmer challenges. It found that while urban irrigated smallholder agriculture contributes to livelihoods, numerous socio-economic factors impede greater participation. Furthermore, some participants withdrew due to security threats from perceived political affiliations.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareEconomicsPolicyViele Orte überall: Care-Logik in alternativen Projekten und Potentiale von Gegenmacht
2017Christa Wichterich · Feministische Studien · Global
This essay explores the transformative potential of caring and commoning in alternative projects such as community agriculture and urban gardening. While these self-organized experiments develop caring practices towards nature and humans, their transformative impact on society is limited. This limitation stems from unintended mechanisms of social or racist exclusion, or from appropriation by the municipality or the state.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfarePolicyCreating Socioecological Novelty in Urban Agroecosystems from the Ground Up
2017Monika Egerer, Alessandro Ossola, Brenda B. Lin · BioScience · United States (California central coast)
This study conceptualizes community garden soils within the novel ecosystem framework, arguing that gardeners cultivate novel agroecosystems from their garden beds' soil. On the California central coast, community garden soils may not be influenced by land-use legacies associated with geographic location. Instead, intensive soil reworking by gardeners can wash out legacy signals and decadal chronological trends, leading to soil homogenization that reduces biophysical ties to the underlying earth.
Environmental trade-offsCommunityBiodiversityFood sovereignty & justiceOrganic cycleCommunity gardens: Exploring race, racial diversity and social capital in urban food deserts
2017Jennifer Jettner · VCU Scholars Compass (Virginia Commonwealth University) · United States
A mixed-methods approach examined race, racial diversity, and social capital in community gardens located in Southern urban food deserts in the United States. Results indicated that while gardeners were racially diverse across the sample, most community gardens were racially segregated, and the majority of gardeners appeared middle-class. Community gardens showed limited potential to advance social justice and indirectly enhanced community food security, primarily through the efforts of people of color, rather than directly benefiting food-insecure gardeners.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareKözösség által támogatott mezőgazdaság regionális vizsgálata
2017Nóra Gombkötő, Judit Vincze, Judit Hegyi, Károly Kacz, Gombkötő, Nóra, Vincze, Judit, Hegyi, Judit, Kacz, Károly · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Hungary
A questionnaire survey was conducted among producers and consumers regarding Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) systems in Hungary's West Transdanubian region. The study found that CSA is not mature in Hungary and requires broader support. Producers were predominantly over 45 years old, with few engaged in animal product production, and primarily used traditional markets, missing out on other sales opportunities. Consumer awareness of CSA types was low, with only 25% preferring buyer communities and 3% each for subscription/box systems and share farming.
Governance failureCSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceSustainability's incomplete circles: towards a just food politics in Austin, Texas and Havana, Cuba.
2017Jonathan Lowell, Sara Law · CABI eBooks · United States (Texas), Cuba
A comparative study of urban agriculture projects in Austin, Texas, and Havana, Cuba, revealed that sustainability discourses primarily focus on food production methods, with little attention paid to persistent food insecurity issues that urban agriculture has yet to address, or to the cultural politics of food, where race, class, and gender shape access to food choices. While agricultural practices and their perceived value were similar in both cities, the study found comparable outcomes in how food exposed spatial and social divisions.
Equity & displacementFood sovereignty & justicePolicyWelfareCommunityOs dilemas da agricultura urbana: a experiência da maior e mais antiga horta orgânica do Vale do São Francisco
2017Denes Dantas Vieira, Reimilde Gomes da Silva Amorim · EXTRAMUROS - Revista de Extensão da Univasf · Brazil (Juazeiro)
This study aimed to investigate the dilemmas of the social trajectory of the Povo Unido community garden in Juazeiro/BA, Brazil, located on the banks of the São Francisco River. This garden is known for its organic vegetable production and as one of the first groups focused on overcoming poverty and combating hunger in Brazil's semi-arid northeast. The research contributes to reflection based on social organization and organic food production.
Economic viabilityWelfareCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceNeoliberalism and alternative food movements: markets, the state, and knowledge production in Southern California
2017Rebecca Gresh · Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) · United States (California)
This qualitative study investigated two alternative food projects in San Diego, California, to reveal how food justice is envisioned and practiced. "Project New Village (PNV)" in a low-income area resists institutional racism and class inequality through a community garden and farmers market. In contrast, the affluent "San Diego Roots Sustainable Food Project (SDRS)" resists suburban sprawl and environmental destruction through sustainable food production. PNV faces obstacles like law enforcement patrols interrupting community rebuilding, indicating that alternative food movements may reproduce structures of oppression.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyThe role of urban agriculture in climate change mitigation and adaptation in Ghanaian cities
2017David Anaafo, G. A. Akolgo · · Ghana
A study on urban agriculture in Ghanaian cities found that it faces challenges including difficult access to land and water resources, and a lack of extension services and credit support. Despite these issues, urban agriculture may help reduce flooding impacts, improve water infiltration, and enhance environmental sanitation. The study recommends policy measures to address these challenges.
Governance failureClimate changePolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCollaborative planning via urban agriculture: The case of Tegucigalpa, Honduras
2017Andrea Oyuela, Arnold van der Valk · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Honduras (Tegucigalpa)
This study questions the adequacy of Tegucigalpa's top-down planning system in Honduras and explores urban agriculture (UA) as a potential building block for a bottom-up strategy. While UA is organized in Tegucigalpa due to residents' need to overcome food insecurity and hardship, the concept of active citizenship and bottom-up development is not yet consolidated. Furthermore, challenges exist regarding the resources needed for practicing UA and the diffusion of knowledge to the population.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityFood educationFood sovereignty & justice