Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
693 results(28 / 28)
Eat Here: Reclaiming Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket
2004Brian Halweil · · Global
This book points out that the long-distance food system consumes staggering amounts of fuel, generates greenhouse gases, and compromises food security. Since 1961, the tonnage of food shipped between nations has grown fourfold, with food in the United States typically traveling 1,500 to 2,500 miles from farm to plate. While this system often runs roughshod over local cuisines, varieties, and agriculture, a local-foods movement is beginning to emerge globally.
Environmental trade-offsFood miles & supply chainFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeUrban–rural linkageContribution of urban and peri-urban agriculture to food security in sub-Saharan Africa
2003Olufunke Cofie, R. van Veenhuizen, Pay Drechsel · · Sub-Saharan Africa
Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) significantly contributes to food supply, employment, livelihoods, and poverty alleviation in many Sub-Saharan African cities, providing diverse foods including perishable items. However, UPA production often carries health risks from polluted urban water and faces challenges due to limited semi-official recognition and support from city authorities, sometimes conflicting with planners regarding land tenure and water use. More data is needed for appropriate recognition of this sector.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceHealthEconomicsPolicyCommunity Gardens and Politics of Scale in New York City
2003Christopher M. Smith, Hilda E. Kurtz · Geographical Review · United States (New York City)
New York City community gardens have faced political contestation for thirty years, notably in 1999 when 114 gardens were slated for public auction and redevelopment. This article examines the controversy as a politics of scale, where garden advocates expanded the dispute beyond individual gardens and the city. The analysis highlights the significance of scale politics for grassroots organizations within a market-centric, neoliberal economic framework.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceGrowing Food in Cities: the Implications for Land-Use Policy
2003Joe Howe · Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning · United Kingdom
This article explores the neglect of research concerning food grown within urban areas and its land-use policy implications. It details findings from a UK study on land-use policy and urban agriculture, investigating land-use officials' attitudes and knowledge of urban food production and the regulatory framework used. The article concludes that despite extensive urban agriculture practice, its urban land-use policy implications require more attention from both land-use officials and researchers than previously given.
Governance failurePolicyUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceIncommensurability, Land Use, and the Right to Space: Community Gardens in New York City1
2002Karen Schmelzkopf · Urban Geography · United States (New York City)
This study examined the conflict over community gardens in New York City, arguing that it was a struggle concerning the right to space. The city, operating from an entrepreneurial governance perspective, claimed that the gardens represented a loss of exchange value and potential housing. The city used market economy rhetoric to dismiss incommensurable use values, thereby restricting rights to the city within a demonstration of power and "reason."
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceMotivating factors and barriers to sustainable consumer behaviour [1]
2002Sigrid Stagl, Sabine O’Hara · International Journal of Agricultural Resources Governance and Ecology · United States (New York City)
This study examined whether Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) groups are a broadly accepted or limited alternative food system, based on a household survey in two distinct socio-economic neighborhoods in upstate New York. The survey found that approximately 25% of respondents expressed interest in becoming CSA members, with similar interest levels in both wealthier and low-income areas. However, several factors preventing food demand through CSAs were identified, indicating that these barriers would need to be addressed for expansion.
Limited or null effectCSA & TeikeiEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceFood miles & supply chainUrbanizzazione e sicurezza alimentare a Niamey Niger
2002Maurizio Tiepolo · PORTO Publications Open Repository TOrino (Politecnico di Torino) · Niger
This paper investigates whether urbanization in Niamey, Niger, generates or aggravates urban food insecurity by examining agro-pastoral production, food demand, and buying power. It found that Niamey's high rate of urban growth has increased food insecurity for its inhabitants. This insecurity is attributed to low productivity of peri-urban agriculture, insufficient food influxes, rising prices, extreme poverty, and a nutrient-poor diet, with current measures failing to address root causes like land tenure uncertainty.
Limited or null effectFood sovereignty & justicePeri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkageEconomicsSocial Inclusion in a Midwest Local Food System Project
2002C. Clare Hinrichs, Kathy S. Kremer · Journal of Poverty · United States
This 1997 case study examined a Midwest community supported agriculture (CSA) project that aimed to increase low-income participation through financial subsidies, using a telephone survey of 41 member-households. The study found that while subsidized households had lower incomes, the overall CSA sample was more advantaged in income, occupation, and education compared to local populations. The project inadvertently served the "advantaged" poor, indicating that social inclusion efforts in local food systems may not effectively reach the most vulnerable.
Equity & displacementCSA & TeikeiCommunityWelfareEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceThe common green/common ground Performance Project: The Personal, the Political, the Gardens, and NYU
2002Cindy Rosenthal · TDR/The Drama Review · United States (New York City)
In New York City, a group of NYU students and local community activists protested and performed against landlords and the city bulldozing community gardens. Their performance piece documented the transformation of garbage-strewn lots into lush, vital community havens and cried out against their destruction. This highlights a conflict over urban garden governance.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceGrasscutter rearing as an urban agricultural practice in Ibadan Metropolis
2002L. A. Akinbile · African Journal of Livestock Extension · Nigeria (Ibadan)
A study in Ibadan, Nigeria, reviewed grasscutter rearing as an urban agricultural practice. It found that farmers used intensive rearing systems and sold animals for N1,000-N2,100, generating up to N5,000 annually per pair. However, the provision of credit was identified as a major limiting factor for this practice.
Economic viabilityEconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceCommunity-Supported Agriculture: A Sustainable Alternative to Industrial Agriculture?
2000Cynthia A. Cone, Andrea Myhre · Human Organization · Global
A five-year study of eight Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms examined farm members' perceptions and behavior, including motivations for membership and women's roles. The study raises questions about the long-term sustainability of CSA, citing tension between farmers' lifestyles and needs, and shareholders' constraints and competing values.
Economic viabilityCSA & TeikeiFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCommunityUrban Agriculture, Food Security and the Environment: Socio-economics, Land Use Conflicts and Cultivators’ Views
1998Godfrey D. Mudimu, Shepherd Siziba, Benjamin Hanyani‐Mlambo · OpenDocs (Institute of Development Studies) · Zimbabwe (Harare)
This study in Harare, Zimbabwe, examined the socio-economics of urban crop production on municipal lands, cultivators' views, and land use conflicts. Urban agriculture, a widespread practice for subsistence maize and food security, is not supported by planners and conflicts with urban land use provisions. Findings revealed a serious lack of environmental concern among cultivators, with most ignoring stream bank regulations and lacking knowledge of environmental effects.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCommunityPolicyURBAN AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES AND WOMEN'S STRATEGIES IN SUSTAINING FAMILY LIVELIHOODS IN HARARE, ZIMBABWE
1996Godfrey D. Mudimu · Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography · Zimbabwe (Harare)
This study examines the role of women in urban agriculture and perceptions of urban space use for agriculture in Harare, Zimbabwe. Despite its utility in meeting household food needs, urban agriculture is not planned for or supported by urban planners and managers as a legitimate urban land use. The activities of women, who are the main participants in urban agriculture, directly conflict with planning provisions for urban space. The study offers empirical insight on perceptions of space use for agriculture in an urban tropical environment, where conflicts can arise from different perceptions and alternative uses.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceWelfarePolicyCommunityUrban Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition in Low Income Areas of the City of Nairobi, Kenya
1996A. Mboganie-Mwangi, Dick Foeken · Leiden Repository (Leiden University) · Kenya (Nairobi)
A 1996 study in Nairobi, Kenya, compared the food security and nutritional status of low-income households engaged in urban agriculture with those not farming. It found that urban farmers primarily produced for home consumption and faced theft as a major problem. While the Undugu Society Urban Agriculture Project (USUAP) group showed better food situations and higher energy and protein intakes than other groups, all three groups had inadequate energy intake on average. The long-term beneficial effect of urban agriculture on nutritional status was negligible.
Limited or null effectFood sovereignty & justiceHealthWelfareCommunityUrban agriculture in Kampala: Indigenous adaptive response to the economic crisis
1993Daniel Maxwell, Samuel Zziwa · Ecology of Food and Nutrition · Uganda (Kampala)
This study examines urban agriculture in Kampala, Uganda, as an adaptive response to economic hardships. It identifies significant constraints, including institutional obstacles to accessing underutilized urban land, municipal bylaws that suppress urban agriculture, and urban officials' indifferent to hostile views. The study found that these bylaws and views are based on misleading or false generalizations about urban agriculture.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityRecognizing Ethiopia's urban farmers.
1993Lee M · PubMed · Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, urban agriculture faces significant challenges due to government disapproval of public land use for farming and difficulty in obtaining credit. A 1983 survey in Addis Ababa found that 17% of 1352 households produced their own food on less than 25 sq. meters, with 90% of non-farmers citing lack of land. Despite urban agricultural cooperatives demonstrating 70% higher member income, their lack of government legalization prevents access to loans for productivity improvement.
Governance failureCommunityEconomicsPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceHealthWelfareClimate changeUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureFood educationBiodiversityCompostDIYElderlyFood lossHeirloom & landraceOrganic cyclePollinatorsFood miles & supply chainCSA & TeikeiDigital agriculture‘Three's a crowd’: knowledge, ignorance and power in the context of urban agriculture in Rwanda
1989Johan Pottier · Africa · Rwanda
This article explores the themes of knowledge, ignorance, and power in the context of a Rwandan development project, demonstrating how ignorance is generated through agricultural extension. It argues that agronomic services rely on power structures reminiscent of social inequality, and assesses whether the project-induced creation of ignorance leads to the displacement of local knowledge and the adoption of new methods.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceDesafios do planejamento urbano no Brasil e seus marcos legais sob a ótica da agricultura urbana
1969Natália da Silva Lemos, Liza Maria Da Souza de Andrade, Valério Augusto Soares de Medeiros · Paranoá cadernos de arquitetura e urbanismo · Brazil
This research analyzed urban planning challenges in Brazil from the perspective of urban agriculture, examining social policies and legal frameworks including the City Statute (Law 10.257/2001) and Law 6.766/1979. The findings indicate a gap in legal provisions for urban agriculture actions and practices within land use and occupation regulations. The study suggests guidelines for implementation to address this deficiency.
Governance failurePolicyUrban–rural linkageClimate changeFood sovereignty & justice