Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
833 results(34 / 34)
URBAN 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 in Zimbabwe: Implications for Urban Management and Poverty
1995Beacon Mbiba · · Zimbabwe (Harare)
This paper addresses the implications of urban agriculture for urban management and poverty in Zimbabwe, covering various aspects such as off-plot cultivation in Harare, urban cultivation at home, urban maize markets, and institutional responses to uncontrolled urban cultivation. Evidence from Harare suggests that urban agriculture can be a counterproductive activity, highlighting challenges and conflicts in urban management.
Governance failureCommunityWelfarePolicyHealthMetals in urban gardens ‐ effect of lime and sludge
1995James R. Preer, Ahmed N. Abdi, Harkewal S. Sekhon, George B. Murchison · Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part A Environmental Science and Engineering and Toxicology · Global
This study investigated cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) concentrations in vegetables grown in community gardens on different urban soils. Vegetables from a low-pH urban soil without contamination history showed higher Cd and Zn levels than those from a reclaimed landfill with digested sewage sludge, and also higher than a low-metal, neutral-pH site. Liming on the low-pH site reduced Cd and Zn concentrations in beet, lettuce, radish, and Swiss chard leaves, reaching background levels after four years. The findings indicate that soil pH is more important than total soil Cd and Zn in determining vegetable metal availability.
Contamination & food safetyHealthCommunityOrganic cycleInstitutional responses to uncontrolled urban cultivation in Harare: prohibitive or accommodative?
1994Beacon Mbiba · Environment and Urbanization · Zimbabwe (Harare)
This review examines local government responses to uncontrolled urban cultivation in Harare, Zimbabwe, covering both the colonial period and post-independence since 1980. The study finds that local authorities struggle to manage urban agriculture effectively and sustainably. It suggests new directions for policy and research to address these difficulties.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityUrban 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 & justiceCommunity‘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 & justiceThe Joys of Gardening: Collectivist and Bureaucratic Cultures in Conflict
1985Michael S. Jamison · Sociological Quarterly · Global
This study assesses the organizational cultures of collectives and bureaucracies within the urban gardening movement, finding serious underlying differences despite government assistance. Although government agencies provided resources and established projects, collectives and bureaucracies interpreted the urban gardening experience differently. This divergence in understanding the benefits and structuring the experience reveals a source of potential bureaucratic/collectivist conflict.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyL'Anti-Alborz : un espace marginal aux portes de Téhéran
1982Bernard Hourcade · Revue Géographique de l Est · Iran (Tehran)
This research investigates the origins and current economy of the Anti-Alborz region, an arid mountain east of Tehran, Iran. Due to military compounds and royal hunting grounds, the expansion of Tehran has been artificially limited, leaving the Anti-Alborz as a remote area. In this region, urban, agricultural, and pastoral economies are growing in conflictual ways, indicating governance challenges in managing land use and development.
Governance failureUrban–rural linkageEconomicsPeri-urban agriculture