Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
18 results
Spatiotemporal variability and functional redundancy obscure effects of urbanization on strawberry pollinators
2025Kyla D. Schulte, Caleb J. Wilson, Anna Tawril, Mary A. Jamieson · Ecosphere · United States (Michigan)
A three-year study across 10 strawberry farms along a rural-urban gradient in Michigan, USA, characterized bee abundance, diversity, and community composition. The study found that urbanization, measured as impervious surface cover, had no consistent effect on overall bee abundance and diversity. While urbanization differentially influenced specific taxa (Halictini positively in year one, Ceratinini negatively in year three), the overall impact was limited, with wild bees, especially native species, being important pollinators in urban agriculture.
Limited or null effectPollinatorsBiodiversityUrban–rural linkageArborização urbana, corredores ecológicos e agricultura urbana em áreas públicas, projeto Santo Antônio da Patrulha, RS
2025Marcelo Silveira Badejo, Calebe de Hebrom Livistom da Silva, Joana Josiane Andriotte Oliveira Lima Nyland, Afonso Henrique da Silva Júnior, Juliano da Rosa Justim, Cassiano Ranzan · OBSERVATÓRIO DE LA ECONOMÍA LATINOAMERICANA · Brazil
In Santo Antônio da Patrulha, Brazil, a tree inventory was conducted in the Cidade Alta and Centro neighborhoods to support an urban afforestation project. The survey revealed a lack of trees in 5 out of 41 streets in Cidade Alta and 2 out of 28 streets in Centro, with high rates of unidentified trees (53% and 12% respectively). Furthermore, pedagogical practices tested in schools and universities raised challenges regarding the management of flowerbeds in urban areas.
Governance failureCommunityFood educationBiodiversityEcosystem services of urban food forests and their contributions to health and sustainability of North American cities: a narrative review
2025Sara-Charlotte Cayen, Kesnamelie-Ann Outha, Pierre Paul Audate · International Journal of Environmental Health Research · North America
This narrative review synthesized the ecosystem services of urban food forests and their contributions to urban health and food sustainability in North American cities. Based on 13 studies published between 2018 and 2023, it identified that food forests provide services such as sustainable food production and climate regulation. However, their implementation faces challenges including public space governance, maintenance costs, regulatory barriers, and ecological risks like invasive species.
Governance failureBiodiversityClimate changeHealthCommunityUrban Gardening in Latin America and Panama: A New Strategy for Conservation
2025Belma Soto-Fernández, Lurys Bourdett-Stanziola · Asian Journal of Agricultural and Horticultural Research · Latin America
A documentary review on the importance of urban gardening in Latin America revealed that urban gardening, when approached through the lens of agrobiodiversity, has become a key strategy for safe food production and environmental sustainability. However, it was found that several Latin American countries lack clear and established laws to regulate this activity. Preliminary evidence of rotavirus was detected in fresh vegetables from an urban garden in Panama, indicating that urban gardens can become infection foci capable of causing diseases of public health and veterinary importance.
Governance failureCommunityBiodiversityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthEconomicsPolicyRénover Cleveland : démolition, racisme et agriculture urbaine dans l’Amérique abandonnée
2024Pierric Calenge, Maie Gérardot · Métropolitiques · United States (Cleveland)
The work by Max Rousseau and Vincent Béal illuminates the ambiguities of a policy that organizes urban decline and racial segregation in Cleveland. This policy promotes urban degrowth and racial segregation, balancing algorithmic management and urban greening. The study focuses on the Rust Belt region, which experiences de-urbanization marked by the subprime crisis, racism, and segregation.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceHealthWelfareClimate changeBiodiversityFood educationElderlyFood lossOrganic cyclePollinatorsHeirloom & landraceFood miles & supply chainCSA & TeikeiPeri-urban agricultureDigital agricultureDIYCompostFood educationWelfareElderlyFood lossOrganic cycleCommunityBiodiversityPollinatorsPolicyHealthEconomicsHeirloom & landraceUrban–rural linkageFood miles & supply chainCSA & TeikeiPeri-urban agricultureClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceDigital agricultureEcosystem services of urban agriculture and prospects for scaling up production: A study of Detroit
2022Joshua Newell, Alec Foster, Mariel Borgman, Sara Meerow · Cities · United States (Detroit)
A study in Detroit's Lower Eastside (~15 sq. miles) examined the spatial extent, characteristics, and residents' perceptions of urban gardens using spatial analysis and interviews. Gardens covered less than 1% of vacant land and were often ephemeral. Primary obstacles to scaling up urban agriculture in Detroit include uncertainty over land tenure, environmental pollutants, potential ecosystem disservices, and a lack of government support and capital investment.
Governance failureCommunityBiodiversityPolicyEconomicsClimate changeHealthAbiotic and biotic drivers of strawberry productivity across a rural-urban gradient
2021Kyla D. Scherr, Mary A. Jamieson · Basic and Applied Ecology · United States (Michigan)
This three-year study investigated environmental factors influencing strawberry productivity for two cultivars at ten farms across a rural-urban gradient in Michigan, USA. It found no direct effect of urbanization on strawberry production or fruit pathogen and pest damage, but temperature significantly influenced crop productivity, with cooler rural and warmer urban temperatures limiting fruit number. While no relationship was found between urbanization and overall arthropod pest, predator, or pollinator abundances, Vespidae abundance was positively associated with urbanization, and Araneae abundance was negatively associated.
Limited or null effectUrban–rural linkageBiodiversityClimate changeAgricultura urbana contribui para a segurança alimentar no Brasil? O que nos diz a produção científica dos últimos dez anos
2020Moisés Savian, Mari Inês Caríssimi Boff, Pedro Boff · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil
This study evaluated Brazilian scientific production from 2009 to 2018 on urban agriculture's contribution to food and nutritional security, analyzing 34 selected articles out of 612. It found that while agrobiodiversity is present in urban agriculture areas, pesticide use is a reality in some crop plots. The research suggests urban agriculture must be based on agroecology to avoid environmental contamination and produce healthy food.
Contamination & food safetyFood sovereignty & justiceBiodiversityOrganic cycleHealthCollaborative research to support urban agriculture in the face of change: The case of the Sumida watercress farm on O‘ahu
2020Jennifer Engels, Sheree J. Watson, Henrietta Dulai, Kimberly Burnett, Christopher A. Wada, ‘Ano‘ilani Aga, Nathan DeMaagd, J. J. McHugh, Barbara Sumida, Leah L. Bremer · PLoS ONE · United States (O‘ahu)
A researcher-farmer collaboration on O‘ahu's Sumida watercress farm conducted a 25-year trend analysis and a year of intensive spring water sampling. Negative correlations were found between historical crop yields and increases in the Oceanic Niño Index, temperature thresholds, and pest outbreaks. Despite urbanization, on-farm water quality was very high, and microbial analyses suggested the farm provides nutrient retention services to downstream systems. The study demonstrates that challenges facing urban agricultural systems shift over time.
Environmental trade-offsCommunityClimate changeBiodiversityOrganic cycleMaterial and social relations in a coastal community garden assemblage
2019Lindsay K. Campbell, Erika S. Svendsen, Renae Reynolds, Victoria Marshall · Social & Cultural Geography · United States (Rockaway, NY)
This study used Actor Network Theory to explore the material and social dynamics of a coastal community garden on public housing grounds in Rockaway, NY, after Hurricane Sandy. Three assemblages with different governance arrangements—tidal shore, garden plots, and treed lawn—were identified. However, "unruly" actors and actants, including people, saltwater, poison ivy, dogs, and trash, were found to spark controversy and resist governing.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyBiodiversityClimate changeEXPLORING THE SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL DIMENSIONS OF AGRICULTURAL EXPANSION IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
2017Jennifer Wilhelm · University of New Hampshire Scholars Repository (University of New Hampshire at Manchester) · United States (New Hampshire)
This dissertation addresses agricultural extensification from several angles. Chapter 1's literature review showed an increase in research on urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) and ecosystem services, but highlighted a need for quantifying ecosystem services and functions to clarify ecological tradeoffs. Subsequent chapters focused on a mixed-methods study in New Hampshire, surveying approximately 600 residents (494 general population, 103 food system stakeholders) on their perception of forestland conversion to agriculture.
Environmental trade-offsUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureBiodiversityClimate changeCreating 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 cycleEcosystem services and tradeoffs in the home food gardens of African American, Chinese-origin and Mexican-origin households in Chicago, IL
2016John Taylor, Sarah Taylor Lovell, Sam E. Wortman, M.K. Chan · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · United States (Chicago)
In Chicago, semi-structured interviews and plant inventories were conducted with 59 African American, Chinese-origin, and Mexican-origin households regarding ecosystem services and tradeoffs in their home food gardens. A total of 387 plant species were identified; gardens of African American households were rich in ornamental species, while those of Chinese-origin households had a depauperate flora. Shade trees and a developed shrub layer were absent from most gardens, suggesting a tradeoff in ecosystem services favoring food production. Only 9.6% of the inventoried species were native to the Chicago area.
Environmental trade-offsCommunityBiodiversityOrganic cycleHealthPromoting Environmental Stewardship through gardens: A case study of children’s views of an urban school garden
2013Рена Упитис, Scott Hughes, Anna C. Peterson · Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies · Canada
An 8-month qualitative study was conducted at a school garden program in one public elementary school in southeastern Ontario, Canada. Data collected from eight students through observations, semi-structured interviews, and student photographs identified five themes enhancing environmental stewardship (including connecting with nature, caretaking, and harvesting) and three themes explaining the program's long-term success (including parental involvement and community connections). The study highlighted benefits of the school garden program, as well as some difficulties associated with the program and limitations of the study.
Governance failureFood educationCommunityBiodiversityAgricultura urbana e conservação de agrobiodiversidade: um estudo de caso em Mato Grosso, Brasil
2012Mirella Cultrera, Maria Christina de Mello Amorozo, Fábio Cop Ferreira · SITIENTIBUS série Ciências Biológicas · Brazil (Mato Grosso)
An ethnobotanical study in five peripheral neighborhoods of Santo Antônio do Leverger, Mato Grosso, Brazil, surveyed 135 households and detailed 30 to characterize food plant cultivation. Ninety-seven species from 38 families were identified across homegardens, fields, and empty lots. While some species were common, the similarity between species/varieties across households was generally below 50%, and many had low frequency, revealing a vulnerability to species loss despite social network circulation.
Limited or null effectBiodiversityCommunityHeirloom & landraceUrban–rural linkagePost‐Industrial Imaginaries: Nature, Representation and Ruin in Detroit, Michigan
2012Nate Millington · International Journal of Urban and Regional Research · United States
This article analyzes representations of urban nature in Detroit, Michigan, focusing on journalistic and photographic work over the past 5 years. These representations, part of a discourse on Detroit's decline, ultimately reflect dominant conceptual divisions between the city and nature. Journalists and commentators perceive nature in the city as a reflection of the city's absence rather than its materiality, suggesting an ambivalence about emergent urban ecologies.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyBiodiversityUrban–rural linkageSmall scale additions of native plants fail to increase beneficial insect richness in urban gardens
2010Kevin C. Matteson, Gail Langellotto · Insect Conservation and Diversity · United States (New York City)
The ability of adding 70 plants of seven native wildflower species over two years to augment beneficial insect richness, including bees, butterflies, and predatory wasps, was assessed in New York City community gardens. Bayesian analyses failed to find a strong influence of the native plant additions on beneficial insect richness, even after correcting for prior floral abundance. Butterflies and megachilid bees were found to heavily utilize introduced ornamental and crop flowers in these gardens, even when native flowers were present.
Limited or null effectCommunityBiodiversityPollinatorsContemporary streamkeepers : a comparison of two urban horticultural restoration programs
2003Charles Rowley · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · United States (California)
This paper compared the successes and failures of two urban creek restoration programs in California: Temescal Creek (initiated nearly 30 years ago) and White Oak Creek (completed about four years ago). Based on the author's success criteria, the more recent White Oak Creek program achieved significant success, while the earlier Temescal Creek restoration did not reach generally acceptable success levels. This difference is attributed to changes in management and scientific practice over 30 years, including substantial changes in the legal basis for restoration, improved monitoring requirements, and the critical role of properly engineered low flow distribution structures.
Limited or null effectCommunityBiodiversityPolicy