Research & reports

Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.

4 results

• Bioregional food systems and the structures of long-term territorialization processes

  2024

  Alberto Matarán-Ruiz, David Fanfani, Josefa Sánchez Contreras, Miguel Ángel Escalona Aguilar · · Central America; Europe

  This chapter examines bioregional food systems and territorialization processes in peri-urban agricultural areas, using three case studies from Central America and Europe. It notes that the historical co-evolutionary relationship between cities and surrounding farmlands weakened in modernity due to the global capitalist market, which reduced food to a commodity. The study highlights current problems while exploring how inherited relationships are being revived to adapt urban bioregions to climate emergency and resource scarcity.

  Economic viabilityPeri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkageClimate changeFood sovereignty & justice
  Read source →DOI: 10.4324/9781003494072-8

• ‘Workable utopias’ for social change through inclusion and empowerment? Community supported agriculture (CSA) in Wales as social innovation

  2020

  Tezcan Mert-Cakal, Mara Miele · Agriculture and Human Values · United Kingdom (Wales)

  This article examines Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) projects in Wales as social innovation, exploring their emergence, innovative role, and transformative potential. Based on qualitative data from four different CSA case studies in Wales, the research showed that Welsh CSA cases play distinctive roles in the social economy, satisfying needs for ecologically sound and ethically produced food and empowering individuals at a micro level. However, the paper argues that for CSA initiatives to become 'workable utopias', they need to overcome barriers preventing replication, participation in macro-level policies, and scaling up, particularly concerning economic sustainability and resilience on a small scale.

  Economic viabilityCSA & TeikeiFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityEconomics
  Read source →DOI: 10.1007/s10460-020-10141-6

• A PROBLEM-BASED APPROACH OF COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE WITHIN SHORT FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS BASED ON A WESTERN TRANSDANUBIAN SURVEY

  2018

  Károly Kacz, Ádám Varga · Annals of the Polish Association of Agricultural and Agribusiness Economists · Europe

  A survey in the Western Transdanubia region investigated major problems in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) within short food supply chains, involving farmer organizations and consumers. The analysis identified the insufficient market power of CSA organizations as the most influential factor. This finding suggests a significant constraint on the effectiveness of CSA models in the region.

  Economic viabilityCSA & TeikeiEconomicsFood sovereignty & justice
  Read source →DOI: 10.5604/01.3001.0012.7741

• The purpose of urban food production in developed countries

  2012

  Silvio Caputo · Kent Academic Repository (University of Kent) · United Kingdom

  This paper argues for a new role for urban agriculture in developed countries, focusing on environmental, social, and economic benefits. While urban agriculture can contribute to a low-carbon society and food access, it is not currently part of UK government strategies for food security. For urban agriculture to achieve its potential, it needs to become economically viable, requiring research into highly productive methods and business models utilizing local urban resources.

  Economic viabilityPolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceClimate change
  Read source →