Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
134 results(6 / 6)
Community Gardens, Ghetto Pastoral, and Environmental Justice
2011Robert Emmett · ISLE Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment · United States (Los Angeles)
The South Central Farm in Los Angeles, a 14-acre community garden cultivated by hundreds of residents for over a decade, was a significant site against environmental racism. However, urban development ultimately led to its destruction. As of this writing, satellite images show the former lush gardens replaced by a scraped, vacant field, highlighting the impermanence of such community-led green spaces in the face of dominant urban development narratives.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicySocio-territorial changes in peri-urban food production spaces in Central Mexico
2011Héctor Ávila-Sánchez · Norois · Mexico
This paper discusses socio-territorial changes in peri-urban food production spaces in Central Mexico, focusing on the impacts of urbanization on old rural areas. It highlights that peri-urban poor populations often face marginalization, degradation of their agricultural activities, and conflict over space with other social groups. The development of peri-urban agriculture has led to significant transformations in land use, production structures, and social and cultural aspects.
Equity & displacementPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkagePower at the Roots: Gentrification, Community Gardens, and the Puerto Ricans of the Lower East Side
2010Miranda Martinez · · United States (Lower East Side)
This work explores the dynamics of gentrification, community gardens, and their impact on the Puerto Rican community in the Lower East Side. It examines class cultures in conflict, neighborhood transformation, and the symbolic significance of the area.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceGarden of Eden? The impact of resettlement on squatters' ‘agri-hoods’ in Fiji
2009Alec Thornton · Development in Practice · Fiji
This article examines the impact of Fiji's squatter-resettlement scheme on the livelihoods of 'farming squatters' engaged in urban agriculture. Interviews with key informants and squatter residents revealed contrasting attitudes and approaches, indicating that the scheme threatens these livelihoods. The article suggests a more participatory process to address the needs of 'farming squatters'.
Equity & displacementWelfarePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityTowards Sustainable Urban Organic Agriculture and Food Security in Zimbabwe: a Comparative Study of Urban Low and High Density Suburbs of Mabelreign-Marlborough-Westgate and Mabvuku-Tafara, Harare 2005-2008
2009Crispen Dirwai, P.M. Makonese, N. Mboto · Figshare · Zimbabwe (Harare)
This study investigated how urban poor (Mabvuku-Tafara) and urban rich (Mabelreign, Marlborough, Westgate) communities in Harare, Zimbabwe, addressed the food crisis between 2005 and 2008. Using a mainly qualitative methodology to compare urban agricultural activities, findings showed that the urban poor engaged in seasonal, often inorganic, less paying off-yard farming, exposed to nature's vagaries. In contrast, the urban rich practiced on-plot perennial, often organic, researched (including soil testing) farming with greenhouses, which yielded better returns.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsOrganic cycleFrom Industrial Garden to Food Desert: Unearthing the Root Structure of Urban Agriculture in Oakland, California - eScholarship
2008Nathan McClintock · · United States (California)
This paper uses urban political ecology to explore the rise of urban agriculture (UA) in Oakland, California, where the city aims to source 30% of its food locally, partly from UA in "food deserts." The analysis argues that 20th-century industrial capital flows and racialized urban planning concentrated capital devaluation in the flatlands, leading to the creation of food deserts. Food justice activists are mobilizing through UA to counter these uneven transformations.
Equity & displacementFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsCommunityFrom Industrial Garden to Food Desert: Unearthing the Root Structure of Urban Agriculture in Oakland, California
2008Nathan McClintock · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · United States (California)
This paper explores the rise of urban agriculture (UA) in Oakland, California, using an urban political ecology framework. A macro-level structural analysis of Oakland's history reveals how 20th-century industrial capital flows and racialized urban planning concentrated capital devaluation in the flatlands, ultimately giving rise to food deserts. The study suggests that food justice activists are mobilizing through UA to counter these uneven transformations, despite critiques that some urban garden programs are neoliberal, emphasizing self-betterment while filling state-left gaps.
Equity & displacementFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsCommunityGendering the Urban Agriculture Agenda 1
2006Alice J. Hovorka, Damell Smith, R. van Veenhuizen · · Global
This article argues that a gendered perspective on urban food security is essential to understand dynamics shaping food production and marketing in urban centers. It highlights that failing to explore women's distinct roles risks leaving gender inequities and food supply hindrances unaddressed, countering the invisibility of women's work often assumed as automatic domestic duties. The article emphasizes women's significant role in domestic food supply, even in societies with minimal household food production, citing examples like Latin American women organizing to address urban hunger.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareSocial 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 & justice