Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
5 results
Gardening governance: CSO-government dynamics in Shanghai's urban renewal
2025Mengqi Shao, Linjun Xie · Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning · China (Shanghai)
This study explored the dynamics of civil society organization (CSO)-government relationships through community gardens as governance spaces in Shanghai. Through empirical case studies of three community garden projects, it revealed how political, practical, and personal spheres shape the evolving dynamics between CSOs and local governments. The research highlighted CSOs' pivotal role in mediating between the state and local communities, but noted that challenges such as power asymmetries persist.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyEconomicsHealthUrban Agriculture in Great Bandung Region in the Midst of Commercialization, Food Insecurity, and Nutrition Inadequacy
2023Oekan S. Abdoellah, Indri Wulandari, Kinanti Indah Safitri, Nafa Destri Fianti, Rahma Maulia Fadli Basagevan, Mega Nurul Aini, Rosalina Ilmi Amalia, Mahardhika Puspa Arum Suraloka, Gemilang Lara Utama · Sustainability · Indonesia (Bandung)
Commercialization of urban agriculture (UA) in the Great Bandung region has led to the displacement of small-scale farmers and reduced access to local food, exacerbating food insecurity among low-income residents. Subsistence farmers (48.91%) earned only 7.14% to 14.64% of the 2023 minimum wages, and food insecurity prevalence was predominantly observed after UA practices. The study also found a surplus of vitamin A among urban farmers, while inadequacies in other nutritional aspects were prevalent.
Equity & displacementEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceHealthCommunityPutting the Garden Back: Cultivating Life through Urban Gardening in India
2021Camille Frazier · Hong Kong University Press eBooks · India (Bengaluru)
This paper examines motivations for organic terrace gardening among middle-class individuals in Bengaluru, India, who grow food for home consumption. Gardeners respond to worsening health and environmental conditions, but class and caste inequalities limit their engagement with a broader community of urban food producers. These inequalities restrict the transformative potential of organic terrace gardening as an intervention, indicating a critical finding regarding equity.
Equity & displacementDIYCommunityHealthFood sovereignty & justiceThe cultural economy of human waste reuse: perspectives from peri-urban Karnataka, India
2021Zachary Burt, C. Shambu Prasad, Pay Drechsel, Isha Ray · Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development · India (Karnataka)
A preference-ranking model was developed to understand the acceptance of fecal sludge-derived fertilizer (FSF) in Karnataka, India, by modeling farmowners and farmworkers separately. The study found that farmers willing to use FSF prefer to conceal its origins from workers and their caste group, especially caste-adhering, vegetarian farmowners. Workers were open to FSF if it resembled cow manure, revealing that the waste economy in rural India is shaped by unacknowledged caste hierarchies and practices.
Equity & displacementOrganic cyclePeri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomicsHealthCommunity"Grow what you eat, eat what you grow": urban agriculture as middle class intervention in India
2018Camille Frazier · Journal of Political Ecology · India (Bengaluru)
This article examines the motivations and practices of organic terrace gardeners (OTGians) in Bengaluru, India, who grow food in private spaces. While OTGians successfully create a vibrant community driven by food safety and environmental concerns, their efforts are limited to the middle class due to class-specific concerns and production practices. The study highlights that urban gardening in this context remains an intervention primarily for the middle class.
Equity & displacementDIYCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeHealth