Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
623 results(17 / 25)
“The Lucky country”? A critical exploration of community gardens and city–community relations in Australian cities
2017Alec Thornton · Local Environment · Australia
This study, based on Australian city case studies, explored community gardeners' views and engagement in community gardens. Findings revealed that community gardeners identified local councils as barriers to the emergence of community gardens and other forms of urban agriculture. Unlike other Western cities, effective city–community relations for community garden growth have not yet emerged in Australian cities.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceEconomics1990年以降の愛知県の都市における農業の変化 ―都市農業振興基本法の施行をふまえて―
2017肇 石原, Hajime ISHIHARA · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan
Since 1990, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, has seen a decrease in agricultural land area and the number of farm households, particularly in Nagoya City and its surrounding municipalities. While the reduction in productive green space and full-time farmers was moderate, engagement in agriculture-related businesses, excluding direct sales, was not extensive. A polarization was observed between municipalities active and inactive in designating productive green spaces, posing a challenge for future land use planning.
Governance failurePolicyUrban–rural linkageEconomicsMapeo de la agriricultura urbana y periurbana en el área metropolitana Santa Rosa-Toay: aproximaciones metodológicas para la lectura territorial
2017P. V. ERMINI, M. R. DELPRINO, B. GIOBELLINA · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Argentina (Santa Rosa-Toay)
In the Santa Rosa-Toay metropolitan area of Argentina, urban and peri-urban agriculture is noted for its scarce recognition in urban development policies and food security policies. Despite the region's urbanization, the absence of political recognition as a metropolitan area has hindered planning and management of land use and occupation according to its potential and limitations. This study developed and applied a methodological proposal to generate information on urban and peri-urban agricultural activities, integrating a spatial perspective with participatory procedures.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyHealthFood sovereignty & justiceRelying on urban gardens for survival within the building of a modern city in Colombia.
2017Colleen Hammelman · CABI eBooks · Colombia
In Medellín, Colombia, displaced women utilize urban gardens as a survival strategy amidst food insecurity and tenuous support from local government. Urban planning permits these gardens under the guise of supporting displaced families, but also for preserving open space and halting the growth of informal settlements. This chapter provides a clear example of how urban planning impacts the critical survival strategy of growing food.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareCommunityPolicyFuture of Allotment Gardens in the Context of City Spatial Policy – A Case Study of Poznań
2017Lidia Poniży, Kamila Stachura · Quaestiones Geographicae · Poland (Poznań)
This case study of Poznań, Poland, examines urban spatial policy regarding allotment gardens. It finds that despite their importance as green infrastructure, allotment gardens receive little attention in city plans and policies, and face threats from investment pressure due to an underestimation of their role. The study emphasizes that preserving these gardens relies on local spatial planning.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityUrban–rural linkageCuatro iniciativas de agricultura en la ciudad frente a la banalización del paisaje histórico urbano | Four urban agriculture initiatives against the banalization of urban historical landscape
2017David Arredondo Garrido · ZARCH · Spain
This study analyzed four urban agriculture and gardening initiatives in the city centers of Seville, Barcelona, Madrid, and Zaragoza, Spain, over the last decade. These projects aimed to counteract the homogenization of urban historical landscapes and create spaces for culture and social interaction. Despite difficulties in their management and their minor impact, these interventions demonstrated a method for reconfiguring urban landscapes in abandoned central areas.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceThe contribution of smallholder irrigated urban agriculture towards household food security in Harare, Zimbabwe.
2017Never Mujere · CABI eBooks · Zimbabwe (Harare)
This case study in Harare City, Zimbabwe, examined an urban irrigated agriculture project's contribution to household food security and poverty alleviation, including crop types, productivity, and farmer challenges. It found that while urban irrigated smallholder agriculture contributes to livelihoods, numerous socio-economic factors impede greater participation. Furthermore, some participants withdrew due to security threats from perceived political affiliations.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareEconomicsPolicyUrban agriculture and place-making: Narratives about place and space in Ghent, Brno and Bristol
2017Marlinde Koopmans, Daniel Keech, Lucie Sovová, Matthew Reed · Moravian Geographical Reports · Europe
This paper analyzed urban agriculture (UA) and place-making in Ghent, Brno, and Bristol, using a spatial lens across three case studies. It revealed that local authorities struggle to find space for UA, leading to its frequent, often temporary, emergence in marginal areas vulnerable to planning changes. The analysis exposed inherent tensions within UA, conceptualized as tensions between abstract space and concrete place narratives. It was suggested that UA, as a collective socio-cultural process, can transform functionally replicable spaces into unique places, contributing to place-making, and urban planning should secure physical spaces and create possibilities for local autonomous governance.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageUrban rooftop farming : sustainability, practices and stakeholder perception on case studies in Europe (Torino, Paris, Rotterdam)
2017Jonida Alliaj · · Europe
This qualitative investigation examined rooftop farming in Turin, Paris, and Rotterdam, focusing on local practices, policies, and stakeholder perceptions of sustainability and social impact. Findings reveal significant differences in governance: Turin's OrtiAlti project faced difficulties due to absent city strategies and policies, while Paris has a moderate number of rooftop farms with recent supportive policies. Rotterdam's Dakakker is a consolidated project, supported by local government through multi-stakeholder participation.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyClimate changeAnalysis of Urban Agricultural Characteristics along Land Use Gradient in Lagos State, Nigeria
2017Olalekan John Taiwo · · Nigeria (Lagos)
A study in Lagos State, Nigeria, analyzed the characteristics of urban agriculture and the influence of land use diversity using 300 questionnaires and personal interviews. The research noted the rapid disappearance of urban agricultural sites within built-up areas, framing it within the concept of "survival of the fittest." Results indicated that land use characteristics where urban agriculture is located moderate its size, rental cost, profit, and accessibility to road networks, while having little to no influence on its distance from markets and water sources.
Governance failureUrban–rural linkagePolicyEconomicsUrban gardens and institutional fences
2017Nadia Tecco, Federico Cóppola, Francesco Sottile, Cristiana Peano · Future of food: journal on food, agriculture and society · Italy (Turin)
This paper, based on fieldwork in two urban communal gardens in Turin, Italy, examined the spatiotemporal dimension of urban gardening, focusing on governance and the impact of regulations. It found that urban garden management is problematic due to the complex relationship between gardeners and allotments. Local government and promoting associations face challenges in adapting to and managing the evolving phenomenon, encountering internal conservative resistance and external pressures for change. These governance aspects have not been sufficiently considered.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyThe role of urban agriculture in climate change mitigation and adaptation in Ghanaian cities
2017David Anaafo, G. A. Akolgo · · Ghana
A study on urban agriculture in Ghanaian cities found that it faces challenges including difficult access to land and water resources, and a lack of extension services and credit support. Despite these issues, urban agriculture may help reduce flooding impacts, improve water infiltration, and enhance environmental sanitation. The study recommends policy measures to address these challenges.
Governance failureClimate changePolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceZwischen grüner Imageproduktion, partizipativer Politik und Wachstumszwang: urbane Landwirtschaft und Gärten im Kontext neoliberaler Stadtentwicklung in Wien
2017Sarah Kumnig · transcript Verlag eBooks · Europe
This study, titled "Between green image production, participatory politics, and growth pressure: urban agriculture and gardens in the context of neoliberal urban development in Vienna," was published in Umkämpftes Grün on page 139.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityEconomicsCollaborative planning via urban agriculture: The case of Tegucigalpa, Honduras
2017Andrea Oyuela, Arnold van der Valk · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Honduras (Tegucigalpa)
This study questions the adequacy of Tegucigalpa's top-down planning system in Honduras and explores urban agriculture (UA) as a potential building block for a bottom-up strategy. While UA is organized in Tegucigalpa due to residents' need to overcome food insecurity and hardship, the concept of active citizenship and bottom-up development is not yet consolidated. Furthermore, challenges exist regarding the resources needed for practicing UA and the diffusion of knowledge to the population.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityFood educationFood sovereignty & justice‘Because the ego started to grow bigger than the project itself’: a case study of founder’s syndrome on an educational community of practise
2017Donovon Ceaser · Ethnography & Education · Global
This study analyzed the leadership of founder John Browne at Green Shoots, a nonprofit service-learning urban farming school established in 2010, using the theory of founder's syndrome. Browne, despite an openly egalitarian community of practice ethic, created a hierarchy at the school that led to a staff walk-out and subsequent firings. Findings revealed Browne as a charming and inspirational teacher who engaged in dominating leadership contradicting the community of practice's ideals, resulting in disrespected students, disillusioned staff, and a founder unable to take responsibility for his leadership.
Governance failureCommunityFood educationPolicy1990年以降の奈良県の都市における農業の変化―都市農業振興基本法の施行をふまえて―
2017肇 石原, Hajime ISHIHARA · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan
Since 1990, the weakening of agricultural management foundations has been observed in urban areas of Nara Prefecture, though the decrease in productive green space and the number of full-time farmers remained at a certain level. Rice cultivation was the main crop in many areas, and engagement in agriculture-related businesses, apart from direct sales, was not extensive. Regarding the designation of productive green spaces, many cities were reluctant during the initial designation following the revised Productive Green Space Act and also during the Heisei mergers, which is identified as a challenge for future land use planning.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageHuertos en precario ¿en peligro de extinción? Su encaje en una propuesta integrada de gestión de la agricultura urbana y periurbana en el área metropolitana de Barcelona
2017Elena Domene Gómez, Francesc Coll, Marta Garcia-Sierra · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Spain (Barcelona)
Informal vegetable gardens have proliferated in Barcelona's urban periphery since the 1980s, serving as leisure spaces and food sources, and are a relevant form of agriculture. However, these "unregulated" spaces are not considered in urban and peri-urban agriculture promotion policies. A GIS methodology mapped these gardens in the Barcelona metropolitan area for 2009 and 2015, showing an increase in occupied surface during the recent economic crisis. The study evaluates contradictions leading municipal managers to eliminate or regulate these informal spaces, attributing them partly to the subjectivity of the urban and peri-urban agriculture concept and its supposed multifunctionality.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageEconomicsConstructing the “Greener, Greater” City
2017Lindsay K. Campbell · Cornell University Press eBooks · United States (New York City)
This chapter analyzes why urban forestry was prioritized in New York City's PlaNYC mayoral initiative while urban agriculture was overlooked. It examines the networks, public-private partnerships, elite ties, and bureaucratic structures involved in PlaNYC, revealing that certain voices were heard while others were ignored in the sustainability planning process. The analysis highlights issues of governance and equity in urban nature planning.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityEconomicsCity of Farms
2017Lindsay K. Campbell · Cornell University Press eBooks · United States (New York City)
In New York City, chapter six revealed how civic and public actors working outside PlaNYC iteratively embedded urban agriculture and food policy into municipal planning efforts. Within the void created by city hall’s lack of engagement, other figures in the municipal government seized the opportunity to advance food policy agendas for New York City. The 2011 update to PlaNYC included a brief crosscutting section on food, although it lacked capital funding to fuel the achievement of its stated goals, and was seen by advocates as a symbolic and political achievement.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban agriculture and the reassembly of the city: lessons from Wuhan, China.
2017S. S. Horowitz, Liu JuanJuan Liu JuanJuan · CABI eBooks · China (Wuhan)
This chapter, focusing on a case study of intra-urban agriculture in Wuhan, China, mapped the dynamic relations between actors, institutions, processes, and spaces. Theoretical and practical challenges to growing food within Chinese cities were identified, and ways for state and non-state actors to collaborate in reassembling intra-urban agriculture to maximize its social, ecological, and economic contributions were suggested.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsBiodiversityOrdering urban agriculture: farmers, experts, the state and the collective management of resources in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
2017Gabin Korbéogo · Environment and Urbanization · Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou)
This article explores how land tenure, water flows, and water quality are legally, politically, and socially framed in urban agriculture in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Urban agriculture serves as a revenue source and a socio-political arena involving state representatives, experts, and farmers. Public authorities monitor legal standards for water use and hygiene, while farmers strive for efficient resource use, sometimes challenging official norms. These competing interests lead to conflicts over resource use or rule legitimacy, which are negotiated through institutional or informal bargaining.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsCommunityHealthFood sovereignty & justiceA systemic methodology to characterize peri-urban agriculture for a better integration of agricultural stakes in urban planning
2017Esther Sanz Sanz, Claude Napoléone, Bernard Hubert, Aruna Popuri · · Global
Existing urban planning documents inadequately consider the specificities of peri-urban agriculture as an economic activity requiring arrangements not always adapted to an urban vision of agricultural spaces. This paper proposes a systemic methodology to characterize peri-urban agricultural spatial units, aiming to provide an inventory of peri-urban agricultural areas tailored to urban planning practitioners' constraints. The approach seeks to focus public action on areas where it is most likely to be efficient within a territorial project.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomicsAgriculture urbaine et souveraineté alimentaire à Genève (Suisse), machines à consentement ou moteurs d’hybridation du référentiel agricole dominant ?
2017Rémi Schweizer, Cyril Mumenthaler · VertigO · Switzerland (Genève)
This case study in Geneva, Switzerland, examined the integration of urban agriculture and food sovereignty into public policy, focusing on the regional brand Genève Région - Terre Avenir (GRTA). The analysis, based on a cognitive approach, highlighted compromises and imbalances among actor communities with divergent value systems. Ultimately, the study demonstrated the difficulty in challenging the dominant agricultural framework.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justicePolicyCommunityDrought, water access, and urban agriculture: a case study from Silicon Valley
2017Lucy Diekmann, Leslie Gray, Gregory A. Baker · Local Environment · United States (California)
This case study in Santa Clara County, California, used interviews and surveys to explore the implications of historic drought for urban agriculture (UA). It found that metropolitan California's decentralized water supply and diverse institutional arrangements create an uneven landscape of water access for UA. This results in geographically and socially differentiated pressures on UA water users to change water-consuming practices, with responses varying due to site-specific sociotechnical arrangements and UA purposes.
Governance failureClimate changePolicyUrban–rural linkagePeri-Urban Food Production and Its Relation to Urban Resilience
2016Eva Olsson, Eva Kerselaers, Lone Søderkvist Kristensen, Jørgen Primdahl, Elke Rogge, Anders Wästfelt · Sustainability · Europe
A study focusing on peri-urban land in Gothenburg (Sweden), Copenhagen (Denmark), and Gent (Belgium) analyzed the relationship between peri-urban food production and urban resilience. It found that arable farming has declined in all three areas since 2000 due to urban expansion and recreational land use changes. While policies for farmland preservation exist, strategies for local food production are not expressed in current planning documents, and competing land uses and high dependence on global food systems reduce peri-urban food production and improvements in urban food security.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justice