Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
715 results(29 / 29)
Urban Agriculture, Food Security and the Environment: Socio-economics, Land Use Conflicts and Cultivators’ Views
1998Godfrey D. Mudimu, Shepherd Siziba, Benjamin Hanyani‐Mlambo · OpenDocs (Institute of Development Studies) · Zimbabwe (Harare)
This study in Harare, Zimbabwe, examined the socio-economics of urban crop production on municipal lands, cultivators' views, and land use conflicts. Urban agriculture, a widespread practice for subsistence maize and food security, is not supported by planners and conflicts with urban land use provisions. Findings revealed a serious lack of environmental concern among cultivators, with most ignoring stream bank regulations and lacking knowledge of environmental effects.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCommunityPolicyURBAN AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES AND WOMEN'S STRATEGIES IN SUSTAINING FAMILY LIVELIHOODS IN HARARE, ZIMBABWE
1996Godfrey D. Mudimu · Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography · Zimbabwe (Harare)
This study examines the role of women in urban agriculture and perceptions of urban space use for agriculture in Harare, Zimbabwe. Despite its utility in meeting household food needs, urban agriculture is not planned for or supported by urban planners and managers as a legitimate urban land use. The activities of women, who are the main participants in urban agriculture, directly conflict with planning provisions for urban space. The study offers empirical insight on perceptions of space use for agriculture in an urban tropical environment, where conflicts can arise from different perceptions and alternative uses.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceWelfarePolicyCommunityUrban Community Gardens as Contested Space
1995Karen Schmelzkopf · Geographical Review · United States (New York City)
This article examines community gardens in Loisaida, a high-crime, poverty-stricken area of Manhattan's Lower East Side in New York City. The gardens provide social and economic functions, serving as safe open spaces for socialization and sources of food. A major problem identified is the competition for these sites between gardening and housing development.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsUrban Agriculture in Zimbabwe: Implications for Urban Management and Poverty
1995Beacon Mbiba · · Zimbabwe (Harare)
This paper addresses the implications of urban agriculture for urban management and poverty in Zimbabwe, covering various aspects such as off-plot cultivation in Harare, urban cultivation at home, urban maize markets, and institutional responses to uncontrolled urban cultivation. Evidence from Harare suggests that urban agriculture can be a counterproductive activity, highlighting challenges and conflicts in urban management.
Governance failureCommunityWelfarePolicyHealthInstitutional responses to uncontrolled urban cultivation in Harare: prohibitive or accommodative?
1994Beacon Mbiba · Environment and Urbanization · Zimbabwe (Harare)
This review examines local government responses to uncontrolled urban cultivation in Harare, Zimbabwe, covering both the colonial period and post-independence since 1980. The study finds that local authorities struggle to manage urban agriculture effectively and sustainably. It suggests new directions for policy and research to address these difficulties.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityFood Systems and the Poor in Harare Under Conditions of Structural Adjustment
1994David Drakakis‐Smith · Geografiska Annaler Series B Human Geography · Africa
This paper focused on the impact of structural adjustment programs on the urban poor in Africa, specifically examining the urban food system in Harare, Zimbabwe. In Harare, food retailing is largely structured through supermarkets, which keeps costs high for the poor. While the informal sector has expanded, it remains relatively restricted and unorganized compared to Asian cities. Consequently, urban agriculture has grown extensively in house-gardens and illegally in the urban periphery, yet there is little coordinated or positive policy response from urban authorities.
Governance failureWelfareEconomicsPolicyUrban–rural linkageUrban agriculture in Kampala: Indigenous adaptive response to the economic crisis
1993Daniel Maxwell, Samuel Zziwa · Ecology of Food and Nutrition · Uganda (Kampala)
This study examines urban agriculture in Kampala, Uganda, as an adaptive response to economic hardships. It identifies significant constraints, including institutional obstacles to accessing underutilized urban land, municipal bylaws that suppress urban agriculture, and urban officials' indifferent to hostile views. The study found that these bylaws and views are based on misleading or false generalizations about urban agriculture.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityCONSERVATIONOF FARMLAND IN URBAN AGRICULTURAL PROMOTION AREA
1993Hiroshi AIZAWA, Kensuke Inoue, Masazumi NOMA · Journal of Architecture Planning and Environmental Engineering (Transactions of AIJ) · Japan
This study explained the reasons for non-cultivation in urban agricultural promotion areas and examined future subjects for conserving normal farmland surrounded by urbanization promotion areas. The occurrence rate of wasteland and infringement on agricultural land diversion in non-cultivated land differed according to city planning regulations and cultivating forms. The reasons for non-cultivation were found to be greatly related to farmers' workers, land ownership scale, and planning law, with owners of large landholdings who had no workers due to advanced age showing little intention to maintain agricultural operations or conserve farmland.
Governance failurePolicyUrban–rural linkageEconomicsRecognizing Ethiopia's urban farmers.
1993Lee M · PubMed · Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, urban agriculture faces significant challenges due to government disapproval of public land use for farming and difficulty in obtaining credit. A 1983 survey in Addis Ababa found that 17% of 1352 households produced their own food on less than 25 sq. meters, with 90% of non-farmers citing lack of land. Despite urban agricultural cooperatives demonstrating 70% higher member income, their lack of government legalization prevents access to loans for productivity improvement.
Governance failureCommunityEconomicsPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceHealthWelfareClimate changeUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureFood educationBiodiversityCompostDIYElderlyFood lossHeirloom & landraceOrganic cyclePollinatorsFood miles & supply chainCSA & TeikeiDigital agriculture‘Three's a crowd’: knowledge, ignorance and power in the context of urban agriculture in Rwanda
1989Johan Pottier · Africa · Rwanda
This article explores the themes of knowledge, ignorance, and power in the context of a Rwandan development project, demonstrating how ignorance is generated through agricultural extension. It argues that agronomic services rely on power structures reminiscent of social inequality, and assesses whether the project-induced creation of ignorance leads to the displacement of local knowledge and the adoption of new methods.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceThe Joys of Gardening: Collectivist and Bureaucratic Cultures in Conflict
1985Michael S. Jamison · Sociological Quarterly · Global
This study assesses the organizational cultures of collectives and bureaucracies within the urban gardening movement, finding serious underlying differences despite government assistance. Although government agencies provided resources and established projects, collectives and bureaucracies interpreted the urban gardening experience differently. This divergence in understanding the benefits and structuring the experience reveals a source of potential bureaucratic/collectivist conflict.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyL'Anti-Alborz : un espace marginal aux portes de Téhéran
1982Bernard Hourcade · Revue Géographique de l Est · Iran (Tehran)
This research investigates the origins and current economy of the Anti-Alborz region, an arid mountain east of Tehran, Iran. Due to military compounds and royal hunting grounds, the expansion of Tehran has been artificially limited, leaving the Anti-Alborz as a remote area. In this region, urban, agricultural, and pastoral economies are growing in conflictual ways, indicating governance challenges in managing land use and development.
Governance failureUrban–rural linkageEconomicsPeri-urban agricultureEnterprise, Management and Organisation in Africa: a plea for research
1971Jeff Garmany · The Journal of Modern African Studies · Africa
This article argues that many African countries, in their pursuit of rapid economic development, risk misaligning their strategies and priorities concerning the rural-urban and agricultural-industrial balance. It specifically advocates for increased research attention on traditional food farming, whether for subsistence or cash, which has been neglected despite its crucial and inevitable role in supporting growing populations over the long term.
Governance failureUrban–rural linkageEconomicsPolicyAllotment gardens in the Lublin downtown in the spatial and urban planning context – origins and issues concerning their preservation
1970Natalia Przesmycka, Rafał Strojny · Teka Komisji Architektury Urbanistyki i Studiów Krajobrazowych · Poland (Lublin)
This article examines allotment gardens in downtown Lublin, Poland, from a historical, architectural, and landscape perspective, focusing on the oldest garden, "Nasza Zdobycz nad Bystrzycą." It identifies that city-center allotment gardens are at risk from commercial development and discusses the increasing alienation of owners and progressing devastation of these areas. The study also attempts to explain these issues and suggests design applications for revitalization.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageDesafios do planejamento urbano no Brasil e seus marcos legais sob a ótica da agricultura urbana
1969Natália da Silva Lemos, Liza Maria Da Souza de Andrade, Valério Augusto Soares de Medeiros · Paranoá cadernos de arquitetura e urbanismo · Brazil
This research analyzed urban planning challenges in Brazil from the perspective of urban agriculture, examining social policies and legal frameworks including the City Statute (Law 10.257/2001) and Law 6.766/1979. The findings indicate a gap in legal provisions for urban agriculture actions and practices within land use and occupation regulations. The study suggests guidelines for implementation to address this deficiency.
Governance failurePolicyUrban–rural linkageClimate changeFood sovereignty & justice