Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
20 results
Insurgent Geographies and the Problem of Violence: Lessons From Seattle's Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
2026Alexei Anisin · Peace & Change · United States (Seattle)
This study analyzed the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) in Seattle, which emerged in June 2020 and lasted 24 days, functioning as an urban hub for mutual aid and urban farming. The research, using randomly sampled Fire Department reports, found that CHAZ had significantly higher emergency response rates and incident variability compared to adjacent areas. The zone was dismantled due to outbreaks of violence, including five shootings, two deaths, sexual assaults, and arson, indicating a failure to address communal safety.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyHealthBelo Horizonte’s Right-to-Food Model
2026Hoyoon Jung · The International Journal of Social Sustainability in Economic Social and Cultural Context · Brazil (Belo Horizonte)
This study analyzes Belo Horizonte, Brazil's right-to-food model, which has reduced hunger and promoted social equity through integrated food policies like subsidized food programs and urban agriculture. Despite its successes, the model faces challenges in policy sustainability, financial constraints, and political continuity, and the study notes limitations including reliance on secondary data.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justicePolicyHealthEconomicsEfectos de los Huertos Urbanos Escolares en la Educación Ambiental y la Nutrición Infantil: Un Estudio en Instituciones Públicas De Lima Metropolitana
2025María Fernanda Ríos Acuña, Rocío Elena Matos Chávez, Nicolás Manuel Herrera Robles, Carlos Enrique Quispe Vargas, Juliana Beatriz Torres Luján · Ibero Ciencias - Revista Científica y Académica - ISSN 3072-7197 · Peru (Lima)
This review article analyzed the effects of school urban gardens on environmental education and child nutrition in public institutions of Metropolitan Lima. Examining 25 national and international scientific studies using the PRISMA methodological approach, findings showed that school gardens strengthen ecological awareness and promote fruit and vegetable consumption. However, structural barriers such as lack of resources, teacher training, and sustained institutional support were also identified.
Governance failureFood educationHealthPolicyEcosystem services of urban food forests and their contributions to health and sustainability of North American cities: a narrative review
2025Sara-Charlotte Cayen, Kesnamelie-Ann Outha, Pierre Paul Audate · International Journal of Environmental Health Research · North America
This narrative review synthesized the ecosystem services of urban food forests and their contributions to urban health and food sustainability in North American cities. Based on 13 studies published between 2018 and 2023, it identified that food forests provide services such as sustainable food production and climate regulation. However, their implementation faces challenges including public space governance, maintenance costs, regulatory barriers, and ecological risks like invasive species.
Governance failureBiodiversityClimate changeHealthCommunityUrban Gardening in Latin America and Panama: A New Strategy for Conservation
2025Belma Soto-Fernández, Lurys Bourdett-Stanziola · Asian Journal of Agricultural and Horticultural Research · Latin America
A documentary review on the importance of urban gardening in Latin America revealed that urban gardening, when approached through the lens of agrobiodiversity, has become a key strategy for safe food production and environmental sustainability. However, it was found that several Latin American countries lack clear and established laws to regulate this activity. Preliminary evidence of rotavirus was detected in fresh vegetables from an urban garden in Panama, indicating that urban gardens can become infection foci capable of causing diseases of public health and veterinary importance.
Governance failureCommunityBiodiversityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthEconomicsPolicyEcosystem services of urban agriculture and prospects for scaling up production: A study of Detroit
2022Joshua Newell, Alec Foster, Mariel Borgman, Sara Meerow · Cities · United States (Detroit)
A study in Detroit's Lower Eastside (~15 sq. miles) examined the spatial extent, characteristics, and residents' perceptions of urban gardens using spatial analysis and interviews. Gardens covered less than 1% of vacant land and were often ephemeral. Primary obstacles to scaling up urban agriculture in Detroit include uncertainty over land tenure, environmental pollutants, potential ecosystem disservices, and a lack of government support and capital investment.
Governance failureCommunityBiodiversityPolicyEconomicsClimate changeHealthSeeds and the city: a review of municipal home food gardening programs in Canada in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
2022Janet Music, Lisa Mullins, Sylvain Charlebois, Charlotte Large, Kydra Mayhew · Humanities and Social Sciences Communications · Canada
This study compared 19 municipal urban home food gardening programs in Canada in 2020, which provided free gardening supplies and instructions. It found a complicated relationship between municipalities, gardening programs, and food security, and determined that gardening somewhat alleviated social and emotional challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, municipalities are limited in their policy capacities to adequately address food insecurity in Canada.
Governance failurePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityHealth“Connecting With Good People and Good Plants”: Community Gardener Experiences in New York State During the COVID-19 Pandemic
2022Tomasz B. Falkowski, Bethany Jorgensen, Donald A. Rakow, Ashmita Das, Stewart A.W. Diemont, Theresa Selfa, Austin B. Arrington · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · United States
A study in four New York cities analyzed the benefits and challenges of community gardens during the COVID-19 pandemic through surveys and semi-structured interviews with community gardeners. Gardeners experienced benefits such as connection, mental and physical well-being, and a safe refuge, but the biggest challenge was limited socializing due to personal behavioral changes and garden rules. This research suggests that while community gardens can be resilient sites of reprieve during crises, the pandemic also exposed their vulnerabilities.
Governance failureCommunityHealthWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceUrban hen legislation: Exposing an unexpected public health problem
2022Wanda Martin, Lindsey Wagner, Kerry Marshall · Human Geography · Canada
This qualitative study investigated the controversy surrounding urban hen bylaws in Canadian cities, based on semi-structured interviews with 15 urban residents. The research identified three main areas of struggle: the need for education on urban agriculture, differing values for city life, and tensions between individual rights and the collective good. The findings expose challenges in urban hen legislation.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityHealthCultivando relações no Arranjo Local da Penha: A mobilização de mulheres a partir das práticas de agricultura urbana na favela
2021Mariana Portilho, Camila Rodrigues, Annelise Caetano Fraga Fernandez · Cidades, comunidades e território/Cidades comunidades e territórios · Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)
This study describes the formation of Arranjo Local da Penha, a community network created in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro's Penha favela complex, focused on urban agriculture and led by women. Through fieldwork and participant observation, the study analyzed themes of women and agroecology, health, and healthy eating. The network promoted women's empowerment and access to healthy food, but faced limits in the mobilization and development of urban agriculture.
Governance failureCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthWelfareUrban–rural linkageHORTAS ESCOLARES: PARÂMETROS PEDAGÓGICOS PARA RECURSOS MATERIAIS E ESTRUTURA FÍSICA
2021ELIZABETE CRISTINA RIBEIRO SILVA JARDIM · Editora Realize eBooks · Brazil
This research analyzed Brazilian school garden experiences across three document sets, identifying procedures and resources incongruent with stated counter-hegemonic objectives. The study found structural inadequacies for the school space and omissions regarding the protection and safety of farmers and students during activities. It recommends adjustments to location, spatial organization, and material resources for school gardens to ensure the health of food producers.
Governance failureFood educationCommunityHealthPolicyTeens as Teachers in the Garden: Cultivating a Sustainable Model for Teaching Healthy Living
2018Virginia L. J. Bolshakova, John Gieng, C. Sheena Sidhu, Mary Vollinger, Lorena Gimeno, Jessica Guild · Journal of Youth Development · United States (California)
The "Healthy Living Ambassador" school garden program in low-income communities integrated resources from schools, community programs, and the University of California Cooperative Extension. This program utilized culturally competent teenagers as teachers to educate elementary school youth on healthy living. The successes and challenges of the program development were discussed, revealing that public schools often lack the resources and support to establish sustainable garden-based programming.
Governance failureFood educationHealthCommunityWelfare" But Our Hands Are Tied ": Assessing School Gardening Efforts at Title I Elementary Schools in Pinellas County, Florida
2016Alexandra Grace Lancey · · United States (Florida)
This ethnographic study in Pinellas County, Florida, investigated school gardening efforts at Title I elementary schools, focusing on an organization that installs gardens in "failing" schools. The research found that strict public school standards and neoliberal education reform paradoxically prevent teachers and administrators from fully utilizing school gardens for nutrition education. This limits their effectiveness in discussing nutrition, healthy eating, and local food, as the focus shifts to state-regulated education standards, revealing significant infrastructural challenges.
Governance failureFood educationHealthPolicyCommunityANÁLISE DE AÇÕES EXTENSIONISTAS NA IMPLANTAÇÃO DE HORTAS ESCOLARES DE BASE ECOLÓGICA, SEUS EFEITOS E DESAFIOS NO CONTEXTO EDUCACIONAL
2015José Tobias Marks Machado, Jeferson Tonin, Evandro Pedro Schneider · SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología · Brazil
This study, conducted in two schools in Cerro Largo - RS, Brazil, during 2013, performed a post-implementation analysis of ecologically based school gardens introduced through a university extension program. Positive results included the proliferation of similar projects. However, significant difficulties were emphasized in integrating the school gardens with disciplinary education, attributed to existing conservatism in the educational context.
Governance failureFood educationCommunityHealthOrganic cycleChartering Worcester's Success
2014Benjamin Drury, Renee Laliberte, Jared Watson, Connor Wilgress · Digital WPI · United States (Worcester)
The city of Worcester, MA, faces health issues due to economic instability and low access to affordable healthy food. While urban farming has the potential to address these problems, the city lacks an effective policy.
Governance failureHealthEconomicsPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceSuccessful strategies and barriers to community gardening in metro Atlanta, Georgia
2012Julie L. Self, Amanda Wyatt, Aimee Webb Girard · The FASEB Journal · United States (Atlanta)
This research characterized community gardens (CGs) in two urban counties in Atlanta, Georgia, through semi-structured interviews with diverse garden leaders. The study identified primary barriers to creating and sustaining CGs as leadership constraints, reliable access to natural resources, and unclear regulations. It also found that CGs foster access to fresh food, knowledge, and community connections, with benefits varying by community.
Governance failureCommunityHealthPolicyWelcoming animals back to the city: Navigating the tensions of urban livestock through municipal ordinances
2012W. H. Butler · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States
The reintroduction of livestock into urban areas in the United States creates tensions regarding public health and the urban-rural divide. This paper analyzes municipal codes to identify how communities regulate urban livestock through prohibitions of certain animals, zoning, site-level restrictions, and management requirements. The analysis demonstrates that while no two municipalities approach the urban livestock question identically, each seeks to place limits on raising livestock in urban areas using a combination of regulatory land use tools.
Governance failurePolicyHealthUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceFood and the Body Politic
2012Sarah Leonard · Dissent · United States
This article explores the perilous state of food and food politics in America and a wide range of responses on the Left. It describes how the existing farm bill led to a policy disaster, the relationship between Reagan-era deregulation and the obesity epidemic, and the labor exploitation endemic to the elite dining experience. The study reveals challenges in governance within the American food system and its socioeconomic impacts.
Governance failurePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsHealthAgricultura urbana e peri-urbana em Campinas/SP : analise do Programa de Hortas Comunitarias como subsidio para politicas publicas
2006Juliana Arruda, Nilson Antonio Modesto Arraes · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Campinas)
A 2005 study in Campinas, Brazil, analyzed the city's Community Garden Program (PHC) to support the formulation of new urban and peri-urban agriculture policies. Analysis of PHC management revealed an almost total disengagement between the program and sectoral policies such as education, health, and social action. However, individual actions were found to be important for project implementation and success, and the projects were significant in the lives of beneficiaries.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood educationHealthA Community Diabetes Education and Gardening Project to Improve Diabetes Care in a Northwest American Indian Tribe
2000Donna Armstrong · The Science of Diabetes Self-Management and Care · United States
This study aimed to design a culturally appropriate diabetes education program for a Northwest American Indian tribe. A community-based intervention, including workshops on health themes and a community garden, was designed to address multiple barriers to diabetes care. However, prior to the implementation of the community workshops and evaluations, the tribal government chose to discontinue receiving federal funding for this project.
Governance failureCommunityHealthFood educationWelfare