Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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29 results(1 / 2)
Urban agriculture as regenerative infrastructure on a university campus in Brazil: challenges, opportunities and design requirements
2026Anelise Anapolski, Ana Passuello, Miguel Aloysio Sattler · International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education · Brazil
This study investigated urban agriculture (UA) as regenerative infrastructure on a university campus in Brazil, assessing challenges and opportunities before project implementation and proposing design requirements for future projects. Data collected from 120 questionnaires and 9 interviews revealed key challenges including maintenance, stakeholder engagement, risk of discontinuity, and lack of institutional support. The academic setting offers opportunities through integration with teaching, research, and outreach, and the campus community positively associates UA with innovation.
Governance failurePolicyFood educationCommunityUrban–rural linkageLa percepción de la urbanización de tierras agrícolas en el valle andino de Cajamarca, Perú
2025Moschella Miloslavich, Paola · Portal de Revistas PUCP (N/A) · Peru (Cajamarca)
This study in Cajamarca, Peru, analyzed the expansion of the city onto vital agricultural land, examining perceptions, consequences, and solutions through surveys and interviews. It found that weak regulations and external factors accelerate informal subdivision of rural properties, leading to future urban areas lacking public spaces and services. Despite high regard for agricultural land, comfort and the land market override beliefs in decision-making, and initiatives to protect the valley were unsuccessful due to permissive regulations and a lack of political will.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyUrban–rural linkageImpulsores e inhibidores de la agricultura urbana a partir de una aproximación diacrónica desde 1821 hasta 2023: el caso de Xalapa (Veracruz, México)
2025Juan Camilo Fontalvo-Buelvas, María Teresa Pulido Silva, Miguel Ángel Escalona Aguilar, Raúl Romero Ramírez · Memorias · Mexico (Xalapa)
This diachronic study analyzed the drivers and inhibitors of urban agriculture in Xalapa, Mexico, through a historical tracing from 1821 to 2023. Drivers included rural immigration, academia, and government programs, while inhibitors were identified as diversification of trades, ejido laws, remittances, health policies, and food markets.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageCultivando espacios socioambientales : perspectivas y transformaciones a través de la agricultura urbana y periurbana en el municipio de Foz do Iguaçu – PR.
2024Exzolvildres Queiroz Neto, Gilson Brandão de Oliveira Junior, Marcelha Silva de Andrade, Suncar Dabo, Geisiane Michelle Zanquetta de Pintor · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil
This article presents reflections on the practice of Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (AUP) and its impact on land use and occupation in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil. The research raised several questions concerning rural-urban dynamics, the specificities of urban family farmers, and the complexity of land use in the municipality. Diagnostic results from a semi-structured research guide will be used as an empirical basis for further reflection, and the abstract does not state specific research findings or critical findings regarding governance.
Governance failurePeri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkagePolicyA profile of urban agricultural growers, organizations, their needs, and challenges in the Northeastern United States
2024Matthew L. Richardson, John Taylor, Megan J. Thompson, Anusuya Rangarajan, Mamatha Hanumappa, Neith G. Little · PLoS ONE · United States (Northeastern United States)
This online survey of 394 urban growers, primarily in the Northeastern United States, profiled growers and assessed urban agriculture's state, identifying needs and challenges. Most growers were white (non-Hispanic), under 45, well-educated but without agriculture degrees. Urban agriculture was dominated by small non-profits and home/community gardens. A critical finding is that urban growers face diverse barriers, with the most common being land availability and long-term access in urban areas, and many reported low revenue or operating at a net loss.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justicePanorama das Leis de Agricultura Urbana no Brasil: Relações com o Planejamento Urbano
2023M. Kühn, Geisa Zanini Rorato, Bruno César Euphrasio de Mello, Carolina Cristófoli Falcão · Ambiente & sociedade · Brazil
This research surveyed federal and state urban agriculture (UA) laws in Brazil to analyze their implications for urban planning (UP). Findings indicate that despite an increase in approved laws, there is no articulated national policy, laws vaguely address UA's interfaces with UP, and they do not objectively tackle territorial challenges faced by UA.
Governance failurePolicyUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceOverview of Laws for Urban Agriculture in Brazil: Association with Urban Planning
2023M. Kühn, Geisa Zanini Rorato, Bruno César Euphrasio de Mello, Carolina Cristófoli Falcão · Ambiente & sociedade · Brazil
This study cataloged and analyzed federal and state urban agriculture (UA) laws in Brazil to understand their profile and association with urban planning. The findings indicate that Brazil lacks a coordinated national policy for urban agriculture. Furthermore, existing laws vaguely mention their interfaces with urban-policy legal frameworks and do not clearly address territorial challenges for UA implementation.
Governance failurePolicyUrban–rural linkagePerspectives critiques et analyse territoriale. Applications urbaines et régionales, Hélène Bélanger et Dominic Lapointe (dir.), Québec, Presses de l’Université du Québec, 2019, 224 p.
2022Yannick Baumann, Emanuel Guay · Nouvelles perspectives en sciences sociales · Canada
This is a book or article titled "Perspectives critiques et analyse territoriale. Applications urbaines et régionales," edited by Hélène Bélanger and Dominic Lapointe, published in 2019 by Presses de l’Université du Québec. It is an article from the journal "Nouvelles perspectives en sciences sociales" on the theme "Urban agriculture: towards a reconfiguration of social and territorial ties."
Governance failureCommunityUrban–rural linkagePolicyConflict and oppositions in the development of peri‐urban agriculture: The case of the Greater São Paulo region
2022André Torre, Brenno Fonseca · Sociologia Ruralis · Brazil (São Paulo)
A study on the development of peri-urban agriculture in the São Paulo Metropolitan Region, Brazil, was conducted based on expert interviews, analysis of the regional daily press, and local information sites and blogs. It was found that territorial opposition between different land uses is one of the main factors preventing food production in urban and peri-urban areas. The study investigated local conflicts, their location, their link to agriculture, the consumption of agricultural soils, and the typology of opponents and supporters of this activity.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyUrban–rural linkageEconomicsO DESENVOLVIMENTO SÓCIO-ESPACIAL DA AGRICULTURA URBANA E PERIURBANA (AUP) NA CIDADE DE FORTALEZA, CEARÁ
2021Gabriela de Azevedo Marques, Iara Rafaela Gomes · Boletim Goiano de Geografia · Brazil
This empirical study analyzed the socio-spatial development of Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (AUP) in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, examining both spontaneous agricultural activities and municipal institutional actions. While AUP holds significant relevance in the city, particularly in peripheral areas, governmental initiatives were found to be sporadic and discontinuous, lacking a broader institutional agenda. The study concluded that despite recent municipal efforts, legal and institutional support for AUP remains weak, leading to the rapid disappearance of productive spaces and indicating that institutional actions have not effectively fostered the socio-spatial development of spontaneous initiatives.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyCommunityUrban–rural linkageCultivando 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 linkageAgricultura urbana, governança territorial e planejamento urbano em área protegida de Manaus – Brasil
2021Camila Garcia Fernandes de Souza Margem, Néliton Marques da Sílva · Cadernos Metrópole · Brazil (Manaus)
This article analyzed the feasibility of implementing urban agriculture (UA) on idle land within the Tarumã – Ponta Negra Environmental Protection Area in Manaus, Brazil, as a tool for territorial governance and urban planning. Semi-structured interviews and card sorting techniques were applied to the target population. The study found that the use of idle land for UA is not envisioned as a territorial governance instrument, a situation exacerbated by municipal authorities hindering the legitimization of bills for such land use.
Governance failurePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageConsuming the city: challenges and possibilities for foraging in Toronto’s parks
2020Anna Shortly, Thembela Kepe · Forests Trees and Livelihoods · Canada (Toronto)
This paper explores the opportunities and challenges of incorporating foraging practices into parks planning and management in Toronto, Canada, where foraging is often not permitted in urban parks. The study, based on a scan of practices and interviews, concludes that urban parkland managers should establish dedicated spaces like community orchards to safely and sustainably accommodate foraging, acknowledging current restrictions.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageUrban family agriculture
2019Annelise Caetano Fraga Fernandez, Almir Cezar Baptista Filho · Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) · Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)
This article describes the obstacles to implementing public policy for family agriculture in urban areas of Brazil. Representations associated with rural-agricultural concepts have shaped the classification criteria of rural technical assistance technicians, limiting the policy's application in urban settings. Social movements in Rio de Janeiro highlighted the lack of access for urban family farmers to agrarian policies, leading to the recognition of urban family agriculture as a public problem.
Governance failurePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityUrban–rural linkageLa cara oculta de la seguridad alimentaria - Estudio de caso del sur del Estado de Jalisco, Occidente de México
2019Peter R. W. Gerritsen, Víctor Sanchez Bernal, Georgina Torres Rodríguez · Brazilian Journal of Development · Mexico
This study analyzed food security in two medium-sized cities in Western Mexico using secondary data and field research. It found that while these highly globalized cities had a low degree of food security, extensive domestic backyard agricultural activities significantly raised family-level food security. A critical finding is that this potential for urban food security is not valued by governmental institutions.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkagePaesaggi transitori e agricoltura urbana: possibilità dagli scenari di espansione urbana a Guaratiba, Rio de Janeiro
2019A Noussia · Research Open (London South Bank University) · Brazil
This paper discusses urban agriculture on city peripheries within a scenario of urban expansion, focusing on the Guaratiba neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. It argues that the city's urban expansion process does not invest in the inclusion of urban agriculture activities within the area's socio-environmental dynamics.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyUrban–rural linkageTRABALHO DO PRODUTOR AGRÍCOLA URBANO E PERIURBANO: HORTICULTORES DO CENTRO-SUL PIAUIENSE
2018Marttem Costa de Santana, Everardo de Sousa Luz, Maurício Ribeiro da Silva, Maclóvia Corrêa da Silva, Eloy Fassi Casagrande · Sociedade e Território · Brazil
This qualitative field study in two cities in Piauí, Brazil, evaluated whether working conditions of urban and peri-urban agricultural producers contribute to food production. It concluded that public authorities' participation is necessary to address failures in the small-scale agricultural production system and improve working conditions for urban horticulturists.
Governance failureUrban–rural linkageEconomicsPolicyAgricultura urbana como crítica e alternativa: Práticas comunicativas em torno da alimentação no contexto de crises socioambientais || Urban Agriculture as Criticism and Alternative: Communication Practices around Food in the Context of Social and Environmental Crises
2016Thaís Cristina Schneider, Paulo André Niederle, Myrian Regina Del Vecchio-de Lima · Razón y Palabra · Brazil
This article analyzes urban agriculture from a communication perspective, focusing on how practitioners and non-practitioners understand its critical and alternative role regarding the modern food system. The study of Quinta da Videira in southern Brazil found that while urban agriculture is used to counter conventional food production and associated lifestyles, there are also resistances to integrating agricultural practices into the urban environment.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityClimate changeUrban–rural linkageAction research and reducing the vulnerability of peri‐urban agriculture: a case study from the Montreal Region
2015Christopher Bryant, Ghalia Chahine · Geographical Research · Canada (Montreal)
This 2015 case study from the Montreal Region, Canada, analyzed an action research project initiated in 2008 to reduce the vulnerability of peri-urban agriculture. Despite initiatives since the mid-1960s, significant pressures continue to increase the vulnerability of peri-urban farming, with farmland often removed from agricultural reserves. The project in Senneville involved farmers, non-farm actors, and municipal presentations over three years, aiming to integrate conservation and leisure activities.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyCommunityUrban–rural linkageProduction Places: Evaluating Communally-Managed Urban Farms as Public Space
2015N. Claire Napawan · Landscape Journal · United States (San Francisco)
This paper evaluated five case studies of communally-managed urban farms in San Francisco to determine their ability to operate dualistically as areas for food production and public space. Using a case-study methodology, it compared the spatial characteristics of these farms against the spatial criteria for successful public space. The study identified both conflicts and compatibilities in the spatial considerations for both functions.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageRegulatory and Other Barriers to Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture:A Case Study of Urban Planners and Urban Farmers from the Greater Chicago Metropolitan Area
2013Sheila Castillo, Curtis R. Winkle, Stephen Krauss, Amalia Turkewitz, Cristina L.M. Silva, Edie Heinemann · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States (Chicago)
This study identifies seven perceived barriers to urban and peri-urban agriculture in the greater Chicago metropolitan area through interviews with urban planners and farmers. All seven barriers involve unclear or agriculture-unfriendly regulations. Results suggest that urban and peri-urban farmers are commonly forced to operate within a legal limbo or petition for exceptions to current regulations.
Governance failurePolicyPeri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkageST6 - 827 AGRICULTURA URBANA EM SÃO JOSÉ DOS CAMPOS, SP: APROPRIAÇÃO DO ESPAÇO URBANO, MODOS DE VIDA E CONFLITOS
2013Samuel Henrique Damas Marinelo, Sandra María Fonseca da Costa, Leonardo Freire de Mello · Anais ENANPUR · Brazil (São Paulo)
In São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil, residents of the Altos de Santana neighborhood maintain traditional peasant characteristics by cultivating urban gardens within a Permanent Protection Area of the Paraíba do Sul River. However, the current municipal administration plans to implement an urban park in this area, which will remove the gardens cultivated by these resident farmers. This intervention is expected to alter proposals for improving the quality of life for nearby residents concerning urban agriculture, potentially generating conflicts between stakeholders regarding land use.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceFresh Squeezed: The Dilemma of Local Food Production Along Colorado's Front Range Urban Corridor
2013Amanda Jessie Weaver · Digital Commons - DU (University of Denver) · United States (Colorado)
This project combined U.S. Agricultural Census data with a survey of local producers in Colorado's Front Range Urban Corridor to examine the competition between urban development and food production. The study found that urban development is increasingly encroaching on rich agricultural lands, which are also desirable for housing. Consequently, Colorado faces increasing competition for land, potentially driving local food prices up and displacing producers to peripheral areas or out of food production entirely.
Governance failureUrban–rural linkageEconomicsPolicyClimate changeWelcoming 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 & justicePost‐Industrial Imaginaries: Nature, Representation and Ruin in Detroit, Michigan
2012Nate Millington · International Journal of Urban and Regional Research · United States
This article analyzes representations of urban nature in Detroit, Michigan, focusing on journalistic and photographic work over the past 5 years. These representations, part of a discourse on Detroit's decline, ultimately reflect dominant conceptual divisions between the city and nature. Journalists and commentators perceive nature in the city as a reflection of the city's absence rather than its materiality, suggesting an ambivalence about emergent urban ecologies.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyBiodiversityUrban–rural linkage