Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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974 results(10 / 39)
Governance tools for urban food system policy innovations in the Milano Urban Food Policy Pact
2023Polman Daniel, Bazzan Giulia · European Urban and Regional Studies · Europe (26 cities)
Uses fuzzy-set QCA across 26 European Milan Pact cities. Finds that the absence of governance practices—initiative mapping, integrated food strategies, and monitoring/evaluation—prevents most cities from becoming policy-innovative, so many signatories deliver only limited food-policy innovation.
PolicySustainability assessment of peri-urban organic horticulture — A case study in the United Kingdom
2023Mustafa Ali, Lenny Koh, Adolf Acquaye, Jonathan R. Leake, Jacob Nickles, Toby P. Evans, Gareth Roberts, Douglas Kemp · The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment · United Kingdom (Sheffield)
This study conducted an integrated environmental and economic assessment of organic peri-urban horticulture using primary data from a farm in Sheffield, UK. A hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) found that the global warming potential (GWP) for case study tomatoes was 3.53 kg CO2-eq, which was 1.87 times higher than imported Spanish tomatoes. Economic analysis showed that the marginal increase in the prices of tomatoes and courgettes from the case study farm was 4.6 and 5.15 times less than the market prices, leading to the conclusion that the studied production system is economically and environmentally sustainable compared to the existing scenario.
Peri-urban agricultureOrganic cycleEconomicsClimate changeURBAN FARMING AS A TOOL OF FOOD SECURITY IN FRONT-LINE KHARKIV: GLOBAL PROBLEMS FROM MICROSOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
2023Artëm Lytovchenko, Oksana Nekhaienko · Baltic Journal of Legal and Social Sciences · Ukraine (Kharkiv)
A 2023 paper aimed to characterize the sociological potential of the military factor in the global food crisis through the lens of food security challenges in the Ukrainian frontline city of Kharkiv. Based on results from an original reconnaissance case study conducted in Kharkiv from May to August 2022, assumptions were formulated regarding the main directions of transformation of food practices among residents of a large city undergoing combat actions. The study also proposed methods and directions for possible sociological research to verify these assumptions.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityPolicyIMPACT: Ideal Measures for Participation and Awareness of Climate Change: Stronger Together Citizen participation in achieving the European Green Deal in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion
2023Issam Alsamara, Stefanie Felicitas Beinert, Jeanne Catelijne de Jong, Maaike Jeannette Barbara Klapp, Viktoria Sirkku Marewsk, Rana Orhan · South Eastern European Journal of Public Health · Europe
This article discusses citizen participation in achieving the European Green Deal in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion (EMR). It presents three policy options to increase citizen participation: local climate measurements, sustainable food consumption (reducing food waste), and sustainable cities through urban gardening. Recommendations include encouraging citizen science projects, gathering insights on regional greenhouse gas emissions, providing more sustainable food in institutional canteens, reducing food waste, using social media for sustainable food information, utilizing urban areas for urban gardening projects, and creating community sustainability challenges.
Climate changePolicyCommunityJardiner et cuisiner collectivement pour favoriser l'accès à une alimentation choisie et durable
2023Lucile Vigouroux, Fanny Provent, Giulia Giacchè · HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · France
This report details the ‘Potager à la Marmite’ (PAM) experiment, conducted by LAB3S and the Urban Agriculture Chair with local partners in Bondy Nord, France. The two-year experiment (2022-2023) aimed to combine a community garden with a collective kitchen. Its goals were to provide access to healthy, sustainable food, enable inhabitants to reclaim public spaces, and observe knowledge-sharing dynamics. The abstract does not state any specific findings from the experiment.
CommunityFood educationHealthFood sovereignty & justiceBeyond food: Framing ecosystem services value in peri-urban farming in the post-Covid era with a multidimensional perspective. The case of Cascina Biblioteca in Milan (Italy)
2023Stefano Corsi, Marta Dell’Ovo, Catherine Dezio, Antonio Longo, Alessandra Oppio · Cities · Italy (Milan)
This contribution proposes the case study of a multifunctional farmhouse, Cascina Biblioteca, in the Milan suburban area of Italy, to test an integrated preliminary evaluation model. The model aims to support urban planning and design decisions by maximizing the performance of ecosystem services provided by multifunctional agriculture (MFA), which includes food production, environmental preservation, and social inclusion.
Peri-urban agriculturePolicyCommunityBiodiversityUrban Agriculture Approach in The Development of Sustainable Cities: The Case Of Elazığ, Türkiye
2023Fürüzan Aslan, Yaşar Menteş, Oğuz ATEŞ · Kırklareli Üniversitesi Mühendislik ve Fen Bilimleri Dergisi · Turkey (Elazığ)
This study examines the city area of Elazığ province, Türkiye, from the perspective of urban agriculture, which is presented as a tool for sustainable urban development. It offers various suggestions to ensure sustainability in Elazığ, develop insights into regional food supply, and increase the importance of urban aesthetics, land use, urban environmental management, public health, and economic development.
PolicyHealthEconomicsCommunityViews of Teachers and Headteachers about Outdoor Learning in Pre-School Education Institutions in Turkey and England
2023Ayşe Öztürk Samur, Paulette Luff · İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Araştırmaları Dergisi · Turkey; United Kingdom
This phenomenological study investigated the views and experiences of 9 headteachers and 9 teachers from 6 preschool institutions in Turkey and England regarding outdoor learning. It found that in Turkey, school gardens, equipment, and time spent outside are insufficient compared to England. While family participation in outdoor learning is more common in Turkey, teachers and headteachers there experience greater family pressure concerning child safety, illness, and dirty clothes, and feel anxious due to a lack of classroom assistance. Both countries showed insufficient inclusion of outdoor learning in vocational and in-service training.
Limited or null effectFood educationCommunityChanges over the last ten years in the fauna structure of aphids inhabiting the vegetation of allotment gardens in Poznań
2023B. Wilkaniec, Agnieszka Wilkaniec, Beata Borowiak-Sobkowiak · Journal of Plant Protection Research · Poland
Winged morphs of aphids were monitored using Moericke traps in two large allotment gardens in Poznań, Poland, during four growing seasons in 2000-2001 and 2014-2015. A total of 113 aphid species or groups were captured, and major changes in the fauna structure were reported. These changes are thought to be primarily due to shifts in garden vegetation composition as the gardens' function changed from production to recreation.
BiodiversityCommunityCollective urban gardens: growing, learning and fostering social engagement
2023Geneviève Cloutier, Émilie Houde-Tremblay, Stéphanie Gaudet · Local Environment · Canada (Québec City), Spain (Madrid)
Case studies of collective gardens in Québec City, Canada, and Madrid, Spain, operating for approximately ten years, showed that urban gardening practices offer learning opportunities extending beyond gardening itself into collective decision-making and social engagement. These gardens are sites of social processes where gardeners develop a strong identity related to alternative lifestyles and a sense of belonging that connects them to nature beyond the garden's boundaries. Gardeners learn that neighborhood-oriented actions have political implications that can help change the city.
CommunityFood educationPolicyAlgorithmic Food Justice
2023Lara Houston, Sara Heitlinger, Ruth Catlow, Alex Taylor · Policy Press eBooks · United Kingdom (London)
Workshops critically experimented with the possibilities and challenges of blockchain as an infrastructure for food abundance and reparative work, using fictional scenarios set in a London transformed into a city farm by 2025. This experimentation suggested that blockchain presents challenges to such restorative and sustainable work. For participants, reparation involved working in the aftermath of social and environmental collapse to bring into being more-than-human-value systems that radically decentered human knowledge and experience.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityDigital agricultureClimate changeUtilisation of green urban space for food sufficiency and the realisation of the sustainable development goals – UK stakeholders perspective
2023Alex Opoku, Anna Duff, Moohammed Wasim Yahia, Samuel Ekung · Geography and sustainability · United Kingdom
This study investigated the use of green urban spaces for food self-sufficiency in the UK, examining how sustainable urban farms could reduce imported produce consumption and contribute to SDGs. A mixed-method approach included a survey of 115 respondents and interviews with 12 stakeholders from four urban farming groups. Findings showed a strong correlation between stakeholders' concerns about food origin/carbon footprint and imported produce, suggesting urban farms could play a vital role in food security and SDG realization.
Food sovereignty & justiceClimate changePolicyCommunityEvaluating the impacts of nutrients recovery from urine wastewater in Building-Integrated Agriculture. A test case study in Amsterdam
2023Michele D’Ostuni, C. Stanghellini, A. Boedijn, Leonardo Zaffi, Giuseppina Pennisi, Francesco Orsini · Sustainable Cities and Society · Netherlands (Amsterdam)
The feasibility of using urine and greywater streams as nutrient solutions in a theoretical model of Building-Integrated Agriculture in Amsterdam was evaluated. Results showed it is feasible to use urine and greywater as nutrient solutions; however, treated urine had higher macronutrient concentrations than literature fertilizer recipes, requiring dilution with increasing amounts of greywater to match N or P concentrations. Consequently, P deficiencies in plants or excessive N concentration were found in the final wastewater-based nutrient solution.
Limited or null effectOrganic cycleDigital agricultureChallenges and Opportunities in Managing Peri-Urban Agriculture: A Case Study of L’Horta de València, Spain
2023J. L. Miralles i Garcia · International Journal of Environmental Impacts · Spain (Valencia)
In L’Horta de València, a historical agricultural area in Valencia, Spain, challenges and opportunities in peri-urban agriculture management were investigated. A semi-structured survey focusing on a SWOT analysis was administered to key specialists involved in the 2018 legislative protection and 2019 management plan. The study aimed to evaluate how newly implemented tools are rectifying identified issues, but the abstract does not present specific findings from the survey.
Peri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomicsThings that endure: Community gardens and the post-work imaginary
2023Abigail Schoneboom, Daniel Mallo, Armelle Tardiveau · Journal of Classical Sociology · United Kingdom
This sensory ethnographic study, using pinhole photography, explored how time is experienced by unemployed volunteers at a community garden in the north-east of England. It found that the garden's ability to provide meaningful time is rooted in its food-growing and composting cycles, as well as enduring elements like mature trees and volunteer-made structures. The study argues that urban community gardens offer an "elongated present" that fulfills individuals and sustains community and nature.
CommunityWelfareOrganic cycleHealthFarming under Urban Pressure: Business Models and Success Factors of Peri-Urban Farms
2023Wojciech Sroka, Piotr Sulewski, Jarosław Mikołajczyk, Karol Król · Agriculture · Poland
This study, based on a survey of economically successful peri-urban farms in Poland, identified success factors and major barriers to their development. The research shows a considerable convergence in business solutions in recent years, particularly in customer relationships and channels. According to respondents, the success of peri-urban farms is primarily determined by three groups of factors: motivation, diligence, and creativity; high quality of products and services; and cultivating deep bonds with customers. While farm managers indicated relatively few internal problems, urban pressure was considered the most significant external barrier to development.
Economic viabilityPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsCommunityA one-sided love affair? On the potential for a coalition between degrowth and community-supported agriculture in Germany
2023Julia Spanier, Leonie Guerrero Lara, Giuseppe Feola · Agriculture and Human Values · Germany
This article systematically analyzes the potential for a coalition between Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) and degrowth movements in Germany, drawing on social movement theories. It finds that the ideologies and political strategies of the two movements are not aligned, with CSA focusing practically on smallholder agriculture and degrowth abstractly on the growth-dependent economy. Scarce resources, differing internal organization, and CSA's lack of knowledge about degrowth are obstacles, though existing social ties and initial ideological alignment with sufficiency-oriented degrowth are noted.
CSA & TeikeiFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCommunityA Research On Outdoor Classrooms Design In School Gardens
2023Elif ŞATIROĞLU, Selda Al Şensoy, Abdullah Yasin Dündar · Mimarlık Bilimleri ve Uygulamaları Dergisi (MBUD) · Turkey
This study analyzed examples of outdoor classrooms, which are rare in Turkey, using inductive content analysis and semi-structured interviews with architects and landscape architects. It determined that the effects of outdoor classes on students could be grouped into four categories: cognitive, psychomotor, developmental, affective, and social development. Exemplary outdoor classroom models were also developed and interpreted.
Food educationINVESTIGATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL INTEREST OF STUDENTS WHO SPEND THEIR LEISURE IN THE SCHOOL GARDENS
2023Dilek SELÇUK, Mustafa Can KOÇ, Nurullah Emir Ekinci, Ersan Tolukan · DergiPark (Istanbul University) · Turkey (Istanbul)
This study investigated the environmental interest of students who spend their leisure time in school gardens at Şehit Onbaşı Murat Şengöz Imam Hatip Secondary School in Arnavutköy district, Istanbul, Turkey. Data was collected online from 51 male and 229 female students. Findings showed no significant difference in environmental interest based on age or grade level, but a significant difference was observed in the biodiversity sub-dimension based on gender, with girls demonstrating more interest.
Food educationBiodiversityHarvesting the Hidden Value of Vacant Lands: A GIS-Based Approach to Urban Agriculture
2023Hüseyin Berk TÜRKER, Murat Akten · Mimarlık Bilimleri ve Uygulamaları Dergisi (MBUD) · Turkey
This study assessed the urban agriculture potential of vacant lands in the city center of Usak, Turkey, and created a GIS-based urban agriculture inventory. The analysis focused on available vacant lands including municipally-owned, foundation, public, forest, and pasture lands. Results showed a significant amount of vacant lands in Usak suitable for urban agriculture, with 7.32 ha highly suitable, 80.58 ha moderately suitable, and 110.94 ha marginally suitable.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageAn original and efficient fertilizer for cherry tomato plants grown in urban agriculture: Feral pigeon guano
2023Chloé Duffaut, Florence Brondeau, Julien Gasparini · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · France (Ivry-sur-Seine)
This study tested the effects of feral pigeon guano as a fertilizer on cherry tomato plants in an urban environment on a rooftop in Ivry-sur-Seine, France. In June 2017, 15g of guano was added to 15 cultivation bags, while 15 control bags received only water. After 15 days, guano-treated plants were taller and tended to have more flowers, and the total number and mass of harvested cherry tomatoes were one to two times higher than the control. However, the average mass per fruit was not affected by the treatment. The study concluded that pigeon guano is an efficient local fertilizer for cherry tomato plants in urban areas.
DIYOrganic cycleUrban–rural linkage(Re)creating a Living Memorial: Urban Gardening as a Multispecies Co-creating Practice
2023JC Niala · Ecozon European Journal of Literature Culture and Environment · United Kingdom (Oxford)
This essay explores a case study where an allotment in the style of 1918 was recreated at a charity allotment site in Oxford, United Kingdom, during the 2020-2021 growing season. The researcher planted open-pollinated non-hybrid heritage seeds from that era, reflecting on the soil as a repository of memory through academic and creative responses. The plot became a living memorial visited by diverse members of the public, engaging with themes such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, the 1918-1919 flu pandemic, and the First World War.
CommunityHeirloom & landraceBiodiversityFood educationCase Study 1
2023Guillaume Delfesc, Bertug Ozarisoy · · United Kingdom (King's Cross Central)
This project investigated community fragmentation in the Caledonian Road area of London, UK, situated between King's Cross Central and Upper Street. Research indicated that communities in Caledonian Road live separately and do not fully utilize the site's potential, such as existing green spaces. The project aims to create linkages among diverse communities through urban agriculture.
CommunityUrban–rural linkagePolicyAn Action Research on Improving Environmental Sensitivity of Fourth Grade Primary School Students: What Happens in the School Garden?
2023Fatıma Betül Demir, Meryem Kayış, Dilan Aksoy, Ramazan Rüçhan KAYA, Emirhan Kaya · International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies · Turkey
This action research, conducted with 20 fourth-grade students (10 female, 10 male) in a public primary school in Bartin, Turkey, during the 2021-2022 academic year, aimed to reveal the applicability of workshops prepared in the school garden for improving students' environmental sensitivity. Data were obtained through a scale developed by Peker (2020) and a semi-structured interview form prepared by the researchers. As a result of the research, it was determined that environmental education workshops were effective in increasing students’ environmental awareness. Students stated that environmental education activities were fun, useful, and instructive, indicating a positive effect on them.
Food educationCommunityDivided City I: East Berlin and the Construction of Socialism (1949–1970)
2023Margaret Haderer · · Germany (Berlin)
This chapter examines East Berlin's reconstruction from 1949 to 1970, focusing on mass housing under socialism. The rebuilding efforts initially balanced national traditions with standardization, but prefabrication, symbolized by the "Platte" concrete tower, ultimately prevailed as a symbol of social equality. Allotment gardens served as a significant counter-space to these standardized housing developments.
CommunityPolicy