Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
11393 results(100 / 456)
Screech owls, Super Soakers, and school gardens
2024Miranda S. Fitzgerald, Annemarie Sullivan Palincsar · Phi Delta Kappan · Global
Project-based learning (PBL) is argued to provide a rich context for fostering students' literacy motivation and engagement. Characteristic features of PBL align with research-supported instructional practices, such as peer collaboration and communicating with real audiences. Educators can use the SMILE concept (sharing, me, importance, liking, engagement) to design and implement PBL in K-12 classrooms.
Food educationSocial prescribing of urban agriculture: The importance of minimizing risks from soil contamination
2024Luke Beesley, Michael Hardman · Cities · Global
This opinion piece discusses the potential risks of urban agriculture (UA) practices within Green Social Prescribing (GSP), particularly in post-industrial regions. It highlights barriers related to heavy metal-enriched urban soils, emphasizing the need for greater awareness and management of these risks. The piece provides recommendations for improving knowledge exchange on urban soils and risk in GSP contexts.
Contamination & food safetyHealthCommunityPolicyGREEN INFORMALITIES AS SOCIALLY JUST ECOLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE: Enduring with Dignity at the Edges of Resilient Development in Dhaka
2024Efadul Huq · International Journal of Urban and Regional Research · Bangladesh (Dhaka)
This article argues that in the global South, ecological infrastructure often displaces marginalized urban dwellers by erasing existing informal agricultural practices, or "green informalities." Based on research with urban farmers facing eviction in Dhaka, Bangladesh, it highlights that these green informalities are crucial for understanding grassroots practices and collective power-building. The study advocates for recognizing the political and affective dimensions of informal urban agriculture as a socially just ecological infrastructure that prioritizes justice and dweller agency.
Equity & displacementFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityWelfarePolicyEconomicsFarmers, planning and Agroecological transition: insights from the special region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia
2024Sri Tuntung Pandangwati, Benjamin Cooke, Melissa Neave · Australian Geographer · Indonesia (Yogyakarta)
This paper examined the relevance of an Agroecological Transition for the Special Region of Yogyakarta (SRY), Indonesia, emphasizing farmers’ perspectives and experiences. Data were gathered from policy documents, field observations, and 34 semi-structured interviews with farmers. Findings indicated that although there is limited discourse about agroecology in current policies, some farmers and NGOs have developed agroecological niche innovations.
PolicyFood sovereignty & justicePeri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkagePenyuluhan pemanfaatan sumber daya lokal di Dusun Kontar: Pelatihan pembuatan pupuk organik cair dari bonggol pisang (Musa paradisiaca)
2024Anwar Anwar, Haisyah Haisyah, Permi Kabisatio AS., Wiwi Sawira, Aco Iham Belman, Hildawati Hildawati, Muhammad Fahyu Sanjaya · Jurnal Tarreang Tren Pengabdian Masyarakat Agrokompleks · Indonesia
In Kontar Hamlet, Indonesia, a community service team provided counseling and training on processing banana tuber waste into liquid organic fertilizer. This addressed the issue of abundant unused banana stems. As a result, organic fertilizer was produced, approximately 90% of the community understood the concept of liquid organic fertilizer during counseling, and about 80% knew the production process after training.
CompostOrganic cycleCommunityDIYScoring Setting and Infrastructure di Kampus Politeknik Negeri Medan Berdasar UI GreenMetric
2024Muhammad Taufiq, Nasfryzal Carlo, Dwifitra Y Jumas, Eva Rita, Lusi Utama · Structure (Jurnal Sipil) · Indonesia
This research focused on the Setting and Infrastructure indicator of the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking program at Medan State Polytechnic (Polmed) in Indonesia. The study found that Polmed's current score is 440 out of an expected 1500. To improve the score, the abstract suggests implementing vertical or rooftop gardens, creating biopore infiltration holes, replacing paving blocks with grass blocks, and installing guiding blocks and ramps for disabled facilities.
PolicyCommunityClimate changeHOW LOCAL PRACTICES OF SOCIOPOLITICAL INNOVATION DEVELOP: And Why This Matters for Urban Transformations
2024Merlijn van Hulst, Catherine Durose, Annika Agger · International Journal of Urban and Regional Research · Global
This article theorizes sociopolitical innovations as practices that reshape urban spaces for local social and political ends, identifying three activities: assembling, extending, and institutionalizing innovations. An international qualitative study of neighborhoods in Amsterdam, Birmingham, Copenhagen, and Glasgow underpins this theorization. The study notes that while the ongoing development of everyday systems may have limited immediate transformative impact, it prefigures an alternative embedded in urban life.
CommunityPolicyIKM dalam P5 Produk Herbal Halalan Toyyiban dengan Memanfaatkan Taman Sekolah
2024Jamilah Muryati, Naufal Hilmizen, Aris Munandar, Endang Koswara · VISA Journal of Vision and Ideas · Indonesia
This Community Service (PKM) project in Indonesia addressed eye fatigue from prolonged digital device use among teachers and students. The method involved counseling and utilizing school gardens as a data source. Distilled hydrosol water from betel leaves, kecombrang, and jasmine flowers was used for eye drops, while betel leaves, kecombrang, ylang-ylang, and bidara leaves were combined for face mist.
Food educationHealthDIYCommunity gardens support high levels of food production, but benefit distribution is uneven across the gardener community
2024Brenda B. Lin, Peter Bichier, Heidi Liere, Monika Egerer, Stacy M. Philpott, Shalene Jha · Sustainability Science · United States (California)
A study of 18 urban community gardens in Central Coast, California, USA, used gardener surveys and field measurements to evaluate food production and its distribution. Gardeners produced an average of four pounds of food per week, saving an estimated $16 USD weekly. However, gardeners with greater food insecurity (larger families or lower incomes) were not the largest producers, indicating uneven benefit distribution despite high overall productivity.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsImpact of Irrigation Water on the Bacteriological Quality of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) in the Market Garden Zone of Niamey, Identification of Enterobacteria
2024Almou Abdoulaye Alio, Alio Sanda Abdel-Kader, Alio Fody Mahamadou, Chaibou Yaou, Rabiou Mamane Moustapha, Hamidou Djelifa, SOUMANA SOUROUNDA Idé, Mahamane Idi Issa Abdoulahi, Lewamy Mamadou, Haoua Sabo Seini, Hassimi Sadou · Asian Journal of Biology · Niger (Niamey)
This study assessed the impact of irrigation water on the bacteriological quality of lettuce in three market garden sites in Niamey, Niger. Analysis of 18 lettuce and 29 irrigation water samples revealed high contamination across all sites with various bacteria, including total coliforms, fecal coliforms, enterobacteria, and E. coli. The irrigation water quality was found unsuitable for irrigation, significantly contaminating the lettuce and posing potential health risks to consumers.
Contamination & food safetyHealthPeri-urban agricultureMultifunctional Role of Land-Use Planning in Peri-Urban and Urban Agricultural Drylands: The Mediating Effect of Urbanization Level
2024Muhammad Waseem Khan, WU Qun, Siqi Yan, Komal Bilal, Muhammad Bilawal Junaid, Wesam Atef Hatamleh · Journal of Urban Planning and Development · Global
This global study investigated the multifunctional role of land-use planning in peri-urban and urban agricultural drylands, using a survey of 680 participants and a structural equation model. Findings indicated that amenity, landscape and recreational value, and proximity significantly affect these areas. Conversely, large rural lots in China's Tianjin region negatively affected both the level of urbanization and urban agricultural drylands.
PolicyClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageHuerto escolar orgánico: una experiencia desde la educación ambiental en escolares de primaria
2024José Angel Vences-Martínez, Alejo Javier Lungo Rodríguez, Grecia Hernández Zamacona, Juan Ernesto Mendoza-Ramos, José Pepe Vargas Soberanis, José Domingo Cipriano Espino · REVISTA DE EDUCACIÓN AMBIENTAL Y SOSTENIBILIDAD · Global
An organic School Garden (HE) was designed through Environmental Education (EA) workshops for 13 sixth-grade primary school children. The project aimed to develop students' attitudes and skills regarding global environmental problems and their environment. Three EA workshops were designed: "Knowing my Garden," "Locating my garden," and "Composting," followed by two workshops for preparing and sowing the garden.
Food educationCommunityCompostHorta comunitária – produção de hortaliças para segurança alimentar de famílias com vulnerabilidade social
2024Ive Mariana Guissoni Arantes, Cícero José Da Silva, Natália Gislene Silva Salvador, Anselmo Afonso Golynski, Ênio Eduardo Basílio, Danilo Silva de Oliveira, Valentine Virginia Matheus, Eduardo Cardoso da Silva Assunção · Caderno Pedagógico · Brazil (Morrinhos-Goiás)
The Horta Comunitária extension project in Morrinhos-Goiás, Brazil, produces vegetables to ensure food security for socially vulnerable families. Managed by teachers, staff, and students from Intituto Federal Goiano Campus – Morrinhos, the project has achieved significant results in training and providing healthy food.
CommunityWelfareFood educationFood sovereignty & justiceAnalisis Faktor-faktor yang Memengaruhi Minat Masyarakat Terhadap Urban Farming (Kasus pada Kelurahan Sungai Jawi Dalam Pontianak Kota)
2024Geger Nusantara Putera, Erlinda Yurisinthae, Maswadi Maswadi · MIMBAR AGRIBISNIS Jurnal Pemikiran Masyarakat Ilmiah Berwawasan Agribisnis · Indonesia (Pontianak)
This descriptive quantitative study, conducted in Sungai Jawi Dalam sub-district, Pontianak City, analyzed factors influencing urban farming interest using primary data from 32 purposively sampled individuals and Partial Least Square (PLS) analysis. The research found that the "Business Opportunity" variable had no effect on urban farming interest. However, the "Land Use" variable positively affected urban farming interest (p=0.008, original sample value 0.479), explaining 47.9% of the interest.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityEconomicsMethodological rift: Applying infrastructure activism's ‘skin in the game’ embodied art research methods to urban green infrastructure planning
2024Debra Solomon, Maria Kaïka · Environment and Planning E Nature and Space · Europe
This article explores the extent to which applying embodied, ‘skin in the game’ methods used in infrastructure activism (a contemporary art practice) can expand the toolkit of methods in action research on urban green infrastructure planning. It focuses on two cases of infrastructure activism: the Amsterdam Zuidoost Food Forest (VBAZO) in Amsterdam's South East, and the KRATER project in Ljubljana's city centre. Through discussing these projects, the article explores embodied research practices developed by infrastructure activists to change urban green infrastructures and researcher-actors’ perspectives.
PolicyCommunityBiodiversityDesign factors promoting the benefits of an edible campus in China
2024Xiaoying Ding, Shuqi Zhao, Xiaopeng Yue, Yangang Xing, Zhiyuan Zhao · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · China
This study explored the correlation between design factors and the benefits of an edible campus, using the South Campus of Hebei University of Technology in China as a case study. Through 261 questionnaire surveys and 30 interviews, it identified seven design factor categories and five benefit categories, including environmental education and economic output. The results showed significant differences in how design factors correlate with benefits, with planting function having the strongest positive correlation with all five benefits.
Food educationCommunityHealthFood lossAssessment of heavy metal transfer factors from soil to edible crops in peri-urban agricultural lands
2024Elliot Buckminster, Charlotte Breckenridge, Thomas Sedgwick · International Journal of Research in Agronomy · United Kingdom
This research quantified soil-to-plant transfer factors for six heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr) in lettuce, spinach, and carrot across 20 peri-urban agricultural sites in Berkshire, UK, from 2021-2022. Cadmium exhibited the highest mean transfer factor (0.31), and at 4 of 20 sites, cadmium concentrations in lettuce exceeded the EU maximum limit of 0.20 mg/kg fresh weight. Soil pH was a strong predictor for Cd and Zn transfer factors, with TFs increasing below pH 6.0.
Contamination & food safetyHealthPeri-urban agricultureInvestigating the role of women producers in alternative food networks implementing organic farming in Berlin Brandenburg
2024Faiza Darkhani · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Germany (Berlin)
A qualitative content analysis of interviews with active female respondents in community-supported agriculture, food cooperatives, and self-harvest gardens in Berlin Brandenburg revealed challenges faced by women in alternative food networks. Interviewees expressed optimism but emphasized the need for increased governmental support and community engagement, and the data highlighted demands for gender equality improvements and support mechanisms.
Equity & displacementCommunityCSA & TeikeiPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceValuing ecosystem services of community gardens in developing countries: a case study of Dezful City in Iran
2024Mostafa Baniasadi, Mohammad Eydipour · Nature Conservation · Iran (Dezful)
This study analyzed citizen preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for community garden services in Dezful, Iran, using a choice experiment with 170 respondents in autumn 2022. Results showed citizens were willing to pay 4.57 USD per month, valuing cultural services most, followed by provisioning services. Age, being native, education, household expenditure, and awareness of ecosystem services significantly affected WTP.
CommunityEconomicsBiodiversityFood sovereignty & justicePemberdayaan Program Urban Farming Untuk Meningkatkan Ketahanan Pangan Dan Kualitas Lingkungan di Kelurahan Gebang Putih Kota Surabaya
2024Tiara Himma Fadhilah, Adilah Dwita Cahyana, Ferdiansyah Dwiky Nugraha, Gideon Setyo Budiwitjaksono · JURNAL PENGABDIAN MASYARAKAT AKADEMISI · Indonesia (Surabaya)
This community service program aimed to empower residents of Gebang Putih Subdistrict, Surabaya, through urban farming. Activities included outreach and training on hydroponics and growing plants in pots. Residents showed positive responses and high enthusiasm, indicating that urban farming can increase food security, family independence, environmental quality, and public health.
CommunityFood educationFood sovereignty & justiceHealthClimate changeSpatio-temporal Landuse/Landcover Dynamics in the Coastal Areas of Limbe and Douala IV Municipalities and Implications on Wetland Regulating Ecosystem Services
2024Aminkeng Lucienne Fuanyi, Tata Emmanuel Sunjo, Balgah Sounders · Environmental Management and Sustainable Development · Cameroon
This study analyzed the implications of spatio-temporal land use/land cover (LULC) dynamics on wetland ecosystem services in the coastal areas of Limbe I and III Municipality and Douala IV Municipality, Cameroon, from 1986 to 2022, using GIS techniques. Over 36 years, wetlands retreated by -0.2km² (-0.96%) in Limbe I & III and -0.48km² (-0.14%) in Douala IV, while built-up areas increased by 0.75km² (0.36%) and 1.63km² (0.45%) respectively. These LULC changes, based on wetland regulating services, exposed neighborhoods in Limbe I & III to flood vulnerability and identified two categories of vulnerable neighborhoods in Douala IV.
Environmental trade-offsClimate changeUrban–rural linkageUnderstanding the emerging phenomenon of food forestry in the Netherlands: An assemblage theory approach
2024Anna M. Roodhof · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Netherlands
To map and analyze food forestry (FF) in the Netherlands, a survey of 109 participants and interviews with five experts were conducted, identifying 231 food forests established since 2017. The survey data indicates that while FF initiatives are diverse in goals, few focus on profitability. Practitioners are largely homogeneous, consisting of university-educated individuals aged 40 to 60.
Economic viabilityCommunityPolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageTackling Social Inequality in the City of Porto, Northern Portugal: Grassroots Horticultural Practices and the Desired City
2024Paula Mota Santos · Social Inclusion · Portugal (Porto)
Grassroots urban horticultural plots (hortas) in the Porto Metropolitan Area, Northern Portugal, are informal communities that have existed for decades, often involving over 20-30 people. However, these low-income urbanite horticultural communities are not cherished by city governance, which does not prevent their destruction. This incompatibility between urban governance and grassroots communities hinders the right to the city for the low-income urbanites who created them.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceʺEthnobotanical spaceʺ: plants as a link between nature and culture.
2024Buonanno Rosa · IRIS UNIMORE (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia) · Italy (Reggio Emilia)
This study in Reggio Emilia, Italy, explored primary school children's knowledge of plants and their uses, and aimed to rebuild a plant-focused learning environment with school stakeholders. Qualitative analysis of children's conversations and documentation revealed their innate connection with plants through food or health applications, supporting their "naturalistic intelligence." Teachers reported that the plant project fostered group work, collaboration, and a changing didactic approach, connecting children to the earth's environment.
Food educationHealthCommunityTeaching through community artistic practices in informal urban agriculture laboratory
2024Isabel Cristina Carvalho, Raquel Luz Sousa · Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) · Global
This chapter advocates for teaching contexts that integrate community art practices, using an informal urban agriculture laboratory as a basis. It proposes pedagogical approaches for Architecture and Urbanism education that leverage action and experimental research to structure living spaces, focusing on proximity, solidarity, intergenerationality, multifunctionality, and sustainability. The aim is to foster social, biophysical, and ecological integration, promote diversity and gender equality, and raise awareness of active citizenship through collaborative co-planning and co-management of plural green urban spaces.
CommunityFood educationPolicyBiodiversity