Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
3274 results(103 / 131)
Regional Distribution of Stay-type Allotment Gardens and their Stay Facilities
2013Masao Makiyama, Norifumi Hosoya, Mami Inoue · JOURNAL OF RURAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION · Japan
This study examined the regional distribution of stay-type allotment gardens (kleingartens, KGs) and their facilities, focusing on vacant facilities and future construction planning. Significant numbers of KGs and facilities were found in Nagano and Hyogo Prefectures, with Nagano having many early constructions. In fiscal year 2011, 22 KGs had vacant facilities, but this could not be solely explained by facility location density.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageA Right to Farm in the City: Providing a Legal Framework for Legitimizing Urban Farming in American Cities
2013Susanne A. Heckler · ValpoScholar (Valparaiso University) · United States
This paper examines the "shrinking city" phenomenon in American cities, characterized by rapid population decline and increased vacant properties, and explores urban agriculture as a strategy to address this issue. It discusses the benefits and drawbacks of urban farming, the historical impact of American zoning and nuisance laws on agriculture, and current efforts to integrate urban agriculture into state and city policy frameworks.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsUrban Gardening: espacio de creación, crítica social y activismo ecológico
2013Àngels Viladomiu Canela · · Global
This paper reviews specific artistic interventions that address urban land uses and farming methods. These actions, through the act of planting and cultivating, generate spaces for the expression of artistic, political, and social identities. These places are settling in the interstices of our cities, such as empty brownfield sites, non-urbanized or semi-urbanized areas, riverbanks, highway verges, and railway edges.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceWorking the Waters: Political Ecology of Scale and Georgia's "100-year" Drought, 2007-2009
2013Ellen Kohl · Southeastern geographer · United States (Georgia)
This case study analyzed water management during the 2007-2009 drought in Athens, Georgia, examining how urban agriculture sector members recognized multi-scalar water management and used these interactions for political benefit. The study found that interactions between state, regional, and local drought management, drought perceptions, and interpretations of power to manage water during the drought led to the approval of Georgia House Bill 1281, which changed how water is managed during drought. This paper argues that it is necessary to consider the perception of drought and drought management, as well as the drought itself, because they influence how stakeholders participate in political processes and change how water is used during drought.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageClimate changeUrban Agriculture and the Sustainable City: How Policy Changes Concerning Infrastructure and Urban Agriculture Can Economically and Environmentally Benefit Atlanta
2013E. N. Ward · SMARTech Repository (Georgia Institute of Technology) · United States
This paper aimed to assert that urban agriculture provides economic and environmental benefits to cities, specifically identifying ways the City of Atlanta could leverage these benefits. It tested the hypothesis that Atlanta can economically benefit by establishing urban agriculture as a land use, using a literature review, scaling data from other cities to Atlanta, and land suitability analysis. The analysis indicated that urban agriculture offers advantages in waste management, public land management, and stormwater management, demonstrating it as an economically viable movement providing social, environmental, and economic benefits.
PolicyEconomicsClimate changeOrganic cycleApplication of information resources construction in urban agriculture
2013Qin Shu-ying · Journal of Academic Library and Information Science · China
This paper analyzes the concepts of urban agriculture and information resources construction, discussing the characteristics of urban agriculture and the current state of information resources construction in China. It introduces methods for understanding user needs and proposes different approaches to resource construction for various users. Principles and specific methods for information resources construction in urban agriculture are designed, with measures such as increasing information collectors and improving personnel quality being suggested.
Digital agriculturePolicyItaly case study
2013OECD · OECD eBooks · Italy
This chapter presents three Italian case studies: "Custody of the Territory" in Tuscany, a community garden in Campania, and mountain pastures in Aosta Valley. These cases discuss agri-environmental public goods provided by collective action, factors affecting outcomes in collective action, and policy measures supporting collective action, through environmental services by local government agencies and farmers' agreements, collaborative green spaces converted from degraded sites, and collective management of mountain pastures with regional support.
CommunityPolicyBiodiversityNo Buts About It…The Value of Urban Food Production
2013Evan Weissman · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States (New York City)
This essay refutes the claims by Hallsworth and Wong (2013) that the benefits of urban food gardening are exaggerated and that it cannot deliver fresher or lower-cost foods. It states that Hallsworth and Wong's assumptions are incorrect and that urban gardening plays a significant role as public space, an economic development strategy, and a community-organizing tool, contributing to household food security. For example, a 0.2-hectare urban farm project in Brooklyn, New York, "East New York Farms!", produces over USD20,000 of fresh produce annually, with over 70% of transactions made through SNAP, reaching high-need community members.
Limited or null effectFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCommunityPolicyIs urban/peri-urban agriculture (UPA) a viable livelihood strategy? Evidence from Ethiopia
2013Teferi Daba Lemma, M. S. A. Rao, M Prasada Rao · Zenith international journal of business economics and management research · Ethiopia
This study assessed the economic sustainability of urban agriculture in central Ethiopia, collecting primary data from 280 urban and peri-urban vegetable farmers. Findings indicated that urban agriculture is a viable livelihood strategy from a financial perspective. However, city administrations and policymakers pay little attention to supporting this sub-sector, suggesting that legal recognition and support would make it a more reliable strategy.
Governance failureEconomicsWelfarePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceST6 - 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 & justiceFood and Green Space in Cities: A Resilience Lens on Gardens and Urban Environmental Movements
2013Stephan Barthel, John N. Parker, Henrik Ernstson · Urban Studies · Global
This article examined the role of urban gardens during historical collapses in urban food supply lines and identified social processes needed to protect open green spaces and the collective memory of food production during crises. Over the past 50 years, urban dependence on global food systems has increased, eroding collective memory of food production and losing suitable urban gardening spaces, heightening the potential for food shortages during crises. Urban gardening is effective during crises, and allotment gardens transmit social-ecological memories of food production. Urban environmental movements protect urban green space, and urban gardening and social movements can build local response capacity against food supply collapses.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changePolicyDecolonizing Ecology Through Rerooting Epistemologies
2013Lauren M Bitter · Scholarship @ Claremont (The Claremont Colleges) · United States (California)
This autoethnographic thesis centers on the People and Their Plants garden in Upland, California, which represents the ecological changes caused by colonization in Southern California. The study critiques research and ethnography by examining the politics of knowledge, language, history, and ecology, and interrogates colonial/capitalist food systems that render Indigenous ways of knowing invisible. The People and Their Plants garden is presented as an act of resistance, creating space for alternative economic and decolonial food practices.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicySuccesfactoren voor klimaatadaptatie : Effectief beleid voor open bodem en groen in Europese voorlopersteden
2013Schram-Bijkerk He, Dirven-van Breemen Em, Otte Pf · Rivm (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) · Europe
This report identifies self-reported local and shared success factors for introducing green space and urban agriculture in several European cities to mitigate climate change effects. Key factors include national legislation promoting nature conservation, strong cooperation between local authorities and the public, and incorporating minimum green space requirements into zoning plans and housing projects. Urban agriculture has been adopted as part of green policy in cities like Manchester, Lyon, and Paris to ensure a supply of healthy food.
PolicyClimate changeCommunityContextual Interaction Theory for assessing water governance, policy and knowledge transfer
2013Jaap Evers · · Global
This paper discusses the use of untreated wastewater for irrigation in urban and peri-urban agriculture, noting its prevalence in four out of five cities in the developing world according to a 2008 survey. It highlights that local policymakers are often unaware of the significance and opportunities of this practice, despite its potential for nutrient recovery and integration into urban sanitation systems. Planning for wastewater use requires multi-agency involvement.
PolicyOrganic cyclePeri-urban agricultureCountermeasure study of innovative developing urban agriculture in Guangzhou——Based on the practice of development in Guangzhou
2013Lin Xu · Guangdong nongye kexue · China (Guangzhou)
This paper analyzes the absorptive capacity of urban agriculture for surplus labor in China, using C-D and CES production function models with sampled data from 1990 to 2008. The study found that urban agriculture development in Guangzhou had a strong capacity to absorb surplus labor. A SWOT analysis was also conducted for Guangzhou's urban agriculture, leading to six specific development measures.
EconomicsPolicyUrban–rural linkageStudy on Landscape Planning Evaluation of Urban Leisure Agricultural Park
2013Anguo Qi · Hubei nongye kexue · China
This study established a landscape planning program evaluation model for urban leisure agricultural parks using the AHP-TOPSIS method. Evaluation factors included functional orientation, spatial layout, agricultural features, traffic organization, scenic attractions, service facilities, and vegetation landscape. The results showed better differentiation, providing a basis for decision-makers in urban agricultural park projects to promote sustainable development.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsEFEKTIVITAS PELAKSANAAN PROGRAM URBAN FARMING DI KELURAHAN MEDOKAN AYU KECAMATAN RUNGKUT KOTA SURABAYA
2013Maijun, Sasmito Jati Utama · Aplikasi Administrasi Media Analisa Masalah Administrasi · Indonesia (Surabaya)
This qualitative descriptive study analyzed the effectiveness of an urban farming catfish aquaculture program in Medokan Ayu Village, Rungkut District, Surabaya City. The program was concluded to be less effective overall, showing no impact on the welfare of the poor. Low understanding among participants led to cultivation failures, and the program did not achieve its goals of poverty reduction or increased income.
Limited or null effectCommunityWelfarePolicyDevelopment of Urban Agriculture in Xixian New Area
2013Qinyan, Liu · 亚洲农业研究：英文版 · China
This paper analyzed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of urban agriculture in Xixian New Area using the SWOT method. Combining the actual conditions of urban agriculture development in Xixian New Area, it discussed general and specific development modes. It concluded that urban agriculture in Xixian New Area should leverage its strengths, avoid weaknesses, and select suitable development modes and paths.
PolicyEconomicsClimate change“Vertical Farms, Urban Restructuring and The Rise of Capitalist Urban Agriculture ”
2013Lindsey Sarann Hallock · · Global
This paper examines the rise of vertical farms, arguing that they advance the corporate food regime and promote urban elite consumption. It differentiates vertical farms as local food projects that reproduce the capitalist industrial system rather than challenging it, facilitated by devalued built environments and labor surplus in neoliberal cities. The study concludes that these farms reproduce troubling trends in the corporate food regime, signifying capital's ability to standardize food cultivation and incorporate it into factory-like production systems.
Economic viabilityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justicePolicyUrban–rural linkageEnvironmental and Social Sustainability of Urban And Periurban Agriculture (UPA) In Selected Towns Of Ethiopia
2013Teferi Daba Lemma, M. S. A. Rao · · Ethiopia
This study assessed the social and environmental sustainability of urban and periurban agriculture (UPA) in selected towns of Ethiopia, using primary data from 280 households via questionnaires and interviews. The findings indicate that the environmental and health aspects of UPA sustainability are compromised by extensive use of chemical inputs. Furthermore, UPA is inclined to be unsustainable from a social and political perspective.
Governance failureClimate changeHealthPolicyCommunityThe Micro-Politics of Urban Transformation in the Context of Globalisation: A Case Study of Gurgaon, India
2013Tathagata Chatterji · South Asia Journal of South Asian Studies · India (Gurgaon)
A case study of Gurgaon, India, examined how local political factors, the rural-urban divide, and inter-governmental conflicts influenced the governance of a rapidly globalizing urban region. The study found that Gurgaon's real estate-driven transformation from a rural town to an outsourcing hub, involving the conversion of peri-urban agricultural land, has resulted in a fragmented landscape with glaring inequalities. This rapid urban makeover created everyday tensions and contradictions, particularly evident with the formation of a new municipal corporation.
Equity & displacementPeri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomicsEntwerfen mit anderen Freiräumen
2013Michael Koch, Martin Köhler · · Germany (Hamburg)
This paper discusses how new types of open spaces, beyond officially designated ones, are gaining focus in urban planning discussions in Hamburg, Germany, particularly concerning urban densification and new partnerships for maintaining urban open spaces. These spaces, including traffic junctions, railway embankments, industrial fallow land, and private gardens, serve as venues for trends like urban gardening and urban explorations. The study, presented in four volumes for Hamburg, explores the actual and potential contributions of these spaces to the open space provision for the entire urban population, not just in inner-city areas or by young urban milieus.
CommunityPolicyClimate changeCOMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE (CSA)
2013Atănăsoaie George Sebastian · Annals - Economy Series · Global
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms are an alternative to conventional agriculture but face numerous policy issues related to product, price, distribution, and promotion. A literature review indicated that farmers need to offer more flexible basket content in terms of quantity and product type, and consumers require information on product preparation and preservation. To offset the negative impact of high prices, measures such as cost reduction, flexible payment rescheduling, and compensation for financial resource deficits are necessary.
Economic viabilityCSA & TeikeiEconomicsPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceChallenges of Women in Urban Agriculture in Kwara State, Nigeria
2013Adedayo A, A. M. Tunde · Sustainable Agriculture Research · Nigeria (Kwara State)
This study assessed the challenges faced by women farmers in urban areas of Kwara State, Nigeria. A total of 1,801 women farmers were sampled from different urban areas, and Focus Group Discussions were conducted. Matrix ranking revealed that lack of credit facilities was one of the most significant challenges hindering increased production by women. Other identified challenges included restricted accessibility to land and a lack of farm input.
Equity & displacementCommunityEconomicsPolicyPour une définition de l’agriculture urbaine : réciprocité fonctionnelle et diversité des formes spatiales
2013Paula Nahmías, Yvon Le · Environnement urbain · France
This paper attempts to define "urban agriculture" given the diversity of its forms and representations. Based on field observations in Brittany, France, it concludes that beyond its proximity to the city, the urban character of agriculture is defined by its functionalities and its integration into the agglomeration project.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkage