Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
3274 results(105 / 131)
To Detroiters and Outsiders
2013Leah A. Walker · · United States (Detroit)
This comment discusses the history, benefits, and laws relevant to urban farming in the United States, with a specific focus on Detroit. It highlights the essential role of urban agriculture for Detroit's survival and potential revival. The comment also examines the laws with the most immediate impact on urban farming in Detroit and the significance of timing due to impending changes in zoning ordinances.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsVideo - Gael Blackhall: Partnership roles, community gardens & the City of Calgary
2013Gael Blackhall · · Canada (Calgary)
This video features an interview with Gael Blackhall of the Calgary Horticultural Society. The interview discusses how different organizations interact in community gardening issues.
CommunityPolicyUrban Agriculture and Poverty Mitigation in Zimbabwe: Prospects and Obstacles in Bulawayo Townships
2013Philani Moyo · Journal of Human Ecology · Zimbabwe
This study qualitatively examined the role and contribution of urban agriculture to household food security, employment creation, and income generation among low-income working-class and urban poor households in Bulawayo townships, Zimbabwe. It was found that urban food production significantly contributes to household food access and security, improving dietary diversity and nutritional intake. However, the potential of urban agriculture is constrained by factors including land tenure insecurity, erratic water access, small plot sizes, inadequate capital for optimizing plot productivity, and ambivalent application of urban land-use laws.
Economic viabilityWelfareEconomicsFood sovereignty & justicePolicyGuarantee loans for urban agriculture in Gampaha, Sri Lanka
2013Priyanie Amerasinghe, Vajira Hettige, K. V. A. H. P. Wijenayake · Documents & Reports (World Bank) · Sri Lanka
Agricultural development for food, nutrition, and livelihood security is a high political priority in Sri Lanka. National priorities include developing food-secure and resilient cities, with the Western Province initiating its urban agriculture campaign in 2000.
EconomicsPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunity Garden Policy Participation Proposal
2013Jenna Campbell, Phyllis Hejl, Caroline Miller, William Risse · University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy (University of Minnesota) · United States
This record is a report and poster titled "Community Garden Policy Participation Proposal." It was completed by students enrolled in PA 5253: Planning Participation Processes, taught by Dr. Carissa Schively Slotterback in fall 2013 at the University of Minnesota.
CommunityPolicyLa trampa urbanística de los vacíos urbanos: casos etnográficos en Barcelona.
2013Marco Luca Stanchieri · X Jornadas de Sociología · Spain (Barcelona)
This paper explores the concept of "urban voids" in contemporary cities, focusing on abandoned plots resulting from unfulfilled urban reform projects. It argues that despite being defined as "voids," these spaces are sites of active human social practices, serving for common appropriation, self-management, conflict, and negotiation, fostering neighborhood cohesion and community action. Based on ethnographic data from Barcelona, the paper aims to expose the misleading nature of urbanistic language that defines socially vibrant spaces as "voids," questioning the social exclusion mechanisms supported by such definitions.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justice远郊区县推进“都市农业示范工程”的探索与思考——以邛崃为例
2013舒显奇梁建琼官智茹陈丽 · 农村经济 · China (Chengdu)
This study briefly outlines the advantages and current status of urban agriculture development in Qionglai, a major agricultural county in Chengdu's outer suburbs. It discusses the problems encountered in developing urban agriculture and proposes countermeasures for Qionglai to advance its "Urban Agriculture Demonstration Project." The research is based on an understanding of urban agriculture's connotations, functions, and development status at home and abroad.
PolicyEconomicsPeri-urban agricultureMunicipal commonage in South Africa: a critique of artificial dichotomies in policy debates on agriculture
2013Doreen Atkinson · African Journal of Range and Forage Science · South Africa
This paper critiques the assertion that commercialization of smallholder agriculture poses dangers for sustainable rangeland management in South Africa. It argues that a range of policy options are required, including commercialization and subsistence farming, large-scale and smallholder farming, various land tenure options, rural and peri-urban farming, and part-time farming. The case of municipal commonage land is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of flexible policy options regarding land ownership, farming scale, and the social nature of farming, but it is noted that effective institutional development is a key requirement in all cases.
Governance failurePolicyPeri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkageChallenges in Vertical Farming and Controlled Environments Agriculture
2013Michael R. Hoadley · Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) · Global
A talk by Michael Hoadley, founder of Chicago firm Fewzion, discussed challenges in vertical farming and controlled environment agriculture. The presentation emphasized the importance of framing discussions within the context of economically self-sustainable models, free of dependence on policy subsidy and philanthropy. This highlights concerns about policymakers' over-zealous view of urban agriculture as a panacea for social ills.
Economic viabilityEconomicsPolicyClimate changeExploration of Architectural Style for Modern Urban Agriculture Park
2013Zhang Qiu-lin · Modern Agricultural Science and Technology · Global
This study summarized the design features of modern urban agriculture park architecture by analyzing specific examples. The aim was to explore architectural forms that better align with the style and features of agricultural parks.
CommunityPolicyFresh 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 change`On the Wrong Side of the Track? East London and the Post Olympics` by P. Cohen
2013Ben Kochan, Marie Howland · Journal of urban regeneration and renewal · United States (New York City)
This record compiles book reviews for "On the Wrong Side of the Track? East London and the Post Olympics" by P. Cohen, "London 2012: How was it for us?" edited by Mark Perryman, and "From the Ground Up, Community Gardens in New York and the Politics of Spatial Transformation" by Efrat Eizenberg. Each book is reviewed by either Ben Kochan or Marie Howland.
CommunityPolicy基于“田园城市”的开发区建设思路研究
2013冉淑青, 周潮 · Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Sunyatseni · China
This study explores the guiding significance of the "Garden City" theory for the development and construction of new development zones in China. Addressing issues of sprawling urban expansion and urban-rural separation, it discusses the ideal composition of development zones guided by the Garden City concept. This includes urban clusters, urban complexes, urban green space systems and urban agriculture, rapid transportation systems, and development strategies for urban construction, industrial development, urban-rural integration, social management, and policy formulation.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageRHS Yorkshire in Bloom launches £100,000 fund | Harrogate-News
2013Tim Cook · · United Kingdom (Yorkshire)
The gardening charity RHS Yorkshire in Bloom launched a £100,000 fund to offer more support for community gardeners. For the first time, people across Yorkshire and the Humber can apply for these funds.
CommunityPolicyImpact of illegal urban agricultural activities on bio-diversity of Emakhandeni high density suburb of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
2013Patrick F. Banga · · Zimbabwe
Unsanctioned urban agricultural activities in Emakhandeni High Density Suburb of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, negatively impact biodiversity. Researchers interviewed 100 people and conducted field visits, finding that the majority of cultivators operate outside existing laws and guidelines. This leads to progressive land degradation, massive deforestation, soil erosion, dried wetlands, lowered water table, and compromised groundwater quality due to pesticides and inorganic fertilizers.
Environmental trade-offsCommunityBiodiversityPolicyClimate changeОценка состояния зеленых насаждений общего пользования г. Волгограда
2013С Н Кириллов, Ю. С. Половинкина · CyberLeninK (CyberLeninka) · Russia
This article presents the results of an environmental assessment of Volgograd's public green spaces. Integrated environmental assessment coefficients were calculated for the main green areas, and recommendations for optimizing urban gardening were provided.
CommunityPolicyTransferring international commitments to the local level: the case of integrated urban wastewater management in Hanoi, Vietnam
2013Jaap Evers · · Vietnam (Hanoi)
This paper discusses the transfer of international commitments on green sustainable growth to local levels, focusing on integrated urban wastewater management in Hanoi, Vietnam. It highlights the substantial potential of urban and peri-urban agriculture to reuse urban wastewater for nutrient recovery and to serve as environmental service providers within urban sanitation systems. However, it notes that many local policymakers are unaware of the significance and opportunities of this practice.
Peri-urban agricultureOrganic cyclePolicyClimate changeUrban Agricultures: Spatial, Social and Environmental Transformations in Rome
2013Giovanni Attili · IRIS Research product catalog (Sapienza University of Rome) · Italy (Rome)
This study focused on community gardens in Rome, Italy, which largely result from informal appropriation practices. While these gardens can enhance environmental and social quality of life, they require institutional support and present a crucial challenge for urban planning. The study highlights the need to explore tensions between social practices and institutional powers, and questions how public policy can legitimize these self-guiding societal expressions.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyBiodiversityHealthEstablecimiento de indicadores de calidad física, química y biológica de suelos urbanos de Ciudad de La Habana, Cuba
2013Juan Miguel Moreno Alvarez · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Cuba (Ciudad de La Habana)
This doctoral thesis aimed to establish a system of urban soil quality indicators for Havana, Cuba, under different land-use scenarios (agricultural, parks/gardens, wooded areas, idle/underutilized spaces). Researchers selected 35 urban soils in Havana, described their morphological profiles, and determined physical, chemical, and biological properties. Eight variables were selected as soil quality indicators using principal component analysis, and a soil quality index, including one for heavy metals, was defined and evaluated for different uses. The studied soils, heavily affected by human activity, were classified as Urbic or Garbic Technosols and showed high heterogeneity in properties.
Organic cyclePolicyClimate changeThe role of urban agriculture in the development of middle-sized towns: Cases from East Africa
2013Dick Foeken · Journal of Geography and Regional Planning · East Africa
This paper, discussing the role of urban agriculture in the development of middle-sized towns using three East African cases (Nakuru, Morogoro, Mbeya), argues that urban agriculture can be transformed into a thriving sector contributing to employment, income, and food provision. It describes the current situation, focusing on resource allocation, benefits, and environmental challenges, and concludes that a favorable legal and policy setting, support and education, and improved market conditions, led by both government and the private sector, are necessary to achieve this.
EconomicsPolicyFood educationCommunityThe Rise of Urban Agriculture: A Cautionary Tale – No Rules, Big Problems
2013Matthew V. Bradshaw · The William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository (William & Mary) · United States
This Note identifies that while the urban agriculture movement is growing in popularity across the United States, legislatures have often ignored foundational laws related to the sale and distribution of goods, including inspection, labeling, labor, and compensation laws. This oversight has led to the creation of unconstitutional trade barriers in some instances. The study raises a cautionary voice to government officials regarding the potential future consequences of these regulatory gaps.
Governance failurePolicyWhich way for UPA in Africa?
2013Diana Lee-Smith · City · Africa
This paper reviews a synthesis from late 2010 on Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (UPA) data from East and Central Africa, identifying major issues such as UPA's relationship to food security and poverty, its waste recycling effectiveness, and policy responses. The analysis is updated with data from Southern Africa, suggesting UPA's capacity to recycle nutrients, particularly on efficient crop-livestock backyard farms, signifies its potential role in making cities sustainable.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicyOrganic cycleCommunitySurvey and Analysis on the Demand of Urban Agriculture Development on Finance in Tianjin
2013Zhao Shu-ji · Tianjin Agricultural Sciences · China (Tianjin)
In Tianjin, the demand characteristics for financial support for urban agriculture development were investigated. The results showed that peasant households and agricultural zones had multiple needs for agricultural techniques, and urban agriculture development required significant support from government fiscal and monetary resources.
EconomicsPolicyUrban–rural linkageSchool Gardens and pupils in Croatia's economy in the second half of the 19th century, with special emphasis on the school in Sibinj
2013Krešimir Škuljević · · Croatia
This study addresses the topic of student economy and school gardens in Croatia between 1848 and 1880. With a special focus on the school in Sibinj, the effects of legal changes and problems in their implementation were examined. It is noted that existing literature rarely elaborates on related concepts such as teachers' obligations and rights, characteristics of school gardens, the role of local political administration, and the purpose of gardens.
Food educationEconomicsPolicyState of Australian Cities Conference (SOAC) 2013 Comparing food efficient design and planning of built environments in Sydney and Miami
2013Sumita Ghosh · · Global
This paper aims to measure and compare the morphologies and spatial dimensions of three typologies of small local food production spaces—urban small farms, community gardens, and home gardens—in two low-density suburban residential neighborhood case studies in Sydney and Miami. Miami's integrated form-based zoning code, "The Transect," provides design and planning guidelines for six zones from urban to natural areas. Results indicate that morphological analysis can significantly assist in the design and planning of built environments and the formulation of planning policy.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkage