Research & reports

William T. Hlubik, Michael W. Hamm · HortScience · United States

A 1994 conference presentation abstract (HortScience) describing the need for a comprehensive model to measure the impact of community gardening on the physical, nutritional and sociological structures of at-risk urban communities in the United States, and reporting on the stepwise development and implementation of an evaluation tool built to address that need. Developed in partnership with horticultural researchers, urban gardeners, dietitians and sociologists, the tool integrates established evaluative methods with new measurement techniques into a statistical survey. Preliminary findings from the first year of survey administration were to be shared at the presentation, but no specific results are given in the abstract itself.

Nelson L. Bills, Bills, Nelson L. · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · United States

A National Agricultural Lands Study (NALS) in the United States did not provide conclusive evidence of serious conflicts between urban development land requirements and the nation's agricultural production capacity. The study was also flawed by faulty data on farmland conversion rates.

Christian Marois, Pierre Deslauriers, Charles F. Bryan · Espace populations sociétés · Canada

This review of the scientific literature on urban sprawl and urban-agriculture interactions in the rural-urban fringe, set within a North American context, uses the metropolitan growth of Montreal since World War II as a case study. It outlines the processes and impacts of urban sprawl and examines the impact of urbanization on urban fringe agriculture, drawing mainly on recent research from Canada and the United States, noting growing interest in farmer behavior and decision-making, and identifying individual farm-level factors that influence agricultural change.

Mark Francis, Randolph T. Hester · · United States

This publication is a collection of essays exploring the multifaceted meanings of gardens. It examines gardens through the lenses of metaphor, power, ordering, cultural expression, personal expression, and healing. Each section features various authors discussing how gardens relate to faith, social structures, design, community, individual experience, and well-being.

Rakodi C. · The Journal of Modern African Studies · Zambia (Lusaka)

A field-based study of Zambian urban settlements in the 1970s-1980s, finding that urban cultivation serves as a vital survival strategy for low-income households and warrants integration into urban development planning.

Mary Clare Ahearn, David E. Banker, Ahearn, Mary, Banker, David · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · United States

Nearly one-third of all U.S. farms are located in metropolitan areas. These urban farms produce the majority of the nation's high-value crops, such as fruits and vegetables. They also contribute almost a third of the total value of U.S. farm sales and typically exhibit a stronger financial position compared to non-metropolitan farms.

Williams, Patrick Neal. · K-State Research Exchange (Kansas State University) · United States (Manhattan, Kansas)

A five-month study of children gardening in the Manhattan Community Garden, Manhattan, Kansas, investigated differences in self-esteem, horticultural knowledge, and garden quality. Children without other siblings gardening showed higher self-esteem, gained more horticultural knowledge, and had better appearing gardens than children with other siblings gardening.

Bishwapriya Sanyal · Food and Nutrition Bulletin · Zambia (Lusaka)

Urban agriculture in Lusaka, Zambia, is an innovative response by the urban poor facing insufficient income. Low-income households view urban cultivation as a long-term investment, requiring permanent urban residence (7-11 years) and access to land to ensure a return. Variations in cultivation patterns result from relative differences in land access and the need to maximize the return on domestic labor time.

K. Bondari, E. D. Threadgill, J. Bender · OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) · United States

This study conducted two experiments on tilapia culture. Experiment I aimed to determine the potential of Tilapia aurea in an integrated irrigation system for algae removal and resource recovery. Experiment II investigated the potential use of blue tilapia in urban farming, utilizing a passive solar greenhouse, an indoor pond for overwintering, and an outdoor pond for summer growth.

W.P. Holtz, H.J. Mooy · OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) · United States

A 1982 final report presenting the design and construction of a community greenhouse in Newark, New Jersey, United States. It includes photographs and drawings of the greenhouse construction along with a demonstration of budgeting information.

Earle Barnhart · Birkhäuser Basel eBooks · United States

This paper argues that producing food within a forest ecosystem through careful cultivation of tree crops on hilly, marginal land is a successful and sustainable strategy for conserving soil and nutrients, and holds potential for the northeastern United States, where natural vegetation is predominantly steep, hilly forest unsuited to normal food production. Drawing on forest farming development at the New Alchemy Institute on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, it discusses concepts of ecology, energy use and erosion control in agricultural ecosystems.

Rodale Institute · Rodale Institute · United States

A long-running comparative farming trial launched by Rodale Institute in 1981, comparing conventional (synthetic nitrogen fertilizer and herbicides), organic legume, and organic manure systems across 72 plots for over 40 years. In drought years, organic corn yields are reported to be 31% higher than conventional, and water infiltration rates are significantly faster under organic management.

Ledogar Rj · PubMed · Zambia (Lusaka)

In 1978, a pilot project was initiated in Lusaka, Zambia, by UNICEF and The American Friends Service Committee to expand urban agriculture. This project aims to establish kitchen gardens on residential plots, cultivate road reserves and green belts, utilize idle land during the rainy season, raise small livestock, promote cooperative cultivation of small holdings in the urban periphery by low-income residents, and eventually resettle some urban residents on farms. The goal is for the service to be self-supporting by 1980.

T. M. Spittler, William A. Feder · Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis · United States

This study demonstrated a serious problem of lead contamination in Boston's urban environment by analyzing about 900 soil samples from backyards, play areas, community gardens, and playgrounds using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. An average lead level of 800 ppm was found, traceable to the past widespread use of lead paint. Selected plant species grown in soils with lead levels ranging from 100–2000 ppm showed differing affinities for lead uptake, with fruits taking up less than roots and roots less than tops, indicating positive translocation of lead from soil into plant tissue.

M. A. Latheef, R.D. Irwin · The Canadian Entomologist · United States

A paper on field experiments conducted in southside Virginia, United States, sought to quantify the effect of companion plants (repellent herbs) on major lepidopteran pests of cabbage. It cites an estimated 33 million home and community gardens grown in the United States during 1976 and 1977 as context, noting that claims about companionate planting's protective effects made by organic growers had little field evidence to substantiate them. The abstract does not report the experiment's specific results.

Gary B. Palmer · Anthropological Quarterly · United States

This paper applies Clifford Geertz's theory of involution, defined as social and technological substrategies for resource scarcity, to water development in the Colorado River Basin, United States. It proposes involution, including urban agriculture, as an alternative to competitive expansion, interpreting its regional implications for geothermal, desalinization, and irrigation projects. The study suggests that impacts on regional water allocation and quality from energy development depend on institutional and economic factors.

M. Klein, M. Smith · OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) · United States

This bibliography lists pamphlets and newsletters related to organizing community gardens in the United States. It includes resources such as "Community Garden Handbook," "Guide to Community Garden Organization," and "Profiles of California Community Garden Projects." The bibliography also references the 1977 Gallup Poll results on gardening in America.

Steven L. Doud, Greg Pagano · HortScience · United States

Many American urban dwellers are rediscovering that gardens can provide inexpensive, high-quality food, recreation, and relaxation. This "green thumb boom" is particularly evident in the emergence of community garden projects in college communities, where students seek to supplement incomes and work with plants. While these projects vary in management philosophy and workload allocation, they share common goals of abundant food production and enjoyment for gardeners.

Clifford W. Scherer · Journal of Applied Communications · United States

A 1970 article situates the traditional rural orientation of agricultural extension audiences historically, noting that 66% of the U.S. population was rural when the land-grant colleges were established, and that more than a quarter of the population still lived on farms 52 years later when the Smith-Lever Act created the Cooperative Extension Service. The abstract text provided contains only this historical background and no specific findings about the actual use of radio public service announcements for urban agriculture.

Martha Díaz-Betancourt, Luciana Ghennandi, Ana H. Ladio, Ismael R López-Moreno, Estela Raffaele, Eduardo H. Rapoport · Revista de Biología Tropical · Latin America

This study compared edible weed biomass in tropical (Coatepec, Mexico, 400 samples) and temperate (Bariloche, Argentina, 739 samples) Latin America. Average edible fresh biomass ranged from 1277-3582 kg/ha in tropical areas and 287-2939 kg/ha in temperate areas. 43 species were sampled in Coatepec and 32 in Bariloche, with general means of 2.1 and 1.3 tons/ha respectively.

Eva C. Worden, Adrian Hunsberger, John McLaughlin · EDIS · United States (Florida)

This publication was developed to assist those who wish to form a community garden in Florida. A community garden is a collaborative greenspace where participants share in both maintenance and rewards. This document is part of a series from the Environmental Horticulture Department at the University of Florida.

Natália da Silva Lemos, Liza Maria Da Souza de Andrade, Valério Augusto Soares de Medeiros · Paranoá cadernos de arquitetura e urbanismo · Brazil

This research analyzed urban planning challenges in Brazil from the perspective of urban agriculture, examining social policies and legal frameworks including the City Statute (Law 10.257/2001) and Law 6.766/1979. The findings indicate a gap in legal provisions for urban agriculture actions and practices within land use and occupation regulations. The study suggests guidelines for implementation to address this deficiency.

Mickie E. Swisher, Rose Koenig, Jennifer Gove, James A. Sterns · EDIS · United States (Florida)

This bulletin from the University of Florida explains the concept of a consumer-supported farm (Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA). CSA is a production method where consumers directly partner with farmers to secure their own food production, and this bulletin describes the steps required to develop such a partnership.

Eva C. Worden · EDIS · United States

Landscaping in urban settings is described as offering a significant opportunity to contribute to sustainability, with edible landscaping — landscapes that incorporate plant species for human consumption — cited as one such opportunity. This document, ENH971, is part of a series from the Environmental Horticulture Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, originally published in May 2004.

Margaret H. Oliver · The American Biology Teacher · United States

An article by Margaret H. Oliver discussing the school garden as an outdoor laboratory for science teaching, published in The American Biology Teacher in 1953.