Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
7626 results(117 / 306)
Marion Tharrey, Nicole Darmon · Nutrition Reviews · Global
A systematic review searching January 2000 to August 2020 for quantitative studies on urban collective gardening and health among free-living adults in high-income countries; 15 of 1,261 identified articles met the criteria. Gardeners reported higher fruit and vegetable consumption than non-gardeners and most studies found positive associations with mental and social health, while results for physical activity and physiological measures were mixed. However, 13 of the 15 studies were cross-sectional and subject to selection bias and only 3 used objective measurement, so the authors conclude that longitudinal studies are needed before the suggested health benefits can be regarded as confirmed.
HealthCommunityPetra Matijevic · Agriculture and Human Values · Slovenia (Ljubljana)
An ethnographic study in Ljubljana, Slovenia, carried out between summer 2014 and autumn 2015: informal conversations with 57 growers across 13 sites, 25 semi-structured life-history interviews, and participant observation on the researcher's own rented plot. Plot-taking surged during the post-2009 debt crisis (an 8% economic contraction; unemployment rising from 7% to 13% by 2013), and one gardening association had roughly 350 member households by 2015, over 40% of whom joined after 2010. The author argues, however, that this surge did not work as household food or income provisioning. Newcomers who took up plots for economic reasons frequently abandoned them within a year; those who did grow food continued to rely on market produce; and people at the very bottom of the economic scale had neither the skills, tools nor time to feed themselves from a plot. Growers were strongly opposed to selling surpluses and gave them away instead. The paper concludes that urban gardening functioned as a narrative practice repairing biographical rupture after unemployment or retirement, not as an informal economy.
EconomicsCommunityWelfareHelen Toxopeus, Friedemann Polzin · Journal of Environmental Management · Global
A systematic review of academic literature identified key barriers and strategies for financing urban nature-based solutions (NBS), including urban agriculture. Two overarching barriers were found: a lack of coordination between private and public financiers, and difficulties in integrating NBS benefits into valuation and accounting methods. The review concluded that an integrated accounting and valuation framework for NBS is currently lacking, and strategies often focus on encouraging co-financing from private beneficiaries.
Economic viabilityEconomicsPolicyCommunityBarbara Sowińska-Świerkosz, Malwina Michalik-Śnieżek, Alicja Bieske-Matejak · Sustainability · Poland
This study analyzed the potential of allotment gardens (AGs) in Poland to be considered nature-based solutions (NBS), examining their use of green/blue infrastructure, problem-solving capabilities, benefits, and economic efficiency. The study identified institutional barriers, irregular distribution of benefits, and deficiencies in economic efficiency as significant obstacles. It concluded that AGs, while a type of unsophisticated NBS, have limited effectiveness.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsDominika Dymek, Agnieszka Wilkaniec, Leszek Bednorz, Magdalena Szczepańska · Sustainability · Poland
This study in Poznań, Poland, examined the significance of allotment gardens in the urban green space system and developed a classification method for urban planning. While over 30% of allotment gardens were found to be of high significance, urban planning documentation indicates plans to reduce their area. Even highly significant gardens are slated for liquidation, highlighting a conflict between their ecological value and current urban development plans.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageBarbara Maćkiewicz, Raúl Puente Asuero · Urban forestry & urban greening · Spain (Seville)
This paper compares public and private urban allotment gardens (AGs) in Seville, Spain, as nature-based solutions (NBS). Both types of AGs are found to have positive impacts on user health and well-being and complement each other. The choice between public and private AGs is primarily linked to freedom of cultivation and access, rather than economic factors. The study concludes that both public and private AGs require integrated territorial, legal, and institutional frameworks within urban policies.
CommunityPolicyHealthEconomicsSumita Ghosh · · Global
This research conducted a desktop review and analyzed six international case studies of rooftop urban farms, community gardens, and home gardens. The analysis found that productive landscapes already exist on city rooftops, contributing positively to community, environment, ecology, economy, and society. Planning and designing rooftop gardens in dense urban areas could foster place-making through urban agriculture.
DIYCommunityClimate changeEconomicsBiodiversityAmbrogio Zanzi, Valentina Vaglia, Roberto Spigarolo, Stefano Bocchi · Land · Italy (Milan)
This study assessed the sustainability of eight agri-food start-ups in a peri-urban area of Milan, Italy, using the FAO's Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture systems (SAFA) framework. The application of SAFA indicators revealed positive aspects but also some limitations typical of unstructured enterprises.
Economic viabilityPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsPolicyCommunityClimate changeChethika Gunasiri Wadumestrige Dona, Geetha Mohan, Kensuke Fukushi · Sustainability · Global
This systematic literature review analyzed 54 articles on urban agriculture, examining socio-economic context, agriculture models, opportunities, and challenges. The review found that academic literature favors community gardens in developed countries and gives comparatively less attention to identifying challenges, benefit groups, and government support for urban agriculture.
Governance failureCommunityHealthEconomicsPolicyCarlos Tapia, Linda Randall, Shinan Wang, Luciane Aguiar Borges · Sustainable Cities and Society · Denmark (Aarhus)
This study presents a novel indicator-based evaluation framework for urban agriculture, tested in Fællesgartneriet Brabrand, a community garden in Aarhus, Denmark. The framework aims to capture the contribution of gardening practices to urban sustainability, acknowledging that urban agriculture may also have social and environmental externalities depending on prevalent farming practices.
Environmental trade-offsCommunityHealthPolicyClimate changeVictoria Schoen, Chris Blythe, Silvio Caputo, Runrid Fox-Kämper, Kathrin Specht, Agnès Fargue‐Lelièvre, Nevin Cohen, Lidia Poniży, Konstancja Fedeńczak · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Global North
This 2021 paper, based on data collected in summer 2020 from five Global North countries (France, Germany, Poland, UK, USA), examined the effects of COVID-19 on urban farms and gardens. The pandemic presented multiple challenges, including loss of support services, lost income, and reduced output due to labor supply issues. It also created opportunities like new local markets and increased community cohesion, demonstrating how gardens adapted to become more resilient.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyHealthFood sovereignty & justiceMarco Medici, Maurizio Canavari, Alessandra Castellini · Journal of Cleaner Production · Italy
This study investigated the status and evolution of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Italy, examining its social, environmental, and economic benefits. Using CSA data, participant observation, thematic network analysis, and interviews with CSA representatives, it found that Italian CSA generally meets sustainability goals, though with varying levels of member involvement, economic viability, and environmental impact across communities. The lack of policy support is hindering further CSA diffusion and consolidation.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityClimate changeRiris Lindiawati Puspitasari, Arief Pambudi, Yunus Effendi, Genta Hadela · · Indonesia (Depok)
This community service activity aimed to enhance the skills of street children attending Sekolah Masjid Terminal (Master) in Depok, Indonesia, through simple hydroponics training. The training, initially conducted online due to restrictions, introduced participants to hydroponic techniques using simple equipment. Initial results showed participants gained information on simple hydroponic techniques.
Food educationWelfareCommunityMiranda Gómez, Omar, Aguilar-Gómez, Carlos Rubén · Revistes Científiques de la University of Barcelona (University of Barcelona) · Mexico
This article proposes a methodological route for data analysis using Google applications to study urban agriculture (AU) in Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic. Information was collected from Facebook groups dedicated to AU in various Mexican states. Findings indicate that AU in Mexico offers social benefits, while the use of these technological tools for social research presents both advantages and disadvantages.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsSumanto Sumanto, Suryani Sri Lestari, Siti Mutmainah, Muhammad Rois, Siti Hasanah, Jati Handayani, Teguh Budi Santosa, Saniman Widodo, Prima Ayundyayasti, Nurseto Adhi · Prosiding Seminar Hasil Penelitian dan Pengabdian Masyarakat · Indonesia (Semarang)
This community service activity aimed to empower a farmer group in Semarang City, Indonesia, by providing solutions for urban farming in narrow yards. The initiative focused on mentoring the group in utilizing plastic waste as planting media and developing their skills. The activity addressed the group's lack of expertise in plastic waste utilization and limited urban agriculture skills, seeking to increase the economic added value and benefits of urban farming.
CommunityDIYOrganic cycleEconomicsUrban Oasis
2021Christina Ergas · · Cuba
This chapter examines Cuba's urban agricultural food production, which developed through top-down government initiatives that later decentralized and subsidized local efforts in response to resource scarcity. While Cuban urban farmworkers' cooperatives enable local residents to sell produce at low costs, the program still faces social environmental stumbling blocks despite its successes in achieving high human development with a small ecological footprint.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityPolicyEconomicsMariana Portilho, Camila Gonçalves de Oliveira Rodrigues , Annelise Caetano Fraga Fernandez · Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) · Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)
This study presents the formation of Arranjo Local da Penha, a community territorial network established in 2016 in the Penha favela complex in Rio de Janeiro. Primarily led by women and focused on promoting urban agriculture based on agroecology, this network fostered women's protagonism and built emotional ties between them and the place, mainly by enabling access to "real food" in the favela.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthWelfareJackie Hendrickson · Digital Commons - USU (Utah State University) · United States (Utah)
Utah State University's Food $ense and Master Gardener programs partnered to create the "Create Farm Fresh Gardens" community gardening program, targeting low-income families in Cache Valley, Utah. Piloted during the 2018 growing season, the program aimed to improve food security by increasing access to fresh vegetables and enhancing participants' self-efficacy in gardening and nutrition. Participants provided supportive feedback, and the program was slated for statewide implementation in Utah during the 2019 growing season.
CommunityFood educationWelfareHealthBaerbel Turner-Hill, Christian Ludwig, Lena Böttger · Ecozon European Journal of Literature Culture and Environment · Global
This paper examines school gardens as spaces for enhancing students' English language competencies and fostering critical environmental literacy. It discusses garden-based education as a form of outdoor learning and argues for its use in teaching English as a foreign language, drawing on Gardner's multiple intelligences model. The paper also reports on a school garden-based seminar for EFL teacher training at the University of Education Karlsruhe, Germany.
Food educationCommunityELISABETH MEYER-RENSCHHAUSEN · Materia Arquitectura · Germany (Berlin)
This paper discusses the historical presence of gardens and urban agriculture in cities, from ancient civilizations to modern times. It notes that after disappearing in the late 19th century, family gardens were replaced by garden city movements, and after WWII, land was offered for cultivation. The paper suggests that the growing demand for garden plots in the 20th and 21st centuries and the global community gardening movement represent a new type of urban agriculture.
CommunityPolicyHeirloom & landracePode a agricultura urbana contribuir para o desenvolvimento de cidades e comunidades sustentáveis?
2021Moisés Savian, Pedro Boff, Mari Inês Caríssimi Boff · Research Society and Development · Brazil
This study analyzed the contribution of urban agriculture to sustainable development in Brazilian cities and communities by reviewing 40 scientific articles published between 2009 and 2019. The findings indicate that urban agriculture is practiced across all regions of Brazil, exhibits diverse multifunctional characteristics, plays a significant role in maintaining agrobiodiversity, and supports food and nutritional security. It also contributes to economic, social, and ecological aspects of cities, potentially benefiting urban spaces, promoting health, and aiding educational processes.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceBiodiversityEconomicsJamie Wang · Humanities · Singapore
This article explores the rise of urban farming in Singapore, following small- to medium-scale urban farms, including rooftop gardens, community farms, and organic farms, through the politics of localism and the notion of care. It investigates how localism, in some contexts, has been reduced to a narrow sense of geographic location. The study also examines what is being cared for in urban farming and how it might transform bio-cultural and social-technological relations.
Equity & displacementPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityDigital agricultureGianluca Di Fiore, Kathrin Specht, Cesare Zanasi · International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development · Global
This study conducted a literature review on different approaches to analyzing stakeholders' and farmers' perceptions of urban agriculture (UA). The review identified main approaches for assessing these aspects and designed an integrated framework to support the development of context-tailored analytical approaches for UA drivers and stakeholder perceptions. The research aims to address potential conflicts between UA practitioners and urban stakeholders and adapt UA implementation to contextual factors.
CommunityPolicyGendraya Rohaini, Sukendi Sukendi, Sofyan Husein Siregar, Dessy Yoswati · Jurnal Zona · Asia
This research aimed to plan an integration strategy between green open space (GOS) and an urban agriculture program in Duri City, Indonesia, a petroleum-producing city. Using a GIS-AHP approach, the study found that strategic integration of private GOS with urban agriculture contributes 14.134% to private GOS availability in Duri City, exceeding the 10% requirement mandated by the Spatial Arrangement Act.
PolicyClimate changeCommunityMaría Moreno Jaimes · Revista EDUCARE - UPEL-IPB - Segunda Nueva Etapa 2 0 · Venezuela
This qualitative action research study in Capachalito, Tovar Municipality, Aragua State, Venezuela, developed an action plan to improve residents' quality of life by encouraging parents, students, and teachers to resume school garden practices within the School Feeding Program. The study, based on a Socio-Critical Paradigm and Participatory Action Research, aimed to support food sovereignty and security. It highlighted the importance of endogenous development and sustainable community agriculture for reviving traditional knowledge related to family and school gardens.
Food educationPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunity