Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
667 results(12 / 27)
Nature connection, experience and policy encourage and maintain adaptation to drought in urban agriculture
2020Monika Egerer, Brenda B. Lin, Lucy Diekmann · Environmental Research Communications · United States (California)
In urban community gardens on the central coast of California, USA, gardeners' adaptation of management behaviors to drought was investigated across three periods: before, during, and after the longest drought. Structural equation modeling and multivariate analyses were used to assess the impact of water policies and gardener characteristics. Findings showed that nature relatedness and gardening experience influenced drought concern, which then impacted behavioral change. Water policies were found to promote and maintain behavioral change and conservation practices even when concern was absent.
CommunityClimate changePolicyDIY10. “You Can’t Evict Community Power”: Food Justice and Eviction Defense in Oakland
2020Alison Hope Alkon, Yahya Josh Cadji, Frances C. Moore · New York University Press eBooks · United States (California)
In North Oakland, California, USA, collaborations between food justice organizations and residents, spurred by gentrification, were explored. The partnership and merger of Phat Beets Produce and the Self-Help Hunger Program were analyzed, initiated after a community garden was used in a gentrification advertisement in 2014. While this collaboration created a strong alliance, it was found to be insufficient to resist the structural forces driving gentrification.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsA agricultura urbana como forma de uso e ocupação no espaço urbano
2020Ana Carla Alves Gomes, Maria Lúcia Brito da Cruz · Revista Campo-Território · Brazil
This study investigated the spatial distribution of Urban Agriculture (UA) in Fortaleza, Brazil, particularly in the Lagoa Redonda neighborhood, and the permanence of these gardens amidst territorial disputes over urban space. Using bibliographic and secondary data surveys, site visits, and geoprocessing techniques, it analyzed the feasibility of UA reproduction and the implementation of specific policies for the activity. The study points to governance challenges, specifically territorial disputes concerning the permanence of urban agriculture in urban spaces.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityEconomicsFarming While Black: Soul Fire Farms Practical Guide To Liberation on the Land by Leah Penniman and Karen Washington
2020C. K. Cartagena · Southeastern geographer · United States
This paper reviews "Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farms Practical Guide To Liberation on the Land" by Leah Penniman and Karen Washington. The book serves as a step-by-step guide for Black farmers, detailing historical struggles and solutions against oppression and racial discrimination in the farming sector, including cases like Pigford v. Glickman and the over-policing of Ron Finley's property. It offers instruction on obtaining land and resources, farm business plans, land restoration, crop planning, preserving harvests, raising animals, urban farming, and movement building. The book acknowledges obstacles faced by Black farmers and aims to provide a reference for sustaining productive farmland and activism to achieve land autonomy.
Equity & displacementFood sovereignty & justiceWelfarePolicyCommunityConsuming the city: challenges and possibilities for foraging in Toronto’s parks
2020Anna Shortly, Thembela Kepe · Forests Trees and Livelihoods · Canada (Toronto)
This paper explores the opportunities and challenges of incorporating foraging practices into parks planning and management in Toronto, Canada, where foraging is often not permitted in urban parks. The study, based on a scan of practices and interviews, concludes that urban parkland managers should establish dedicated spaces like community orchards to safely and sustainably accommodate foraging, acknowledging current restrictions.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageFarm-to-School Grant Funding Increases Children’s Access to Local Fruits and Vegetables in Oregon
2020Kristen Giombi, Anupama Joshi, Caroline Rains, Jean L. Wiecha · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States
To measure the reach of Oregon's farm-to-school grant program, descriptive analyses and t-tests were conducted between the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years. Following the intervention, the number of nonwhite students in participating districts nearly doubled, and average local food purchases, especially fruits and vegetables, increased for low-income districts. These results suggest that the opt-in approach to the grant program facilitated greater participation from low-income districts.
Food educationWelfarePolicyCommunityExcluded by design: informality versus tactical urbanism in the redevelopment of Detroit neighborhoods
2020Lisa Berglund · · United States (Detroit)
This paper analyzes media coverage of informal practices like street vending, murals, and urban agriculture in Detroit's redeveloping neighborhoods. It reveals that while these practices are appropriated by developers and new, affluent arrivals as entrepreneurial and necessary for redevelopment, they are treated fundamentally differently from the informal practices of long-standing, marginalized residents, which are often condemned as illegal. This inconsistency highlights how legal frameworks are manipulated to exclude long-standing residents from the city's "renaissance."
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyWelfareMAPEAMENTO DE ESPAÇOS URBANOS VAZIOS PARA POSSÍVEL ELABORAÇÃO DE HORTAS COMUNITÁRIAS EM BARBACENA/MG: DESAFIOS E PROPOSIÇÕES
2020Leonardo Mendes da Silva, Vanessa Dutra, Delton Francelino, Natália Oliveira Dias · Enciclopédia Biosfera · Brazil (Barbacena)
Research was conducted in Barbacena, Minas Gerais, Brazil, to identify empty urban spaces and wastelands suitable for community gardens. The study, carried out by the Center for Studies in Urban Ecology, aimed to map these spaces for potential community garden proposals to public and private entities. Ten locations were selected based on specific criteria, and general perceptions were presented to facilitate understanding and dissemination, though the study did not intend to establish planting projects or direct community contact.
CommunityWelfareFood sovereignty & justicePolicyA study of urban agriculture and its impact on food deserts
2020Jackson Green, Lauren Maunder, Kristina Gulczewski · VTechWorks (Virginia Tech) · United States
This project presents group research on urban agriculture as a tool for revitalizing urban food deserts, utilizing a website. The website provides definitions, explanations, and examples of food deserts, urban agriculture, and their combination. The project also includes an addendum to the Green New Deal, discussing government recognition of urban food deserts.
Food sovereignty & justicePolicyCommunityHealthA Participatory Action Research Study with One Emancipatory School Garden
2020Colleen Saxen · CORE Scholar (Wright State University) · United States
This participatory action research (PAR) explored a school garden program in a historically marginalized community during the COVID-19 pandemic and racial justice protests. School staff and community partners co-created the garden, expressing meanings, values, and visions through photovoice, mapping, and gardening activities. Participants described experiences of love, empowerment, and justice, demonstrating the value of PAR for cultivating school gardens as sites for social justice and the role of an ethic of love in community building.
Food educationCommunityWelfarePolicyLandscape and local site variables differentially influence pollinators and pollination services in urban agricultural sites
2019Bennett A.B., Lovell S. · PLoS ONE, 14(2):e0212034 · United States (Chicago)
A study of 19 urban agricultural sites in Chicago examining how surrounding land cover (landscape scale) and on-site design (local scale) shape bees and pollination services. Bee responses varied by body size and nesting habit: increasing impervious cover lowered bee richness and reduced pollination services, while more local floral area boosted small soil-nesting bees. It recommends minimizing impervious cover at large scales and adding floral resources locally so urban agriculture can conserve pollinators in the surrounding ecosystem.
PollinatorsBiodiversityPolicyWhose Sustainability? An Analysis of a Community Farming Program's Food Justice and Environmental Sustainability Agenda
2019Sarah Grace Davenport, Joanna Mishtal · Culture, Agriculture, Food and Environment · United States (Florida)
Based on 2017 ethnographic fieldwork, this paper critically examines the sustainability initiatives and practices of an urban farming program in Florida, exploring the extent to which they consider a community's race and socioeconomic class. The authors argue that the program's initiatives overlook food justice concerns and apply the same approach across disparate communities, focusing on environmental rather than community benefits. They call for incorporating social justice themes into sustainability agendas.
PolicyCommunityBuilding Gardens: Food Justice, Community Engagement, and Gardens for the Asian Pacific Islander Community in the San Gabriel Valley
2019Juily Phun, Elise Dang · AAPI Nexus Journal: Policy, Practice, and Community · United States (San Gabriel Valley)
This article focuses on a service-learning program at Cal State LA (Food Justice, the Body, and the Environment in the API Community) that partners with schools across the San Gabriel Valley to build culturally relevant produce gardens for students in a region with a large low-income Asian American population. The essay centers on the partnership process, noting that a lack of procedural transparency within university structures is one of the greatest barriers to community–university partnerships.
CommunityFood educationPolicyWho Speaks for (and Feeds) the Community? Competing Definitions of “Community” in the Austin, TX, Urban Farm Debate
2019Rachel Romero, Deborah A. Harris · City & Community · United States (Austin, TX)
This study uses in-depth interviews with urban farmers and their supporters and with residents of gentrifying East Austin to examine competing definitions of "community" in the dispute over rewriting Austin, Texas's urban farm code. Drawing on the concept of "interpretive communities," it argues that when communities feel threatened they coalesce to defend their position, showing how class, race, and ethnicity remain tied to environmental justice.
CommunityPolicyThe underutilized role of community gardens in improving cities’ adaptation to climate change: a review
2019Mysha Clarke, Melissa Davidson, Monika Egerer, Elsa C. Anderson, Nakisha Fouch · People Place and Policy Online · United States
This paper argues that community gardens should be a prioritized element of green infrastructure to improve cities' adaptation to climate change. Community gardens can reduce urban heat islands, provide ecosystem services, and increase stormwater retention. However, a qualitative analysis of 18 policy documents for Baltimore, Chicago, and New York City, U.S.A., found that green infrastructure for climate change adaptation prioritizes rain gardens, bioswales, and green roofs, but seldom acknowledges the role of community gardens.
Governance failureCommunityClimate changePolicyFood sovereignty & justice“Urban Farming Is Going High Tech”
2019Michael Carolan · Journal of the American Planning Association · United States
This 2019 study, based on 82 interviews in Denver, New York, and San Francisco, investigated how traditional and digital urban agriculture converge and diverge regarding land use and gentrification. It found that both digital and traditional urban farming systems are linked to gentrification and inequitable land use patterns. Digital urban farming systems also operate in a regulatory gray area, with their "digital" aspects used to gain more zoning permission than traditional urban agriculture.
Equity & displacementDigital agricultureEconomicsPolicyCommunityO DIREITO FUNDAMENTAL À ALIMENTAÇÃO: DA PREVISÃO À CONCRETIZAÇÃO DESSE DIREITO
2019Mariana Peixoto Espósito, Bruna Caroline Lima de Souza, Dirceu Pereira Siqueira · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Maringá)
This article analyzes the fundamental right to food within national and international legal frameworks, focusing on its implementation in Brazil through public policies. It specifically examines the Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture Program and the Community Gardens Program in Maringá/PR, concluding that the Community Gardens Program is an effective public policy for realizing the right to food. The methodology included a bibliographic review and field research based on interviews.
PolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityPeri-urban agricultureWild Leaves on Narrow STEMs: Exploring Formal and Non-Formal Education Tensions Through Garden-Based Learning
2019Sarah E. Cramer, Anna Ball · Journal of Agricultural Education · United States
This qualitative case study in the United States examined a school garden program transitioning from non-profit to public school district control, conceptualizing this as a shift from a non-formal to a formal education paradigm. The research explored tensions between constructivist, non-formal educational philosophies and standardized, formal education within school garden settings. The findings indicate challenges in integrating non-formal learning into formal public education structures, arguing for broader legitimation of garden-based learning in curriculum.
Governance failureFood educationCommunityPolicyAngier, The Last Frontier: Representation and Gentrification in the Alternative Food Movement
2019Giszell Dymond Weather · Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) · United States
A 7-month study of the Angier Avenue Neighborhood Farm in East Durham, a predominantly Black area, found that Black residents rarely participate in farm activities. This research, based on participant observation, interviews, and food systems research, theorizes the relationship between urban farming and gentrification, arguing that equitable community food projects must incorporate local Black residents' cultures and histories to be sustainable.
Equity & displacementCommunityEconomicsPolicyEl papel de las mujeres en el desarrollo de la agricultura urbana: el caso de la «Red de agricultura ecológica huertos en línea»
2019Karla Solari Pérez, Jazmín Goicochea Medina, Mishel Huamán Nakamura, Ronaldiño Tamara Pachas · Investigaciones Sociales · Peru (Lima)
This article analyzes the role of women in promoting and developing urban agriculture in two districts of South Lima, Peru: San Juan de Miraflores and Villa María del Triunfo. These experiences are part of the "Red de agricultores ecológicos huertos en línea" (Network of ecological farmers online gardens) social responsibility project by Red de Energía del Perú, and are analyzed transversally through the sex/gender system.
CommunityUrban–rural linkagePolicyDiseño de una estrategia como alternativa para incrementar e incentivar el uso de la Agricultura Urbana
2019Arantza Elena Sanchez Gutierrez · · Mexico
In Querétaro Municipality, Mexico, a strategy was designed and implemented to increase and incentivize the use of urban agriculture. Previous strategies implemented in Mexico had resulted in low participation and abandonment of practice due due to low interest from inhabitants and a lack of will to follow through on plans. This qualitative research analyzed the causes of these failures using User-Centered Design tools and Design Thinking. Findings showed that a "strategy of appropriation," emphasizing a sense of belonging, well-being, and commitment, resulted in an increase in this variable, which influences the abandonment of agricultural practices.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityEconomicsCatalyzing change in local food system governance in Calgary, Alberta
2019Mary Beckie, Elizabeth M. Bacon · · Canada (Calgary)
This study examines YYC Growers and Distributors, a producer cooperative in Calgary, Alberta, established in 2014 with 20 urban and rural farmers. It analyzes the cooperative's internal democratic self-governance model and its role in evolving local food governance at municipal and provincial levels. The study concludes that YYC catalyzes change in local food governance through its relationships with various stakeholders.
CSA & TeikeiPolicyCommunityUrban–rural linkagePotencialidades da produção de alimentos nas cidades: experiências de agricultura urbana no município de Pirapozinho – São Paulo
2019Daiara Batista Mendes · Geografia em Atos (Online) · Brazil (Pirapozinho)
This article identifies the potentialities of urban agriculture in Pirapozinho, São Paulo, focusing on food and economic use. Based on field research and interviews, the study found that urban agriculture provides quick access to quality products and fosters close farmer-consumer links. However, it also found that urban agricultural practices have not received due governmental attention at national or local scales, despite their potential.
Governance failureEconomicsFood sovereignty & justicePolicyAgricultura urbana no Brasil
2019Deise de Oliveira Alves, Adeildo de Quadros Moura, Glauco Schultz · DRd - Desenvolvimento Regional em debate · Brazil
This study conducted a bibliometric survey of publications on urban agriculture in Brazil to identify available approaches, existing types of urban agriculture, and states with the highest concentration of studies. Analyzing 27 articles from Scopus and Web of Science, the research found that urban agriculture practices in Brazil focus on themes such as health, sustainability, public policies, landscaping, teamwork, vertical agriculture, rural-to-urban migration, and indigenous agriculture in urban areas. Studies are concentrated in the state of Pará, followed by São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Recife, and Amazonas.
CommunityHealthPolicyAgricultures urbaines à São Paulo: histoire et typologie
2019Eduardo de Lima Caldas, Martin Jayo · Confins · Brazil (São Paulo)
This study traced the history of urban agriculture in São Paulo, Brazil, since the 1980s and analyzed current agricultural practices. It revealed that urban agriculture initiatives and policies have historically alternated between "scale-oriented" and "visibility-oriented" forms. These two forms coexist today, with "scale-oriented" agriculture typically in peripheral areas and "visibility-oriented" agriculture concentrated in more central regions.
PolicyCommunityUrban–rural linkage