Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
3086 results(121 / 124)
Policy issues and institutional impediments in the management of groundwater: lessons from case studies
2002Charles W. Howe · Environment and Development Economics · Global
This study noted that in inappropriate legal and administrative settings, groundwater becomes an open-access resource, leading to excessive externalities. Competition between urban and agricultural sectors for limited groundwater can lead to crises if appropriate policy instruments are not used to mediate it. For non-renewable groundwater stocks, without economic and demographic development planned according to long-term criteria, there is a risk of overly rapid exploitation, unsustainable population levels, and inappropriate infrastructure investment.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsClimate changeLa participation, dans quel sens? L'exemple des organisations communautaires et de l'agriculture urbaine dans les villes de Mexico et de Cuernavaca
2002Manon Boulianne · Anthropologica · Mexico
A study on community organizations and urban agriculture in Mexico City and Cuernavaca suggests that the very meaning of participation becomes an issue for community organizations engaged in popular entrepreneurship development programs. It illustrates how the structuring effects of market production activities lead to a renegotiation of the meaning attributed to participation among the individuals and groups concerned.
Governance failureCommunityEconomicsPolicyUrban agriculture and sustainable urban systems: a benefits assessment of the garden movement in Havana, Cuba
2002Patrick Henn, John Henning · International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development · Cuba (Havana)
This paper argues for an extended assessment of the total economic value of urban agriculture (UA), encompassing social, environmental, and economic benefits, to inform optimal decisions on its role in urban sustainability. It presents results from a contingent valuation study on the value of popular gardens in Havana, Cuba. The abstract notes that despite significant benefits, UA remains marginalized in urban planning.
EconomicsCommunityClimate changePolicyUrban and Agricultural Communities: Opportunities for Common Ground
2002CAST · · United States
A twelve-member task force report examines the changing role of agriculture in urban settings within American society. The report frames urban agriculture historically and contemporaneously, detailing geographic, demographic, and economic changes. Policy issues such as land preservation, alternative market opportunities, sprawl, taxation, and food security are discussed, alongside research and educational challenges for institutions of higher education.
PolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageCreating Livable Cities: The Need For Urban Agriculture
2002Gina E. Castillo, S. Langeveld · WIT transactions on ecology and the environment · Africa
This paper examines the contributions of civil society organizations working on urban agriculture in Africa and Latin America. It argues for the need to develop land use policies that incorporate the social, economic, and environmental benefits of urban gardens. The paper concludes that both urban agriculture and civil society organizations are essential for creating livable cities.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityClimate changeFarmers' Views on the Farming in Seoul
2002Han-Cheol Hwang, Sun-Yong Park, Kyongsoo Han · Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning · South Korea (Seoul)
This study examined farmers' intentions and attitudes towards farming in Seoul to support urban agricultural development strategies, using survey data analyzed with contingency tables and Chi-square tests. It found that leaseholders were more satisfied with their jobs than landowning farmers, and small-scale farmers with greenhouses showed greater job satisfaction than ordinary large-scale farmers. Farmers' views on farming in Seoul varied by their status, suggesting that agricultural strategies should consider these differing attitudes.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyOn Development of Urban Agriculture Tourism in Guangzhou
2002Zhou Xiao · · China (Guangzhou)
This article discussed the development of urban agriculture tourism in Guangzhou from four aspects: the concept of urban agriculture and urban agriculture tourism, the superiority of developing agriculture tourism in Guangzhou, the conception of developing urban agriculture tourism in Guangzhou, and some related discussions.
Urban–rural linkageEconomicsUrban agriculture between allotment and market gardening: contributions to the sustainability of African and Asian cities
2002L.M. van den Berg · WIT transactions on ecology and the environment · Africa, Asia
Urban agriculture, despite severe competition for space, plays roles such as fresh food supply, leisure, supplementary income for the urban poor, and green space management. Case studies in Africa and Southeast Asia demonstrate the difficulty of maintaining these roles due to public health and environmental degradation concerns. Urban agricultural producers may rely on polluted streams for irrigation, cause soil erosion through inappropriate farming techniques, or poison surrounding residents with pesticides. The paper suggests that urban agriculture could be more beneficial to the urban system if treated by town planners as a normal urban function requiring both regulation and protection.
Contamination & food safetyEconomicsHealthOrganic cyclePolicyAssessing food security in the Monteverde Zone: a multi-method approach
2002Jennifer Andia, Emilie Davis, Rebecca Klein, Elisabeth Wirsing · Digital Commons - University of South Florida (University of South Florida) · Costa Rica
A multi-method study assessed food security and perceptions of nutrition in the Monteverde Zone, Costa Rica, using anthropometric assessment, semi-structured interviews with mothers, 67 Radimer/Cornell Scales, and a focus group. Food insecurity, particularly Adult Food Insecurity, was prevalent across all communities. Despite high nutritional knowledge, a lack of quality nutrition was observed due to economic limitations. The focus group positively received the idea of a community garden as a solution for better quality and more affordable produce.
CommunityHealthFood sovereignty & justiceEconomics"No House Building without Garden Building!" ("Kein Hausbau ohne Landbau!"): The Modern Landscapes of Leberecht Migge
2001Haney D. H. · Journal of Architectural Education, 54(3), 149-157 · Germany
Examines Migge's designs for Weimar-era Siedlungen of small flats and row houses with adjacent garden plots, arguing that landscape was central to competing visions of interwar modernity and that productive gardens were integral to modern housing.
CommunityEconomicsOrganic cycleDrip Irrigation for Small Farmers: A New Initiative to Alleviate Hunger and Poverty
2001· Water International · Global
Describes a spectrum of drip systems keyed to income and farm size (beginning with a US$5 bucket kit for home gardens) as a means to alleviate hunger and poverty among poor farmers.
DIYEconomicsUrban agriculture, gender and empowerment: An alternative view
2001Rachel Slater · Development Southern Africa · South Africa
This study examined urban agriculture (UA) in Cape Town, South Africa, focusing on its contribution to low-income households. It found that UA's contribution to income generation and expenditure substitution is limited. However, UA is important to women in low-income households in ways less directly related to monetary gain, being used for empowerment, establishing social networks, symbolizing a sense of security, and encouraging community development.
Limited or null effectWelfareCommunityPolicyEconomicsUrban Agriculture, the Direction of Agricultural Development in Yuxi
2001Weiguo Gao · · China (Yuxi)
This abstract proposes that agricultural production activities in Yuxi should be integrated with urban economic activities centered in Kunming. The goal is to occupy the market, serve more people, establish regional comparative advantages, and build foundational elements for urbanization.
EconomicsUrban–rural linkagePolicyDIFFERENTIATING MULTIPLE MEANINGS OF GARDEN AND COMMUNITY
2001Hilda E. Kurtz · Urban Geography · United States (Minneapolis)
This paper examines the variations among community gardens in Minneapolis, Minnesota, suggesting they reflect differing interpretations of "community" and "garden" in urban settings. While community gardens are seen as responses to urban decay, the study highlights that issues of enclosure, inclusion, and exclusion are central to their function. Decisions regarding garden enclosure shape their role in urban neighborhoods, indicating potential limitations related to equity.
Equity & displacementCommunityEconomicsPolicyAn Analysis of Suburban AgricuIturaI Land Allocation System and Sustainable Development Strategy──Taking Kaifeng Suburban as an example
2001Zhao Shu-mao · 系统科学与系统工程学报(英文版) · China (Kaifeng)
This paper discusses the structure and efficiency of agricultural land use in Kaifeng Suburban, China, based on system theory. It reveals current problems such as benefit deviation from resource allocation and distinguished unemployment. The study advances resolution measures for sustainable development, including farmland protection, ecological agriculture, sustainable land use, and decreased input of synthetic matter.
Economic viabilityUrban–rural linkagePolicyEconomics미국과 일본의 CSA운동의 등장, 유형 및 활동사례
2001정진영, 손상목, 김영호 · 한국유기농업학회지 · United States; Japan
This paper studied the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement in the USA and Europe to provide ideas for establishing and promoting CSA in Korea to support organic agriculture. In a CSA system, farmers grow food for a group of shareholders who pledge to buy a portion of the farm's crop for the season. This arrangement provides growers with upfront cash and higher prices by eliminating middlemen. CSA shareholders expect organic farming to protect the environment, maintain soil fertility, preserve diversity, recycle resources, maintain organic food integrity, and develop new technologies considering long-range social and ecological impacts.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsL'agriculture périurbaine : paradigme et paradoxes d'une péri-agriculture. Illustration en région méditerranéenne
2001J.J. Tolron · HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · Europe
This article examines peri-urban agriculture, which is subject to land constraints imposed by nearby cities. Two case studies in the Mediterranean region illustrate that adaptations to the peri-urban context trigger radical changes in agricultural systems' functioning rationale, leading to sometimes paradoxical operations. The study emphasizes the diversifying effect on systems and the challenges linked to land management.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageUrban Agriculture in Mwanza, Tanzania
2001Karen Flynn · Africa · Tanzania
This article compares urban farmers in Mwanza, Tanzania, with those in Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Ghana. In Mwanza, urban agriculturalists are increasingly not among the poorest, often being middle and upper-class males with access to scarce land and inputs, similar to Ghana. They differ from farmers in Kenya and Zambia in terms of gender, socio-economic class, and motivations. Many of Mwanza's wealthier males continue to face enough job/income insecurity to choose to plant crops to support themselves and their household in lean times.
EconomicsCommunityUrban–rural linkageWelfareStadtnahe Landwirtschaft in der Stadt- und Freiraumplanung
2001Frank Lohrberg · OPUS Publication Server of the University of Stuttgart (University of Stuttgart) · Global
This study argues that agricultural production forms near cities, often overlooked by municipal and environmental policy, are innovative, consumer-oriented, and economically efficient. It suggests that urban and and open space planning should abandon the prejudice that agriculture on the city outskirts is an outdated model. A differentiated view reveals an "urban" agriculture that is more vital than its rural counterpart and can provide important impulses for more sustainable cities and efficient planning.
Peri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomicsClimate change大力发展都市农业，加速农业现代化进程——珠海发展都市农业探析
2001黄大成 · 特区经济 · China (Zhuhai)
A favorable condition for urban agriculture development in Zhuhai City is the purchasing power of its citizens. According to expert analysis, the average annual income for Zhuhai city employees in 1997 was 12793 yuan (approximately 1505.05 USD), significantly exceeding the 500-800 USD per capita annual income considered the take-off period for tourism. A tourism bureau survey indicated that 29.44% of citizens were willing to spend under 100 yuan for a day trip, 43.51% between 100-200 yuan, and 14.11% between 200-300 yuan, which can meet the consumption demands of tourism and leisure-oriented urban agriculture projects targeting ordinary citizens.
EconomicsCommunityPolicyUrban Livelihoods and Food and Nutrition Security in Greater Accra, Ghana
2000Maxwell D., Levin C., Armar-Klemesu M., Ruel M., Morris S., Ahiadeke C. · IFPRI Research Report 112, International Food Policy Research Institute · Ghana
Based on a 1996-97 survey, this IFPRI report analyzes the relationship between urban poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition in Accra, developing food and livelihood security indicators suited to urban settings and examining nutrition outcomes among the urban poor.
WelfareHealthEconomicsCommunity-Supported Agriculture: A Sustainable Alternative to Industrial Agriculture?
2000Cynthia A. Cone, Andrea Myhre · Human Organization · Global
A five-year study of eight Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms examined farm members' perceptions and behavior, including motivations for membership and women's roles. The study raises questions about the long-term sustainability of CSA, citing tension between farmers' lifestyles and needs, and shareholders' constraints and competing values.
Economic viabilityCSA & TeikeiFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCommunityThe Myth of the Urban Peasant
2000Simon Clarke, Elena Varshavskaya, Сергей Алашеев, Marina Karelina · Work Employment and Society · Russia
This paper examines the "myth of the urban peasant" in Russia, which suggests urban households survive economic collapse through subsistence agriculture. Based on official and survey data analysis, it shows that while many urban households grow food, those with low incomes are least likely to do so, and subsistence production complements rather than replaces paid employment. Furthermore, those who grow their own food work long hours for little return, spending no less on purchased food than those who grow nothing.
Limited or null effectEconomicsCommunityWelfareUrban–rural linkage对发展“都市农业”的调查与思考
2000范凯 · 中共贵州省委党校学报 · China
This paper investigates the development of urban agriculture in the region along the Shenda Expressway and Huanghai Avenue in China. Currently, the area features 14 high-efficiency grain fields over 67 hectares, 26 high-efficiency vegetable parks over 6.7 hectares, and nearly 200 high-quality agricultural projects across 10 categories, including orchards, nurseries, flower bases, and aquaculture farms, along with over 3000 high-efficiency agricultural parks. Urban agriculture is becoming a main force in the region's economic development and shows specific development trends.
EconomicsPolicyMarketing Strategies and Challenges of Small‐Scale Organic Producers in Central North Carolina
2000Susan Andreatta · Culture & Agriculture · United States
This paper describes marketing opportunities for small-scale, limited-resource organic producers in Central North Carolina, United States. It examines farmers' markets and community-supported agriculture programs, highlighting how growers advocate and educate consumers about local agriculture. The study discusses the increasing demand for local organic food and strategies for growers to enhance community support, suggesting that alternative production and niche marketing could help sustain small-scale growers amidst farm loss and declining conventional agricultural prices.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justice