Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
3465 results(125 / 139)
From incidental to essential: urban agriculture in the Middle East.
2010Rami Zurayk · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Jordan (Amman)
This study describes instances of urban agriculture in Amman, the capital of Jordan. It illustrates the coexistence of agricultural activities alongside urban development, citing examples such as a wheat field replaced by a shopping mall, a cauliflower field in a posh neighborhood, and sheep grazing in a valley behind the U.S. Embassy.
CommunityUrban–rural linkageRESEARCH ON ORNAMENTAL PLANTS APPLIED TO ROOFTOP GARDENS
2010Daisuke Tachibana, Hitoshi Watanabe, Kei Yakushiji, Kenji Nakamura, Takaharu YOSHIOKA · AIJ Journal of Technology and Design · Global
This study conducted a four-year growth experiment with eighty ornamental plants, including perennials, bulbous plants, and shrubs, in an experimental rooftop garden using a rainwater storage planting base. It was found that various plant types could grow in a thin 10cm substrate depth, their bloom times and flowering periods were confirmed, and the rainwater storage system allowed for reduced irrigation frequency even in thin-layer planting.
DIYClimate changeBiodiversityGreening in the Red Zone: Green Space and Disaster Resistance, Recovery and Resilience
2010Keith G. Tidball · Anthropology News · Global
This record is a commentary on green space and disaster resistance, recovery, and resilience. It lists keywords including community gardening, community gardens, development, ecology and environment, botany and plants, and urban anthropology.
CommunityClimate changeUrban–rural linkageCommunity Gardening and Education Outreach Expand Students Dietetics Practice Skills
2010Lyn Dart · Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition · Global
Dietetics students participated in a 6-week community-based gardening initiative to develop public health practice skills. Students received training in basic gardening and applied skills with Master Gardeners while working in a community garden. Post-training, students engaged in outreach as educators to local community agencies, learning to integrate nutrition and dietetics applications with gardening for food security and community sustainability.
CommunityFood educationHealthImpacts de l’utilisation des eaux polluées en agriculture urbaine sur la qualité de la nappe de Dakar (Sénégal)
2010Mamadou Ndiaye, H.‐R. Pfeifer, S. Niang, Y Dieng, Mauro Tonolla, Raffaele Peduzzi · VertigO · Senegal (Dakar)
In Dakar's urban agriculture, untreated wastewater is used for irrigation due to shallow groundwater salinization. A study conducted at Pikine and Patte d'Oie sites evaluated the chemical and microbiological quality of irrigation water. Findings showed that total nitrogen in irrigation water exceeded WHO guideline values, Salmonella spp. was isolated from 35% of irrigation water, and a wastewater sample tested positive for Vibrio cholerae. This research indicates that irrigation with polluted water and the use of organic fertilizers can degrade groundwater quality and pose health risks.
Contamination & food safetyHealthOrganic cycleViolence and humanitarian action in urban areas: new challenges, new approaches
2010Marion Harroff-Tavel · International Review of the Red Cross · Global
This article describes the vulnerability of the poorest and migrants in rapidly expanding urban areas, and the challenges faced by humanitarian organizations. Cities confront violence, such as hunger riots and gang clashes, making public service provision difficult. Innovative responses discussed include income-generating micro-projects, cash or voucher aid, urban agriculture, and violence-prevention or health-promotion programs.
WelfareCommunityHealthUrban–rural linkageDai guerrilla gardening ai community garden
2010Elisa Mascherini · · Global
This paper discusses the Guerrilla Gardening movement, a non-violent direct action practiced by environmentalists to reclaim degraded and abandoned urban areas. The increasing demand from citizens for improved living environments in cities is cited as a sign of change, evidenced by the growing number of guerrilla gardening groups, demand for urban gardens, and the emergence of shared gardens. Guerrilla gardeners advocate for new forms of ownership that rescue public lands from abandonment and degradation.
CommunityDIYPolicyHealthMultiple Literacies and Environmental Science Education
2010Ruth Hickey, Hilary Whitehouse · IGI Global eBooks · Australia
James Cook University's School of Education developed an online learning environment, BirdNet, for rural and regional schools in Far North Queensland, Australia. Pre-service teachers collaborated with practicing teachers and children to create learning activities, including those for building school gardens. The project demonstrated that innovation and place-based learning can enhance ICT and scientific literacy, despite challenges like technical issues and distance.
Food educationCommunityContinuous Productive Urban Landscape (CPUL): designing essential infrastructure
2010André Viljoen, Katrin Bohn · · Global
This paper reviews the role of productive landscapes within the Continuous Productive Urban Landscape (CPUL) City design concept, focusing on urban agriculture. The CPUL concept proposes integrating interlinked productive landscapes into cities to create sustainable urban infrastructure and redefine open urban space usage. While urban agriculture is gaining attention, the paper concludes that developing the theory and policy for productive landscapes requires sophisticated cross-disciplinary work to realize CPUL's full potential in future sustainable cities.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyEconomicsPopulation-dynamics focussed rapid rural mapping and characterisation of the peri-urban interface of Kampala, Uganda
2010Kohei Makita, Eric M. Fèvre, Charles Waiswa, Mark Bronsvoort, Mark C. Eisler, Susan C. Welburn · Land Use Policy · Uganda
This paper describes a spatial representation of the peri-urban interface (PUI) of Kampala, Uganda, and identifies socio-economic factors related to peri-urbanicity using rapid rural mapping. It notes that urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in rapidly expanding cities carries public health risks, such as zoonotic disease transmission. The study provides a methodology for describing the PUI in developing countries.
Contamination & food safetyPeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceHealthPolicy종설 : 음식사슬과 환경, 건강문제 -마이클 폴란의 『잡식동물의 딜레마』를 중심으로-
2010서향숙 · 의철학연구 · Global
This paper discusses the environmental and health issues arising from modern food culture, focusing on industrial and pastoral food chains as explored by Michael Pollan. It examines environmental pollution and GMO food issues within industrial food chains, and problems with semi-organic corporate food systems in pastoral chains. The study proposes urban agriculture, including school gardens, as a solution for a healthy food chain for future generations, integrating the concept of "food justice."
Food educationFood sovereignty & justiceHealthOrganic cycleLand use policies and extension approaches for developing urban horticulture in Novi Sad
2010Hamid El Bilali, Biljana Panın, Siniša Berjan · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Serbia (Novi Sad)
This review paper presents the state-of-the-art on urban agriculture, specifically its benefits, constraints and risks, production sites, systems, techniques and strategies, and some socio-economic and gender aspects. Conducive land use and allocation policies that can be designed and implemented to promote urban agriculture in Novi Sad were discussed. Extension services should develop new advisory and communication approaches to meet urban producers' specific needs.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityUrban–rural linkageSmartcities + Eco-warriors
2010CJ Lim, Ed Liu · · Global
This publication, "Smartcities + Eco-warriors," presents a collection of essays and case studies related to urban utopias, smart cities, urban agriculture, eco-sustainability, and cultivating communities. It includes examples of urban agriculture projects in various locations such as Guangming Smartcity China, Daejeon Urban Renaissance Masterplan Korea, and Nordhavnen Smartcity Denmark. The work also features contributions on the urban future and the role of cities in climate change.
CommunityUrban–rural linkagePolicyImpact of Armed Conflicts on Urban Livestock Production in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
2010É. Thys, André Mfoukou-Ntsakala, G. Nkouika-Dinghani-Nkita, Guido Van Huylenbroeck, Niko Speybroeck · Outlook on Agriculture · Republic of Congo (Brazzaville)
This paper analyzed the impact of armed conflicts on urban livestock keeping, particularly small ruminant keeping, in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. Two surveys, one before 1993 and one after 2002, indicated that the 1997 conflict had a negative impact on livestock keeping, as most livestock keepers lost their animals. Financial resources were an important factor in rebuilding the flock after 1997.
Economic viabilityEconomicsWelfareUrban–rural linkageUrban agriculture/Agricultural urbanity
2010Marina Moraes Diniz de Oliveira Queiroz · · Sweden
This work studies urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) and alternative food production strategies, aiming to connect current food systems, urban structures, and climate change. It discusses urban planning, transport, waste management, and localized food production, proposing solutions for a Swedish context. The work argues for utilizing arable land in and near cities and integrating local food production with sustainable transport to prepare for reduced fossil energy and global warming.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceNew Ways of Working and Organization: Alternative Agrifood Movements and Agrifood Researchers
2010William H. Friedland · Rural Sociology · Global
This article explores strengthening alternative agrifood movements by mobilizing academic researchers. It proposes a new organization, "Alternative Agrifood Researchers without Borders," to utilize researchers' skills and structural position. The goal is to enhance movements, reduce inequalities, and improve academic research quality by paralleling existing state and market structures while focusing on progressive objectives.
CSA & TeikeiFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityUrban–rural linkageCultivating Kaunda's plan for self-sufficiency: Is urban agriculture finally beginning to receive support in Zambia?
2010Alec Thornton, Etienne Nel, Godfrey Hampwaye · Development Southern Africa · Zambia
A review of urban agriculture in Zambia's four largest cities revealed that despite attempts by the Kaunda government in the 1960s–1970s to create supportive policies, there is currently a near absence of institutional support, constraining farmers' activities. A survey of 400 farmers confirmed the value of urban agriculture as a survival strategy but also highlighted the lack of necessary support measures.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsWelfarePeri-urban agricultureSociology of Food & Nutrition
2010Denise · TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology · Global
This course explores the sociological aspects of food, examining the cultural and social values that organize the biological need to eat. It investigates the social relations involved in food production, distribution, preparation, and consumption, including topics like food and identity, the agri-food system, food-related social movements, and the unequal distribution of food. The course considers the consequences of food on social relationships and population health.
Food sovereignty & justiceCSA & TeikeiHealthThe Role of Urban Agriculture From Aspect of Cities' Sustainable Development
2010Radojica Sarić, Vladana Hamović, Svetlana Roljević Nikolić, Radojica Sarić, Vladana Hamović, Svetlana Roljevic · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Serbia
This paper analyzes urban agriculture in Serbia, focusing on its role in configuring urban open spaces and its effects on sustainable development and environmental protection. The study aims to understand the economic, social, and ecological impacts of urban agricultural production on improving city life quality, especially given Serbia's dynamic urbanization and agricultural land transformation post-World War II.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyEconomicsCommunityClimate changePreparing the Urban Agricultural Science Teacher: Curriculum Implications
2010A. C. Egun · Journal of Agricultural Sciences · Global
This paper examined the competencies needed by Agricultural Science teachers in urban areas for effective institutional preparation. Teachers identified 24 competencies for urban agriculture teaching but expressed deficiency in 19 competencies (79.17%). The curricular implication is to include basic Humanities subjects like Geography, Economics, and Commerce in Agricultural Science teacher programs and to effectively implement field trips to strengthen the relationship between theory and practice.
Limited or null effectFood educationEconomicsUrban–rural linkageBilan hydrique des toitures végétalisées: vers de meilleures compréhension et modélisation Water balance of green roofs: contributions to better understanding and simulation
2010Emmanuel Berthier, Bernard de Gouvello, Florian Archambault, Didier Gallis · · Global
This preliminary study aimed to better understand the water balance of vegetated or green roofs (TTV) and to develop a conceptual reservoir storage model. Two databases were used: CSTB's one-year data (limited to rain and runoff) and LROP's nine-day detailed data (including evapotranspiration and water storage). Detailed monitoring was shown to deepen the understanding of water balance, and the developed reservoir storage model appeared suitable for reproducing the TTV water balance.
Climate changeOrganic cycleCommunityNowtopia: Strategic Exodus?
2010Chris Carlsson, Francesca Manning · Antipode · Global
Nowtopia identifies a new basis for a shared experience of class, characterized by an exodus from wage labor and the embrace of meaningful, freely chosen, unpaid work. Nowtopian communities are largely grounded in unpaid practical work, such as urban gardening/agriculture, which gradually reverses the extreme atomization of modern life. These practices represent a decentralized, uncoordinated collective research and development effort exploring a potentially post-capitalist, post-petroleum future.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsApplied Rainwater Harvesting Education: An Australian Case Study
2010AP Chanan, Jaya Kandasamy, S. Vigneswaran, G Spyrakis, I Ghetti, Elisa Idris · UTS ePRESS (University of Technology Sydney) · Australia (Sydney)
This paper outlines a project by Kogarah Council in Sydney, Australia, which assisted all 22 schools in the Kogarah LGA to install rainwater tanks. The initiative aimed to increase water use efficiency and reduce potable water consumption for toilet flushing and school garden irrigation. The project successfully reduced drinking water usage and served as a visual reminder for students to conserve water.
Food educationClimate changeCommunityAgricultura urbana: un aporte a la rehabilitación integral
2010Nerea Morán Alonso · · Global
This article reviews the historical background of urban agriculture, highlighting it as an example of action in crisis situations and the social potential of food production in urban contexts. In Southern countries, urban agriculture has gained importance as a development strategy, including programs led by international organizations. Urban gardens, by integrating nature into the city, contribute to urban metabolic efficiency and enhance biological diversity.
CommunityBiodiversityPolicyClimate changeUrbana odlingsrörelser återbrukarträdgårdsstadens visioner
2010Lisen Hendeberg · · Sweden
This study compared Ebenezer Howard's garden city ideals with contemporary urban farming movements in Sweden through a literature review and analysis of three active movements. It found that when garden city ideas were implemented in Sweden between 1905 and 1930, much of the original ideological basis for self-sufficient small towns and collectively owned land was lost. While similarities exist in ideological starting points, their approaches to change differ.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkage