Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
3765 results(140 / 151)
Enchanting Ethical Consumerism
2007Craig J. Thompson, Gökçen Coskuner-Balli · Journal of Consumer Culture · Global
This article analyzes Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) as a form of ethical consumerism. The analysis explicates how CSA's aspects allow consumers to perceive its practical inconveniences and choice restrictions as moral virtues. The article concludes by assessing the societal implications of these localized marketplace relationships.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityRevisiting Urban Food Security Systems in Dakar: A Study of Community Gardens and Urban Agriculture Adoption Over Three Years
2007Toure Sylla Mamadou, Mamoudou Diop · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Senegal (Dakar)
This three-year study in Dakar, Senegal, investigated urban food security systems through surveys and interviews with community garden participants. It found that 75% of participants reported increased engagement in urban agriculture, driven by government subsidies for materials and equipment. The study validates previous findings on community garden participation, noting a significant increase due to subsidized resources, and highlights the effectiveness of targeted interventions.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsEl riego con aguas de mala calidaden la agricultura urbana. Aspectosa considerar. I. Aguas salinas o alcalinas
2007F Ortega Sastriques, Rosa Orellana Gallego · Revista ciencias técnicas agropecuarias · Global
In many cities, the high price and limited availability of potable water necessitate considering irrigation with poor quality water, such as saline or alkaline waters, in urban agriculture. This paper considers aspects of irrigation with poor quality water, including risks like contamination.
Contamination & food safetyClimate changeEconomicsSPIN-Farming: advancing urban agriculture from pipe dream to populist movement
2007Roxanne Christensen · Sustainability Science Practice and Policy · United States (Philadelphia)
This paper discusses SPIN-Farming as a tool to demonstrate the economic viability of urban agriculture, which was initially advocated in Philadelphia in 1998. While social and environmental benefits are clear, economic proof was needed to motivate policymakers. The author applied entrepreneurial experience to develop SPIN-Farming, aiming to revive the farming profession and enable a scalable, accessible farming concept across economic classes and geographical boundaries, fostering local food systems.
EconomicsPolicyCommunityThe movement for an economy of solidarity: urban agriculture and local exchange trading systems in Quebec
2007Manon Boulianne · Research in economic anthropology · Canada (Quebec)
In Quebec, various initiatives linked to an "economy of solidarity" trend emerged from the mid-1990s. Using empirical material from a study conducted in Quebec between 2001 and 2004, this article aims to contribute to the understanding of marginal socioeconomic systems and practices, such as urban collective gardening and local exchange trading systems. These systems rely almost entirely on local resources and contribute to local provisioning.
EconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justice双流（合江）首届冬草莓节隆重举行
2007刘剑 · 中国果业信息 · China
On December 29, 2006, the first winter strawberry festival was held in the strawberry-garden square of Hejiang town, Shuangliu county, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. At the event, a director from the China Industrial Food Association's southwest regional office awarded Shuangliu county a plaque naming it 'China's Hometown of Winter Strawberries,' and the director of the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Agricultural Economics awarded Hejiang town a plaque designating it a 'Modern Urban Agriculture Development Theory and Practice Base.'
CommunityEconomicsFood education체재형 가족농원 사업의 비용편익 분석
2007이민수, 박덕병, 황대용 · 농어촌관광연구 · South Korea
A cost-benefit analysis of Sunchang County's 2007 pilot "allotment garden with log house" program (family farm-stay plots), launched by South Korea's Rural Development Administration in JeonBuk Province, using the county's internal records and interviews with project managers. The analysis found the program to be an inefficient business with a weak cost-benefit structure that produced a negative net benefit: at an assumed 6.5% discount rate, net present value was estimated at -262 million won, with a benefit-cost ratio of 0.70 and an internal rate of return of 2.7%. The authors nonetheless conclude the program is worth maintaining as part of the government's balanced regional development policy.
Economic viabilityEconomicsPeri-urban agricultureUrban Vegetable Crop Production and Production Efficiency
2007Mure Agbonlahor, S. Momoh, A. O. Dipeolu · International Journal of Vegetable Science · Africa
A sample survey of 242 urban vegetable farmers conducted through March 2006 examined production efficiency and its determinants in fadama agriculture — flood-plain cropping of short-duration crops on low-lying, seasonally flooded land — in urban southwestern Nigeria, using a stochastic frontier model. Mean farm size was 0.54 hectares and mean producer age was 42.6 years, while mean technical efficiency was only 74.36%, with the main sources of inefficiency identified as labor employment and the use of land and seed/cultivar resources; the most common crop combination was Telfaria occidentale, Amaranthus hybridus and Zea mays.
Economic viabilityCommunityEconomicsPeri-urban agricultureTrust in markets: Economies of regard and spaces of contestation in alternative food networks
2007· · Global
A discussion piece describes the growth of new forms of food retailing in Europe and North America in which fresh, high-quality produce is sold directly by producers. The most visible example is the rise of farmers' markets in urban locations, alongside a revival of street and municipal markets and new arrangements such as farm shops, box schemes, community-supported agriculture and cooperative bulk purchasing. It characterizes the shared feature of these initiatives as reconnecting food producers and consumers directly, in relationships largely severed by the dominance of corporate multiple retailers, and notes that "alternative food networks" is the term commonly used to cover this range of forms. No empirical data is presented.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsAfrican Urban Economies: Viability, Vitality or Vitiation?
2006Bryceson, D.F., Potts, D. (eds.) · Palgrave Macmillan (ISBN 9780230523012) · Africa
Theorizes rural-urban linkages and livelihood diversification in African urban economies, showing how urban dwellers of rural origin maintain rural farmland as 'agricultural insurance' that builds resilience to poverty.
EconomicsThe Earthscan Reader in Rural-Urban Linkages / Rural-Urban Interaction in the Developing World
2006Tacoli, C. (ed.) · Routledge / IIED · Global
A landmark edited collection on rural-urban interaction in the developing world, analyzing—through many cases—the flows of people, goods, capital and information and the asymmetric power relations between countryside and city.
EconomicsPolicyWastewater use for urban and peri-urban agriculture.
2006Stephanie Buechler, Gayathri Devi Mekala, B. Keraita · Victoria University Research Repository (Victoria University) · Global
This 2006 global study from Victoria University discusses wastewater use in urban and peri-urban agriculture for crop production and aquaculture, noting its role in generating livelihoods and providing cheap produce. However, the study emphasizes that clear policy guidelines and careful research are needed to prevent potential negative impacts on human health and the environment from wastewater reuse.
Contamination & food safetyUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureHealthPolicyEconomicsCities farming for the future : urban agriculture for green and productive cities
2006R. van Veenhuizen · Issue Lab (Candid) · Global
This publication defines urban agriculture as growing plants and raising animals for food within and around cities, along with related processing and marketing. It notes increased attention from development organizations and authorities in developing countries due to urban agriculture's role in poverty alleviation, food security, waste management, and greening. The work presents the "state of the art" of sustainable urban agriculture development, indicating progress since earlier major publications.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityPolicyEconomicsClimate changeThe No. 1 Ladies' Poultry Farm: A feminist political ecology of urban agriculture in Botswana
2006Alice J. Hovorka · Gender Place & Culture · Botswana
This research draws on a feminist political ecology perspective to demonstrate that agrarian restructuring and rural-urban transformation in Botswana offer women opportunities to renegotiate their marginalized positionality within the commercial urban agricultural sector in Greater Gaborone. Men and women participate in equal numbers, and both perceive this sector as offering new and accessible avenues for economic and social advancement. Although there is continuity of women's social and economic disadvantage relative to men from rural to urban contexts, women are actively making claims on land and capitalizing on their traditional roles and responsibilities associated with poultry production.
CommunityEconomicsUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justice都市农业园区建设典型系列之一 生态农业典型——桐庐万强农庄
2006胡新光, 徐培培, 黄美英, 冯莉 · 杭州：生活品质 · China (Hangzhou)
In Hangzhou, China, urban agricultural parks have emerged, characterized by a strong emphasis on technological advancement and industry development. These parks prioritize the introduction of scientific talent, collaboration with experts, adoption of new varieties and technologies, and scientific management with technical training for farmers. This abstract introduces these common characteristics as part of a series on typical urban agricultural park constructions, without providing specific findings or data for Tonglu Wanqiang Farm.
Urban–rural linkageEconomicsFood educationPolicyReview of 'Food + the City'
2006Paul Knox Clarke · Ulster University Research Portal (Ulster University) · Global
This is a review of the AD special edition focusing on the relationship between food, the city, and urbanism. It discusses concepts such as markets, community gardens, Asian cities, food mapping, and historical precedents.
CommunityUrban–rural linkageEconomicsAgricultura urbana en Ciego de Ávila. El caso del municipio montañoso de Florencia
2006Ángela Borroto, Águeda C. Arencibia, J.L. López, Liliam J. Leyva, Carlos Mazorra, Gladys E. Dopico, R. Maurelo, A. Caraballoso · Pastos y forrajes · Cuba (Florencia)
This two-year study characterized animal production in urban agriculture in Florencia municipality, Cuba, by examining 32 randomly selected household backyards across two popular councils. Findings showed that 85% of households involved family members of all ages, with backyard animal rearing serving as a supplementary activity rather than a primary livelihood. Traditional management methods and local resources predominated in feeding practices, contributing 18% to the municipal family basket's protein needs and over 1 kg of protein per capita annually, thus potentially enhancing food security.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsA Comparison of Urban Agriculture between Countries and its Development in China
2006Wang Lijuan · · Global
This paper examines urban agriculture (UA) as a phenomenon linked to urban development, noting significant differences between developed and less developed nations due to economic development stages. It classifies these differences into five aspects based on UA theory and practice. The paper concludes by proposing countermeasures for achieving sustainable UA, specifically considering the status of UA in China.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyEconomicsThe role of collaborative community supported agriculture: Lessons from Iowa
2006Corene M. Bregendahl, Cornelia Butler Flora · Iowa State University Digital Repository (Iowa State University) · United States
In Iowa communities, collaborative Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) serves as a business incubator for new growers and helps existing growers expand and diversify. This model offers various benefits to the communities it serves.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsSustaining Urban Agriculture Requires the Involvement of Multiple Stakeholders 1
2006Marielle Dubbeling, Gunther Merzthal, R. van Veenhuizen · · Global
Urban agriculture is a dynamic concept encompassing diverse production, processing, and marketing systems for food and non-food products. It operates within varied resource situations, including both scarce and abundant land or water, and under policy environments that can either hinder or support its development.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityUtilization of improved cassava production technologies by urban farmers in Imo State, Nigeria
2006FN Nnadi, CD Akwiwu · International Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences · Nigeria
A study in Imo State, Nigeria, investigated the utilization of improved cassava production technologies by 240 randomly sampled urban cassava farmers. The results showed high utilization of herbicide/manual weeding (87%), improved cassava varieties (58.3%), and fertilizer (50%). Farmer age, education, farming experience, household size, information sources, and farmland ownership status determined the utilization of these technologies.
EconomicsPolicyFood educationIntegration and Coordination: Keys to Success in California Farm to School Programs
2006Rainbow A. Vogt, Lucía Kaiser, Robert B. Rucker · The FASEB Journal · United States (California)
A study involving 28 school food service directors and 20 stakeholders in California explored interest in purchasing local produce. Directors were motivated by fresher food, supporting the local economy, and aiding California farms, but faced barriers such as lack of producers, seasonal availability, budget, convenience, facilities, and transportation. The study concluded that program expansion and long-term viability depend on a coordinated produce distribution network between farms and schools, and the integration of nutrition education and school gardens into the core curriculum.
Food educationCommunityPeri-urban agricultureEconomics도시농업의 인식 및 가치평가에 관한 연구
2006장동헌, 소순열, 유찬주 · 지역사회연구 · Global
This study investigated urban residents' perceptions of urban agriculture and their willingness to pay for its conservation. Residents prioritized urban agriculture's value as a landscape green zone and for intergenerational inheritance. Regarding conservation, more respondents favored using urban agriculture for other purposes through external expansion, preferring environmentally friendly development via experience programs. The willingness to pay a fund for urban agriculture conservation was 39.6%, with an estimated monthly average of 2,623 won per household.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityFood educationLocal economic development and marketing of urban produced food
2006Paule Moustier, George Danso · Agritrop (Cirad) · Global
This report discusses urban agriculture's role in addressing social, economic, and environmental challenges of rapid urban growth in developing countries. It notes that while urban agriculture attracts attention, its viability and need for political support remain debated. The report highlights arguments against targeting scarce public resources towards urban agriculture, citing high land costs in urban areas and insufficient evidence of its economic viability.
Economic viabilityEconomicsPolicyPeri-urban agriculture武汉市制定出农业机械化“十一五”发展新目标
2006涂同明 · 现代农业装备 · China (Wuhan)
Wuhan City, China, launched the "Rural Homeland Construction Action Plan" in early 2005, aiming to develop socialist new rural areas with Wuhan characteristics. This plan, initially piloted in 110 villages and expanded to 220 more in 2006, serves as a starting point for defining specific agricultural mechanization development goals. The strategic task is to ensure agricultural mechanization consistently supports the construction and development of urban agriculture in Wuhan.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageEconomics