Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
9077 results(142 / 364)
Cadenas de valor cortas hortícolas en Lima - Perú
2021Rendón Schneir E. · e-Agronegocios, Vol. 7, No. 2 · Peru (Lima)
Analyzes short horticultural value chains (cadenas cortas) in Lima, showing that removing intermediaries improves farmer incomes and strengthens urban food security, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
EconomicsCommunityPolicyUrbanization level and its effect on the structure and function of homegarden (pekarangan) vegetation in West Java, Indonesia
2021Ali M.S., Arifin H.S., Nurhayati N. · Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity · Indonesia (West Java)
This study finds that increasing urbanisation across West Java significantly reduces the area, species diversity, and ecological functions of traditional pekarangan homegardens, threatening both biodiversity and the cultural practice of subsistence home gardening. Sites across Bogor District, Bogor City, and Cianjur District were compared along an urban–rural gradient.
BiodiversityCommunityHeirloom & landraceA systematic scoping review of the impacts of community food production initiatives in Kenya, Cameroon, and South Africa
2021Hutton G.B., Brugulat-Panés A., Bhagtani D., Maadjhou Mba C., Birch J.M., Shih H., Okop K., Muti M., Wadende P., Tatah L., Mogo E., Guariguata L., Unwin N. · Journal of Global Health Reports · Cameroon
This systematic scoping review synthesized 118 studies (from 4,828 screened) on community food production initiatives across Kenya, Cameroon, and South Africa, finding that economic and environmental impacts dominated the literature while health and social dimensions were understudied; Cameroon-specific studies (10 papers) primarily addressed economic impacts.
CommunityHealthEconomicsFood educationEnriched gardens improve cognition and independence of nursing home residents with dementia: a pilot controlled trial
2021Bourdon E., Belmin J. · Alzheimer's Research & Therapy, 13:116 · France
A multi-centre pilot controlled trial across four French nursing homes testing 'enriched gardens'—conventional sensory gardens augmented with activity-prompting features. Among 120 residents with dementia, use of enriched gardens improved cognitive function and mobility compared with conventional gardens or no garden. It offers concrete guidance for using gardens in the environmental design of elderly care.
ElderlyWelfareHealthSmall-scale urban agriculture: Drivers of growing produce at home and in community gardens in Detroit
2021Carola Grebitus · PLOS ONE · United States (Detroit)
Using an online survey of 420 residents in Detroit, Michigan, this study analyzed behavioral and socio-demographic drivers of growing produce at home and in community gardens. It found that trust, attitude, and knowledge affect home growing, while involvement and personality drive community gardening; household size affects home growing, and gender, age, and income affect community gardening. The findings offer implications for fostering small-scale urban agriculture through city planning and nutrition education.
CommunityDIYFood educationStrategic placement of urban agriculture: A spatial optimization approach
2021Bhuwan Thapa, Aniruddha Banerjee, Jeffrey Wilson, Samantha Hamlin · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (Indianapolis)
The study developed a p-median spatial optimization model to identify new urban agriculture sites in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, weighting block groups by food access and obesity prevalence. Optimally selected locations were 52% more efficient than randomly chosen ones in average distance traveled, with no significant difference among the three policy scenarios.
PolicyHealthCommunityBeyond ‘food apartheid’: Civil society and the politicization of hunger in New Haven, Connecticut
2021Mary P. Corcoran · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (New Haven)
Based on 28 in-depth interviews and participant observation in New Haven, CT (Fall 2018), this article examines community-based food-justice activism across the urban agriculture and food-policy sectors. It finds that grassroots civil society groups largely set a broad and contradictory hunger agenda, that their work is structurally constrained by dependence on philanthropic funding and a fiscally weak municipality, and that a tension persists between depoliticizing and repoliticizing hunger—tensions sharpened by COVID-19 and the 2020 BLM mobilization.
PolicyCommunityExploring the needs of urban producers in a rural state: A qualitative needs assessment
2021Catherine Sanders, Casandra Cox, Leslie Edgar, Donna Graham, Amanda Philyaw Perez · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · United States (Arkansas)
This qualitative study conducted in-depth interviews with 16 urban farmers in Northwest and Central Arkansas to assess their needs and their interactions with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Needs were highly individualized by operation size, years in operation, and mission, but common needs included market pricing, co-ops, and equipment access; participants viewed Extension positively but noted it lacked resources specific to small-scale, sustainable farming.
EconomicsCommunityPolicyUrban agriculture: local government stakeholders’ perspectives and informational needs
2021Catherine G. Campbell, Shelli D. Rampold · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · United States (Florida)
Through a University of Florida IFAS Extension statewide survey of local government stakeholders, this study assessed attitudes, subjective knowledge, perceived benefits and barriers, and educational needs regarding urban agriculture. Respondents showed positive attitudes and moderate knowledge, and the findings support the hypothesis that a lack of basic knowledge about UA hampers efforts to foster it through local policy.
PolicyModels for cost-offset community supported agriculture (CO-CSA) programs
2021Marilyn Sitaker, Mackenzie McCall, Weiwei Wang, Mia Vaccaro, Jane Kolodinsky, Alice Ammerman, Stephanie Jilcott Pitts, Karla Hanson, Diane Smith, Rebecca Seguin-Fowler · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · United States
Using a qualitative approach, this study describes the organizational models and best practices of five well-established nonprofit cost-offset community-supported agriculture (CO-CSA) programs in the US, which aim to increase low-income households' access to fresh produce while helping CSA farms grow. Administration took several forms—direct subsidies to member farms, acting as an aggregator/packer/distributor, or sourcing from an in-house incubator or food hub—funded through government grants, donations, and fundraising, with dedicated staff and community partnerships identified as key success factors.
EconomicsWelfareCommunityAssessment of Urban Agriculture for Evidence-Based Food Planning: A Case Study in Chengdu, China
2021· Sustainability · China (Chengdu)
Assesses how urban agriculture can inform evidence-based food planning in Chengdu, China. The staple-food self-sufficiency rate was 83.82% in 2019, suggesting potential food-security pressures.
PolicyEconomicsComparative analysis of carbon footprint between conventional smallholder operation and innovative large-scale farming of urban agriculture in Beijing, China
2021· PeerJ · China (Beijing)
Compares the carbon footprint of conventional smallholder operations versus innovative large-scale urban farming in Beijing, China.
EconomicsOrganic cycleExploring the spatial planning dimensions of urban informal food systems in Nanjing, China
2021· Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · China (Nanjing)
Analyzes the spatial-planning dimensions of urban informal food systems in Nanjing's Qinhuai District, China.
PolicyCommunityComprehensive Food System Planning for Urban Food Security in Nanjing, China
2021· Land · China (Nanjing)
Discusses comprehensive food-system planning for urban food security in Nanjing, China, including expansion of peri-urban greenhouse vegetable production.
PolicyEconomicsAssessment of the pollution levels of potential toxic elements in urban vegetable gardens in southwest China
2021· Scientific Reports · China
A study assessing pollution levels of potentially toxic elements in urban vegetable gardens in southwest China, reporting relatively higher cadmium and lead in leafy vegetables.
HealthParticipatory Action Research on the Impact of Community Gardening in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Investigating the Seeding Plan in Shanghai, China
2021· International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · China (Shanghai)
Participatory action research on a community gardening 'seeding plan' in Shanghai during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports that gardening participants showed better mental health than non-participants.
HealthCommunityUrban gardening as a means for fostering embodied urban human–food connection? A case study on urban vegetable gardens in Germany
2021· Sustainability Science · Germany (Munich)
A Munich case study exploring how urban vegetable gardening fosters an embodied human–food connection and pro-environmental behaviour.
HealthFood educationCommunityHigh honeybee abundances reduce wild bee abundances on flowers in the city of Munich
2021Renner S., Graf M., Hentschel Z., Krause H., Fleischmann A. · Oecologia · Germany (Munich)
Observed flower visitation on 29 plant species in a large Munich urban garden, finding that higher honeybee densities correlated with a significant shift from wild-bee to honeybee visits.
PollinatorsBiodiversityCausal Relations of Upscaled Urban Aquaponics and the Food-Water-Energy Nexus—A Berlin Case Study
2021· Water · Germany (Berlin)
Analyzes the causal relations of upscaled urban aquaponics with the food-water-energy nexus, using Berlin as a case study.
EconomicsOrganic cycleLow-Cost Smart Indoor Greenhouse for Urban Farming
2021· Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2021 (LNCS) · Global
Presents the design of a low-cost smart indoor greenhouse to cultivate herbs and vegetables with minimum human intervention, monitored by a web application. It builds on IoT-based monitoring systems for indoor micro-climate horticulture.
DIYEconomicsOptimization of Bokashi-Composting Process Using Effective Microorganisms-1 in Smart Composting Bin
2021· Sensors · Global
Optimizes bokashi composting of household organic waste in a smart composting bin, fermenting banana peels with EM-1 brans over 14 days while sensors log temperature, humidity and moisture.
DIYCompostLow Tunnels inside Mediterranean Greenhouses: Effects on Air/Soil Temperature and Humidity
2021· Agronomy · Mediterranean
Measures how simple low tunnels placed inside Mediterranean greenhouses modify the internal microclimate (air/soil temperature and humidity). Quantifies the effect of a low-cost season-extension/warming structure.
DIYDesign and Implementation of an LED Automatic Lighting System for Plant Factories
2021· IEEE Photonics Journal · Global
Design and implementation of an LED automatic lighting system for plant factories that provides automatic dimming and multi-band colour mixing, adjusting light intensity and colour to plant needs to increase crop yield.
DIYEconomicsAquaponics for Improved Food Security in Africa: A Review
2021· Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Africa
A review of aquaponics as a means to improve food security in Africa, discussing small-scale pilots such as the SANFU project in Lagos, Nigeria.
DIYCommunityEconomic viability of a small scale low-cost aquaponic system in South Africa
2021· Journal of Applied Aquaculture · South Africa
The study analyzes the economic feasibility of a small-scale, low-cost aquaponic system in South Africa, examining how the fish-to-plant revenue ratio affects viability.
DIYEconomics