Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
626 results(15 / 26)
Perspectivas da Agroecologia nas cidades: Experiências da Agricultura Urbana na região do M’Boi Mirim da cidade de São Paulo
2017Zilma Borges de Souza, Lya Cynthia Porto de Oliveira, E. C. A. S. S. LIMA, Fábio Bruno Queiroga, Joyce Rodrigues · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil (São Paulo)
This research analyzes the development, functions, social practices, and income generation of urban agriculture in Jardim Angela and Jardim Sao Luis, located in the M’Boi Mirim region of São Paulo, Brazil. It maps existing initiatives and prospects opportunities for agroecological food production in private and collective spaces. The study presents partial results from an interdisciplinary project involving three universities.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceOrganic cycleOs dilemas da agricultura urbana: a experiência da maior e mais antiga horta orgânica do Vale do São Francisco
2017Denes Dantas Vieira, Reimilde Gomes da Silva Amorim · EXTRAMUROS - Revista de Extensão da Univasf · Brazil (Juazeiro)
This study aimed to investigate the dilemmas of the social trajectory of the Povo Unido community garden in Juazeiro/BA, Brazil, located on the banks of the São Francisco River. This garden is known for its organic vegetable production and as one of the first groups focused on overcoming poverty and combating hunger in Brazil's semi-arid northeast. The research contributes to reflection based on social organization and organic food production.
Economic viabilityWelfareCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceAlternative food and gentrification: Farmers’ markets, community gardens and the transformation of urban neighborhoods
2017Pascale Joassart‐Marcelli, Fernando J. Bosco · · United States (San Diego)
The alternative food movement (farmers' markets, community gardens) in San Diego, United States, was investigated in relation to gentrification. Uneven urban food landscapes were shown to be intimately connected to gentrification processes, shaped by race, class, political decisions, and capital flows. Farmers' markets and community gardens are primarily located in affluent and gentrifying areas, providing evidence of a growing appropriation of alternative food spaces by urban developers and cultural elites.
Equity & displacementCommunityEconomicsPolicyHealthA survey of urban community gardeners in the USA.
2017Tammy E. Parece, Joseph Campbell · CABI eBooks · United States
A survey of 177 urban gardeners across the USA found that social and health gains are the most widely identified benefits, highly regarded by gardeners. The survey results are consistent with existing literature on urban agriculture benefits. Interest in community gardening has increased across all garden sites, indicating its sustained appeal.
CommunityHealthEconomicsUC pursues rooted research with a nonprofit, links the many benefits of community gardens
2017Mirle Rabinowitz Bussell, James Bliesner, Keith Pezzoli · California Agriculture · United States
This study collaborated with the San Diego Community Garden Network to analyze the production, distribution, and consumption of produce from eight community gardens in San Diego County. UC San Diego researchers and students worked with county residents and community-based organizations to develop a survey. Interviews with gardeners and survey data documented how community gardens contribute to individual and household health, well-being, and community development. The findings suggest that community gardens have the potential to contribute meaningfully to community development, particularly in low-income neighborhoods.
CommunityHealthEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceAgricultura urbana: o desenvolvimento de um projeto social
2017Joice Zagna Valent, Letícia de Oliveira, Vinicius Dornelles Valent · DRd - Desenvolvimento Regional em debate · Brazil
This descriptive study aimed to describe a social urban agriculture project in a community located in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Through a literature review and a semi-structured interview with the project coordinator, it was shown that urban agriculture possesses social, economic, ecological, and symbolic dimensions beyond food production. The study concluded that various projects developed around urban food cultivation, with main impacts including the promotion of food security, generation of employment and income, environmental management, social integration, and development of human capital.
CommunityFood educationEconomicsHealthWelfareConstructing the “Greener, Greater” City
2017Lindsay K. Campbell · Cornell University Press eBooks · United States (New York City)
This chapter analyzes why urban forestry was prioritized in New York City's PlaNYC mayoral initiative while urban agriculture was overlooked. It examines the networks, public-private partnerships, elite ties, and bureaucratic structures involved in PlaNYC, revealing that certain voices were heard while others were ignored in the sustainability planning process. The analysis highlights issues of governance and equity in urban nature planning.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityEconomicsEngaging Past and Future on a Community Supported Agriculture Farm
2017Catherine Villar · Scholarship@Western (Western University) · Canada
This ethnographic study, conducted from August 2013 to August 2014, examined Orchard Hill Farm, an organic, draft-horse powered Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm in Sparta, Ontario, Canada. It found that the farm's management approach resulted in a financially viable small-scale farm. The study highlighted that CSA members experience a "re-enchantment" through closeness to food and the farm, while farmers and apprentices demonstrate a commitment to sustainable practices.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsPhotovoltaic powered irrigation system applied to familiar agriculture
2017Rosa Jacob Chilundo, Paulo César Marques de Carvalho, Mário Diniz, Adriano Bezerra · Renewable Energy and Power Quality Journal · Brazil
This paper analyzed the technical and financial feasibility of a stand-alone photovoltaic powered irrigation system applied to a familiar production unit in Brazil. The system was installed at the Center for Teaching and Research in Urban Agriculture (NEPAU) on the PICI campus of the Federal University of Ceará, occupying 134 m² with a 3534-liter water reservoir, a 12 VDC pump motor, and a 135 Wp photovoltaic module. Efficiencies for the photovoltaic module, pump, and global set were 8.4%, 42%, and 3.5% respectively, with an assumed service life of 25 years and capital return after 9.3 years.
Digital agricultureEconomicsClimate changeFood systems at the rural-urban interface
2016Proctor, F., Berdegué, J. · RIMISP — Latin American Center for Rural Development · Latin America
A case-based analysis of food systems at the rural-urban interface, detailing—mainly in Latin America—the interdependence of city and countryside in agricultural distribution, processing and market access.
EconomicsOrganic farm volunteer tourism as social movement participation: a Polanyian political economy analysis of World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) in Hawai'i
2016· Journal of Sustainable Tourism · United States (Hawai'i)
Analyzes WWOOF organic-farm volunteer tourism in Hawai'i as a form of social movement participation, using a Polanyian political economy framework.
CommunityOrganic cycleEconomicsUrban agriculture: connecting producers with consumers
2016Carolyn Dimitri, Lydia Oberholtzer, Andy Pressman · British Food Journal · United States
Based on a 2012 national survey of urban farmers in the USA (35 questions), this study analyzed the social missions of urban farms, their extent, and differences and similarities among farms with varying missions. The survey found that food production is an essential mission for all urban farms, and some also have social missions related to food security, education, and community building. Farms with explicit social missions were found to donate a higher share of food and were less likely to own farmland compared to market-oriented farms.
EconomicsCommunityFood educationFood sovereignty & justiceIndividualist and collectivist consumer motivations in local organic food markets
2016Zachary Schrank, Katrina Running · Journal of Consumer Culture · United States
This study analyzed consumer motivations in Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs using interview data from 58 members in a large southwestern US city. Researchers investigated whether members were primarily motivated by individual interests (e.g., nutritional benefits, taste) or collective concerns (e.g., environmental, economic). Findings indicated that CSA members pursued individualist and collectivist goals equally, emphasizing environmental issues and sustainability through local organic consumption as a pathway to individual health.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceAGRICULTURA URBANA COMO FATOR DE DESENVOLVIMENTO SUSTENTÁVEL: um estudo na Região Metropolitana de Maringá
2016Vicente Chiaramonte Pires · Pesquisa & Debate. Revista do Programa de Estudos Pós-Graduados em Economia Política. ISSN 1806-9029 · Brazil (Maringá)
A qualitative study in community gardens within Brazil's Maringá Metropolitan Region revealed that urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) offers significant contributions to the economic and social development of participating farmers and their families. This project has been in place since 2008, providing technical assistance and urban extension.
CommunityEconomicsPeri-urban agricultureMore‐than‐Active Food Citizens: A Longitudinal and Comparative Study of Alternative and Conventional Eaters
2016Michael Carolan · Rural Sociology · United States (Colorado)
Researchers in Colorado studied individuals participating in alternative food practices (CSA, farmers' markets, food cooperatives) and conventional eaters. Participants were surveyed and re-surveyed two years later, with 119 qualitative interviews conducted, and a phone survey of 106 conventional eaters. The study aimed to understand how alternative foodscape engagement compares to conventional eating, how responses change after exposure to alternative foodscapes, and why individuals might think and behave differently.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsAgricultura urbana e gestão territorial em Recife/PE/Brasil: qual o lugar da agricultura urbana no planejamento da cidade?
2016Rúbio José Ferreira, Cláudio Jorge Moura de Castilho · Ateliê Geográfico · Brazil (Recife)
This text examines the place of urban agriculture and its practitioners in the urban planning process in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. The main results indicate that urban agriculture and urban farmers are not effectively considered by Recife's urban planning technicians. This may be due to urban agriculture being a social practice used by people from the "lowest layers" of society in a marginal area of the local urban economy.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityEconomicsWelfareAgricultura urbana e segurança alimentar: estudo de caso da horta comunitária da COHAB em Lavras/MG
2016Heliene Macedo de Araújo, Thiago Rodrigo de Paula Assis, Ana Paula Borges Martins · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil (Lavras)
This qualitative case study aimed to identify the potential of urban agriculture in promoting food and nutritional security (SAN) based on the experience of the COHAB community garden association in Lavras/MG, Brazil. Interviews were conducted with 13 (48%) of the 27 association members using semi-structured questionnaires. Findings revealed that all interviewees had ancestral ties to farming, and cultivation was learned and passed down through generations. Food access was consistently ensured for families and neighborhood residents through commercialization, self-consumption, and donation, with 11 members prioritizing self-consumption. The garden produced 58 diverse products, demonstrating urban agriculture's link to SAN promotion and improved family diets.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityHealthEconomicsEstudio de la agricultura urbana y periurbana de varzea grande (MT) bajo la perspectiva del análisis de clusters
2016Diogo José Amorim de Almeida, Dilamar Dallemole, Arturo Alejandro Zavala Zavala · Revista Ibero-Americana de Ciências Ambientais · Brazil (Varzea Grande)
This study analyzed the urban and peri-urban horticultural production structure in Varzea Grande, Mato Grosso, Brazil, using an exploratory empirical and bibliographic approach followed by Cluster Analysis of primary data from local producers. Despite contributing to food production and maintaining disease-vector-free land, the research found that this activity is in decline. Its low profitability and challenging commercialization process make it unattractive or merely a supplementary income, as small productive forces struggle to sustain themselves against the current market structure and unfavorable social policies.
Limited or null effectUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureHealthEconomicsIntegración de huertos-jardín en espacios públicos: caso de estudio: Oaxaca de Juarez, Oaxaca
2016Aurora Minna Poó Rubio, Aurora Poó Rubio, Esmeralda Soto Carrasquel · Repositorio Institucional Zaloamati (Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana) · Mexico
This study examines the integration of garden-orchards into public spaces in Oaxaca de Juarez, Oaxaca, from the perspective of landscape as the insertion of aesthetic and utilitarian green areas in growing and changing cities. It argues that sustainable green areas like urban gardens enhance social and spatial integration, improving socio-economic aspects. The research aims to understand how implementing garden-orchards in public spaces generates or rehabilitates urban environments and their potential as green infrastructure.
CommunityFood educationEconomicsAgricultura urbana conquistando o mercado institucional da alimentação escolar em Belo Horizonte/MG/BR:
2016Ivana Cristina Lovo, Alain Santandreu, José Divino Lopes Filho · Raízes Revista de Ciências Sociais e Econômicas · Brazil (Belo Horizonte)
In Belo Horizonte, the "Productive Garden" project, launched in 2008, promoted urban agriculture and food security. From 2009 to 2011, it integrated into the "From Seed to Table" program, encouraging urban farmers to sell vegetables to the institutional school meal market. Based on action research, the project enhanced farmers' technical and organizational capacity, resulting in public schools procuring vegetables from "Productive Garden," an experience that remains active. This experience demonstrated that urban agriculture is economically viable and contributes to food security.
Food educationEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityA Hedonic Analysis of Community Supported Agriculture Share Prices in Midwestern United States
2016Binod Khanal · Lincoln (University of Nebraska) · United States
A hedonic model was developed to estimate consumer valuations of attributes for 466 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms across seven Midwestern US states: Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota. The most statistically valued CSA attributes were home delivery, commanding an approximately $18 premium, and belonging to the fifth quintile of CSA membership size ($15.00). Increased vegetable variety (between $0.80 and $1.20) and USDA organic certification (about $10) were also valued, but farming practices like integrated pest management and distance to the nearest metropolitan area were not statistically significant.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceidentificação de oportunidades de projeto para o processo produtivo e comercialização
2016Diego Maia da [UNIFESP] Costa, Carla Cipolla · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)
This article defines the specific characteristics of urban agriculture (UA) through a literature review and identifies key aspects for developing new products and services. It analyzes the activities of the Centro de Educação Multicultural (CEM), which practices urban agriculture in the Penha favela complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Agriculture Case Studies in Central Texas: From the Ground to the Rooftop
2016Bruce Dvorak, Ahmed K. Ali · InTech eBooks · United States (Texas)
This chapter introduces urban agriculture concepts and case studies in Central Texas, United States. It highlights a modular pavilion type farmers market and urban garden in downtown Bryan, designed and built by students and faculty, and a rooftop crop pilot study at Texas A&M on a four-storey building. Challenges for these projects include crop adaptability to the Central Texas climate, structural and community support, and the presence of a viable market for locally grown produce.
CommunityFood educationEconomicsAgricultura urbana e desenvolvimento socioeconômico da comunidade Areia Branca, Município de Santa Izabel do Pará, Pará
2016Rosicléia Silva, Mauricio Ricardo De Paula Dias, Flávio Sampaio Mendes, Hevelyn Soares das Chagas, Roberta de Fátima Rodrigues Coelho · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil
This study evaluated the contribution of urban agriculture to the socioeconomic development of the Areia Branca community in Santa Izabel do Pará, Brazil, by profiling families and understanding the influence of agricultural activity. Through on-site observations and socioeconomic questionnaires, it was found that agriculture is the main source of income for most families, primarily involving leafy vegetable cultivation with family labor. Despite being low-tech, the agriculture is not organic due to the recurrent use of chemical fertilizers.
CommunityEconomicsOrganic cyclePeri-urban agricultureScaling impact from grassroots social innovation: a conceptual network-based model
2016Annika Voltan · International Journal of Work Innovation · Canada (Nova Scotia)
This paper develops a conceptual network-based model for scaling grassroots social innovations. It reviews existing theoretical work on social innovation and entrepreneurship, constructing a model with four main elements: the role of agency, relationship density, relationship diversity, and network structure. The model is applied to a case study of nine community-supported agriculture (CSA) food producers in Nova Scotia, Canada, with findings supporting the particular importance of relationship diversity and network structures for scaling social innovations.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomics