Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
667 results(15 / 27)
TRABALHO DO PRODUTOR AGRÍCOLA URBANO E PERIURBANO: HORTICULTORES DO CENTRO-SUL PIAUIENSE
2018Marttem Costa de Santana, Everardo de Sousa Luz, Maurício Ribeiro da Silva, Maclóvia Corrêa da Silva, Eloy Fassi Casagrande · Sociedade e Território · Brazil
This qualitative field study in two cities in Piauí, Brazil, evaluated whether working conditions of urban and peri-urban agricultural producers contribute to food production. It concluded that public authorities' participation is necessary to address failures in the small-scale agricultural production system and improve working conditions for urban horticulturists.
Governance failureUrban–rural linkageEconomicsPolicyLivability in Salt Lake City
2018Holly Linda Lopez, Ralph S. Becker · · United States (Salt Lake City)
Salt Lake City government, since Mayor Becker's 2012 State of the City Address, has identified livability as a framework for policies and discussions. Mayor Becker's administration focused on elements such as social equality, public safety, access to natural areas, ease of mobility, efficient use of taxpayer money, urban agricultural opportunities, education systems, healthy downtowns and neighborhoods, and diverse arts and culture. This chapter intends to identify these policies, their success metrics, and review the progress made in Salt Lake City during the Becker administration.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsThe Harlem Charade
2018Jazmin Gomez · ScholarsArchive (Brigham Young University) · United States (New York City)
A narrative set in Harlem, New York City, follows three teenagers investigating an attack in a community garden. Their investigation uncovered valuable secret paintings and a politician's plot that threatened to ruin their neighborhood. The friends risked their lives to save both the rare masterpieces and their community's livelihood from this plot.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyWelfareDeep in the heart of Texas: analyzing spatial contestation using perspectives on urban farming in Austin
2018Liza Ayres · Vassar Scholarship (Vassar College) · United States
This thesis analyzes spatial contestation in Austin, Texas, by examining perspectives on urban farming. It applies Henri Lefebvre's spatial theories, which classify space production as a continuous process of social development involving material and mental space. The study explores how urban pride and community bonds, fostered by amenities like urban farms, contribute to residents' desire to stay in the city and their sense of ownership.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsUrban Agriculture in Chicago: Support for and Challenges to Programs Aimed at Addressing Community Development and Inequitable Access to Nutrition
2018Jendayi Jones · Knowledge@UChicago (University of Chicago) · United States (Chicago)
This project uses interviews and literature research to examine the state of urban agriculture in Chicago and its potential to address nutritional inequity, unemployment, and community building. By analyzing two policy initiatives, two land management organizations, and three interviews, the study aims to identify effective aspects and areas needing improvement in Chicago's urban agriculture setup.
Equity & displacementCommunityHealthPolicyEconomicsAgriculturas urbanas: agroecologia para a cidade, na cidade e da cidade!
2018Daniela Adil Oliveira de Almeida, André Ruoppolo Biazoti · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil
This paper systematizes recent thoughts on agroecology and urban agriculture from important events in Brazil's agroecological field. It presents three approaches: "agroecology for the city," "agroecology in the city," and "agroecology of the city." These approaches connect the themes to different conceptions of the urban-rural relationship and suggest various research paths linked to transformative political action.
Food sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkagePolicyMOVIMENTOS A FAVOR DA AGRICULTURA URBANA EM CURITIBA – PARANÁ E A CONSTITUIÇÃO DE PRÁTICAS DE ENSINO AMBIENTAIS/EDUCATIVAS
2018Ana Paula da Silva Rodrigues, Marcia Regina R. S. Zago, Nívea Gomes Nascimento de Oliveira, Lidia M. Lima, Eloy Fassi Casagrande, Maclóvia Corrêa da Silva, Alexandre Hüller · Educação Ambiental em Ação · Brazil (Curitiba)
This study identified the origins of urban gardens in Curitiba, Brazil, as a social movement for the appropriation of urban spaces and investigated their contribution to environmental education for urban sustainability through participation mechanisms and environmental education teaching practices.
CommunityFood educationPolicyClimate changeCase Study of the Roles and Characteristics of Community Gardens in Four North American Cities
2018Myung-Jin Shin, Jung‐Min Choi · Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture · North America
A preliminary field survey of 166 community gardens in Seattle, New York, Philadelphia, and Vancouver examined their spatial organization and social functions. The study found that community gardens in these North American cities perform diverse functions based on location, type, and societal needs. Specifically, 'uptown' gardens in Seattle and Vancouver focused on community participation, while 'downtown' gardens in New York and Philadelphia emphasized urban beautification.
CommunityPolicyEntre movimentos sociais e políticas de agroecologia urbana e na cidade de São Paulo
2018Lya Porto, Giulia Giacchè, Gustavo Nagib · · Brazil (São Paulo)
This article analyzes the interrelations between social movements and agro-ecological urban agriculture policies in São Paulo, Brazil. It examines three types of movements: the activities of urban farmers, the network formed by the São Paulo Urban Movement on Agro-ecology, and the actions of groups involved in political pressure and advocacy.
PolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceFarm Fresh Foods: What to Know About Growing and Selling Produce in Buffalo
2018Colleen Roberts · eCommons (Cornell University) · United States (Buffalo)
This document details local regulations for market and community gardens in Buffalo, including rules for selling produce. It provides tips for locating suitable sites for food gardens and outlines educational opportunities for growing and selling. Topics such as plant selection and soil safety are also addressed.
PolicyFood educationCommunityEconomicsSession J: Debating the inclusion of animals in the Urban Farming Movement in Detroit
2018Michelle Marie Proctor · · United States (Detroit)
Urban agriculture programs in Detroit have seen many urban farms begin to include animals, sparking policy and ethical debates. Supporters claim animals accelerate land remediation, fertilize and aerate soil, and improve petroleum-polluted soils. However, opponents point to problems such as botched slaughters and lack of animal welfare oversight, arguing that backyard animal husbandry should be regulated in the best interests of the community and animal welfare.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceEconomics“We’re Being Left to Blight”: Green Urban Development and Racialized Space in Kansas City
2018Chhaya Kolavalli · UKnowledge (University of Kentucky) · United States (Kansas City)
This dissertation, based on 26 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Kansas City, examines green urban development and urban agriculture projects from the perspective of residents in an African American majority neighborhood. It argues that dominant narratives of urban sustainability and agriculture, shaped by upper-middle-class white voices, support green development projects that marginalize and displace people of color and the poor. The study documents the lived consequences of these narratives and highlights resistance efforts by minority-led agricultural projects and neighborhood councils.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justicePRAÇA COLABOR[ATIVA]: NOVOS USOS DE ESPAÇOS PÚBLICOS URBANOSCOM PARTICIPAÇÃO POPULAR NO CONJUNTO HABITACIONAL ANA JACINTAEM PRESIDENTE PRUDENTE-SP
2018Juliana Cavalheiro Costa, Mayara Pisssuti Albano Vieira · COLLOQUIUM SOCIALIS · Brazil
This work aimed to gather knowledge on applying the placemaking concept to implement a community garden and orchard in an urban empty space within the Ana Jacinta Housing Complex in Presidente Prudente-SP, Brazil. The methodology involved bibliographic research on housing complexes, documentary research, and field surveys.
CommunityDIYPolicyHow to grow a city: cultivating an urban agriculture action plan through concept mapping
2018Wanda Martin, Lindsey Wagner · Agriculture & Food Security · Canada
In a Canadian prairie city, 66 participants used concept mapping and group discussions to develop an urban agriculture action plan. The plan consists of six concepts, with increasing food production in public spaces and improving education strategies ranked as both important and feasible. Participants stated that an integrated vision from city administration, along with a paid position to oversee bylaws and consider local food procurement systems, is necessary to advance urban agriculture.
CommunityPolicyFood educationFood sovereignty & justiceJustice across Real and Imagined Food Worlds: Rural Corn Growers, Urban Agriculture Activists, and the Political Ontologies They Live By
2018Michael Carolan · Rural Sociology · United States
Understandings of "social justice" and "autonomy" were investigated among conventional corn producers in North Dakota and participants in an urban agriculture cooperative in an anonymized U.S. city. Qualitative interviews and "word cloud" analysis revealed greatly differing understandings of these concepts, but both groups were grounded in a shared neoliberal world that negatively impacts both populations. Interviewees in the rural space failed to understand their marginalization as an artifact of the neoliberal worldview.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityUrban–rural linkagePolicyStakeholder-Identified Barriers, Challenges, and Obstacles in Community Gardens
2018Sue Webb, John Diaz · EDIS · United States (Florida)
A Delphi study was conducted to identify the barriers, challenges, and obstacles to starting and sustaining community gardens in Florida. This 3-page document summarizes the results of that study.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyAgroecologia: Uma análise do direito humano à alimentação adequada
2018Patrícia Fernandes Forny, Luana Mota e Sá Silva, Wyara Ferreira Melo, Patrício Borges Maracajá, Micheline Braga Lopes, Adrielly Braz Rolim · · Brazil
This study aims to detail and provide an understanding of the human right to adequate food through urban agriculture, within the context of the 1988 Federal Constitution and post-World War II developments in Brazil. This understanding was gained through a bibliographic review on the adequacy of this right, agroecology, and urban agriculture.
Food sovereignty & justicePolicyCivic Stewardship as a Catalyst for Social-Ecological Change in Detroit, Michigancccccc
2018R. Witt, Erika S. Svendsen, Marianne E. Krasny · Cornell University Press eBooks · United States (Detroit)
This chapter explores how civic stewardship has driven social-ecological transformation in Detroit through the work of the nonprofit Greening of Detroit. The organization expanded its mission from restoring the city's tree canopy to include urban agriculture, environmental education, and workforce development, acting as a bridging organization connecting various stakeholders. Sustained community-based stewardship builds resilience, strengthens social networks, and shapes both local change and broader social movements through inclusive green infrastructure and civic participation.
CommunityPolicyFood educationBiodiversityBuilding an Urban Food System Through UDC Food Hubs
2018Sabine O’Hara, Dwane Jones, Harris B. Trobman · Advances in higher education and professional development book series · United States
The Landgrant College of the University of the District of Columbia operates urban food hubs as the only exclusively urban land-grant university in the United States. These hubs utilize bio-intensive hydroponic and aquaponic systems and green roofs to maximize productivity in small urban spaces, and kitchens serve as business incubators and training facilities. They also promote waste and water reuse through composting, rainwater capture, and green infrastructure, offering training, wellness, and leadership opportunities to UDC students and DC residents.
Food educationEconomicsCommunityCompostDigital agriculturePolicyFood Justice in the Trump Age: Priorities for Urban Food Advocates
2017Nevin Cohen, Janet Poppendieck, Nicholas Freudenberg · Journal of Food Law & Policy · United States
This essay outlines priorities for food advocates following the election of President Donald Trump: preserving SNAP, preventing industry deregulation, and sustaining regional food systems. It analyzes the potential conservative-backed counter-proposals to each of these priorities.
PolicyWelfareContributions of Local Farming to Urban Sustainability in the Northeast United States
2017Goldstein B. · Environmental Science & Technology · Northeast United States
An analysis for the northeastern US concluded that local and urban farming provides only small environmental benefits to urban sustainability (carbon, land, water), partly because it cannot displace livestock, which dominate agricultural emissions and land use.
PolicyEconomicsRethinking Land Struggle in the Postindustrial City
2017Safransky S. · Antipode · Detroit, USA
Examines Detroit's land reordering (including greening and urban farming) under fiscal austerity, arguing that repurposing 'vacant' land reignites racialized dispossession and undermines the sovereignty and land claims of existing low-income Black communities.
PolicyCommunityFood justice racial projects: fighting racial neoliberalism from the Bay to the Big Apple
2017Sbicca J., Myers J. S. · Environmental Sociology · USA
Using two food justice organizations in the Bay Area and New York, the article situates urban food activism within 'racial neoliberalism,' showing that food/urban-agriculture movements are inseparable from racial and economic inequities and structures such as mass incarceration.
CommunityPolicyLegalising urban agriculture in Detroit: a contested way of planning for decline
2017Paddeu Flaminia · Town Planning Review · USA (Detroit)
Examines Detroit's 2012 zoning ordinance legalising urban agriculture, arguing it functioned as a contested 'planning for decline'. Shows the reform was shaped by political trade-offs and left land-tenure and equity questions unresolved, limiting real benefit to residents.
PolicyCommunity"To allow farming is to give up on the city": Political anxieties related to the disposition of vacant land for urban agriculture in Detroit
2017· Journal of Urban Affairs · USA (Detroit)
Analyzes the political controversy over disposing municipal vacant land for urban agriculture in Detroit (incl. the Hantz large-scale scheme), showing how the land-disposition policy stoked fears of speculative land grabs and 'giving up' on the city rather than delivering community benefit.
PolicyCommunity