Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
385 results(15 / 16)
Space to Grow: Women, art, and the urban agriculture movement
2011A. J. Gilbert, Yael Raviv · Women & Performance a journal of feminist theory · Global
The abstract for this record is incomplete. It introduces "Sharecropper," a series of micro farming installations, as an artistic, practical, and philosophical exploration of growing, cooking, and eating food within a community.
CommunityFood educationDIYUrban Agriculture: Ideas and Designs for the New Food Revolution
2011David Tracey · · Global
This text outlines various ideas and designs for urban agriculture, ranging from small-scale indoor cultivation like windowsill herbs and sprouts to container gardening in tight spaces. It also covers integrating food-growing into backyards, utilizing front lawns for food movements, engaging in public and community gardening, establishing community orchards, and exploring future farm concepts for higher yields.
DIYCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEntre el jardín y el huerto urbano. Propuestas de intervención crítica en la ciudad.
2011José Luis Galdeano Tostado · Creatividad y sociedad: revista de la Asociación para la Creatividad · Global
This paper observes an increasing awareness of environmental issues and neighborhood action in city centers, with concepts like urban gardens and self-managed spaces becoming more familiar. It suggests that vacant lands and unused building sites in cities offer significant potential for citizens' creative initiatives. The abstract does not present any specific findings on governance challenges or critical interventions.
Governance failureCommunityDIYPolicyUrban–rural linkageEvaluación estructural y funcional de los sistemas productivos urbanos en Quibdó, Chocó, Colombia
2011Teofilo Cuesta Borja, Ditter Horacio Mosquera Andrade · · Colombia (Quibdó)
This article presents the results of a structural and functional characterization of urban productive systems in Quibdó, Colombia. The study analyzed vegetation by growth habit and conducted a Rapid Rural Appraisal on species utilization. Residents use mixed home gardens, rooftops, and potted plants for urban agriculture, along with animal husbandry. 58 species across 51 genera and 41 botanical families were found, distributed in three strata. These species are important for food and traditional medicine, indicating that urban productive systems in Quibdó are oriented to supply food and medicinal needs.
DIYCommunityHealthGuerrilla's in the Community Garden
2011Alex Nicol · Australasian parks and leisure · Australia (Sydney)
This article describes the initial apprehension of Warringah's Parks Department in Sydney, Australia, regarding the establishment of a community garden due to budget constraints. This perspective shifted when the "Guerrilla Gardener" show initiated a project on council open space at Manly Vale, transforming an eyesore into a green oasis. The specific site, however, was already designated for a district playground.
CommunityDIYPolicy(" \. \ ··_ ..
2011Craig Pearson · Urban agriculture · Sri Lanka
Each community in Sri Lanka developed its own Green Plan and decided what vegetables or plants it would grow. Home garden plots and community gardens were created with seed and plant donations from a university, with planting occurring in April and May 2004. Community residents assumed responsibility for the maintenance of the plants, while Sevanatha and university staff visited the sites regularly to monitor and provide consultation.
CommunityDIYFood educationGreenhouse gas emissions from home composting of organic household waste
2010Andersen J.K., Boldrin A., Christensen T.H., Scheutz C. · Waste Management · Denmark
Uses six home composting units over one year and a static flux chamber method to measure and quantify greenhouse gas emissions from composting organic household waste.
DIYCompostEdible landscaping - integration of vegetable garden in the landscape of a private property.
2010Rodica Sima, Ioana Micu, Dănuţ Maniutiu, N. Sima, Vasile Lazăr · Bulletin of University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca Horticulture · Global
Edible landscaping integrates food-producing plants into ornamental settings, enhancing gardens with unique decorative components and offering health, aesthetic, and economic benefits. This approach considers both the aesthetic value and food production benefits of edible plants. Integrating vegetables into private property landscapes can provide a source of healthy fresh food and add aesthetic value through the cultivation of unusually colored or shaped varieties.
DIYHealthEconomicsRESEARCH 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 changeBiodiversityDai 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.
CommunityDIYPolicyHealthReuse of Domestic Greywater for the Irrigation of Food Crops
2009· Water, Air, & Soil Pollution · Global
Irrigates potted lettuce, carrots and peppers with untreated and treated (settling plus slow sand filtration) household greywater over eight weeks and tests edible portions for faecal indicator organisms.
DIYHealthMachiavelli and the Jam-makers
2009Anna Griffiths · Eureka street · Global
This article presents the events and decision-making processes that occurred during a community apricot jam-making session. It suggests that Niccolo Machiavelli would have found the complex politics, emotions, and diverse personalities in the community garden challenging, observing alternating forms of governance such as benign dictatorship, bureaucracy, and popular democracy.
CommunityDIYNitrogen and carbon losses from dung storage in urban gardens of Niamey, Niger
2009Martina Předotová, Eva Schlecht, Andreas Buerkert · Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems · Niger (Niamey)
An experiment quantified nitrogen and carbon losses from animal manure stored in urban vegetable gardens in Niamey, Niger. During a 3.5-month dry season experiment, cumulative gaseous nitrogen losses were highest (0.11 g kg−1 manure DM) in the uncovered control, decreasing by 72% with plastic sheet roofing and 50% with roofing plus rock phosphate. In a second 3.5-month rainy season experiment, carbon losses from the control were 164 g kg−1 manure DM, reduced to 77% and 65% of the control by roofing and roofing plus rock phosphate, respectively. Leaching losses during the rainy season were only observed for the unroofed control.
Organic cyclePeri-urban agricultureDIYEl Saber Tradicional en la Agricultura Urbana: influencia de las Fases Lunares en la producción de especies hortícolas.
2009Yael Kemelmajer, Laura Cecilia De Luca · · Global
This work, part of the Programme of Food Self-Production, studied the influence of moon phases on horticultural crop productivity in urban vegetable gardens. Adapting agrarian science mechanisms, it incorporated popular knowledge regarding lunar influence on crops. Broccoli and lettuce were planted during crescent and waning moon phases, and differences in productivity were found for both species according to these moments.
DIYCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceLinking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development: A role for urban agriculture?
2009Femke Hoekstra, R. van Veenhuizen · · Global
This article focuses on the role of urban agriculture in linking relief, rehabilitation, and development following disasters or emergency situations. It notes that many people in refugee situations establish small-scale gardening or micro-technologies like container gardening to improve food security. The article highlights urban agriculture's multiple functions, including community building and sustainable environments.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityWelfareDIYImpact of treadle pump irrigation technology on smallholder poverty and food security in Malawi: a case study of Blantyre and Mchinji districts
2008· International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability · Malawi
Case study in two Malawian districts finding that adopters of low-cost treadle pump irrigation had higher net farm income per hectare than non-adopters.
DIYEconomicsOn Guerrilla Gardening: A Handbook for Gardening without Boundaries
2008Richard W. Reynolds · · Global
This 2008 global handbook, "On Guerrilla Gardening," explores the motivations and methods of guerrilla gardening, a movement involving illicit cultivation of public land. The book compiles advice from guerrilla gardeners in thirty countries on topics such as plant selection, coping with environmental conditions, seed bombing, and propaganda. It also traces the historical development of the movement from the 17th century to the 1970s.
DIYCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageAprovechamiento de residuos sólidos en un sistema hidro-orgánico de agricultura urbana Use of solid residues in a hydro-organic culture systems of urban agriculture
2008Consuelo Montes Rojas, Víctor Felipe Terán Gómez, Diego Fernando Ortiz Tovar · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Colombia (Popayán)
This research aimed to design a hydro-organic system for vegetable production in small areas to contribute to urban food security and solid waste utilization in Popayán, Colombia. An alternative system was designed using recycled materials and evaluated with three nutritional treatments using cilantro as a biological indicator. The system achieved productions of up to 627 g m-2, surpassing traditional agriculture (227 g), and the common nutritional solution was identified as the best nutritional source.
Organic cycleFood sovereignty & justiceDIYAprovechamiento de residuos sólidos en un sistema hidro-orgánico de agricultura urbana
2008Consuelo Montes Rojas, Víctor Felipe Terán Gómez, Diego Fernando Ortiz Tovar · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Colombia
This research aimed to design a hydro-organic vegetable production system for small areas in Popayán, Colombia, utilizing recycled materials and urban solid waste. The system was evaluated using three nutritional treatments (organic leachate, supplemented organic leachate, common nutrient solution) with cilantro as a biological indicator. The urban vegetable production system achieved yields of up to 627 g m-2, surpassing traditional agriculture (227 g), with the commercial nutrient solution identified as the best nutritional source.
Organic cycleCompostFood sovereignty & justiceDIYDiscussion on residential community garden scenery design
2008Wang Ai-fe · Shanxi Architecture · Global
This paper discusses the function and current state of residential community garden scenery, thoroughly examining design principles based on factors like region, function, nature, system, and comprehension. It concludes that residential community garden scenery design must adopt measures suited to local conditions and comply with nature to meet contemporary demands.
CommunityDIYPreliminary Discussion on the City Rooftop Garden
2008Peng Yi-jun · Anhui nongye kexue · Global
This discussion examined the necessity and construction methods of rooftop gardens, along with the key considerations and challenges during their development. It also covered their developmental history, current status, and future prospects.
DIYCommunityClimate changeSharing the Harvest: A Citizen's Guide to Community Supported Agriculture
2007E. Elizabeth Henderson, Robyn. Van En · · Global
This book serves as a citizen's guide to Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). It covers the context of CSA, how to get started, organization, food aspects, various models, and its future. The guide also includes CSA resources, references, and an index.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityDIYPLANTAS DE BAJO PORTE MÁS UTILIZADAS PARA SETOS EN LA AGROSILVICULTURA O EN LA SILVICULTURA URBANA Y PERIURBANA
2007Valeria Olivera · · Cuba (City of the Havana)
This study surveyed producers in urban and peri-urban agriculture settings in Cuba to identify low-growing plant species commonly used for hedges in agroforestry systems. The surveys revealed 13 species across 9 families utilized as hedges. In the City of Havana, Marpacifco (Hibiscus rosasinensis), Bugambilia (Bougainvillea glabra), and Muralla (Murraya paniculata) were most frequently used, while in rural areas, Cardona (Euphorbia lactea), Tuna (Opuntia dillenii), and Itamo real (Pedilanthus tithymaloides) were more common.
DIYUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureBiodiversityThe Advantages of a Rooftop Garden and Other Things
2006Robin Vande Zande · International Journal of Art & Design Education · Global
This article outlines important concepts for teaching young people about regeneration design and the future of our changing environment. Three regeneration principles adhered to by city planners, architects, and product designers—smart growth, sustainable development, and new urbanism—are highlighted as a common thread in restructuring efforts for cities and buildings to be aesthetically, economically, and ecologically healthier places for human and non-human life.
DIYClimate changeBiodiversityDesign and fabrication of adjustable red-green-blue LED light arrays for plant research
2005· BMC Plant Biology · Global
A technical report presenting build plans and circuitry to inexpensively fabricate tunable red-green-blue LED arrays, with two fixture designs (small-scale and expandable growth-chamber versions) for adjustable plant lighting.
DIYEconomics