Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
7626 results(152 / 306)
Evaluation of Farm Fresh Food Boxes: A Hybrid Alternative Food Network Market Innovation
2020Marilyn Sitaker, Jane Kolodinsky, Weiwei Wang, Lisa Chase, Julia Van Soelen Kim, Diane Smith, Hans Estrin, Zoe van Vlaanderen, Lauren Greco · Sustainability · United States
A mixed-methods evaluation examined Farm Fresh Food Box (F3B), a market innovation in which pre-ordered CSA-style produce boxes are sold through rural retail outlets, implemented from 2016 to 2018 in Vermont, Washington and California as part of a USDA-funded multi-state extension and research project. A national market survey found consumers likely to purchase F3B if it offered good value on fresh local produce without requiring a subscription. The model placed additional labor burdens on farmers and retailers and required extra time for relationship-building and record-keeping. Purchasers were generally satisfied with quality, quantity and variety, and a high proportion considered F3B good value for money. As a business innovation it showed only modest profit, though retailers and farmers considered it worthwhile for expanding their customer base, promoting their brand and developing partnerships.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsA Study on Community Supported Agriculture Model in the Context of Food Ethics
2020Fatih Özden · Turkish Journal of Bioethics · Turkey
This paper discusses the community supported agriculture (CSA) model in Turkey from the perspective of food ethics. It identifies the adverse effects of synthetic agrochemicals on human and ecosystem health, corporate dominance of the food supply chain, and intellectual property rights as issues on the food ethics agenda.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceConsumer Inequality Aversion and Risk Preferences in Community Supported Agriculture
2020Kévin Bernard, Aurélie Bonein, Douadia Bougherara · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · France
A study eliciting inequality aversion and risk preferences among 162 French community-supported agriculture (CSA) consumers through incentivized field experiments. Consumers were found to be concerned about payoff inequalities, showing advantageous inequality aversion toward CSA farmers but also disadvantageous inequality seeking. Consumers were risk averse and loss averse and distorted probabilities. The study observes that inequality aversion and risk preferences in the loss domain may complement each other in ways that strengthen consumer support for CSA farmers.
EconomicsCommunityCSA & Teikei사회통합형 커뮤니티정원의 모델정원 기본계획
2020이애란, 정나라 · · South Korea
A South Korean study presenting a practical planning approach for creating socially integrated community gardens. It sets out the definition and effects of community gardens, general planning content, and a basic preparation process with checklist, then uses a model garden to walk through the full process from resident participation through site selection, design and construction, with detailed data for each stage. The stated aim is to make existing gardening data usable as a basic reference for building socially integrated community gardens.
CommunityPolicyWelfareBeyond backyard chickens: A framework for understanding municipal urban agriculture policies in the United States
2020Madeline R. Halvey, Raychel Santo, Sara N. Lupolt, Trent J. Dilka, Brent F. Kim, Grace H. Bachman, Jill K. Clark, Keeve E. Nachman · Food Policy · United States
Researchers built a framework covering authority, policy instruments, and topic areas to catalogue municipal urban agriculture policy in the 40 most populous US cities, compiling recommendations, city plans, regulations, guidance, and city-run programs. The catalogue found wide variation in policy instruments and topics, from accessory structures and composting to public land access and soil safety, and documented a growing use of public-private partnerships that shifts civil society groups from stakeholders to co-governors, raising questions about who leads urban agriculture advocacy and enforcement and how equity and food justice concerns are affected. The study also found most cities lack a clear synthesis of their scattered urban agriculture policies across departments.
PolicyCommunityExpanding Your Customer Base to Low-Income Populations: SNAP Basics & Marketing
2020Regan Emmons, Kelsey Hall, Roslynn McCann · Digital Commons - USU (Utah State University) · United States
This Utah State University extension workshop outline covers strategies for farmers markets, farm stands, and community supported agriculture (CSA) programs to reach low-income customers by accepting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and incentive programs such as Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB). It presents planned workshop content on marketing techniques, the benefits of accepting SNAP and incentives, and ways market managers and CSA growers can incorporate SNAP into operations, without reporting original study data.
EconomicsCommunityRed Stick Farms: Planning for the Future
2020Maria Bampasidou, Whitney R. McKinzie, Bampasidou, Maria, McKinzie, Whitney R. · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · United States
This teaching case study examines Red Stick Farm, a family-operated, small-scale urban farm in greater Baton Rouge that has operated for three years, as its operators weigh two mutually exclusive growth strategies: expanding the customer base through a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program or increasing production capacity by acquiring more land. It is structured as classroom material guiding students through strategic business planning practices, including defining a mission statement, assessing strengths and threats, and identifying risks.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityA study on Japanese Guerrilla Gardening “Katte-Kosaku” as deviant act on riverbed from the perspective of social well-being
2020Ken Muramatsu, Akane Bessho, Takahiro Yamazaki, Akiko Iida, Makoto Yokohari · Journal of the City Planning Institute of Japan · Japan
This study examined "Katte-Kosaku," unauthorized cultivation on the riverbed of the Hanami River in Chiba City, Japan, from a social well-being perspective. It found that the practice has a welfare function that improves the quality of life of socially vulnerable people, and that a certain number of people in the surrounding community tolerate the activity.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityDIYArthropod Communities in Urban Agricultural Production Systems under Different Irrigation Sources in the Northern Region of Ghana
2020Louis Amprako, Kathrin Stenchly, Martin Wiehle, George Nyarko, Andreas Buerkert · Insects · Ghana
In 36 fields around Tamale in Ghana's Northern Region, researchers used 72-hour pitfall and pan trap sampling to examine how different irrigation water sources shaped arthropod communities in urban and peri-urban agricultural systems. Among 14,226 specimens spanning 13 orders, 103 families, 264 genera, and 329 taxa, analyzed with non-metric multidimensional scaling and redundancy analysis, arthropods grouped by irrigation source, with dipterans -- notably the disease-vector eye gnat Hippelates pusio -- dominant under wastewater irrigation, three alien ant species indicating community shifts from invasive species, and seven ant species forming mutualistic relationships with aphids flagging a future risk of aphid pest outbreaks.
BiodiversityPollinatorsPeri-urban agricultureCommunityThe Role of Urban Agriculture in Improving the Livelihood of the Urban Poor and the Challenges: The Case of Hawassa City Administration, SNNPRS, Ethiopia
2020Mahteme Feleke Debela · Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development · Ethiopia
A descriptive survey with qualitative data examined the role of urban agriculture (bio-intensive gardening, backyard poultry keeping, and sheep rearing/fattening) in the livelihoods of the urban poor in Hawassa City, Ethiopia. 76% of respondents gained additional income, 51.4% used it as a food source, and 29% found employment through it. Reported challenges included lack of credit services, absence of supporting technology, shortages of feed/treatment/inputs, and poor market access and storage facilities.
WelfareEconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceA rede carioca de agricultura urbana e o direito à cidade
2020Caren Freitas de Lima, Silvia Regina Nunes Baptista, Susana Arruda, Cristhiane Oliveira da Graça Amâncio · Revista Campo-Território · Brazil
This article analyzes Henri Lefebvre's concept of the "right to the city" in the context of Rio de Janeiro, a Latin American city, combining Lefebvre's framework with a historical bibliographical review of urban requalification and removals in Rio, analysis of official institutional data, and field research. In the 2000s, neighborhoods with a history of agricultural activity in Rio's West Zone — mainly Planning Area 4 (AP4), covering the Vargens region (Vargem Grande, Vargem Pequena, Camorim, and parts of Recreio dos Bandeirantes, Barra da Tijuca, and Jacarepaguá) — became targets of real estate expansion. The State enabled this expansion through urbanistic instruments such as the Vargens Urban Structuring Plan (PEU das Vargens) and the Land Use and Occupation Law (LUOS), which reduce agricultural areas. Although generally neglected in debates over urban struggles, the agroecology-based Carioca Urban Agriculture Network (Rede CAU), acting through the Articulação Plano Popular (APP Vargens), takes up the struggle for the right to the city and for urban planning, asserting that the right to the city is also the right to plant.
Equity & displacementPolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceSan Germán Entre Nubes Ecobarrio para el Mejoramiento Integral y regeneración del paisaje
2020Marcela Patricia Galindo Toloza, Brandon Steven García Rodríguez · · Colombia (Bogotá)
This project proposal addresses the San Germán neighborhood in Bogotá, Colombia — located between the Usme and San Cristóbal localities on the upper slopes of the Entre Nubes ecological district park in the city's southeast, an area designated as protected land since 2000 under the city's land-use plan (POT). The Integral Improvement Plan (PMI) aims to provide an architectural, urban, and environmental solution to the neighborhood's problems by structuring an alternative for recovering the existing urban fabric in relation to the informal settlement that developed there over time, through rehabilitation and landscape regeneration. The PMI is designed to minimize the physical, environmental, and legal impacts caused by informal occupation, which has degraded residents' quality of life and disarticulated the neighborhood's urban structure from the wider city. It implements an "Ecobarrio" (eco-neighborhood) strategy incorporating design for different modes of mobility, prioritizing bike paths and pedestrian trails, applying integral-improvement treatment to existing construction where possible, recovering disused areas, and designating a zone for urban agriculture — elements intended to work together to regenerate the sustainability and livability of the San Germán community.
CommunityPolicyBiodiversityClimate changeRisk of cadmium, lead and zinc exposure from consumption of vegetables produced in areas with mining and smelting past
2020Małgorzata Ćwieląg‐Drabek, Agata Piekut, Klaudia Gut, Mateusz Grabowski · Scientific Reports · Europe
A study of family allotment gardens (FAGs) in Silesia Province, one of the most polluted regions in Poland, analyzed 219 soil samples and 64 edible plant samples to link the geochemical disturbance caused by past mining and smelting activity to consumer exposure to toxic and carcinogenic metallic trace elements. Contents of these elements in topsoil were spatially diverse and depended primarily on the location of industrial pollution sources. Average cadmium (0.52 mg/kg fresh weight) and lead (0.57 mg/kg fresh weight) content in vegetables exceeded maximum permissible concentrations under European quality standards. A human health risk assessment based on three dietary exposure scenarios found that, in every scenario, potatoes — a staple of the Polish diet — carried the highest average daily dose for all three elements. The study concludes that consuming vegetables grown in Silesia Province's family allotment gardens may pose a significant health risk to consumers.
Contamination & food safetyHealthPeri-urban agricultureCommunityCommunity gardens as third places
2020Joanne Dolley · Geographical Research · Global
This study argues that community gardens can function as "third places" that facilitate informal interactions among neighborhood residents. When community gardens serve as third places alongside their placemaking features, they help connect new residents to a place, easing challenges associated with population mobility, such as social isolation.
CommunityWelfareHealthFacilitating Spaces of Urban Agroecology: A Learning Framework for Community-University Partnerships
2020Jennifer A. Nicklay, Kirsten Valentine Cadieux, Mary Rogers, Nicolas A. Jelinski, Kat LaBine, Gaston E. Small · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · United States
This paper examines collaboration among growers, policymakers, scholars, and community members around urban farms, community gardens, and home gardens in the Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP), Minnesota metropolitan area, proposing a "learning framework" that emerged from a five-year community-university partnership. In fall 2019 the partnership conducted its first formal evaluation of its participatory processes, examining (1) what facilitated or barred authentic collaboration and (2) the role of relationships within those processes, through qualitative surveys and interviews with researchers, partners, and students. The analysis found that urban agroecology research created a space for shared learning, facilitated through co-creation of research, embodied processes, and relationships with people, cohorts, and place.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthPolicyKontribusi Pertanian Perkotaan terhadap Pendapatan Rumah Tangga di Kota Yogyakarta
2020Salsabila Nur A, Ir. Irham, S.P. Anung Pranyoto · · Indonesia
This descriptive study, using purposively sampled primary data from 30 farmers in Danurejan sub-district and 25 farmers in Jetis sub-district, Yogyakarta City, Indonesia, examines the contribution of urban farming income to household income through farm income analysis, a one-sample t-test, household income analysis, and multiple linear regression. Urban farming produced a positive annual income (Rp 112,883/year), but its contribution to total household income (Rp 46,579,988/year) was only 0.24%. This low share was attributed to the very small quantity of crops cultivated per household — for example, 4 polybags/year of bird's-eye chili, 10 polybags/year of large chili, and 11 polybags/year of mustard greens. Farmer age, education level, quantity of crops grown, and seedling price were the factors significantly affecting urban farming income.
Economic viabilityEconomicsCommunityAgriculture urbaine, pauvreté et sécurité alimentaire : un portrait du Mali
2020Dorothée Boccanfuso, Marie-Ève Yergeau · Cahiers de recherche · Africa
This study presents a diagnostic assessment of the urban and peri-urban agriculture (AUP) sector in Mali, based on a literature review and individual interviews with stakeholders in Bamako, forming the first stage of a research project intended to measure AUP's impact on poverty and food security. The literature review found that few studies measure AUP's impact, that existing results are mixed and inconsistent, and that there is a lack of solid evidence on the topic. The Bamako interviews surfaced the sector's economic, social, and environmental issues in the Malian context and confirmed, from key stakeholders, the relevance and necessity of the planned research project.
Limited or null effectFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityWelfareEKSPLORASI MIXED-PROGRAM (PASAR BUNGA, KULINER, DAN TAMAN KOTA) DALAM MERANCANG 3 FLORE KEBAYORAN LAMA, JAKARTA SELATAN
2020Febriana Febriana, Suryono Herlambang · Jurnal Sains Teknologi Urban Perancangan Arsitektur (Stupa) · Indonesia
This architectural design project analyzes the largest green open space in South Jakarta, in the Kebayoran Lama Utara sub-district, and finds that the largest share of it is occupied by cemeteries, leaving the city far short of its minimum green-space target, alongside a stark contrast between adjacent upper- and lower-income districts. Based on this analysis, it proposes "3 Flore," a mixed-program complex linking Kebayoran Lama Station with surrounding upper- and lower-income areas, combining a flower market, a culinary program, and an urban park with a weekend rooftop-garden rental system.
CommunityEconomicsManagement of Slum-Based Urban Farming and Economic Empowerment of the Community of Makassar City, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
2020Batara Surya, Syafri Syafri, Hadijah Hadijah, Baharuddin Baharuddin, Andi Tenri Fitriyah, Harry Hardian Sakti · Sustainability · Indonesia (Makassar)
A sequential explanatory mixed-methods study (observation, surveys, in-depth interviews, documentation) examined slum management through urban farming and community empowerment in the Metro Tanjung Bunga area of Makassar City, South Sulawesi, Indonesia (published 2020). Business motivation, human resource capacity, community participation, and economic business management were found to significantly affect economic empowerment. Urban farming directly increased community welfare by 27.66%, community capacity-building increased it by 55.95%, and business capital support increased it by 36.72%.
CommunityEconomicsWelfareEnhancing Consumer Horticulture’s Millennial Outreach: Social Media, Retail, and Public Garden Perspectives
2020Esther McGinnis, Alicia Rihn, Natalie R. Bumgarner, Sarada Krishnan, Jourdan Cole, Casey Sclar, Hayk Khachatryan · HortTechnology · United States
A workshop report (HortTechnology, 2020) documents a July 23, 2019 session held in Las Vegas by the Consumer Horticulture and Master Gardener Professional Interest Group at the American Society for Horticultural Science annual conference, which discussed terminology resonant with millennials (e.g., plant parent, plant enthusiast, urban agriculture) and featured presentations on social media outreach on Instagram, retail point-of-sale promotions, and botanical garden programming aimed at younger audiences. The group concluded that more consumer horticulture professionals should engage in tailored social media outreach and recommended further research into consumer behavior and retail marketing preferences among millennials.
CommunityDigital agricultureThe role of school gardens as conservation networks for tree genetic resources
2020Francesca Grazioli, Muhabbat Turdieva, Chris J. Kettle · · Global
A book chapter (2020) discusses how school gardens can engage children in documenting the diversity of socioeconomically important tree species around their school and community, and highlights the role schools can play in ex situ conservation of tree genetic resources through school arboreta, seed orchards, and nurseries. It presents case studies and a proposed framework for incorporating this into school curricula, without reporting quantitative outcomes.
Food educationBiodiversityCommunityCreating Opportunities for Urban Agriculture in Lewiston/Auburn
2020Lily Edelman-Gold, Meredith Melendy · · United States
A report on Lewiston and Auburn, Maine (2020) compared urban agriculture ordinances and performance standards from cities including Chicago, Illinois; Austin, Texas; and Minneapolis, Minnesota, and analyzed interviews with stakeholders in those cities, finding examples of standards that allow more freedom and equitable urban agriculture practice than currently exists in Lewiston and Auburn. The report's recommendations for Lewiston/Auburn include: combined restrictions for fowl, livestock, and composting (e.g., permitting a set number of chickens on smaller lots with conditional allowances on larger ones); reduced setback requirements for bees with flyway barriers where needed; increased maximum square footage for community gardens, introduction of a "market garden" designation into city code, and allowance of on-site or farm-stand sales; and explicit guidelines on what can and cannot be composted.
PolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityWelfareA prática da agricultura urbana e o cultivo de hortícolas no município de Santa Maria-RS
2020Janete Webler Cancelier, César De David, Janete Facco · Geosul · Brazil
A paper on Santa Maria, in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil (2020) examines vegetable cultivation practice in the city's peri-urban area, arguing that agriculture aimed at food production within urban/peri-urban areas is redefining the use of space, bringing changes to social, environmental, and economic relations and transforming landscapes and production dynamics. Growing demand for quality food has enabled agricultural activity to persist in urban spaces, and a way of life built around a distinctive mode of production with local specificity has gained value; in Santa Maria's peri-urban areas, horticultural production takes place with products sold weekly at fairs, markets, and on producers' properties, and is regarded as a source of household income.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justicePublic Participation In The Implementation Of The Urban Farming Program In Bandung City
2020Bayu Nandra Ramadhan, Sugihardjo Sugihardjo, Suminah Suminah · Khazanah Jurnal Mahasiswa · Indonesia
This study examines the implementation of Bandung City's Urban Farming Program, which aims to make use of open spaces such as vacant and residual land, and analyzes the level of public participation in it. Using a descriptive quantitative method with proportional random sampling of 75 respondents and multiple linear regression analysis in SPSS 26.0, the study found that the level of public participation in Bandung's urban farming program falls into the upper category, as measured across the stages of planning, implementation, outcome utilization, and monitoring and evaluation. Supporting factors — opportunity, ability, and willingness — were found to contribute a significant impact on program implementation, valued at exactly 37.6%.
CommunityPolicyPerancangan Buku Visual Panduan Dasar Urban Farming Sebagai Media Edukasi Bagi Masyarakat yang Ingin Memulai Urban Farming
2020Mirna Meidina, Baroto Tavib Indrojarwo · Jurnal Sains dan Seni ITS · Indonesia
In response to growing interest in urban farming among Indonesian city residents, this design study produced an educational visual guidebook aimed primarily at women aged 20-30 with mid-level income and at least a diploma education who want to start urban farming. The design process involved an experimental drafting and layout study, a depth interview with urban farming practitioner and researcher Dr. Sitawati and a graphic designer, and observation at sites including Eco Green Park Malang. A post-test survey of 45 respondents representing the target audience across two sub-districts assessed preferences for systematics, layout, illustration, hierarchy, and information-delivery efficiency. The result was a 204-page reference book in four chapters covering urban farming basics, garden design, plant care, and miniature garden construction, using color vector illustrations and infographics.
Food educationCommunityDIY