Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
4122 results(158 / 165)
Assessment of the potential adoption of infield rainwater harvesting technique in the communal farming areas of the upper and middle Modder River Basin, South Africa
2005PS van Heerden, Yali E. Woyessa, Etheresia Pretorius · Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir landbouvoorligting/South African journal of agricultural extension · South Africa
A study in the communal farming areas of the upper and middle Modder River Basin, South Africa, assessed the potential for adopting an infield rainwater harvesting (IRWH) technique developed by the Agricultural Research Council's Institute for Soil, Climate and Water. The technique significantly increased crop yield over conventional practice, and homestead-level adoption grew from six to more than 950 households. An estimated 80,667 hectares in the study area were suitable for IRWH, of which about 14,500 hectares lay in communal farming areas. A participatory field survey of 21 randomly selected villages found strong positive motivators, such as increased crop yield and household food availability, but also strong demotivators — high levels of poverty, limited family labor, lack of tools, and lack of fences around community gardens leading to theft and animal damage. These demotivators were judged strong enough to prevent significant expansion of IRWH beyond the homestead scale, and the expected impact on downstream water availability was therefore judged minimal.
Peri-urban agricultureEconomicsPolicy"Urban versus rural" no longer matches reality: An early public agro-residential development in periurban Santiago, Chile
2004Madaleno I.M., Gurovich A. · Cities · Chile (Santiago)
Using periurban Santiago's La Pintana district as a case study, this paper demonstrates that the urban–rural dichotomy is inadequate for capturing agro-residential realities, where cooperative smallholder farming coexists with urban uses in what the authors call a living ecocity laboratory.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsDiversity and connections in community gardens: a contribution to local sustainability
2004Leigh Holland · Local Environment · United Kingdom
This 2004 study in the United Kingdom analyzed the community garden movement through questionnaires and in-depth interviews. It found that community gardens, often in inner-city areas, serve diverse purposes including vegetation growing, permaculture, organic methods, health, education, and training. These gardens are strongly characterized by community participation and involvement, suggesting the movement could model local social, economic, and environmental policy implementation.
CommunityClimate changePolicyTending Cultural Landscapes and Food Citizenship in Toronto's Community Gardens
2004Lauren Baker · Geographical Review · Canada (Toronto)
Toronto's community gardens, numbering over 100, are sites of place-based politics linked to the community food-security movement. These gardens reflect the city's cultural landscape and serve as a strategy to regenerate the local food system and provide access to healthy, affordable food. Three case studies illustrate the complexities of "food citizenship" and the role gardeners play in transforming urban spaces.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyONE HUNDRED YEARS OF ALLOTMENT GARDENS IN POLAND1
2004Anne C. Bellows · Food and Foodways · Poland
Polish allotment gardeners collectively represent the largest land managers in Poland, with a formalized urban allotment food production system dating back to 1997. This system, combining local and national government policy with NGO management and private use, provides a model for food security and urban open space. However, this arrangement also creates ongoing tension among stakeholders and a contentious debate regarding the private and public uses of urban land.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageThe Planner in the Garden: A Historical View into the Relationship between Planning and Community Gardens
2004Laura Lawson · Journal of Planning History · United States
This historical review of US community garden programs since the 1890s reveals an ambivalent relationship between community gardens and the planning profession. While praised for serving environmental, social, and individual objectives, community gardens are largely ignored in long-range planning due to being perceived as opportunistic and temporary. This highlights unresolved tensions between professional planning and civic concerns, and between comprehensive planning and local interventions.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsCities people planet : liveable cities for a sustainable world
2004Herbert Girardet · · Global
This book explores the concept of liveable cities for a sustainable world. Its chapters cover a range of topics including urban ecological aspects, the role of technology, globalization, transport, efficient water use, relearning urban agriculture, and building EcoPolis.
Urban–rural linkageClimate changePolicyLivelihoods in conflict: disputes over water for household-level productive uses in Tarata, Bolivia.
2004Rocío García Bustamante, John Butterworth, M. Flierman, Daniel Herbas, Melvin Hollander, S. van der Meer, P. Ravenstijn, Magaly Reynaga, Gustavo Zurita · · Bolivia (Tarata)
In 2002, Tarata, Cochabamba, Bolivia, experienced violent conflicts over the right to use water from the Laka Laka dam for urban agriculture. The dam was intended for large-scale irrigation and domestic use, but not urban productive uses, leading to disputes when the urban population sought water for homestead cultivation. Although 5% of the reservoir yield was allocated for urban supply, its poor quality prevented drinking use, prompting the community to organize for its use in irrigating small plots, despite opposition from irrigation farmers.
Governance failureCommunityUrban–rural linkagePolicyWhat are Necessary to Convert Environmental Resources to Environmental Assets-Using Corporate Accounting Principles to Assess the Greenery Activities Conducted with Collaboration between Citizens and Local Government and it's Achievements-
2004Fujio HIRATA · Journal of The Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture · Japan
This paper discusses the importance of not only conserving urban green spaces but also utilizing them to convert environmental resources into environmental assets. It emphasizes the need for role sharing and collaborative relationships between citizens and local governments to establish such utilization systems. Examples from Japan's 'Satoyama' conservation and Open Garden activities, along with U.S. community gardens, offer suggestions for developing these systems.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsScience-Based Solutions to Obesity: What is the Role of Agriculture?
2004CAST · · United States
This comprehensive report by a twelve-member task force examines the changing role of agriculture in urban settings within historical and contemporary American society. It outlines geographic, demographic, and economic changes in rural and metropolitan life, considering policy issues such as land preservation, alternative market opportunities, sprawl, taxation, and food security. The report also presents research and educational challenges for higher education institutions.
HealthFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageTHE LEGACY OF ALLOTMENT GARDENS IN INDUSTRIAL URBAN SETTINGS
2004Tanja Pless‐Mulloli, Vivienne S. Air, Catherine Vizard, Ian Singleton, D. L. Rimmer, Philip Hartley · Epidemiology · United Kingdom
A study in an urban, industrial allotment site in the UK's northeast assessed the potential for public health impact related to soil contamination by taking 86 soil samples and analyzing vegetables and eggs. All 18 initial soil samples exceeded UK guidelines for lead (median 869 mg/kg) and arsenic (median 40 mg/kg), and widespread contamination with PCDD/F was also found. Despite high soil contamination, the uptake of lead and arsenic into vegetables and eggs was low, and these were not deemed major exposure pathways.
Contamination & food safetyCommunityHealthPolicyUrban Agriculture in Shenzhen: Problems and Strategies for Sustainable Development
2004Jianguo Dai · Journal of Shenzhen Polytechnic · China (Shenzhen)
Urban agriculture in Shenzhen faces problems including decreasing farmland, inadequate skilled farmers, poor disaster resistance, immature insurance, increasing contamination of water, soil, air, and agricultural products, and poor modern enterprise management. Strategies proposed for sustainable development include specific laws, pollution protection, education, research, technology application, industrial technology application, leisure agriculture development, and diversification.
Contamination & food safetyPolicyEconomicsClimate changeFood educationBox 2.3 Air pollution and urban and peri-urban agriculture in South Asia
2004Kenny Lynch · · United States
A 1992 survey by Bryant and Johnston in the US examined farming in the 'city's countryside'. The survey found that key concerns among farmers included changes in the local community, excessive traffic, issues of trespassing and vandalism, and complaints from non-farm neighbors. These findings indicate challenges in governance and community relations for peri-urban farmers.
Governance failurePeri-urban agricultureCommunityPolicyOn Developing Chongqing Agriculture Tourism
2004Gang Kang · Journal of Chongqing Polytechnic College · China (Chongqing)
This article positions urban agriculture tourism as a new method for sustainable development in tourism, outlining the concepts and development of urban agriculture and urban agriculture tourism in Chongqing. It illustrates the advantages of urban agriculture tourism in Chongqing and presents four types of agricultural tourism development for the region. Based on this information, the article puts forward suggestions for developing urban agriculture tourism in Chongqing.
EconomicsUrban–rural linkagePolicyA Preliminary Discussion on Urban Agriculture
2004Jin Guo-feng · Nongye xiandaihua yanjiu · Global
This paper discusses urban agriculture, defining its concept and analyzing its types, features, and functions. It posits that with rapid urban development, the integration of city and countryside, along with urban agriculture, represents a trend in modern agriculture.
PolicyUrban–rural linkage因势利导 统筹兼顾 积极发展都市农业
2004朱慧娟 · 浙江现代农业 · China
In recent years, Yinzhou District's agriculture has actively promoted the adjustment of its industrial structure and industrialization, achieving sustained and healthy development aimed at increasing agricultural efficiency and farmers' income. Following the conversion of Yinxian County into a district, administrative barriers with the Ningbo urban area were removed, facilitating the rational flow of production factors and opening new avenues for the district's socio-economic development. This has led to the emergence of numerous large-scale, high-grade leading agricultural enterprises.
EconomicsPolicyUrban–rural linkage" L'agriculture urbaine dans le bassin méditerranéen, une réalité ancienne à l'heure du renouveau",
2004Marc Lavergne · HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · Europe
While urbanization and agriculture often appear contradictory, the existence of urban agriculture (intra-urban and peri-urban) in the Mediterranean basin demonstrates that their relationship is not as clear-cut. Urban growth consumes agricultural land, and urban and rural worlds seem radically opposed in lifestyles and values. However, urban agriculture has forged complex relationships with the urban environment, involving both antagonisms and complementarities.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyClimate changeLand-Cover Dynamics in an Urban Area of Ghana
2004Ademola K. Braimoh, Paul L. G. Vlek · Earth Interactions · Ghana
This study quantified land-cover changes in a 2400-ha area of northern Ghana using Landsat images from 1984, 1992, and 1999, and projected future distribution. Remote sensing showed built-up area expansion at 26 ha/year (1984-92) and 35 ha/year (1992-99), alongside peri-urban agriculture development at 24 ha/year (1992-99). Projections indicated built-up areas would cover 39% of the landscape by 2006, at the expense of cropland and natural vegetation.
Peri-urban agriculturePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceStudy on the modification of agriculture structure and functions of Chongqing Urbanism Circle
2004Lai Chang-wei · Journal of Chongqing Institute of Commerce · China (Chongqing)
This study examines the declining proportion of agriculture in Chongqing Urbanism Circle's total economic gross due to civilization and industrialization. It asserts that agriculture's status remains important for perfecting city functions and developing industries. Modifying agricultural structure and functions and developing modern urban agriculture are identified as significant tasks for promoting Chongqing's agricultural and overall industrial development within the Urbanism Circle.
EconomicsPolicyUrban–rural linkageRecent Work in Cuban Studies 2003
2004Marian Goslinga · Cuban studies · Cuba
This entry from "Recent Work in Cuban Studies 2003" lists several publications related to Cuban agriculture and urban agriculture from 2003. It includes books such as "Agriculture in the City: A Key to Sustainability in Havana, Cuba" and master's theses on user benefits of urban agriculture in Havana and sustainable livelihoods in Cienfuegos. The entry also references articles discussing land-use planning, economic reform, and agricultural policy in Cuba.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsO SEIKATSU CLUB: IMBRICAMENTO ENTRE REDES SOCIAIS, SEGURANÇA DOS ALIMENTOS, SUSTENTABILIDADE E O PROCESSO INSTITUCIONAL NO JAPÃO
2004Eugênio Ávila Pedrozo, Tânia Nunes da Silva, Izabel Cristina Takitane · Americanae (AECID Library) · Japan
This exploratory study examines the Seikatsu Club's experience in Japan, which operates based on Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and Sanchoku systems. These movements foster direct relationships between organic consumers and Japanese organic rural producers, who are part of social networks and aligned with sustainability principles. This approach contributes to more sustainable solutions for society by emphasizing new food consumption patterns and valuing consumer cooperatives.
CSA & TeikeiFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityEconomicsPolicyEthno-cultural representation in the urban landscape
2004Clare Rishbeth · Journal of Urban Design · United Kingdom (London)
This paper investigates how urban greenspace can be designed and managed to reflect ethnic diversity and how this is perceived by users, using two case studies of community gardens in London. It found some differences in the response to the gardens by people from different ethnic backgrounds. The use of obvious symbolism was not necessarily a primary means of encouraging users from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, though appreciated for educational and design strengths. Concern is expressed about aspects of the physical and psychological containment of ethnic groups in fixed places and identities leading to the perpetuation of stereotypes.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyEconomicsPost-structuralist philosophies: Towards an etho-politics of everyday leisure practices
2004Simone Fullagar · World Leisure Journal · Australia
This article draws on Foucault's later work on ethics and subjectivity to consider Socrates' question, "how are we to live?". Through a case study of an Australian community garden project (Northey Street City Farm), it outlines the transformative potential of leisure practices in constituting the ethical self.
CommunityPolicy经济发达地区农行支持服务“三农”大有作为
2004王建炘 · 农金纵横 · China
Focusing on the economically developed southern Jiangsu region of China, this piece describes a rising momentum toward building modern urban agriculture, driven by heightened attention to "agriculture, rural areas and farmers" issues from party and government at all levels and by growing domestic and foreign investment in agriculture. It states, however, that the Agricultural Bank of China — described as the main force in rural finance — has for years shifted the focus of its business expansion toward urban areas, advantaged secondary and tertiary industries, and quality domestic and foreign industrial enterprises, leaving it providing very little credit service or support to agriculture.
EconomicsPolicyON THE DEVELOPING STRATEGY OF THE GREEN CITIES IN HUNAN
2004Shaohua Yin · Economic Geography · China
This essay discusses a development strategy for building green cities in Hunan, China, proposing four aspects: relying on green concepts, developing the green economy, establishing scientific urban layout, and emphasizing urban agriculture. It argues such a strategy must be treated not as a slogan but as a systematic science, concept, belief and way of life requiring everyone's effort and comprehensive coordination, without presenting specific data or study findings.
PolicyCommunityClimate change