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(16 / 27)
Greening U.S. legacy cities: urban agriculture as a strategy for reclaiming vacant land
2017Fanny Carlet, Joseph Schilling, Megan Heckert · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · United States
This article investigates the current state of research and practice regarding urban agriculture as a strategy for regenerating shrinking U.S. cities. It examines how repurposing vacant land for food production can address urban blight and food insecurity. The study highlights key findings and provides observations for public officials and practitioners on leveraging this research to enhance urban agriculture for vacant land treatment.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCommunity Supported Agriculture: Legal Concerns
2017Kenna McMurray, Kelsey Hall, Roslynn Brain · Digital Commons - USU (Utah State University) · United States
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) growers in the United States may experience legal concerns and liabilities. This fact sheet aims to guide growers through steps to minimize these liabilities and manage possible risks associated with CSA operations. The presence of such concerns highlights a governance challenge for CSA growers.
Governance failureCSA & TeikeiPolicyInvolving Extension in Urban Food Systems: An Example from California
2017Lucy Diekmann, Rob Bennaton, Jessica Schweiger, Cole Smith · Journal of Human Sciences and Extension · United States (California)
This article illustrates how Extension in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, develops urban agriculture programming and engages in food-system-related partnerships. The Extension practice in this metropolitan region aligns with research findings on local food system involvement, focusing on educational opportunities and collaborative work with community and government partners. This case study provides insights for Extension personnel designing urban food system programs.
Food educationCommunityPolicyHealthEconomicsUrban Agriculture, Food Justice, and Neoliberal Urbanization
2017Michelle Glowa · · United States (San Francisco)
In the San Francisco region, highly competitive land markets increasingly force landowners to use properties for purposes other than gardening, despite the popularity of urban agriculture. This situation compels gardeners to develop strategies to gain and maintain land access, linking gardening to broader land politics and urban design. The chapter explores how gardeners influence space production and property institutions.
Economic viabilityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyCommunityEconomicsUrban Development Legislation for Cities, by Cities
2017Kellen Zale · Maine law review · United States
This presentation connects Senator Muskie's legacy in urban development and Model Cities to contemporary urban development legislation. It highlights that while urban development legislation can originate from any government level, local governments are crafting innovative responses to urban challenges. Examples include Detroit's blight reduction, Seattle's living wage ordinance, San Francisco's urban agriculture zoning, and New Orleans' mixed-use public housing redevelopment.
PolicyHealthExamining the Business Case and Models for Sustainable Multifunctional Edible Landscaping Enterprises in the Phoenix Metro Area
2017Christopher Robinson, Scott Cloutier, Hallie Eakin · Sustainability · United States (Phoenix)
This study assessed the business case for multifunctional edible landscaping enterprises in the Phoenix metro area. Semi-structured interviews with four landscaping entrepreneurs and a GIS landscape analysis of seven cities revealed that multifunctional edible landscaping offers a greater range of value propositions and revenue streams, with over 180,000 acres of suitable landscapes identified. Scenario analysis estimated potential value creation from $3.9 to $66 billion, with positive return on investment (ROI) achievable in 11 out of 12 scenarios within one to five years.
EconomicsPolicyCommunityGreening the shrinking city—policies and planning approaches in the USA with the example of Flint, Michigan
2017Karina Pallagst, René Fleschurz, Franziska Trapp · Landscape Research · United States (Flint, Michigan)
This paper examines greening and green infrastructure development in shrinking US cities, focusing on rightsizing and urban agriculture. It highlights recent greening efforts in Flint, Michigan, as an example. Shrinking cities in the US, characterized by economic decline and population loss, often have vacant land and blighted buildings, which some cities are now re-evaluating as assets for sustainable and livable urban environments.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageCommunityMount Carmel Community Garden: Inspiring Community Growth through Sustainable Food Production
2017C. E. Deardorff, Julia Friedman, Charlotte Walton · Bucknell Digital Commons (Bucknell University) · United States
This entry comprises a project report and a Community Garden Guide for Mount Carmel, United States. The report outlines community garden benefits, analyzes potential advantages for Mount Carmel, and reviews stakeholders, goals, and a community interest survey. The guide compiles essential information and tools for establishing new community garden projects, covering social and economic benefits alongside technical skills.
CommunityFood educationEconomicsPolicyPatrimonio y agricultura urbana en Recife: Análisis y directrices para el barrio de Várzea.
2017Igor Villares de Carvalho, Paola Branduini · Revista Urbano · Brazil (Recife)
Addressing the issue of abandoned and unclear urban agricultural heritage in many South American cities, this study focused on the Várzea neighborhood in Recife, Brazil, applying principles from the European Landscape Convention and findings from COST Action Urban - Agriculture Europe (2011-16). It noted that the tangible and intangible rural heritage of Várzea, a region settled by Europeans in the 16th century for sugarcane cultivation and remaining rural until the 20th century, is disconnected from the current population and conservation practices. To mitigate this problem, the article proposes guidelines for the regeneration of this heritage and the improvement of cases related to the area's rural background.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageFostering Community Supported Agriculture in Utah
2017Kelsey Hall, Roslynn Brain · Digital Commons - USU (Utah State University) · United States (Utah)
This curriculum consists of seven modules aimed at fostering Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Utah. It covers the fundamentals of CSA, marketing and outreach, management, pricing, crop planning, legal concerns for CSA operations, and additional resources.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsPolicyDan Carmody
2017· Policy Press eBooks · United States (Detroit)
Dan Carmody, President of Detroit's Eastern Market Corporation, discussed the market's history and its importance for food access in Detroit. He addressed the role of urban agriculture and the new wave of gentrification, which has the potential to significantly impact the Market.
Equity & displacementFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicyCommunityReverberação Política e Educativa para Cidade Saudável
2017Ana Maria Girotti Sperandio, Adriana Aparecida Carneiro Rosa, Betânia Gonçalves de Carvalho, Pereira, Bruna Ridolfi · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil
This field research in Santa Barbara d’Oeste, São Paulo state, Brazil, aimed to identify healthy city values and principles by studying the Community Garden of Maria Augusta Canto Camargo Bilia Municipal School. It explored political strategies for health, education, and social justice through the garden-school community interrelationship, identifying strategies proposed by caregivers, managers, and residents regarding experience exchange and student participation in urban community garden products. The study concluded that actions improving empowerment, autonomy, and governance are essential for constructing healthy city indicators.
CommunityFood educationHealthPolicyCultivating belonging: refugees, urban gardens, and placemaking in the Midwest, U.S.A.
2017Christopher Strunk, Margaret Richardson · Social & Cultural Geography · United States (Midwest)
This paper explores how refugee gardeners and local officials in a small Midwestern U.S. city use and experience urban gardens, identifying three aspects: the material garden, the imagined garden, and the community’s garden. It argues that refugee agricultural practices challenge traditional understandings of nature and urban planning, promoting inclusive understandings of agriculture, cities, and sustainability.
CommunityWelfarePolicyCultivating an Alternative Paradigm in Urban Areas to Achieve Greater Food Certainty in The United States
2017Owen Beatty · ScholarsArchive at Johnson & Wales University (Johnson & Wales University) · United States
This study analyzed food insecurity in the United States, focusing on populations below the poverty threshold. It found that large-scale agricultural production has led to "food deserts" isolated from affordable, quality food. Urban agriculture, by localizing production, was identified as a viable resource and potential solution for individuals experiencing hunger and those in food deserts.
Food sovereignty & justiceWelfareEconomicsPolicyPolitical and Educatinal Reverbaration for a Health City
2017Ana Maria Girotti Sperandio, Adriana Aparecida Carneiro Rosa, Betânia Gonçalves de Carvalho · Cadernos de Pós Graduação em Arquitetura e Urbanismo · Brazil (São Paulo)
This article identifies healthy city values and principles and discusses the results of field research conducted in the Community Garden of Maria Augusta Canto Camargo Bilia Municipal School in Santa Barbara d’Oeste, São Paulo, Brazil. The study explored political strategies for health, education, and social justice through the interrelationship between the garden and the school community. It utilized “Observational Dialogue” and a WHOQOL-100 readjustment questionnaire, concluding that actions improving empowerment, autonomy, and governance are essential for constructing healthy city indicators.
CommunityFood educationHealthPolicySustainability's incomplete circles: towards a just food politics in Austin, Texas and Havana, Cuba.
2017Jonathan Lowell, Sara Law · CABI eBooks · United States (Texas), Cuba
A comparative study of urban agriculture projects in Austin, Texas, and Havana, Cuba, revealed that sustainability discourses primarily focus on food production methods, with little attention paid to persistent food insecurity issues that urban agriculture has yet to address, or to the cultural politics of food, where race, class, and gender shape access to food choices. While agricultural practices and their perceived value were similar in both cities, the study found comparable outcomes in how food exposed spatial and social divisions.
Equity & displacementFood sovereignty & justicePolicyWelfareCommunityNeoliberalism and alternative food movements: markets, the state, and knowledge production in Southern California
2017Rebecca Gresh · Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) · United States (California)
This qualitative study investigated two alternative food projects in San Diego, California, to reveal how food justice is envisioned and practiced. "Project New Village (PNV)" in a low-income area resists institutional racism and class inequality through a community garden and farmers market. In contrast, the affluent "San Diego Roots Sustainable Food Project (SDRS)" resists suburban sprawl and environmental destruction through sustainable food production. PNV faces obstacles like law enforcement patrols interrupting community rebuilding, indicating that alternative food movements may reproduce structures of oppression.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyGardening in the desert: a spatial optimization approach to locating gardens in rapidly expanding urban environments
2017Elizabeth A. Mack, Daoqin Tong, Kevin Credit · International Journal of Health Geographics · United States (Phoenix)
This study used spatial optimization models in the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area to identify optimal locations for urban gardens near food deserts and on vacant land. Spatial analysis found that existing gardens are primarily in areas with good food access, providing an alternative food source to only 8.4% of food desert residents. The optimization model, however, identified 53 alternative garden locations that could cover 96.4% of all food deserts, demonstrating a significant improvement over the current distribution.
CommunityHealthPolicyAlternative 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 & displacementCommunityEconomicsPolicyHealthGrace Lee Boggs
2017· Policy Press eBooks · United States (Detroit)
This interview chapter features Grace Lee Boggs discussing revolution, evolution, and change in Detroit. Boggs posits that revolutions stem from communities claiming spaces to realize their desired world, viewing urban agriculture and grassroots movements as acts of revolution that "grow our souls." She highlights Detroit as a pioneer in this new form of revolution, advocating for revolution as a way of life rather than a power grab.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyA Preliminary Overview of Community Orcharding in the United States
2017Megan Betz, Jacob Mills, James Farmer · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States
This study conducted a qualitative, inductive survey of community orchard organizations in the U.S. (42.64% response rate) to establish a baseline understanding. Participants were identified via internet presence, meaning little is known about orchards without an online presence. Findings showed that community orchards are primarily established on public land, with primary motivations including environmental concern, education, and a sense of community. Organizers reported that fruit and nuts produced feed residents in the immediate surrounding area.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyThe Farm in the City in the Recent Past: Thoughts on a More Inclusive Urban Historiography
2017Ruth Glasser · Journal of Urban History · United States
Scholarly literature often treats urban agriculture as a new phenomenon, but it is a neglected dimension of urban history, with some U.S. cities, especially in the Northeast, having food-raising and processing practices until the recent past. This piece explores urban development, agricultural, and immigrant history, which have largely omitted discussions of city food production, using evidence from a study of Waterbury, Connecticut. Local food production in Waterbury adapted to the growing city's needs, and the city government both supported and undermined agriculture, offering insights for urban history and current urban agriculture policy.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageConstructing 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 failurePolicyCommunityEconomicsCity of Farms
2017Lindsay K. Campbell · Cornell University Press eBooks · United States (New York City)
In New York City, chapter six revealed how civic and public actors working outside PlaNYC iteratively embedded urban agriculture and food policy into municipal planning efforts. Within the void created by city hall’s lack of engagement, other figures in the municipal government seized the opportunity to advance food policy agendas for New York City. The 2011 update to PlaNYC included a brief crosscutting section on food, although it lacked capital funding to fuel the achievement of its stated goals, and was seen by advocates as a symbolic and political achievement.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceLeadership, partnerships, and civic engagement
2017Helena C. Lyson · · United States (California)
This qualitative fieldwork in a large, urban school district in Northern California explored school food reform efforts addressing childhood obesity. Reforms transpired through three processes: sustained involvement of parent-activists, leadership by the school food service director in championing farm-to-school efforts and facilitating partnerships, and widespread community support for funding and implementation. These findings indicate how local social change transformed public school food programs to benefit youth health.
Food educationCommunityHealthPolicy