Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
4283 results(165 / 172)
School-based community gardens: re-establishing healthy relationships with food
2005Shawn Somerset, Richard Ball, Melanie Flett, Rebecca Geissman · · Australia (Queensland)
This study surveyed primary schools in the Logan region of south-east Queensland, Australia, finding that 24% had functioning vegetable gardens. Face-to-face interviews with teachers explored the origins and functions of these school-based community gardens. The research suggests these gardens offer an opportunity to integrate nutrition, physical activity, and environmental sustainability into curricula.
CommunityFood educationHealthWelfareUne agriculture multifonctionnelle dans le projet urbain: quelle reconnaissance, quelle gouvernance?
2005Isabelle Duvernoy, Françoise Jarrige, Paule Moustier, José Serrano · HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · Global
This paper examines how the recognition of agriculture's multifunctional character influences the local governance of urban development projects. Using international case studies, it explores the involvement of agriculture in urban management, changes in decision-making arenas, and the legitimacy of urban and peri-urban agriculture in local public policies. It also discusses the translation of urban agriculture functions into town planning documents and identifies the stakeholders involved, particularly agricultural institutions.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageUrban agriculture: The new frontier
2005Ian Knowd, David Mason, Andrew Docking · · Global
The integration of agriculture into urban landscapes has a long history, intensifying since the industrial revolution, with early "garden cities" remaining utopian ideals. In contemporary urban development, renewed interest in agriculture relates to implementing sustainability and addressing globalization's structural changes to communities, food systems, and urban quality of life. Urban agriculture is a strategic resource requiring a strategic planning approach that recognizes its economic, social, and environmental values.
Urban–rural linkageClimate changeFood sovereignty & justicePolicyFrom informal to formal acceptance: leaps and bounds of urban agriculture in the development sphere
2005Ranasinghe · The International Journal of Biodiversity Science and Management · Sri Lanka
This paper expands knowledge on urban agriculture through literature analysis and feedback from implementing the Family Business Garden concept in Sri Lanka. It argues that traditional home gardening distracts urban planners from the economic and social value of small-to-medium agro-entrepreneurship. The paper emphasizes the necessity of formal acceptance for micro-farming activities by mainstreaming urban agriculture in the development sphere.
Urban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicyUrban Agriculture: Small, Medium, Large
2005Gil Doron · Architectural Design · Global
This paper by Gil Doron explores urban agriculture's potential ecological, economic, and social benefits for city dwellers. It notes that horticulture, often overlooked by architects, exists at various scales in most cities globally, from window boxes to large farms. The author suggests urban agriculture could be a significant design revolution.
CommunityEconomicsClimate changeHealthPolicyParticipatory rural appraisal of dairy farms in the north west province of Cameroon
2005P. H. Bayemi, M. J. Bryant, David Puewoh Pingpoh, H Imele, Jean Claude Mbanya, Tanya Tanya, D. Cavestany, J Awoh, A Ngoucheme, D Sali, F Ekoue, H. NJAKOI, E.C. Webb · CentAUR (University of Reading) · Cameroon
A Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) was conducted in dairy farms of the North West Province of Cameroon to understand prevailing dairy systems, identify problems, and set priorities for research and development to improve production. The research team visited farmers' groups and conducted farm and village walks, noting direct observations. Results showed five small-scale dairy production systems (transhumance, improved extensive, semi intensive, zero grazing, and peri-urban) exist in the region, with agriculture well integrated into dairying. Main constraints, in order of importance, included poor marketing opportunities, limited grazing land, poor reproductive management, inadequate knowledge in processing and milk preservation, and limited health control.
Peri-urban agricultureEconomicsCommunityCaracterización de los agricultores, biodiversidad y tecnologías de cultivos en el Consejo Popular Norte y Sur del municipio de San José de las Lajas, Provincia La Habana
2005Loracnis Hernández, María de los A Pino, Eduardo Calves, María E Dominí, A Ramírez, Z. Terán · Cultivos Tropicales · Cuba
This study executed the first diagnostic phase of a participatory plant breeding project in urban agriculture in the municipality of San José de las Lajas, Havana Province. The research characterized farmers, biodiversity, and crop technologies in the Norte and Sur Popular Councils.
CommunityBiodiversityDeterminación del consumo energéticoen la labranza en cultivos terropónicos
2005Arquímides Luna López, Alberto González Infante, Osvaldo Leyva Santiesteban, Mileidys Martínez Hernández · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cuba
This research investigated the influence of forced vibrations on the energy requirements for soil preparation in terroponic crops. Experiments conducted at UNAH using an MTZ-80 tractor at approximately 20 cm depth demonstrated that the energy requirements for scarifying organs could decrease by more than 25% with vibrations. This finding may enable the development of tillage equipment capable of being coupled to existing low-power sources in urban agriculture.
EconomicsOpportunities and constraints to urban aquaculture, with a focus on South and Southeast Asia.
2005D.C. Little, Stuart W. Bunting · CABI Publishing eBooks · Global
A review chapter surveys the concept, opportunities and constraints of urban aquaculture in South and Southeast Asia (SSEA), using the "extended metropolitan region" (EMR) and "waste economy" models to outline three development trajectories: opportunistic development within a changing aquatic landscape as urbanization proceeds, continuation of existing aquaculture in modified form as urbanization occurs around it, and strategic siting of new enterprises to exploit resources such as nutrients, markets or information. Urban aquaculture is described as providing benefits at household, local and municipal levels including waste disposal, food production, flood control, employment, environmental quality and recreation, while constraints include loss of suitable physical locations, changes in waste disposal practices, shifting attitudes and demand as urban areas grow more affluent, and vulnerability to contamination and theft due to the openness of aquatic systems.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyRecently completed doctorates in social and cultural geography
2005Maija Heimo · Social & Cultural Geography · Colombia (Bogotá)
This is a notice of a doctoral dissertation completed at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, titled "A Political Ecology of Conservation: Peri-urban Agriculture and Urban Water Needs in Mexico City." The dissertation examines the cultural politics of peri-urban agriculture and urban water needs in Mexico City.
PolicyPeri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkageUrban agriculture and local sustainable development in Rosario, Argentina: integration of economic, social, technical and environmental variables.
2005Eduardo Spiaggi · · Global
Research conducted in the Empalme Graneros neighbourhood of Rosario, Argentina, a city of 1.1 million people located in the Pampa Húmeda region where the country's main agricultural production is concentrated. The abstract provided states only the study location and does not report methods, measurements, or findings.
CommunityEconomicsAGRICULTURA URBANA COMO UM COMPONENTE DO DESENVOLVIMENTO HUMANO SUSTENTÁVEL: BRASIL, FRANÇA E RÚSSIA
2005Louiza M. Boukharaeva, Gustavo Kauark Chianca, Marcel Marloie, Altair Toledo Machado, Cynthia Torres de Toledo Machado · Cadernos de Ciência & Tecnologia · Global
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) treats the development of urban agriculture as part of sustainable human development policy, as it proposed at the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in June 1996. This article analyzes urban agriculture in three cases: Russia, where it developed after World War II; France, representing Western European countries where the activity has been marginalized; and Brazil, where its development is a consequence of agricultural modernization that pushed people into cities. Surveys and a literature review show that urban agriculture has historically reduced the intensity of food crises and has contributed to feeding part of the population in normal periods, while also serving functions of pleasure and relaxation, therapy, and identity. It helps transmit cultural heritage and can be used educationally. Developing these functions requires both legislative action ensuring long-term access to land plots for all social groups and joint activity among multiple public and private participants.
CommunityPolicyHealthWelfareFood education"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.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsSocial Capital in the Lived Experiences of Community Gardeners
2004Troy D. Glover · Leisure Sciences · Global
This 2004 global narrative inquiry explored a community garden as a social context for social capital among gardeners. The study found that social capital can be both a benefit and a cost, depending on an individual's position within the social network. This suggests a potential for inequitable or corrupt application of social capital within community garden groups.
Equity & displacementCommunityEconomicsCommunity Gardens as a Platform for Education for Sustainability
2004Linda Corkery · Australian Journal of Environmental Education · Australia (Sydney)
This paper discusses the role of community gardens in fostering community development and neighborhood improvement in Sydney's Waterloo Public Housing Estate, arguing they also serve as a valuable educational platform for sustainability. Based on interdisciplinary research, the findings affirm the importance of community gardens for public housing tenants and present the gardens and their associated activities as an effective platform for education for sustainability.
CommunityFood educationCities 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 linkagePolicyAgricultura urbana en la ciudad de Valdivia, Chile: Una nueva alternativa microempresarial
2004Beatriz Vera O., Juri Zencovich O. · Agro Sur · Chile (Valdivia)
This study aimed to characterize urban agricultural small enterprises in Valdivia city, Chile, and define the jobs they create. Using a Snowball poll, 22 small enterprises engaged in urban agriculture were identified and analyzed for their economic, productive, and commercial aspects.
EconomicsCommunityUrban–rural linkageVegetable market flows and chains in Phnom Penh
2004Chhean Sokhen, Diep Kanika, Paule Moustier · Agritrop (Cirad) · Cambodia (Phnom Penh)
This study investigated vegetable market flows and chains in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, through rapid market surveys conducted on approximately one-fifth of traders in three major markets. Surveys were carried out three times in 2002 and four times in 2003, collecting data on supply origin, intermediary functions, supply calendar, and quantities sold for eight key vegetable commodities. The research aimed to quantify the origins and flows of vegetables available in the market.
EconomicsPeri-urban agricultureEffects of Soil Depth and Irrigation Period on Some of the Native Plants in and Artificial Substrate of Roof Garden
2004Kwang-Ja Bang, Jin-Hee Ju, Sun-Hae Kim · · Global
This study, conducted from March to September 2002, investigated the growth response of five native plant species (Chrysanthemum zawadskii, Sedum middendorffianum, Thymus quinquecostatus, Allium senescens, Dianthus superbus) to artificial substrate soil depths (5 cm, 10 cm) and irrigation periods (non-irrigation, 1, 2, 3 weeks) for rooftop gardens. Sedum middendorffianum and Allium senescens showed 0% mortality regardless of soil depth and irrigation, making them highly suitable. Chrysanthemum zawadskii, Dianthus superbus, and Thymus quinquecostatus generally performed better with 10 cm soil depth, suggesting a minimum viable depth over 10 cm for these species.
DIYBiodiversityA 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 linkageUrban agriculture in Tanzania: its role toward income poverty alleviation and reasons for its persistence
2004M. R. S. Mlozi · UNISWA Research Journal of Agriculture Science and Technology · Tanzania
This paper examines whether urban agriculture (UA) contributes to alleviating income poverty among practitioners in Tanzania. Based on literature and empirical evidence, it shows that people of all socio-economic statuses undertake UA for food provisioning and income poverty alleviation due to declining real incomes of urban dwellers. The reasons for UA's persistence reside at four contextual levels: government, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, city/town councils, and the individual, with government and individual levels being the most important.
EconomicsWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceLand-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 & justiceDoes the soil-air-plant pathway contribute to the PCB contamination of apples from allotment gardens?
2004Martin Krauß, J. Moering, Walther Amelung · OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) · Global
This study aimed to assess whether local soil contamination contributes to PCB contamination in apples (Malus domestica Borkh.) at an allotment garden site, in addition to background atmospheric deposition. The importance of the soil-air-plant pathway for persistent organic pollutants like PCBs has been rarely studied, and it is unknown if volatilization from contaminated soils or deposition of contaminated soil dust is a significant source compared to background deposition. The research sought to clarify this potential contamination route for apples.
Contamination & food safetyHealthRecent 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 & justicePolicyEconomics