Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
4283 results(167 / 172)
A GIS-based Decision Support System for Neighbourhood Greening
2003Todd A. Randall, Cameron J. Churchill, Brian W. Baetz · Environment and Planning B Planning and Design · Global
A prototype decision support tool, coded as an ArcView GIS extension, is described for managing existing green spaces and establishing new ones in suburban neighborhoods. It suggests techniques like naturalization of parks and increased street foliage, and allows modeling and evaluating future scenarios for sustainable community development. The tool's applications are discussed to illustrate benefits of neighborhood greening strategies.
CommunityBiodiversityPolicyLearning our way towards a sustainable agri-food system Three cases from Sweden: Stockholm Farmers market, Ramsjö Community Supported Agriculture and Järna Initiative for Local Production
2003Steffen Adler, Stephanie Fung, G. Huber, Lee Hoon Young · Organic Eprints (International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems, and Research Institute of Organic Agriculture) · Sweden
Case studies were conducted on three alternative producer-consumer links in Sweden: Stockholm Farmers Market, Ramsjö Community Supported Agriculture, and Järna Initiative for Local Production. An adapted SWOT analysis identified key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and constraints from multiple perspectives including producers, consumers, the organization, environment, and society. The research assessed how these links might affect surrounding ecosystems and social aspects of the agri-food system, and identified six components contributing to agri-food system development.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justice13The city and the country
2003Derek Wall · · Global
The Green movement has historically been defined by ruralism, concerned not just with environmental quality but with promoting a way of life close to the land, with calls for radical land reform by figures like John Ball and Fergus O’Connor. Modern remnants of this "back to the land" campaign include allotments and city farms, often situated in depressed urban areas.
Urban–rural linkageCommunityPolicySustainable Urban Agriculture in Kampala's Informal Settlements: Market Penetration Strategies and Economic Outcomes
2003Kizza Ssentongo, Kalisa Muhangizwe, Namukasa Kinya · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Uganda (Kampala)
This study investigates market penetration strategies and economic outcomes of sustainable urban agriculture in Kampala's informal settlements, Uganda. Using ethnographic methods, including participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and focus group discussions, it found that producers face challenges like limited market access and high input costs. Despite this, some have successfully integrated products into urban supermarkets and cooperatives, highlighting the importance of tailored market strategies for economic resilience.
EconomicsFood sovereignty & justicePolicyA conceptual framework for the sustainable management of wastewater in Harare, Zimbabwe
2003Innocent Nhapi, Huub J. Gijzen, Maarten A. Siebel · Water Science & Technology · Zimbabwe (Harare)
This study aimed to formulate an integrated wastewater management model for Harare, Zimbabwe, integrating resource recovery and reuse in urban agriculture. Harare was divided into five major operational areas, and specific options were considered to suit land use, development constraints, and socio-economic status within the overall criteria of limiting nutrient inflows into Lake Chivero. Flexible and differential solutions were developed in relation to the built environment, population density, user composition, ownership, future environmental demands, and technical, environmental, hygienic, social, and organizational factors.
Organic cycleClimate changeHealthAgriculture in the City: A Key to Sustainability in Havana, Cuba
2003María Caridad Cruz, Roberto Sánchez Medina · · Cuba (Havana)
This book details a three-year research project by a multidisciplinary team of 15 professionals on the history and current state of urban agriculture in Havana, Cuba. The project assessed the long-term potential of integrating urban agriculture into Havana's social economies and city-wide environmental management programs. The findings are relevant for authorities considering how to transition emergency food production into sustained support for urban agriculture, aiming for food self-reliance and environmental improvement.
EconomicsClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityNecessity Makes the Frog Jump: Land-Use Planning and Urban Agriculture in Cuba
2003Colin Crawford · · Cuba
This 2003 law-review article examines the land-use planning implications of Cuban urban organic agriculture, placing the Cuban experience in international context, evaluating the advantages of urban agriculture for urban living, describing Cuba's efforts to formalize what began as an informal practice, and examining the formal and informal work of Cuban lawyers and planners in securing a place for urban agriculture within long-term land-use planning before and after the U.S. embargo.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceThe Atlas of Food: Who Eats What, Where and Why
2003Erik Millstone · Nutrition & Food Science · Global
This reference volume surveys global food topics chapter by chapter, covering population and productivity, water pressure, under- and over-nutrition, food aid, mechanization and industrial farming, genetically modified crops, pesticides, urban farming, fishing, trade flows, food miles, processing, retailing and consumption, and organic foods. The abstract consists only of a table of contents; no specific findings are given.
EconomicsFood miles & supply chainPolicyOn Urban Agriculture and Construction of Ecologic City
2003Zhang Luxiang · Nongye xiandaihua yanjiu · Global
A conceptual paper discussing the relationship between urban agriculture and the ecologic city. It positions urban agriculture as an advanced stage of agriculture and the ecologic city as an advanced phase of the city and its ideal model, with both embodying the pursuit of sustainable development. The paper notes that urban agriculture has many modes of expression and the ecologic city contains many connotations, characterizes the relationship between the two as one of "paragenesis" (co-occurring, symbiotic development), and argues that the relationship between exploring urban agriculture and constructing the ecologic city must be harmonized, following scientific planning and highlighting the distinct characteristics of each when developing both.
CommunityPolicyDomestic urban open spaces
2003Helen Woolley · · Global
A book chapter on domestic urban open spaces—those physically closest to home—covering spaces integral to housing areas, private gardens, community gardens, and allotments. Community gardens are physically shared but their use is not necessarily a shared experience; they nonetheless offer opportunities for small groups to gather. Allotments are framed as an extension of, or replacement for, a private garden, where individuals or families grow vegetables, fruit, and flowers; despite physical distance from home, they carry a practical and emotional tie to it, and children can learn cultivation there much as they would in a private garden. The author argues that, despite the shared nature of community gardens and the physical separation of allotments from the home, both count as domestic urban open spaces because their predominant use is domestic in scale, while acknowledging they also verge toward a neighborhood-group character—with allotments having potential to develop into an alternative neighborhood community, alliances, and rivalries included. The chapter is a conceptual discussion without empirical data.
CommunityUse of untreated wastewater in peri-urban agriculture in Pakistan: risks and opportunities
2002Jeroen H. J. Ensink, Wim van der Hoek, Yutaka Matsuno, Sarfraz Munir, Muhammad Rizwan Aslam · CGSPace A Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) · Pakistan
The use of untreated wastewater for irrigation is widespread in Pakistan's peri-urban agriculture, driven by water scarcity and lack of treatment funds. This practice has led to an uncontrolled expansion of wastewater use. The paper emphasizes the need to document this practice to find improvement methods within the financial constraints of low-income countries.
Contamination & food safetyPeri-urban agricultureHealthEconomicsGreywater Reuse in Urban Agriculture for Poverty Alleviation
2002Naser I. Faruqui, Odeh Al-Jayyousi · Water International · Jordan
This paper describes a pilot project in Tufileh, Jordan, that allowed poor residents to reuse untreated household greywater in home gardens. Women in the community used small revolving loans to implement simple greywater recovery systems and set up gardens. The project enabled the community to offset food purchases and generate income by selling surplus production, saving or earning an average of 10% of its income. An environmental impact assessment demonstrated that the quality of the untreated greywater was adequate, and the negative impacts on soil and crops were negligible.
DIYWelfareEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceIntegrating Community Into the Classroom: Community Gardening, Community Involvement, and Project-Based Learning
2002Regina Day Langhout, Julian Rappaport, Doretha Simmons · Urban Education · Global
This article discusses the tensions faced in facilitating the relationship between teachers and community members while working on a community garden project. The authors adopt an ecological model for effective classroom-community collaboration and discuss how this process unfolded in the current setting. The evaluation includes a discussion of common and disparate goals of teachers and community members and how differences are navigated in the current milieu.
CommunityFood educationParticipatory Approaches to Program Development and Engaging Youth in Research: The Case of an Inter-Generational Urban Community Gardening Program
2002Marianne E. Krasny, Rebekah Doyle · Journal of Extension · Global
This study applied participatory models to an inter-generational program aimed at having youth document ethnic gardening practices in urban community gardens. Outcomes for educators included professional development and the opportunity to expand programs to urban audiences, while youth learned about gardening, developed positive relationships with elders, and enhanced academic skills. Developing relationships with youth was an important outcome for gardeners.
CommunityFood educationElderlyWelfareUrbanizzazione e sicurezza alimentare a Niamey Niger
2002Maurizio Tiepolo · PORTO Publications Open Repository TOrino (Politecnico di Torino) · Niger
This paper investigates whether urbanization in Niamey, Niger, generates or aggravates urban food insecurity by examining agro-pastoral production, food demand, and buying power. It found that Niamey's high rate of urban growth has increased food insecurity for its inhabitants. This insecurity is attributed to low productivity of peri-urban agriculture, insufficient food influxes, rising prices, extreme poverty, and a nutrient-poor diet, with current measures failing to address root causes like land tenure uncertainty.
Limited or null effectFood sovereignty & justicePeri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkageEconomicsOn Basic Characteristics and Function Exploitation of Urban Agriculture
2002LI Ya-hong · Nongye xiandaihua yanjiu · Global
This paper describes urban agriculture as a modern agricultural industry shaped by metropolitan regions and socio-economic circumstances. Its main characteristics include a perfect market system, aggregated production patterns, industrialized management, high-tech production, and the harmonization of three agricultural benefits. Beyond commodity production, urban agriculture should also offer direct and indirect multifunctions such as ecological construction, leisure tourism, cultural education, export, and demonstration.
Urban–rural linkageEconomicsFood educationClimate changeThe Thermal Effects of Plants on Buildings
2002Nyuk Hien Wong, Vi Ling Wong, Yu Chen, Siew Eang Lee, David Cheong, Guan Tiong Lim, Chui Leng Ong, Angelia Sia · Architectural Science Review · Global
This study explored the potential of rooftop gardens to reduce heat gain into buildings and modify ambient conditions through plant photosynthesis and evapotranspiration. Results suggest that rooftop gardens can effectively cool the immediate ambient environment by 1.5°C. Surface temperature readings from rooftop gardens were lower than those on barren concrete rooftops, indicating improved thermal insulation in the presence of plants. However, high relative humidity was also observed in rooftop gardens due to plants, requiring adequate natural ventilation to prevent discomfort.
Climate changeDIYPolicy issues and institutional impediments in the management of groundwater: lessons from case studies
2002Charles W. Howe · Environment and Development Economics · Global
This study noted that in inappropriate legal and administrative settings, groundwater becomes an open-access resource, leading to excessive externalities. Competition between urban and agricultural sectors for limited groundwater can lead to crises if appropriate policy instruments are not used to mediate it. For non-renewable groundwater stocks, without economic and demographic development planned according to long-term criteria, there is a risk of overly rapid exploitation, unsustainable population levels, and inappropriate infrastructure investment.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsClimate changePhilosophical, ecological and technical challenges for expanding ecological sanitation into urban areas
2002Steven A. Esray · Water Science & Technology · Global
This paper argues that ecological sanitation should be understood as a closed-loop approach to human excreta management, rather than merely an alternative toilet. With urban populations in Africa and Asia expected to double in the next 25 years, ecological sanitation can facilitate urban agriculture and avoid adverse environmental impacts of conventional treatment. This approach can significantly contribute to food security and public health in a sustainable future.
Organic cycleHealthFood sovereignty & justiceThe Impact of School Garden Programmes on Adolescent Nutrition in Ghanaian Schools Contextualized within Democratic Republic of Congo Settings
2002Mandima Bangala, Kamitombo Mbwata, Tshibangu Minko · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Ghana
This study investigated the impact of school garden programs on adolescent nutrition in Ghanaian schools using a mixed-methods approach with surveys, qualitative interviews, and linear regression analysis. A significant positive correlation was found between the number of school garden programs and improved adolescent dietary diversity. The findings suggest these programs can enhance nutritional outcomes, particularly dietary diversity, among participants.
Food educationHealthCommunityUrban agriculture and sustainable urban systems: a benefits assessment of the garden movement in Havana, Cuba
2002Patrick Henn, John Henning · International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development · Cuba (Havana)
This paper argues for an extended assessment of the total economic value of urban agriculture (UA), encompassing social, environmental, and economic benefits, to inform optimal decisions on its role in urban sustainability. It presents results from a contingent valuation study on the value of popular gardens in Havana, Cuba. The abstract notes that despite significant benefits, UA remains marginalized in urban planning.
EconomicsCommunityClimate changePolicyInventaire des espèces végétales mises en culture dans les parcelles en milieu urbain. Cas de la commune de Limete-Kinshasa- R.D. Congo
2002E. Makumbelo, L. Lukoki, Sj. Paulus, J., N. Luyindula · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa)
A survey conducted in 201 plots within the Limete commune of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, inventoried nineteen cultivated vegetable species and 764 plants from 18 fruit-tree species. Mangifera indica was identified as the most planted tree species, while Ipomoae batatas was the most frequently cultivated vegetable species.
BiodiversityCommunityClimate changeOrganic cycleTraining and Supporting Volunteer Mentors for Juvenile Offenders in Urban Gardening
2002Joseph H. Konen · Journal of Extension · Global
This article summarizes three years of experience in training and supporting volunteer mentors who work with juvenile offenders in an urban gardening program. It details the program parameters and describes the methods used for selecting, orienting, and training these volunteers.
Food educationWelfareCommunityAgricultura Urbana em Cuba: análise de alguns aspectos técnicos.
2002Adriana Maria de Aquino · · Cuba
This study analyzes the geographical scope and organizational structure of urban agriculture in Cuba. It identifies organic matter as one of the key bases for urban agriculture and describes modalities for producing fresh vegetables and condiments.
Urban–rural linkageOrganic cyclePolicyChanges in Official Attitudes Towards Urban Agriculture in Accra
2002Kwaku Obosu-Mensah · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Ghana (Accra)
This paper examines the initial negative attitudes of officials towards urban agriculture in Accra, Ghana, and the factors that led to a shift towards more positive support. It notes that officials began encouraging urban agriculture after recognizing its importance and due to external compelling factors. The study emphasizes that official attitudes are crucial for the profitability of urban agriculture.
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