Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
1626 results(17 / 66)
Expelled from the garden? Understanding the dynamics of green gentrification in Vancouver, British Columbia
2022Daniel Sax, Lorien Nesbitt, Shannon Hagerman · Environment and Planning E Nature and Space · Canada (Vancouver)
A case study of an urban farm in Vancouver, Canada, facing displacement due to redevelopment, revealed that urban residents engaged in urban greening can be both implicated in and impacted by green gentrification processes. The study highlighted the power dynamics farm members navigate to preserve land access and found that the farm's identity was co-opted by development agents as a branding tool. This research contributes to understanding the limitations of development processes in accounting for green gentrification risks.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyEconomicsHealthGrowing Character: A Model For Incorporating SEL & Social Justice In Agriculture Education
2022Corona-Munoz, Sergio · DigitalCommons - CalPoly (California State Polytechnic University) · United States
"Growing Character" is a three-lesson series modeling how agricultural spaces, particularly school gardens, can integrate social emotional learning (SEL) and social justice education. The program aims to empower students with skills for healthy emotional management and socially conscious behavior through an educational experience.
Food educationCommunityWelfareStarting the Garden with Transplants
2022Danielle Treadwell, Lisa Hickey, Tabitha Petri, James M. Stephens · EDIS · United States (Florida)
This publication provides considerations and best practices for selecting the best crops to transplant and how to prepare transplants for home and community gardens in Florida. It notes the benefits of starting one's own vegetable transplants, as varieties available in retail centers are often not the best-tasting or best-adapted for the local area.
DIYCommunityDemonstration gardens as informal education strategies in rehabilitation efforts
2022Rachel Bechtold, Catherine W. Shoulders, Jennie Popp, Donald M. Johnson, Lisa S. Wood · Natural sciences education · United States
This study evaluated the process and efficacy of installing a demonstration plot along a multiuse trail in Southeast Kansas to educate the community on rehabilitative plots. The greatest perceived challenges for this case study were the allotment of time and money for initial costs of the demonstration plot and addressing methodology for plant blindness in viewers.
CommunityBiodiversityPollinatorsFood educationSpatial distribution and socioeconomic differences between urban farms' production and distribution points in Chicago, IL
2022Emmanuelle Melis, Emma Louise Armitage, Yuxin Ma, Amelia Weiss, Brian E. Robinson · McGill Science Undergraduate Research Journal · United States (Chicago)
This study investigated the location of urban commercial farms in Chicago, Illinois, and whether there is a significant disparity between the social demographics of production and sale points. All production and distribution points for commercial urban farming companies were geocoded and analyzed against socioeconomic indicator data from the 2016 US census, including median annual household income, mean home value, and percent racialized minority population. Findings revealed statistically significant differences in socioeconomic indicators between census tracts of farm and sale point locations, showing a skewness of farm locations towards lower socioeconomic status areas and sale point locations towards higher socioeconomic status areas. This suggests that while farms are more likely to be located in marginalized neighborhoods in Chicago, most produce grown by these farms is sold in more privileged areas.
Equity & displacementEconomicsCommunityUrban–rural linkageParticipation in cost-offset community-supported agriculture by low-income households in the USA is associated with community characteristics and operational practices
2022Karla L Hanson, Lynn Xu, Grace A Marshall, Marilyn Sitaker, Stephanie B Jilcott Pitts, Jane Kolodinsky, April Bennett, Salem Carriker, Diane Smith, Alice S Ammerman, Rebecca A Seguin-Fowler · Public Health Nutrition · United States
This study analyzed factors associated with participation in cost-offset community-supported agriculture (CO-CSA) among low-income households with children in ten communities across New York, North Carolina, Vermont, and Washington states. Participation rates varied significantly (33% to 89% of weeks picked up) across communities. Offering multiple share sizes was associated with higher participation (76.8% vs. 57.7% of weeks), while offering community pick-up locations was associated with lower participation (64.7% vs. 78.2% of weeks).
CSA & TeikeiWelfareHealthCommunityAlmost there: On the importance of a comprehensive entrepreneurial ecosystem for developing sustainable urban food forest enterprises
2022Arnim Wiek, Stefanie Albrecht · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (Phoenix)
A multiyear transdisciplinary project in Phoenix, United States, analyzed the development of a sustainable urban food forest enterprise. The project built a coalition of supporters, secured a suitable site, codeveloped a vision and action plan, and fundraised a major start-up donation. However, research findings indicate that despite achieving success factors to some extent, an underdeveloped sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem jeopardizes long-term success and multiplication efforts.
Governance failureCommunityEconomicsClimate changeFood sovereignty & justicePROGRAMA PLANTA RORAIMA: PRODUÇÃO DE ALIMENTOS E SUSTENTABILIDADE NO MEIO URBANO
2022Antônio Carlos Ribeiro Araújo Júnior, Roberto Xavier da Costa, Mirian Pereira dos Reis Oliveira · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil
The "Programa Planta Roraima" project, initiated by the civil society organization Movimento ID, proposes establishing a Reference Center for Food and Nutritional Security in the Cidadão Housing Complex. This center will create an urban community garden to promote sustainable integration among immigrants, refugees, and socially/economically vulnerable nationals. The project aims to understand access to knowledge for food production, transformation, distribution, and consumption in small urban spaces, and to analyze access to income-generating technologies for vulnerable populations. Based on an analysis of the "PROJETO PLANTA RORAIMA: Minha Horta Comunitária Cidadã" developed by SETRABES, the project is relevant as it provides basic technical training in food production, fostering autonomy and integrating vulnerable populations as productive citizens, and demonstrates that idle urban spaces can be valuable for collective uses like community gardens.
CommunityFood educationWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceLa multifuncionalidad de los huertos urbanos en la Ciudad de México
2022Nehiby Alcántara Nieves, Rosa María Larroa Torres · Espiral estudios sobre Estado y sociedad · Mexico (Mexico City)
This qualitative study investigated the environmental, economic, and sociocultural functions of urban gardens in Mexico City, two years after the implementation of the Law of Urban Gardens (LHU). Data was collected through interviews and document review. It found that public officials tend to prioritize environmental functions, while users consider sociocultural functions most relevant.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityBiodiversityExploring the attitudes and strategies of peri-urban vegetable growers in the Santiago Metropolitan Region of Chile
2022Sofía Boza, Marcos Mora, Aracely Núñez, Macarena Espinoza, Karina Orellana · Economía Agraria y Recursos Naturales · South America
This study aimed to explore the productive, commercial, and management strategies of small-scale vegetable growers in the Santiago Metropolitan Region (SMR) of Chile, their attitudes towards their activity, and to identify different profiles. A survey was conducted in person with 170 farmers, and the data was analyzed using descriptive and multivariate techniques. Results suggest that different characteristics and strategies are concomitant with certain attitudes that vegetable growers hold towards key aspects such as innovation or willingness to associate.
Peri-urban agricultureEconomicsCommunityENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND FOOD INSECURITY: THE URBAN GARDENS AS RESPONSE OF BLACK COMMUNITIES IN URBAN AREAS
2022DANDARA TEIXEIRA MALVINO · DIGNIDADE RE-VISTA · United States (Champaign)
This article aims to analyze the strategies created by low-income Black communities in Champaign, Illinois, to confront food deserts through the creation of urban community gardens, as a form of resistance to food insecurity.
CommunityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceHealthMindfulness and Meditation: Stress Reduction, Yoga, School Gardens, Nature
2022Linda Goldman · · United States (Baltimore)
This chapter presents how young people can reduce stress and worry by practicing mindfulness and meditation. The Holistic Life Foundation (HLF), a non-profit organization in Baltimore, Maryland, is highlighted as a pioneering model for incorporating meditation, mindfulness, yoga, school gardens, and nature into school systems' daily routines and curricula. Students plant in school gardens, clean outdoor environments, and take trips to visit nature, enhancing the mindfulness approach.
Food educationHealthCommunityCome Grow With Us: An Action Plan for Morrow Community Garden
2022T. E. H. Williams · Digital Archive @ GSU · United States
The Morrow Community Garden, established in 2012, expanded from 14 to 32 beds, enabling residents to grow produce and donate to a local clinic. Facing unstable membership, limited space, and reliance on membership dues, the garden requires an action plan to achieve its goals. An action plan was created to help stabilize membership, expand the garden, educate residents, and create a youth engagement program.
CommunityFood educationHealthWelfareCommercial urban agriculture in Florida: a qualitative needs assessment
2022Catherine Campbell, Alia DeLong, John Diaz · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · United States (Florida)
This qualitative needs assessment, based on semi-structured interviews with 29 commercial urban agriculture (CUA) producers in Florida, characterized CUA operations. The study identified that CUA operations face common small farm barriers, alongside additional challenges from local government regulations and tensions with non-traditional agricultural land use. Despite these difficulties, CUA operators perceive their urban location as a key benefit and see opportunities for future business and market expansion.
Economic viabilityEconomicsCommunityPolicyUniversidad de la tercera edad: saberes tradicionales sobre agricultura urbana en Cuenca
2022David Calderón, Fredi Portilla · · South America
This abstract discusses the isolation faced by older adults in modern society and the lack of recognition for their traditional knowledge, particularly concerning urban agriculture. It notes that the contributions of older adults are overlooked in a technology-driven contemporary society.
ElderlyCommunityFood sovereignty & justicePerspectives critiques et analyse territoriale. Applications urbaines et régionales, Hélène Bélanger et Dominic Lapointe (dir.), Québec, Presses de l’Université du Québec, 2019, 224 p.
2022Yannick Baumann, Emanuel Guay · Nouvelles perspectives en sciences sociales · Canada
This is a book or article titled "Perspectives critiques et analyse territoriale. Applications urbaines et régionales," edited by Hélène Bélanger and Dominic Lapointe, published in 2019 by Presses de l’Université du Québec. It is an article from the journal "Nouvelles perspectives en sciences sociales" on the theme "Urban agriculture: towards a reconfiguration of social and territorial ties."
Governance failureCommunityUrban–rural linkagePolicyBlack Bones Matter: Notes Toward a Radical Humanism in Anthropology
2022Kamari Maxine Clarke · Anthropologica · United States (Philadelphia)
This paper discusses the MOVE organization, founded by Vincent Leaphart (John Africa) in West Philadelphia in the early 1970s. MOVE combined philosophies of Black nationalism, raw foods, urban farming, and opposition to modern science and capitalism. This community formation came to an end on May 13, 1985.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceCobb County Public Library Garden
2022Vidhya Jagannathan · Georgia Library Quarterly · United States
The Cobb County Public Library Garden is a community garden that expands library services and promotes patron collaboration. This garden was envisioned for teaching, demonstrating, donating, and involving families in growing food and experiencing the satisfaction of harvesting produce. Library gardens serve as a natural setting for promoting nutritional literacy and hands-on environmental learning, reflecting the Cobb County Public Library's mission.
CommunityFood educationDIYCRIAÇÃO DE GALINHAS EM ÁREAS URBANAS: DEBATENDO OS CAMINHOS E DESAFIOS PARA SUA LEGALIZAÇÃO
2022Raquel Yurie Hioki, Moacir Roberto Darolt · Archives of Veterinary Science · Brazil (Curitiba)
This study, conducted in Curitiba, Brazil, and its metropolitan area, aimed to discuss the risks and benefits of legalizing urban poultry farming. Through interviews with key informants, challenges were identified across sanitary, legislative, and commercial areas, urban chicken breeders, and bird management. The main challenges cited were sanitary and environmental risks, mistreatment, irregular slaughter, and neighborhood disturbances, which could be addressed through activity regulation, registration of farms, technical monitoring, and implementation of pilot projects.
Governance failureOrganic cycleFood educationFood sovereignty & justicePolicyCommunitySocioeconomic analysis of peri-urban family production in the city of Dom Pedrito-RS: a preliminary study of organic lettuce production
2022Osmar Manoel Nunes, Shirley Grazieli da Silva Nascimento, Mariana Rockenbach de Ávila, Luciellen de Lourdes Silveira Vieira, Criziane Flores Pamplona · · Brazil
This preliminary study conducted a socioeconomic analysis of peri-urban family production of organic lettuce in Dom Pedrito-RS, Brazil, using case study techniques focusing on two family farmers. Through in-depth interviews and farm visits, it was found that production relied solely on family labor with minimal chemical inputs, characterizing a transition to organic production. Despite strong competition from large distribution networks, producing and marketing organic lettuce was concluded to be profitable, constituting an alternative income source and job creation in family farming, and assisting in transforming unoccupied spaces into productive ones.
Peri-urban agricultureEconomicsOrganic cycleCommunitySchool Garden Prevalence Before and After the Implementation of the Healthy Hunger‐Free Kids Act
2022Naomi Reyes, Montserrat Ganderats‐Fuentes, Francesco Acciai, Jessica Eliason, Punam Ohri‐Vachaspati · Journal of School Health · United States (New Jersey)
This study examined school garden prevalence in 148 K-12 schools across four low-income New Jersey cities between 2010-2011 and 2017-2018, before and after the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010. Garden prevalence increased from 19% in 2010-2011 to 32% in 2013-2014, but this increase was not sustained over time. Furthermore, schools with a majority Hispanic student enrollment had approximately half the odds of having a garden compared to schools with a majority Black student enrollment.
Equity & displacementFood educationPolicyHealthCommunityEconomicsProcesso de criação de uma horta comunitária orgânica em espaço subutilizado de uma creche: relato de experiência do projeto Calanguinho / Process of creation of organic community garden in underutilized space of a nursery: experience in partnership with the Calanguinho project
2022Leila Graziele de Almeida Brito, Marilete Calegari Cardoso, Mainara Mizzi Rocha Frota, Leandro Nascimento Bertoldi · Brazilian Journal of Animal and Environmental Research · Brazil
This paper reports on the experience of establishing an organic community garden at the Casinha do Sol Children's Living Center, UESB, Brazil, with the support of the Calanguinho project. Using a collaborative work methodology, the project fostered partnerships between the nursery, families, and the university. This initiative facilitated the development of active practices and reflection, promoting ecological and sustainable awareness among the nursery, families, and the academic community.
CommunityFood educationOrganic cycleCANAIS E MARGENS DE COMERCIALIZAÇÃO DA AGRICULTURA URBANA: O CASO DO BAIRRO CURUÇAMBÁ, REGIÃO METROPOLITANA DE BELÉM
2022Paulo Silvano Magno Fróes Júnior, Fabrício Khoury Rebello, Maria Lúcia Bahia Lopes, Cyntia Meireles Martins, Amanda da Silva Nogueira, Santos, Marcos Vinicius Puydinger dos, 1987- · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Belém)
This research aimed to identify and characterize the commercial channels and margins of urban agriculture in the Curuçambá agricultural community, Belém Metropolitan Region, Brazil. Information was gathered through interviews with 63 urban farmers, representing 52.5% of local farmers. The results showed that 92.44% of agricultural production was dedicated to jambu, lettuce, green onion, chicory, and cariru, primarily commercialized through fairs in the Belém Metropolitan Region, institutional markets, supermarkets, restaurants, and direct sales to consumers.
EconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityImpact of a Farm-to-School Nutrition and Gardening Intervention for Native American Families from the FRESH Study: A Randomized Wait-List Controlled Trial
2022Tori Taniguchi, Alyson Haslam, Wenjie Sun, Margaret Sisk, Jann Hayman, Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan · Nutrients · United States
The six-month FRESH study in the United States evaluated the impact of a farm-to-school nutrition and gardening intervention for Native American families. It involved 193 children and 170 adults from Osage Nation Early Childhood and Education programs, finding that intervention children significantly increased vegetable intake for squash and beans, and showed increased willingness to try beans.
Food educationHealthCommunityEffects of a School-Based Garden Program on Academic Performance: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
2022Jaimie N. Davis, Katie Nikah, Matthew J. Landry, Sarvenaz Vandyousefi, Reem Ghaddar, Matthew Jeans, Michele Hockett Cooper, Bonnie Martin, Lyndsey Waugh, Shreela V. Sharma, Alexandra E. van den Berg · Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · United States (Austin)
A cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in Austin, TX, United States, from 2016 to 2019, with primarily low-income, Hispanic children, examined the effects of the school-based gardening, nutrition, and cooking program 'TX Sprouts' on academic performance. Sixteen elementary schools were randomly assigned to either the intervention (8 schools) or control (8 schools) group, with the intervention consisting of 18 one-hour lessons in an outdoor teaching garden throughout the academic year. Results showed that schools receiving the intervention had a 6.5-percentage-point increase in fourth-grade reading State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) scores compared with control schools (P = .047). However, there were no significant differences in reading scores for fifth-grade students or math scores for either fourth- or fifth-grade students between groups.
Food educationHealthCommunity