Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
5823 results(177 / 233)
Socioeconomic Disparities in the Provision of Outdoor Time in Portland, Oregon Public Elementary Schools
2015Sabine Lefkowitz · · United States (Portland)
This thesis examined the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and outdoor time in Portland, Oregon public elementary schools. The study found that higher SES elementary schools spend more time outdoors than low SES schools. This disparity amplifies existing disadvantages for children in high-poverty schools, suggesting an inequity in outdoor time provision.
Equity & displacementFood educationCommunityHealthEconomics노숙인 자활증진 커뮤니티가든 프로그램을 위한 국내 노숙인의 특성 및 현황에 관한 연구동향 분석
2015이숙미, 김인호 · · South Korea
This study analyzed research trends on community garden programs for homeless self-support in South Korea. Homeless individuals exhibit high rates of physical and mental disabilities, making healthcare crucial for rehabilitation. The abstract suggests that instituting community gardens within supportive housing could offer comprehensive services such as improving sociality, providing job training opportunities, physical and mental health care, and communication spaces for rehabilitation.
CommunityWelfareHealth연구논문 : 서계 박세당(西溪朴世堂) 색경(穡經)에 표방된 현대 도시농업적 가치에 관한 연구
2015임정언, 성종상 · 한국전통조경학회지 · South Korea
This study examined the agricultural philosophy of Seogye Park Sedang and his treatise Saekgyeong (1676) from the Joseon Dynasty, considering its relevance to modern urban agriculture. The research identified four values: socio-economic for small farmers' stability and self-reliance, experiential for agricultural practice as learning, environmental for adapting to nature, and practical for sharing wisdom. These values align with modern urban agriculture's potential contributions to welfare, education, ecological restoration, and knowledge sharing.
CommunityFood educationOrganic cycleWelfareIndonesian Urban Farming Communities and Food Sovereignty
2015Zulfadhli Nasution · · Indonesia (Jakarta)
A case study in Jakarta, Bandung, and Bogor, Indonesia, examined the engagement between urban farming communities and food sovereignty. Findings indicate that the food sovereignty discourse has not significantly exposed urban farming communities due to differing historical backgrounds and social/political views between urban farming and rural peasantry-based movements. The study suggests prerequisites for strengthening food sovereignty among urban food advocates, including building consumer consciousness and urban-rural solidarity.
Limited or null effectFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityPolicyHealthy Kids, Healthy Cuba
2015Patricia Keane, Alejandro Ortega Hortelano, Jeanette Linville · Journal of Public Health Management and Practice · United States
As an evaluation of the "Healthy Kids, Healthy Cuba (HKHCuba)" program in a triethnic rural community in New Mexico, 12 partners participated in a group model building (GMB) session to introduce systems thinking. The session identified 27 influences as feedback loops from behavior over time graphs and 5 subsystems from a causal loop diagram. Results showed that in addition to strategy-related influences like access to healthy food and community garden participation, a sense of cultural pride, community, and social engagement, especially among youth, were highly salient.
CommunityHealthFood educationPhosphorus Cycling in Montreal’s Food and Urban Agriculture Systems
2015Geneviève S. Metson, Elena M. Bennett · PLoS ONE · Canada (Montreal)
This study quantified the role of urban agriculture (UA) in phosphorus (P) cycling in Montreal, Canada, using existing data and surveys of local UA practitioners. In 2012, Montreal imported 3.5 Gg of P in food, with 2.63 Gg accumulating in landfills, 0.36 Gg discharged to local waters, and only 0.09 Gg recycled through composting. UA was found to be only a small sub-system in the city's overall P cycle, contributing just 0.44% of the P consumed as food. Although recycling rates within the UA system are high, the land area dedicated to UA is too small to accommodate all P waste produced on the island.
Limited or null effectOrganic cycleEconomicsCommunityCommunity Food Literacies: An Introduction
2015Michael L. Pennell · Community Literacy Journal · Global
This abstract introduces a special issue of the Community Literacy Journal on community food literacies, highlighting the intertwined relationship between food and literacy. It notes that both are in "revolutionary" stages, with food systems re-localizing through farmers’ markets, CSAs, and community gardens. The issue presents various perspectives on community food literacies, responding to a call for service-learning practitioners and literacy workers to address these expanding relationships.
Food educationCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareTransversal space, meaningful social contact and social cohesion
2015Jill Rutter · Policy Press eBooks · United Kingdom
This chapter, based on field observations in the UK, examines social interactions in "transversal spaces" such as children's centers, workplaces, online forums, parks, and allotment gardens. These spaces facilitate meaningful social contact between migrants and longer-settled residents, potentially reducing hostility. Research indicates that while interactions across class or age boundaries are common, interactions across ethnic boundaries are less frequent, though individuals aged 18-34 showed the highest ethnic integration.
CommunityWelfareTop down policies and bottom up practices in Urban and Periurban Agriculture: an Italian dilemma
2015Giuseppe Cinà, Francesco Di Iacovo · PORTO Publications Open Repository TOrino (Politecnico di Torino) · Italy
This paper examines urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in Italy, identifying challenges in its planning, including the traditional exclusion of agricultural areas from territorial planning and the lack of local agricultural policy. The study highlights a disconnect between top-down policies and bottom-up practices, noting that numerous autonomous initiatives have emerged due to insufficient regional and local planning solutions. The authors conclude that overcoming the limitations of the top-down planning system, particularly in governance and inclusiveness, is a primary challenge for Italy.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureComplementary Flood-Mitigation Measures
2015Susmita Dasgupta, Asif Zaman, Subhendu Roy, Mainul Huq, Sarwar Jahan, Ainun Nishat · · Bangladesh (Dhaka)
A study on flood mitigation in Dhaka explored complementary measures to existing drainage systems and discussed institutional, technical, and financial challenges to their implementation. A commonly acknowledged challenge for Dhaka is the lack of coordination among agencies, exacerbated by scarce resources and unplanned development. Clogging of stormwater drains with solid waste was identified as a primary reason for frequent localized flooding, and issues with khals (canals) regarding water flow, encroachment, and walkways were also noted.
Governance failureClimate changeCommunityHeartside’s Glean Ride: Bringing Fresh Food and Ideas to the Heart of Grand Rapids
2015Selina Dorking, Paige Eisen, Joseph J. Godfrey, Regina López, Steven A. Smith · ScholarWorks - GVSU (Grand Valley State University) · United States
In the Heartside neighborhood of Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, the non-profit Heartside Gleaning Initiative (HGI) has been addressing food insecurity since 2014. During the winter semester of 2015, the "Food Fighters," a team of Grand Valley State University students, collaborated with HGI to tackle the challenges of food waste, food insecurity, and community sustainability. Their efforts resulted in the Heartside Glean Ride mobile food cart plan and a brochure for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes, designed to increase food distribution.
Food lossWelfareCommunityFood educationHealthUrban Agriculture in the Framework of Sustainable Urbanism
2015Ana Lucrecia Nadal Fuentes · Temes de disseny · Global
This article discusses the historical relationship between cities and agriculture, noting that while agriculture was central to ancient civilizations, it was excluded from modern 20th-century urban plans. The study highlights that current and projected demographic growth in urban areas has increased the value of urban agriculture.
CommunityPolicyClimate changePengembangan Pembelajaran Ekosistem dan Lingkungan Hidup melalui Project-Based Learning untuk Mendukung Urban Farming di SMP
2015Arga Triyandana, Mimien Henie Irawati, Ibrohim Ibrohim, Susilowati Susilowati, Endang Budiasih · Jurnal Pendidikan dan Pembelajaran Universitas Negeri Malang · Indonesia
This research aimed to develop learning tools for Ecosystem and Environmental Studies using project-based learning to support urban farming in junior high schools, following the Borg and Gall research and development model. Validation of the learning tools (syllabus, lesson plans, and modules) by instructional design experts and education practitioners showed they were valid with minor revisions, making them ready for implementation. Validation of the modules by material and media experts also confirmed their validity with only minor revisions needed.
Food educationCommunityUrban Farm & Garden Alliance Nelson Report UPDATE
2015Rachel Grewell · · United States
The Urban Farm and Garden Alliance (UFGA) conducted a measurement project from summer to fall 2015, involving UFGA gardens and backyard gardeners weighing and measuring produce. The project also included a community survey on the social impacts of gardening. Based on these results, community-friendly guides were designed to help collect and disseminate data on both social and vegetative yields in urban gardens.
CommunityEconomicsカシニワ制度に基づくコミュニティガーデンにおける公共性の変化
2014Watanabe Y., Miyamoto M., Amemiya M., Terada T., Yokohari M. · ランドスケープ研究 77(5):713-718 · Japan
Taking the 'Jiyu Hiroba' community garden established under Kashiwa City's Kashiniwa program as a case study, the paper analyzes how the publicness of a community garden is generated and transformed, drawing on resident-drawn site plans, annual management reports, and interviews with neighborhood-association members.
CommunityWelfarePolicyRe-purposing the master's tools: the open source seed initiative and the struggle for seed sovereignty
2014Kloppenburg J. · The Journal of Peasant Studies · Global
Argues that food sovereignty requires seed sovereignty, examining the Open Source Seed Initiative's attempt to apply open-source legal tools against corporate enclosure and intellectual property rights over plant genetic resources.
Heirloom & landracePolicyBiodiversityCommunityThe Influence of Hannes Meyer and the Bauhaus Brigade on 1930s Soviet Architecture
2014Tomita H., Ishii M. · Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering · Germany
Analyzes the influence of Bauhaus's second director Hannes Meyer and his Bauhaus Brigade on Soviet urban and architectural planning, examining Meyer's socially-oriented functionalism and planning features including mass demonstration spaces and broad greenery, using unpublished sources.
PolicyCommunityReview: Susan R. Henderson, Building Culture: Ernst May and the New Frankfurt Initiative, 1926–1931
2014Bishop P. · Journal of European Studies (SAGE) · Germany
A scholarly review of Henderson's study of Ernst May and the New Frankfurt initiative, critically assessing Weimar modernist social housing, garden and green-space programs, and Existenzminimum dwelling within their historical significance and limitations.
PolicyCommunityWelfareUrban agriculture of the future: an overview of sustainability aspects of food production in and on buildings
2014Specht K., Siebert R., Hartmann I., Freisinger U. B., Sawicka M., Werner A., Thomaier S., Henckel D., Walk H., Dierich A. · Agriculture and Human Values 31(1):33-51 · Global
Reviews sustainability of building-integrated farming (ZFarming) such as rooftop greenhouses and indoor farms, assessing economic, environmental, and social benefits and limits of its commercial development.
EconomicsCommunity「まちなか菜園」を事例とした都市型農園の現状と利用者ニーズの特性に関する研究
2014河野 誠, 藤田 直子 · ランドスケープ研究 77巻5号 pp.433-436 · Japan
Analyzing user needs at corporate-run rooftop and over-track rental farms such as Toho Leo's 'Machinaka Saen', this paper characterizes high fees, convenient locations, and rich services as hallmarks of pioneering private-sector urban farm models.
CommunityEconomicsHealth積極的な生産緑地の指定による農のあるまちづくりに関する調査報告書（東京都世田谷区）
2014国土交通省 都市局 · 国土交通省 委託調査報告書 · Japan
MLIT commissioned survey on Setagaya's productive-greenbelt designation, landscape-farmland districts, citizen farms and agricultural parks as models of urban farmland preservation and public-participation farming under public support.
PolicyCommunityBiodiversityFood educationEconomics第2回グッドライフアワード 受賞取組概要：北加賀屋みんなのうえん
2014環境省 · 環境省 グッドライフアワード · Japan
The official write-up of 'Kitakagaya Minna no Uen' (run by NPO Co.to.hana) as a winner of the Ministry of the Environment's 2nd Good Life Award, describing how residents and experts jointly turned vacant land into a garden fostering intergenerational exchange through farming.
CommunityFood educationMotivations for Investing in Allotment Gardening in Dublin: A Sociological Analysis
2014Kettle P. · Irish Journal of Sociology · Ireland (Dublin)
This sociological study examines why Dublin residents invest in allotment gardening, finding a significant demographic shift away from traditional older male participants toward younger, middle-class, and female growers. It contextualises Dublin's growing allotment movement within broader urban agriculture trends.
CommunityHealthEconomicsEl Programa de Agricultura Urbana de la Municipalidad de Rosario en Argentina
2014Lattuca A.L., Terrile R.H., Sadagorsky C. · Hábitat y Sociedad · Argentina (Rosario)
Documents Rosario's municipal Urban Agriculture Programme (PAU), launched in 2002, which grew to over 800 community farming projects on vacant land to address food insecurity and generate income for marginalized residents, with 65% of participants being women.
CommunityPolicyFood educationWelfareBuilding Urban Resilience: Assessing Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture in Dakar
2014Padgham J., Jabbour J. · United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) · Senegal (Dakar)
This UNEP report presents findings from a 2012 knowledge assessment of urban and peri-urban agriculture in Dakar, identifying key sustainability threats including urban encroachment, degraded water and soil quality, fragmented policy, and farmers' limited credit access.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityHealth