Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
5823 results(183 / 233)
GAP Certification Takes a School Garden to the Next Level
2014Ben Hall · The Agricultural education magazine · United States (North Carolina)
The agriculture department at North Stokes High School in Danbury, North Carolina, operates a 3,500-square-foot production garden and a 600-square-foot hydroponic greenhouse. The school aims for commercial production and marketing, supplying its cafeteria, and thus obtained GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) certification, developed by the USDA in 1998. GAP prevents microbial contamination of food through recordkeeping, irrigation water testing, documentation of manure and pesticide use, and worker training.
Food educationCommunityEconomics– Regenerative design and development
2014Dominique Hes, Chrisna du Plessis · · Global
This chapter examines how the Living Building Challenge (LBC) supports transformation towards an ecological worldview, focusing on its "Petals." The LBC's Site Petal determines where and what type of development can be built and how to restore a place, while the Urban Agriculture Imperative requires projects to contribute to local and regional food production. The Energy Petal aims to utilize the site's energy budget, and the Materials Petal is noted for its demanding imperatives.
PolicyCommunityClimate changePlace Remaking through Environmental Recovery and Revitalization
2014Isabelle Anguelovski · The MIT Press eBooks · Global
In Dudley, Casc Antic, and CayoHueso, residents feel strongly attached to their places of living and working, and to the relationships they have built. This attachment has motivated engagement in environmental revitalization initiatives, where activists repair community spaces, build parks, and develop urban farms to address trauma and fear of erasure. These environmental projects contribute to healing the community, achieving environmental recovery, and creating a sense of rootedness and home.
CommunityHealthWelfareGetting back into shape
2014Hillary J. Shaw · · United Kingdom (Birmingham)
This chapter describes four stages by which people have become divorced from the origins of human food: industrialization, globalization, supermarketization, and dromology. Ashram Acres, established in 1981 in Birmingham, England, exemplifies many merits of urban agriculture, aiming to utilize the agricultural expertise of local migrants from South Asia, the Caribbean, and Ireland.
HealthCommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyTo Integrate is to Survive: Urban Agricultural Practices in Three Southern Towns
2014Ophélie Robineau, Julia Tichit, Thomas Maillard · · Burkina Faso (Bobo-Dioulasso)
This study examines the socio-spatial integration of urban agriculture in three southern cities: Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso), Metro Manila (Philippines), and Saint-Louis (Senegal). It highlights different integration modes resulting from urban farmers’ practices. In Bobo-Dioulasso, farmers establish social relationships to ensure access to productive resources; in Metro Manila, the appropriation of practices and networks of actors at the local level guarantees sustainability; and in Saint-Louis, farmer-initiated organizations assert their interests with urban authorities.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceA strategy for food system sustainability in the University Bolevard Neighbourhood : initiatives within the residence buildings
2014Laura Chan, Jeff Friedrich, Katie Garthwaite, Sundeep Khakh, Sarah Morrison, Meredith Seeton · cIRcle (University of British Columbia) · Canada
This student project developed a strategy to enhance food sustainability within the residences of UBC's proposed University Boulevard Neighbourhood, specifically through rooftop gardens integrated with residential commons space. The strategy was based on an analysis of UBC's development plans, eco-villages, and permaculture design concepts. Recommendations included that UBC Campus and Community Planning develop standards and a framework for implementation, and that future student projects work with stakeholders to develop an action plan and indicators for food sustainable planning.
CommunityDIYPolicy제1분과 : 식물상 및 식생 관리 ; 학교폭력 대처를 위한 도시농업 적용방안
2014장진, 오충현 · 한국환경생태학회 학술발표논문집 · South Korea
This study examined the application of urban agriculture's therapeutic properties to address school violence in South Korea, focusing on middle school students. A survey of 77 middle school students in Gangdong-gu A Middle School, conducted from September 15 to October 15, 2014, found that 68.8% had experience growing plants. Students reported that urban farming activities could foster appreciation for life, provide a sense of accomplishment, and help build friendships.
Food educationHealthCommunityNEHS grants set to make garden projects grow
2014Tim Cook · · Global
Over 30 community projects, including guerrilla gardening and "grow your own" initiatives for family food banks, received grant funding from the North of England Horticultural Society (NEHS).
CommunityWelfareDIYLandscape As A Resource For Squat Farming
2014Attila Tóth, Ľubica Feriancová · Acta horticulturae et regiotecturae · Spain (Barcelona)
This study investigated squat farming as a typology of urban agriculture, focusing on the case study of Can Masdeu, a squatted and cultivated land at the northern city border of Barcelona, Spain. It aimed to understand how landscape and urban structures are influenced by land cultivation and how the social dimension of squat farming is structured. Spatial and perceptual analyses were applied, and users were interviewed through discussions and questionnaires, with results describing the spatial and social characteristics of squat farming at Can Masdeu.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkagePolicyBrooklyn's agrarian questions
2014Evan Weissman · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · United States (New York City)
This case study in Brooklyn, New York, used mixed qualitative research methods to investigate the political possibilities of urban agriculture for fostering food justice. Findings indicate that problematic contradictions rooted in the neoliberalization of urban agriculture limit the transformative possibilities of farming the city as currently practiced in Brooklyn. The study suggests that longstanding agrarian questions are informative for critically interrogating urban agriculture as a politicization of food.
Economic viabilityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicyCommunityUrban farming theme restaurant
2014Freeman Wu · · United States (Chicago)
This graduation project proposes an urban farming theme restaurant located in an abandoned industrial area in South Chicago. The design strategy focuses on using urban farming to activate the vacant site. The proposed building is an urban farming themed restaurant.
CommunityEconomicsUrban–rural linkageWhat Should We Grow in Our School Garden to Sell at the Farmers’ Market? Initiating Statistical Literacy through Science and Mathematics Integration
2014Sarah Selmer, James Rye, Elizabeth L. Malone, Danielle Fernandez, Kathryn Trebino · Science Activities · Global
This article describes how statistical literacy can be introduced at the upper elementary level through integrated science-mathematics instruction in a project-based learning context. Focusing on a farmers' market project and school gardening, it illustrates how to scaffold students' understanding of statistical questions and develop their ability to formulate survey questions. The approach extends to analyzing, interpreting, and representing data, enhancing the statistical problem-solving process.
Food educationCommunityRiprendersi il centro per opporsi alle espulsioni. Il caso degli IRA
2014Davide Olori · Archivio istituzionale della ricerca (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna) · Italy
This publication aims to collect research contributions on new movements and self-organized initiatives that re-use and transform various parts of the city, including abandoned buildings, green areas, and public spaces. These experiences, such as informal community gardens and squatter occupations, can be interpreted as interstitial practices or a growing method of urban construction.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceParadise Transplanted
2014Pierrette Hondagneu‐Sotelo · Boom · United States (Los Angeles)
This article recounts the history of a central Los Angeles community garden, primarily used by women from Southern Mexico and Central America, which served as an informal support network and a place to grow culturally significant plants. The essay then details the significant upheaval that occurred after a local nonprofit took over and invested in the garden, implying a negative impact on the existing community.
Equity & displacementCommunityWelfareEconomicsComparison of Foreign and Domestic Development Modes of Urban Agriculture
2014Na Chen · · Global
This paper analyzed typical urban agriculture practices in domestic and foreign cities, categorizing them into industrialization and community citizenization modes. It compared differences in key functions, agricultural forms, and driving bodies, concluding that the modern industrialization mode is suitable for China's national conditions. The study proposes building an urban agriculture development system that focuses on economic functions while considering social and ecological aspects, with government leadership, enterprise operation, and farmer participation.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityUrban–rural linkageDecolonizing Methodology in an Arnhem Land Garden
2014Michael Christie · · Australia
This study describes a government consultancy into the feasibility of a remote Aboriginal community garden in Galiwin'ku, Arnhem Land, Australia. Researchers collaborated with Yolgu knowledge-authorities to develop a "transdisciplinary research methodology" that integrates academic and Aboriginal knowledge practices. The project aimed to establish a garden with a non-Indigenous gardener to address high unemployment and food prices, but faced challenges in communicating with the government without compromising Yolgu methodologies.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareHealthFeeding the City. Foodsheds and Urban Agriculture in San Diego
2014Claudia Mattogno, Manuela Ricci, Bruno Monardo, Pietro Antonio Valentino, Anna Laura Palazzo · IRIS Research product catalog (Sapienza University of Rome) · United States (San Diego)
This paper explores recent policies and planning practices for urban agriculture (UA) in the United States, particularly in California, focusing on its potential for urban revitalization and social inclusion. It examines strategies for agricultural re-use and rezoning of vacant urban areas within the context of 'healthy food access'. The experience in San Diego, CA's City Heights neighborhood demonstrates the potential of UA to combine social inclusion with physical and economic redevelopment.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthOutput and cost savings of community gardens in San Jose, California (132.7)
2014Susan J. Algert, Aziz Baameur · The FASEB Journal · United States (San Jose, California)
A study in community gardens in San Jose, California, from Spring to Summer 2012, evaluated a method for quantifying crop yields and cost savings. Eighty-three community gardeners completed a background survey, and a representative subset of 10 gardeners measured produce output from their plots over a four-month growing season. Results indicated that community gardens produced 0.75 lbs of vegetables per square foot, exceeding conventional agricultural practices at 0.60 lbs/sq ft. Gardens averaged 2.55 lbs per plant and resulted in $435 in cost savings per plot for the season.
CommunityEconomicsDIYAn Analysis of Willingness to Pay for Agricultural Experience of Daegu Urban Agriculture Park
2014Qing-Long Lin, Soon-Seok Lee, Woo‐Whan Jang · Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning · South Korea
This study analyzed the demand and willingness to pay (WTP) for agricultural experience at Daegu Urban Agriculture Park using the contingent valuation method. A survey of 346 Daegu citizens and logistic analysis showed that sex, age, education, and alienation area for urban agriculture affected the probability of agricultural experience participation. The estimated WTP ranged from 6,052 to 16,436 won, and scenario analysis suggested 25,000 won as the proper participation fee for maximum revenue.
EconomicsFood educationCommunityRemaking Pittsburgh: Permaculture soundscapes
2014Jeremy Woodruff · Journal of sonic studies · United States (Pittsburgh)
This essay explores the contribution of sound art to progressive ecology groups in Pittsburgh, focusing on the installation "Gongburgh: Steeltown Forests" developed at the Hazelwood Food Forest (HFF). The composition, using sounds from the urban garden, gamelan, and steel factories, aimed to create social connections and promote the HFF through a sustainable music-making experiment. It highlights novel similarities and differences between these sounds and their social organization, raising political questions for the garden and listeners.
CommunityBiodiversityClimate changeSocial LCA Scenarios: Engaging producers and consumers in new domestic oyster value chains in Denmark
2014Arne Wangel · · Denmark (Copenhagen)
This paper discusses efforts to develop a Social LCA methodology to account for social impacts in the life cycle of existing products. It specifically shifts focus to the design phase of products and services yet to be constructed by start-ups and community groups. A maritime gardening project concerning the growing, harvesting, and eating of native oysters in the harbor of Copenhagen is presented as an example of urban farming initiatives.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthThe Study of Urban Agricultural Manor Construction under the Perspective of Rural Tourism Complex
2014LU Fe · Ecological Economy · Global
This paper analyzed the similarities and differences between rural tourism complexes and urban agricultural manors using a comparative method. Both share resource bases, industrial bases, market orientation, development ideas, target markets, and high-quality services. However, they differ in core profit points, essential supporting facilities, location selection, operators, managers, and stakeholders. The study inferred insights for constructing urban agricultural manors from existing rural tourism complex development modes, proposing construction thoughts focused on agricultural foundation, urban-rural integration, cultural integration, industrial development, and ecological civilization.
Urban–rural linkageEconomicsCommunityService Learning: A Bridge to Engineering for Underrepresented Minorities
2014Abiola A. Farinde, Brett Tempest, Lisa R. Merriweather · International Journal for Service Learning in Engineering Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship · Global
This report described a service learning project that exposed underrepresented high school students to engineering through a community service activity where students built irrigation equipment for a community garden. The project's objective was to motivate high school students to consider STEM majors using service learning. A qualitative study was also conducted to describe the impact of informal science education through service learning, revealing three themes: experiential learning, broadening perspective, and identity as performance.
Food educationCommunityEcología urbana: diseño de espacios productivos comunitarios y evaluación de condiciones del medio de crecimiento y asociación de especies
2014Leslie Vorraber, María Sebastián López, Esteve Fernández, Marcelo Scofano · Redalyc (Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México) · Argentina (Flores)
Since 2012, the University of Flores (UFLO) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, has implemented an Urban Agriculture Development Program. This program creates organic garden models with various production systems and designs, utilizing recycled materials and urban-adapted formats, to be promoted in community productive spaces. It involves monitoring and evaluating physical-chemical parameters of system components to ensure optimal development and the use of seasonal species adapted to the local climate.
CommunityDIYOrganic cycleFood educationPeople, Plants, and Fungi: Examining the Ecological and Social Landscapes of the Swan Creek Park Food Forest
2014Renee Meschi · Sound Ideas (University of Puget Sound) · United States (Tacoma)
This research examined the plants, fungi, and people of Tacoma's Swan Creek Park Food Forest (SCPFF) in the United States. The study investigated the site's history, including indigenous plant use by the First People of Cascadia, Native American food sovereignty projects, and the influence of immigration waves. It concluded with recommendations for ethical development and cultural sensitivity at the SCPFF.
CommunityBiodiversityFood sovereignty & justiceHeirloom & landrace