Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
2066 results(19 / 83)
Rooftop Garden Ecosystem
2023Andrew Jones, Joel Hockin, Max Longhurst · The Science Teacher · United States
This abstract does not describe specific research content or findings regarding rooftop garden ecosystems. Instead, it only provides information about the affiliations and roles of the authors: Andrew Jones, Joel Hockin, and Max Longhurst.
Food educationDIYDireito à cidade e direitos à/da natureza: uma nova perspectiva desde a Agricultura Urbana
2023Pedro Sorrentino, Maria Carolina Maziviero · arq urb · Brazil (Curitiba)
This article reflects on a new perspective on the right to the city, aiming to reframe the relationship between humanity and nature to overcome the current civilizational crisis. It presents the contributions of urban agriculture practices in Curitiba, Brazil, highlighting advancements towards the right to the city and a new land culture, along with their challenges and potential.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceAgricultura urbana e segurança alimentar: Uma análise econômica
2023Cleber José Bosetti · Revista Desenvolvimento Social · Brazil
An empirical study was conducted at the Federal University of Santa Catarina's Rural Sciences Center in Curitibanos, Brazil, to evaluate urban agriculture's potential for value generation and food security improvement. The study involved cultivating a 5m² garden for one year using biodynamic agricultural management, followed by accounting for production factors and economic viability analysis. Results indicated that urban agriculture has the potential to contribute to food security and that its practices, under resilient agricultural management, are also economically viable.
EconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceDIYA Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Approach to Pest Management in Your Edible Landscape
2023Tina McIntyre, Rachel Gutner, Hamutahl Cohen, Tiare Saracino, Esen Momol · EDIS · United States (Florida)
This 8-page publication from the UF/IFAS Environmental Horticulture Department defines common pests for home gardeners and advocates for diversifying landscapes to manage them. It introduces the "triangle" of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), providing examples of multi-method tools applicable in home settings for pest control.
DIYBiodiversityFood educationHortas nas escolas e agroecologia: plantando conhecimento e colhendo solidariedade
2023Loyane Ferreira da Matta, Monique Cleia de Pontes Bandeira CARVALHO, Josué Rodrigues Gomes, Juliana do Nascimento Chagas Pessanha, Érika Eberlline Pacheco dos Santos · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Campos dos Goytacazes)
A pedagogical garden project was implemented at Escola Municipal Santa Terezinha in Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil, to teach the importance of agroecology, the environment, and healthy eating. The project involved weekly activities where students participated in workshops, courses, meetings, study groups, and garden construction, based on a bibliographic survey of pedagogical gardens, agroecology, and urban agriculture.
Food educationCommunityOrganic cycleIntegration of the Livelihood and Ecosystem Services Frameworks—A Case Study on Urban Agriculture in Mexico City
2023Mayra I. Rodríguez González, Christian Kelly Scott, Tatiana Marquina, Demeke B. Mewa, Jorge García Polo, Binbin Peng · Earth Interactions · Mexico
This mixed-method study in Mexico City, Mexico, explored urban agriculture's (UA) role as an alleviation and land management strategy, integrating ecosystem services and livelihoods frameworks. It quantified food production, crop diversity, six ecological processes, cultural benefits, and contributions to livelihood capitals. UA supported ecological processes, connected humans to nature, and provided supplemental income, but also showed trade-offs between ecological processes, limits in promoting formal education beyond agroecological knowledge, and an inability to fully lift families out of poverty.
CommunityBiodiversityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceInvestigação Parasitológica de Hortaliças e Microbiológica de Água de Irrigação Oriundas de Hortas Comunitárias em Londrina, Paraná
2023Nathália Miasato Pimont, Rafael Alves Santomauro, Carolina De Abreu Pianta, Pablo Menegon Castilho, João Gabriel Neves Viana, Giovanna Carolina Silva Boscolo, Letícia Santos Balbino, Juliana Izidoro Lucas, Aline Ticiani Pereira Paschoal, Italmar Teodorico Navarro, Regina Mitsuka‐Breganó, Fernanda Pinto Ferreira · Ensaios e Ciência C Biológicas Agrárias e da Saúde · Brazil (Londrina)
This study, conducted in Londrina, Paraná, Brazil, between 2019 and 2020, analyzed community garden vegetables for parasites and irrigation water for *Escherichia coli*. *Escherichia coli* and total coliforms were detected in 66.7% (6/9) of water samples. Parasites of *Ascaris*, *Ancylostoma*, and *Entamoeba* genera were identified in vegetable samples, demonstrating contamination of both community garden vegetables and irrigation water.
Contamination & food safetyHealthCommunityBrazil’s Return to the Hunger Map: An Analysis of Public Policies and Effective Measures for Food Security
2023Ana Tereza Souza Domingos, Carolina Oliveira Mesquita, Emiliano Lôbo de Godoi, Thiago Augusto Mendes · Laws · Brazil
This bibliographical and documentary research analyzed the effectiveness of public food security policies in Brazil between 2012 and 2022, also considering urban agriculture as an alternative. It concluded that public policies were gradually weakened, and from 2019 to 2022, the Brazilian government discouraged food policy implementation. Consequently, Brazil faces food insecurity and hunger due to disjointed policies, the pandemic, and an economic crisis.
Governance failurePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunity2023-May-19-No yard? No problem. Enjoy this community garden.
2023East Tennessee State University University Marketing and Communication · Digital Commons - East Tennessee State University (East Tennessee State University) · United States
ETSU Health's Johnson City Community Health Center in Johnson City, USA, has relaunched its community garden. Volunteers are active on the third Saturday of every month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and are also encouraged to harvest and tend the garden outside these hours. The garden provides access to fresh, healthy, and free produce, and was relaunched with community support.
CommunityHealthFood educationWelfareFlorecer la mente en la ciudad: Cómo la agricultura urbana apoya la salud mental
2023Katia Hernández Moreno · Milenaria Ciencia y arte · Mexico (Morelia)
This study analyzes the contributions of agricultural practice in the city of Morelia, Mexico, to the mental health of participants. The results presented are part of a broader investigation addressing the various components of urban agriculture on health and the urban environment, with this paper focusing solely on the mental health aspect.
HealthCommunityThe effects of school gardens on fruit and vegetable consumption at school: A randomized controlled trial with low-income elementary schools in four U.S. states
2022Wells N., Myers B., Henderson C. · Preventive Medicine Reports (Elsevier) · United States
A two-year randomized controlled trial assigning 46 low-income elementary schools in Arkansas, Iowa, New York and Washington to school gardens with curriculum or a waitlist control. Children in the intervention increased fruit and low-fat vegetable consumption more than controls, supporting the effectiveness of school garden programs.
Food educationHealthPolicyFarms and gardens everywhere but not a bite to eat? A critical geographic approach to food apartheid in Salt Lake City
2022Joyner L., Yagüe B., Cachelin A., Rose J. · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development 11(2):67-88 · United States
Community-engaged study partnering with a CSA farm in Salt Lake City's Westside, examining how political-economic practices produced food apartheid and the limits of urban agriculture in advancing food justice in marginalized neighborhoods.
WelfareCommunityPolicyUrban Agriculture as a Means to Food Sovereignty? A Case Study of Baltimore City Residents
2022Colson-Fearon B., Versey H. S. · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19(19):12752 · United States
Case study examining urban agriculture as a sustainable strategy against food insecurity in Baltimore, finding it builds social capital, educates residents on healthy eating, and facilitates distribution of affordable food toward food sovereignty.
CommunityWelfareHealthDoes urban agriculture lead to gentrification?
2022Hawes J. K., Gounaridis D., Newell J. P. · Landscape and Urban Planning 225:104447 · United States
Analyzes the link between urban gardens and gentrification in Detroit, finding no clear association but showing gardens cluster in younger, affluent, educated, less-Black neighborhoods—gardening remains unequal.
PolicyCommunityWelfareHands-on childcare garden intervention: A randomized controlled trial to assess effects on fruit and vegetable identification, liking, and consumption among children aged 3–5 years in North Carolina
2022Cosco N.G., Wells N.M., Zhang D., Goodell L.S., Monsur M., Xu T., Moore R.C. · Frontiers in Psychology, 13:993637 · United States (North Carolina)
An RCT of the Preventing Obesity by Design (POD) garden intervention in 15 Wake County childcare centers serving ages 3–5. Using a waitlist-control design, it tests effects on fruit and vegetable identification, liking and snack-time consumption, demonstrating collaborative garden-based outdoor learning in early childhood settings.
Food educationHealthCommunityInside Zambia's 'new normal:' COVID-19 policy responses and implications for peri-urban food security and livelihoods
2022Manda S. · Journal of International Development · Zambia (Chongwe, Lusaka)
This study examines how Zambia's COVID-19 'new normal' policies disrupted peri-urban food production and market access near Lusaka, finding that ~53% of small-scale farmers reported zero agricultural income and that policy responses lacked systematic agricultural support.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityWelfareFarmer attitudes and perceptions toward gleaning programs and the donation of excess produce to food rescue organizations
2022Harvey S., Mount P., Valentine H., Gibson C. · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 11(4):233-247 · United States
Interviewing 12 farmers who participated in a gleaning program and 16 who did not in the Greater Kansas City metro area, this study analyses motivations for and barriers to donating surplus produce to food-rescue organisations such as food banks. Participants cited ease of donating and tax incentives; non-participants cited safety and liability concerns. It informs the design of food-rescue schemes that redirect urban and peri-urban farm surplus to community food aid.
Food lossCommunityWelfareEconomicsSmall‐scale silvopasture: Addressing urban and peri‐urban livestock challenges in the United States with agroforestry practices
2022Ashley Conway, Christine Nieman · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States
This literature review identifies three key barriers to keeping livestock in US urban and peri-urban agriculture—animal feed resources, water quality and nutrient cycling, and use of heavy-metal-contaminated sites—and argues that agroforestry (silvopasture) practices can help address them. The authors propose two theoretical silvopasture systems, one for urban and one for peri-urban settings, and call for future whole-system research.
Organic cycleBiodiversityExcess fertility in residential‐scale urban agriculture soils in two western Oregon cities, USA
2022Mykl Nelson, Gwynne Mhuireach, Gail A. Langellotto · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (Oregon)
To characterize residential-scale urban agriculture soils, the authors sampled 27 residential vegetable gardens in two western Oregon cities, distinguishing in-ground beds from raised beds. They found these soils frequently exceeded recommended ranges for many fertility parameters—likely due to routine overapplication of compost, amendments, and fertilizers—with raised beds significantly higher than in-ground beds in carbon/nitrogen ratio, active carbon, and sulfur.
CompostOrganic cycleWho Gardens and How in Urban USA: Informing Social Equity in Urban Agriculture Action Plans
2022Kirti Das, Anu Ramaswami · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · United States
Based on a survey of 6,152 representative urbanites in three US cities, this paper analyzes the demographics of agricultural gardeners and the types of gardening practiced. It finds low engagement in community gardening (~2%) versus household gardening (~27%), that household gardening was dominated by higher-income White males, and that community gardening was more diverse but too low in participation to scale benefits—underscoring the need for data on who gardens to design equitable urban agriculture.
CommunityPolicyBiological Control Services from Parasitic Hymenoptera in Urban Agriculture
2022Joshua Earl Arnold · Insects · United States (California)
Over two growing seasons, this study sampled brassica crops at urban agriculture sites spanning a gradient of surrounding landscape imperviousness, size, and management to assess parasitic Hymenoptera abundance, richness, and parasitism of the cabbage aphid. On-farm agroecological practices—mulch coverage, floral richness, and crop-plant richness—and larger on-farm noncrop area increased parasitoid abundance, and greater crop-plant richness raised aphid parasitism, supporting the enemies hypothesis in urban agroecosystems.
Biodiversity"The highest and best use of land in the city": Valuing urban agriculture in Philadelphia and Chicago
2022Domenic Vitiello · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · United States
Using mixed methods, this article traces the evolution of urban agriculture practice, support, and policy in Philadelphia and Chicago since the 1990s, contrasting cities that treat farming and gardening as public goods with those seeking economic and redevelopment gains. It finds that while both cities became prominent urban farming centers, Chicago increasingly treated urban agriculture as a public good whereas its status in Philadelphia remained contested and unstable.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityWith sustainable use of local inputs, urban agriculture delivers community benefits beyond food
2022María Teresa Gómez-Villarino, Teresa Briz · California Agriculture · United States (Berkeley)
This study examined urban gardens in Berkeley, California, and Madrid, Spain, to observe how agroecological principles—efficient, sustainable use of local resources and inputs—are practiced. It reports that gardens using good ecological practices provide a wide range of ecosystem services, including cultural services such as places to socialize, and can serve as model urban agricultural centers contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
CommunityOrganic cycleBiodiversityQuantifying use in a community garden program with extensive resource provision to gardeners
2022Alexandra Niedzwiecki, Norah Kates, Sally Brown, Kristen McIvor · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (Tacoma)
This study surveyed 66 community gardens (1,960 plots) in the nonprofit Harvest Pierce County program in Tacoma and Pierce County, Washington, which provides gardeners with land, soil testing, clean soil, compost, water, and education. It found gardens were well-used across the program (mean use intensity 2.26 on a 0–3 scale), with larger gardens and plots used more intensively, and gardens well distributed across income, population density, and racial identity—suggesting the resource-provision model is inclusive.
CommunityCompostAttitudes and Perceptions of Community Gardens: Making a Place for Them in Our Neighborhoods
2022Sinan Kordon, Patrick A. Miller, Cermetrius L. Bohannon · Land · United States (Roanoke)
This study used a scene-rating survey in Roanoke, Virginia, to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of four groups (community gardeners, community-and-home gardeners, home gardeners, and non-gardeners) toward community gardens. Analysis identified seven dimensions important to preferences—including gathering/seating, plots with and without boundaries, focal points, garden entrance, untidy space, and composting structures—with significant group differences on all but "gathering and seating," yielding design recommendations to reduce opposition and support long-term garden survival.
CommunityPolicy