Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
1022 results(19 / 41)
Vacant lot to community garden conversion and crime in Milwaukee: a difference-in-differences analysis
2020David R Beam, Aniko Szabo, Jared Olson, Lawrence Hoffman, Kirsten M M Beyer · Injury Prevention · United States (Milwaukee)
Using a quasi-experimental difference-in-differences design, this study compared 53 vacant lots converted into community gardens with 159 matched control lots to assess effects on police-reported theft, violent, and nuisance crime in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It found violent and nuisance crime rates were lower near the garden-conversion lots, with the most consistent reductions in violent crime within 250 m (about 3.7%–6.4%), while no substantial effect was seen for theft.
CommunityPolicyCarbon pools of Berlin, Germany: Organic carbon in soils and aboveground in trees
2020Richter S., Haase D., Thestorf K., Makki M. · Urban Forestry & Urban Greening · Germany (Berlin)
First study combining soil and tree carbon stocks for Berlin to estimate its carbon storage potential, finding soils account for more than two-thirds of the city's stored organic carbon.
Organic cycleThe role of edible cities supporting sustainability transformation – A conceptual multi-dimensional framework tested on a case study in Germany
2020Artmann M., Sartison K., Vávra J. · Journal of Cleaner Production · Germany
Proposes a conceptual multi-dimensional framework positioning the edible city as a nature-based solution for sustainability transformation, tested on a German case study.
CommunityPolicyBiodiversityEdible cities – An innovative nature-based solution for urban sustainability transformation? An explorative study of urban food production in German cities
2020Sartison K., Artmann M. · Urban Forestry & Urban Greening · Germany
An explorative study of urban food production in German cities, examining edible cities as a nature-based solution and the drivers and constraints of implementation.
CommunityPolicyBiodiversityBeiräte als Instrument einer Ernährungswende – Die Etablierung von Ernährungsräten in Deutschland
2020Sieveking A., Schomerus C.-T. · Natur und Recht · Germany
Discusses the establishment of food policy councils (Ernährungsräte) in Germany as an advisory-council instrument for a food-system transition.
PolicyCommunityDecentralized Community Composting: Past, Present and Future Aspects of Italy
2020Bruni C., Akyol Ç., Cipolletta G., Eusebi A.L., Caniani D., Masi S., Colón J., Fatone F. · Sustainability · Italy
Reviews Italian legislation and implemented projects on decentralized community composting, arguing Italy can serve as a model for Mediterranean countries building decentralized composting programs.
DIYCompostCommunityEconomic Sustainability of Small-Scale Aquaponic Systems for Food Self-Production
2020Lobillo-Eguíbar J., Fernández-Cabanás V.M., Bermejo L.A., Pérez-Urrestarazu L. · Agronomy · Spain
Two small-scale aquaponic systems, self-built from cheap and easy-to-obtain materials based on FAO models, were monitored for a year to assess their economic sustainability for self-production.
DIYEconomicsEvaluation of Recycled Materials as Hydroponic Growing Media
2020· Agronomy · United Kingdom
Assesses waste almond shells and a recycled plastic drainage plank as sustainable hydroponic media alternatives to perlite, evaluating physicochemical properties and lettuce germination and greenhouse growth.
DIYOrganic cyclePlacemaking in Action: Factors That Support or Obstruct the Development of Urban Community Gardens
2020· Sustainability · New Zealand; Germany
Using case studies in New Zealand and Germany, this study systematically analyzes the factors that support or obstruct the development of urban community gardens as placemaking.
CommunityPolicyPeri-Urban Organic Agriculture and Short Food Supply Chains as Drivers for Strengthening City/Region Food Systems—Two Case Studies in Andalucia, Spain
2020Yacaman Ochoa C., Mataran Ruiz A., Mata Olmo R., Macias Figueroa A., Torres Rodriguez A. · Land · Andalucia, Spain
Two Andalusian case studies analysing how peri-urban organic agriculture and short food supply chains strengthen city/region food systems by shortening the chain and reducing handling stages and spoilage.
Food lossEconomicsUrban Food Waste: A Framework to Analyse Policies and Initiatives
2020Fattibene D., Recanati F., Dembska K., Antonelli M. · Resources · Europe (40 cities across 16 countries)
Presents a framework to assess urban food waste policies and initiatives across 40 cities in 16 European countries, linking policy types, intervention areas, and actors to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Food lossPolicyUrban food cultivation in the United Kingdom: Quantifying loss of allotment land and identifying potential for restoration
2020Dobson M., Edmondson J., Warren P. · Landscape and Urban Planning · United Kingdom
A GIS analysis of historic maps shows UK allotment land declined by about 65% from its peak to 2016. The loss is inequitable: the most deprived urban areas experienced eight times the level of allotment loss as the least deprived areas.
PolicyCommunityUrban agriculture: Declining opportunity and increasing demand—How observations from London, U.K., can inform effective response, strategy and policy on a wide scale
2020· Urban Forestry & Urban Greening · London, UK
In London, allotments comprise the largest area of urban agriculture yet provision is under threat and fails to meet demand. Despite well-documented benefits, the opportunity for urban food growing is declining under development pressure while demand rises.
PolicyCommunityNature-based solutions as discursive tools and contested practices in urban nature’s neoliberalisation processes
2020Panagiota Kotsila, Isabelle Anguelovski, Francesc Baró, Johannes Langemeyer, Filka Sekulova, James J. Connolly · Environment and Planning E Nature and Space · Spain (Barcelona)
This paper analyzes nature-based solutions (NBS) as discursive tools that create an inviting space for nature's neoliberalization processes, examining two city-initiated projects in Barcelona, Spain: the Passeig de Sant Joan green corridor and the Espai Germanetes community garden. The study found that urban nature can serve elite economic players at the expense of widespread socio-ecological benefits. It also noted that outcomes regarding neoliberalism and its contestation were very distinct between the two projects due to different forms of governance.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageHow Cool Are Allotment Gardens? A Case Study of Nocturnal Air Temperature Differences in Berlin, Germany
2020Annemarie Tabea Rost, Victoria Liste, Corinna Seidel, Lea Matscheroth, Marco Otto, Fred Meier, Daniel Fenner · Atmosphere · Germany (Berlin)
This study measured nocturnal air temperatures in 13 allotment garden complexes (AGCs) during the summer of 2018 in Berlin, Germany, comparing them to measurements in densely built-up urban areas, two large inner-city parks, and rural areas. On average, the assessed AGCs were 2.7 K cooler at night than urban areas, and most investigated AGCs (11/13) showed a larger mean nocturnal air temperature difference than urban parks. The nocturnal air temperature difference decreased significantly as the floor space index around AGCs increased, and shape complexity showed a significant positive correlation, while AGC size and distance to the city center significantly decreased with increasing nocturnal air temperature difference.
CommunityClimate changeUrban Farming
2020Christine Aubry, Anne Cécile Daniel, Baptiste Grard, Agnès Lelièvre, Nathalie Frascaria‐Lacoste, Claire Chenu · · France
Urban micro-farms in France are intermediate forms between community gardens and recognized vegetable farms, limited in number and too heterogeneous for a unique typology. This study developed an original reading grid, inspired by agricultural sustainability assessment tools, to understand their functioning. The 18-month participatory research included numerous producer surveys, follow-ups, and field data collection on production, costs, revenue, and working time.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyLos huertos urbanos como estrategia de transición urbana hacia la sostenibilidad en la ciudad de Málaga
2020Remedios Larrubia Vargas, Juan José Natera Rivas, David Carruana-Herrera · Boletín de la Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles · Spain
This research investigated urban gardens in the city of Málaga as a strategy for urban transition towards sustainability. It identified 19 urban gardens promoted by both public and private entities and analyzed them based on interviews with their promoters regarding their operation, users' socioeconomic characteristics, management, motivations, and existing typology. The results highlight the diversity of projects and the benefits they provide for users' personal development, family economy, and the urban environment.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyTutelare il paesaggio agrario periurbano attraverso la multifunzionalità. Costruzione e valutazione di una proposta di piano di conservazione e valorizzazione in area milanese
2020Andrea L’Erario · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Italy (Milan)
This paper describes the application of a multi-methodological decision-making support tool for concerted management policies (Public bodies/farmers) in peri-urban agricultural areas. The proposal is guided by three principles: conservation of the historical landscape as heritage, valorization of the social potentials of the landscape in the peri-urban context, and sustainable management with a public-private partnership perspective. Peri-urban agricultural landscapes possess potential social value linked to agricultural area use, in addition to their agricultural-productive value.
Peri-urban agriculturePolicyCommunityClimate changeThe contribution of small-scale food production in urban areas to the sustainable development goals: a review and case study
2020Elizabeth Nicholls, Adrian Ely, Linda Birkin, Parthiba Basu, Dave Goulson · Sustainability Science · United Kingdom (Brighton and Hove)
A review and case study in Brighton and Hove, UK, examined the contribution of small-scale urban and peri-urban agriculture to sustainable food production. Findings showed these small, labor-intensive systems with high crop diversity can be highly productive, offering environmental and social advantages over industrial agriculture through minimal synthetic inputs and local consumption. However, significant knowledge gaps persist regarding productivity, economic impacts, pesticide use, and biodiversity implications.
BiodiversityPollinatorsClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceAre early-years-children able to use magnifying glasses and dichotomous keys to observe, compare, classify and identify small animals?
2020Esther Cascarosa Salillas, Beatriz Mazas Gil, Ester Mateo González · Journal of Biological Education · Spain
Research with first-year preschoolers in Spain analyzed their ability to observe, compare, classify, and identify small animals using magnifying glasses and dichotomous keys. Students learned to observe intentionally with magnifying glasses and compare small animals based on the number of wings, legs, and color. However, students struggled to use dichotomous keys, indicating that teacher assistance was necessary to develop scientific skills such as observation, comparison, classification, and identification.
Food educationCommunityBiodiversityFrom Urban voids to Urban Commons-Ex-airports as Urban Voids reuse Case studies of Tempelhofer Feld Airport in Berlin-Germany & Imbaba Airport in Giza-Egypt.
2020احمد حسنی رضوان, احمد عبد الغنی مرسی · مجلة العمارة والفنون والعلوم الإنسانية · Germany (Berlin)
This research examines former airports as urban voids and their potential reuse as urban commons. Two case studies, Tempelhofer Feld Airport in Berlin, Germany, and Imbaba Airport in Giza, Egypt, are analyzed, recognizing the cultural, historical, political, economic, and urban complexities involved in each city and country. Tempelhofer Feld is cited as an example already providing space for urban gardening, culture, sports, and recreation.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkage[-@!~FULL-movie]-Watch Verwundene Fäden (2020) HD English Full Movie llu
2020llullu · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Germany (Leipzig)
This documentary traces silkworm breeding in a Leipzig allotment garden to the island of Crete, depicting how idyllic scenes and war begin to converge.
CommunityUrbanization does not affect green space bird species richness in a mid-sized city
2020Dávid Korányi, Róbert Gallé, Bettina Donkó, Dan Chamberlain, Péter Batáry · Urban Ecosystems · Germany (Göttingen)
This study in Göttingen, Germany, investigated the effects of green space (GS) types and surrounding urbanization on bird communities. Bird observations were conducted using the point-count method in allotments and parks, with urbanization levels measured by the percentage of impervious surfaces. Increasing levels of urbanization around green spaces had no effect on bird species richness, functional traits, or community composition.
Limited or null effectBiodiversityCommunityContext-specific notions and practices of ‘solidarity’ in food procurement networks in Lombardy (Italy) and Massachusetts (USA)
2020Cristina Grasseni · · Italy, United States (Massachusetts)
This chapter compares and contrasts context-specific notions and practices of 'solidarity' within collaborative networks organizing alternative food procurement in Lombardy, Italy, and Massachusetts, USA, based on unpublished ethnography from 2011-2014. It juxtaposes Italian Solidarity Purchase Groups with the US solidarity economy network in the context of the Boston local food movement and Massachusetts community-supported agriculture. The chapter demonstrates how the meaning of solidarity in collective food procurement is context-bound.
CommunityCSA & TeikeiFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsTwentieth-century growth of urban ecology
2020David Goode, Ian Douglas, Mark J. McDonnell, Amy K. Hahs, Ian MacGregor‐Fors · · Europe
This chapter explores the evolution of urban ecology through eight historical events or stages. Urban allotment gardens as a source of vegetables and fruits were an important issue across Europe for the greater part of the twentieth century. The three paradigms 'in', 'of', and 'for' urban ecology are viewed as progressively more complex in the range of topics involved, from traditional ecological studies to multi-dimensional issues of urban sustainability.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkage