Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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5821 results(193 / 233)
Imported from Detroit: An Examination of a City in Crisis
2013Freda G. Sampson, Thomas G. Costello, Stacey Stevens, Desiree Squire · Journal of Law and Society · United States (Detroit)
This paper examines Detroit, United States, as a city in crisis, analyzing redevelopment conflicts between gentrification and revitalization. It applies a "Litmus Test for Equity and Opportunity" to current redevelopment efforts, including the Detroit Future City Plan and projects by Michael Ilitch & Company and Dan Gilbert. The analysis suggests that despite efforts, the complexities of this post-industrial city, particularly regarding its predominantly African-American population, are only superficially addressed, indicating ongoing equity challenges.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicyEdirne Kent Merkezindeki Bazı İlköğretim Okul Bahçelerinin Peyzaj Tasarım İlkeleri Açısından Mevcut Durumunun Belirlenmesi
2013Beste Karakaya, Tuğba Kiper · DergiPark (Istanbul University) · Turkey (Edirne)
This study conducted physical, cultural, and current situation analyses of 10 elementary school playgrounds in the city center of Edirne. The current situation of these elementary school gardens was determined according to landscape design principles, and proposals were made to solve existing problems.
Food educationCommunityEl futuro está en la huerta de la esquina
2013Veguita de Graná · · Spain (Granada)
Rosa Felix explored urban gardens in metropolitan Granada, Spain, in 2013, linking them to employment opportunities. She noted that such experiences have a long history in many countries. Felix concluded that urban gardens would be successful if public administrations supported their creation.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyFrom Environmental Trauma to Safe Haven: Place Attachment and Place Remaking in Three Marginalized Neighborhoods of Barcelona, Boston, and Havana
2013Isabelle Anguelovski · City and Community · Spain (Barcelona), United States (Boston), Cuba
The role of place attachment in environmental mobilization among local activists improving degraded spaces, such as urban farms and community gardens, was investigated in three marginalized neighborhoods in Barcelona, Spain; Boston, USA; and Havana, Cuba. Activists in all three locations used environmental projects to express grief over community loss, fear of erasure, and emotional connection to their neighborhoods. They aimed to construct "safe havens" and remake places for residents to address environmental trauma.
CommunityPolicyHealthRoutes Choice of Urban Agriculture,Ecotourism and Cultural Innovation Fusion
2013Zhu Qi-jiu · Anhui nongye kexue · Global
This paper discusses the fusion of urban agriculture, ecotourism, and cultural innovation as a necessary approach for industrial upgrading, value creation, and income improvement in suburban areas. It outlines four methods for this fusion: government-led corporate development, market-guided corporate management with government support, market and policy-guided collective development, and individual development with villager participation based on government-provided infrastructure. The paper suggests that different villages and towns should adopt the most suitable route based on local conditions.
EconomicsPeri-urban agricultureCommunityCommon Ownership and Equality of Autonomy
2013Anna di Robilant · McGill Law Journal · Global
Common ownership regimes, such as community gardens and co-operatives in the US, Canada, and Europe, require limiting individual co-owners' ability to freely use resources and exit arrangements to achieve their goals. This creates difficult trade-offs in their design. The article argues that common ownership can foster "equality of autonomy" by providing more equitable access to the means for individual autonomy, but this often necessitates privileging equality of autonomy over full negative freedom.
Governance failureCommunityFarmers perception on the effect of climate change and variation on urban agriculture in Ibadan Metropolis, South-western Nigeria
2013Odewumi Odewumi · Journal of Geography and Regional Planning · Nigeria (Ibadan)
This study surveyed 145 farmers in two urban agricultural communities in Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria, to examine their perception of climate change and its effects on urban agriculture. Results showed that 89.6% of respondents perceived climate change and increased variability over the past five years, with effects including temperature increases, fewer rainy days, and more rainstorms and floods. Multiple regression analysis indicated that farmers' socio-economic characteristics had no significant influence on their perception of climate variation effects.
Climate changeUrban–rural linkageCommunity发展都市农业 共享科技成果——北京市通州区第三届国际都市农业科技节举行
2013吕艳 · 农业工程技术：温室园艺 · China (Beijing)
The 3rd International Urban Agricultural Science and Technology Festival was held in Tongzhou, Beijing, from September 12 to 13, 2013. Over 300 representatives from national agencies, local governments, agricultural research institutions, domestic and international agricultural enterprises, and foreign embassies in China attended the event at the Tongzhou Beijing International Urban Agricultural Science and Technology Park. China Agricultural University hosted this conference.
PolicyDigital agricultureCommunityThe Influence of Habitat Management and Landscape on Spider Assemblages within Urban Greenspaces of Cleveland, Ohio
2013Caitlin E. Burkman · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network) · United States (Cleveland)
A two-year study investigated the influence of habitat management and landscape on spider assemblages within urban greenspaces in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. This research was set against the backdrop of thousands of acres of vacant land resulting from economic decline and population loss, which are being reutilized for strategies like urban agriculture and small native planting parks. Spiders were used as a model throughout this process, but the abstract does not state specific research findings.
BiodiversityCommunityGreener growing: assessing the influence of gardening practices on the ecological viability of community gardens in South East Queensland, Australia
2013Daniela Guitart, Jason Byrne, Catherine Marina Pickering · Journal of Environmental Planning and Management · Australia (South East Queensland)
This study investigated gardening practices in 50 community gardens in Brisbane and Gold Coast cities, Australia, aiming to understand how these practices affect the ecological viability of community gardens. Factors examined included garden bio-physical characteristics, operators’ motivations, gardeners’ socio-demographic backgrounds, garden facilities, and types of plants grown. Two broad types were identified: permaculture (21 gardens) and non-permaculture (29 gardens), with permaculture gardens utilizing lower-impact gardening practices.
CommunityBiodiversityOrganic cyclePolicyImproving food security in the rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa: Too little, too slow
2013Marijke D’Haese, Nick Vink, Tharcisse Nkunzimana, Ellen Van Damme, Johan van Rooyen, Anne-Marie Remaut, Lotte Staelens, Luc D’Haese · Development Southern Africa · South Africa
Food insecurity remains high in rural KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. This study collected data from 390 beneficiary households in 2010 to assess the perceived impact of the Empowerment for Food Security Programme, launched in 2007, on food security. Findings confirmed that experience-based food insecurity levels were still high, despite the agricultural support program and government income transfers. However, respondents attributed improved dietary diversity and better access to resources to the program.
Limited or null effectCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareDonegal Garden GNOMES
2013Getting Together Killybegs (MHI) · · Ireland (Donegal Town)
The Donegal Garden G.N.O.M.E.S is a community garden group in Donegal Town, Ireland, that organically grows fruit and vegetables. The group meets weekly on Thursdays from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the Bluestack Foundation building. It is partly funded by Donegal Local Development and partners with Mental Health Ireland.
CommunityDIYHealthFood educationUrban and peri-urban agricultural production along railway tracks: a case study from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region
2013Prem José Vazhacharickal, Martina Předotová, D. Chandrasekharam, Sharit K. Bhowmik, Buerkert, Andreas · Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics (University of Kassel) · India (Mumbai)
A study surveyed 38 railway gardeners to characterize urban and peri-urban agricultural production along railway tracks in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Irrigation water contained nutrients but also heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, and mercury, and pathogens like Escherichia coli. Heavy metal levels exceeded critical thresholds in surface soils for chromium, nickel, and strontium, and in produce for lead, cadmium, and strontium.
Contamination & food safetyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthEvaluation of Development Projects: a Process-Centered Approach in the Outskirts of Lima,Peru
2013José Luis Yagüe Blanco, Agustín Montes, Francisco J. Morales · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Peru (Lima)
This article examines the evaluation of an urban agriculture project in Lima, Peru, using a process-centered approach. The approach combines different evaluation tools to identify and analyze processes with involved members. Results indicate that this method provides a better understanding of the real sustainability of project outcomes.
CommunityPolicyBorrowed Ground: Evaluating the Potential Role of Usufruct in Neighborhood-Scale Foodsheds
2013Benjamin Carl Kerrick · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network) · Global
Urban growth in the 20th and 21st centuries has increased urban food demand while diminishing agricultural production areas around cities. Urban agriculture can expand food access, engage urban dwellers in food production, and utilize unused urban lots. Idle or vacant land, both public and private, represents an important resource for this purpose.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicyUrban–rural linkageCommunity Garden Information Systems: Analyzing and Strengthening Community-Based Resource Sharing Networks
2013Kristen Loria · Journal of Extension · Global
This paper discusses the potential utility of information system analysis as an analytical tool for Extension efforts in community garden projects, given the importance of interpersonal networks in providing informational, material, and human resources. The reported evaluation can be used to inform Extension and other community-based programming to articulate and strengthen such community garden networks.
CommunityPolicySustained and integrated promotion of local, traditional food systems for nutrition security
2013Kelly Donati, Christopher Taylor, Craig J. Pearson · · Australia (Melbourne)
Australian policy initiatives address threats to food production from climate change and petrochemical dependency, as well as socio-economic disadvantage. In Victoria, natural disasters like droughts, bushfires, and floods have increased food costs for low-income households. This case study explores farmers markets and community gardens in Melbourne as potential localized food systems, collecting data between 2009 and 2010 using GIS-based land use descriptions and interviews with local producers.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyHealthGarden based education : the importance of agriculture in elementary schools of the Salinas Valley
2013Maritza Bautista · Digital Commons - CSUMB (California State University, Monterey Bay) · United States (California)
This research highlighted the lack of agricultural education in elementary schools in California's Salinas Valley and implemented an action project to build a garden at Alisal Community Elementary School. The project presented students with concepts related to agriculture, food production, and nutrition, linking them to science. These efforts helped students make conscious decisions about their diet, how they treat the earth, and potential future agricultural careers.
Food educationCommunityExternships in Sustainability Program as an Outreach Tool for Extension
2013Mark Apel, Ayman Mostafa, Bill Brandau, Gregg M. Garfin · Journal of Extension · United States (Arizona)
In 2011, Arizona Cooperative Extension implemented the Externships in Sustainability program, where undergraduate students conducted community-based sustainability projects. This program, distinct from internships, allowed students to apply skills to community outreach, benefiting agents, students, and communities through improved university-community relationships and projects like community gardens. Other states' Extension programs could adopt this model.
CommunityFood educationClimate changeThe Big Watermelon: A Cultural History of Florida's Brooksville Ridge
2013Douglas E. Ponticos · Digital Commons - University of South Florida (University of South Florida) · United States (Florida)
A thesis on the cultural history of Florida's Brooksville Ridge in the United States traced the changing cultural landscapes of west-central Florida, from pre-Columbian and Seminole landscapes to the rise of the Ridge. Using primary and secondary documents, including local primary sources such as photographs of locals replanting forests and accounts of community gardens and canning, the study traced how a uniquely settled Floridian culture emerged from unsettled landscapes during the early 20th century, amidst war and depression.
CommunityHeirloom & landracePlanning the unplanned: incorporating agriculture as an urban land use into the Dar es Salaam master plan and beyond
2013Afton Halloran, Jakob Magid · Environment and Urbanization · Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)
Urban agriculture in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, has received little political support from central and local governments over the past 30 years due to its informal status, leading to land insecurity for many urban farmers. The incorporation of urban agriculture into the Dar es Salaam 2012-2032 Master Plan (unapproved as of June 2013) and its legitimization processes were examined. It was noted that legitimization through policy could also further marginalize urban farmers cultivating open spaces within the city.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityTo Detroiters and Outsiders
2013Leah A. Walker · · United States (Detroit)
This comment discusses the history, benefits, and laws relevant to urban farming in the United States, with a specific focus on Detroit. It highlights the essential role of urban agriculture for Detroit's survival and potential revival. The comment also examines the laws with the most immediate impact on urban farming in Detroit and the significance of timing due to impending changes in zoning ordinances.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsGreenhouse Hydroponics in Coastal Slums of Mumbai: Market Access and Economic Benefits in Ghana,
2013Akosua Owusu-Bonsu, Yaa Afua, Kofi Agyeiwa, Bright Emmanuel Owusu · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · India (Mumbai)
This study investigated market access and economic benefits of greenhouse hydroponics among urban farmers in Mumbai's coastal slums and Ghana's agricultural hubs. Using a mixed-methods approach, data showed that hydroponic greenhouse production led to a 45% increase in vegetable yields compared to traditional farming methods, with over 70% of producers reporting higher income from market sales. Market access was significantly improved through partnerships with local NGOs and government initiatives.
Digital agricultureEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityVideo - Gael Blackhall: Partnership roles, community gardens & the City of Calgary
2013Gael Blackhall · · Canada (Calgary)
This video features an interview with Gael Blackhall of the Calgary Horticultural Society. The interview discusses how different organizations interact in community gardening issues.
CommunityPolicyRooted in Place: Growing and Learning from Cultural Tradition in an Urban Food Desert
2013Kevin J. Holohan · Language arts journal of Michigan · United States
This paper is based on an empirical study conducted at a charter high school in a Midwestern US metropolitan area. The study investigated how social ecology, with urban agriculture as a hands-on practice, fosters an ideal of citizenship through a program where students collect traditional Puerto Rican recipes from elders and grow the necessary produce within their community.
Food educationCommunityHeirloom & landraceFood sovereignty & justice