Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
5821 results(197 / 233)
Backyard chicken keeping in the Greater London Urban Area: welfare status, biosecurity and disease control issues
2012I. Karabozhilova, Barbara Wieland, Silvia Alonso, Laura Salonen, Barbara Häsler · British Poultry Science · United Kingdom (London)
A 2010 questionnaire survey of 30 backyard chicken flock-keepers in the Greater London Urban Area found that while chickens generally had conditions for natural behaviors, most owners did not comply with regulations on catering waste feeding. Disease prevention measures were rare, and a lack of avian and zoonotic disease knowledge among owners was observed, indicating implications for disease control.
Governance failureHealthPolicyCommunityResidual residential space as commons
2012Dan Rabinowitz · International Journal of the Commons · Israel
This article extends Common Pool Resources (CPR) theory to residential complexes, defining Residual Residential Space (RRS) such as courtyards and lobbies as a new sub-set of CPR. Based on findings from three types of RRS in Israel, the study suggests that legal instruments alone are insufficient for regulating such spaces. Effective regulation requires alignment with popular framings of RRS, local sensibilities, and stakeholders' community expectations.
CommunityPolicyCommunity food growing and the role of women in the alternative economy in Tower Hamlets
2012Kate Metcalf, Julia Minnear, Tabitha Kleinert, Victoria Tedder · Local Economy The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit · United Kingdom (East London)
This practitioner's perspective discusses how the Women’s Environmental Network organizes support and training for community gardens in East London. It considers how these efforts contribute to local resilience against economic and cultural pressures and create greater access to green spaces.
CommunityEconomicsFood educationWelfarePromoting Urban Agriculture for Development: Suggestions for Designing the 'Ideal' Social Enterprise Box Scheme in Cape Town
2012Amy E. Thom, Beatrice Conradie · Open University of Cape Town (University of Cape Town) · South Africa (Cape Town)
This study, focused on Cape Town, South Africa, proposes social enterprise fresh produce box schemes as a sustainable business opportunity for urban agriculture to contribute to development. The research compared three existing box scheme models, analyzed a consumer survey to explore the consumer market, and investigated poor producers' agency through cross-case analysis. This analysis yields suggestions for key characteristics of an "ideal" social enterprise box scheme that is both financially sustainable and contributes to improvements in poor producers' agency.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCSA & TeikeiCommunity gardens, creative community organizing, and environmental activism
2012· · United States (New York City)
In New York City, social workers and community organizers engage in environmental protection practices through community organizing aimed at creating and preserving green spaces. Much of this activism takes place within community gardens, which are recognized as spaces for social engagement, community building, and social justice-based activism.
CommunityHealthPolicyBiodiversityTower Hamlet’s “urban oasis”: the re-imagining of identity through volunteer work at Spitalfields Community Farm
2012J. McLean · · United Kingdom
This research focused on the re-imagining of identity through volunteer work at Spitalfields Community Farm in Tower Hamlets, London. It specifically investigated how Bangladeshi-Londoni diaspora volunteers contributed to creating this urban rural space and how, through their imagining of this space, they consciously sought to remember their homeland while establishing a new sense of identity in London.
CommunityWelfareFood education生态文明导向下的＂两型＂农业
2012程存旺, 孙永生, 石嫣, 温铁军 · 绿叶 · China (Beijing)
This paper discusses the importance of ecological civilization in China's national development strategy, as highlighted by the 18th National Congress. It argues that Beijing's agricultural work should shift from industrialization to "social agriculture," moving beyond traditional GDP-focused strategies from 1956 and 1996. The paper advocates for promoting urban agriculture that combines citizens and farmers, aligning with ecological civilization and drawing on domestic and international transformation experiences.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageCommunityChapter 29 Public space, urban agriculture and the grassroots creation of new commons: lessons and challenges for policy makers
2012Chiara Tornaghi · · United Kingdom
This academic-activist research on grassroots urban agriculture initiatives, focusing on four projects in Leeds, UK, found that local and regional institutions have limited ability to respond to these new demands. Planning traditions constrain institutions, failing to create flexible public spaces. Consequently, short-term solutions are found in "loose spaces" or ad-hoc negotiations, but these remain emergency or residual practices, highlighting challenges for urban public space management.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageCSAs in Canada and China: innovation and paradox
2012Anthony M. Fuller, Theresa Schumilas, Zhenzhong Si · Digital Commons - Lingnan (Lingnan University) · Canada; China
This presentation examines innovations and contradictions in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Canada and China, where farmers pursue economic, social, and ecological goals. It describes the evolving CSA movement in Canada and identifies three paradoxes, including the economic paradox of market-based social change, questioning if CSAs can maintain their alternative nature or if co-optation is inevitable.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsDesenvolvimento do milheto sob adubação orgânica no município de Corrente - PI Development of organic manure on millet in the city Corrente-PI
2012Alisson Amorim da Silva, Sammy Sidney, Rocha Matías, Rafaela Ribeiro de Souza, Roberto Lustosa Silva, Júlio César Azevedo Nóbrega · · Brazil
The effect of different percentages of cattle manure (0%, 20%, 40%, and 60%) on millet development was evaluated in a greenhouse at the community garden of Corrente city hall, Brazil. The percentage of cattle manure significantly affected the number of leaves, plant height, shoot dry mass, and main root length. A manure dose equivalent to 40% of the total substrate volume was found to provide nutrient amounts closer to the ideal for achieving maximum efficiency in millet's physical variables.
CompostCommunity도시공원 진화상의 비판적 고찰을 통한 도시농업공원의 발전 가능성
2012윤희정, 조미경 · · Korea
This study aimed to critically consider and classify new paradigms for urban parks in the 21st century. While urban parks exhibit progressive aspects such as process, openness, productivity, and community space, they face significant criticism regarding the long development period for tree growth, covering open spaces, ecological limitations, economic validity, urban sprawl, underutilization as a low-carbon strategy, and negative consilience with contiguous fields. Based on these critical considerations, the study proposed urban agricultural parks as an alternative.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityEconomicsUrban–rural linkageRegulation of Farmland Conversion on the Urban Fringe: From Land-Use Planning to Food Strategies. Insight into Two Case Studies in Provence and Tuscany
2012Coline Perrin · International Planning Studies · France, Italy
Case studies in Provence and Tuscany indicate that planning prescriptions and land-market control are insufficient for protecting farmland on the urban fringe. Farmland is not effectively protected if regulatory approaches are not integrated into a global strategy for agriculture and food based on community involvement. Farmland protection policies are more effective when combining top-down policies with bottom-up initiatives and recognizing the multifunctional character of urban agriculture.
Governance failurePolicyPeri-urban agricultureCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceCivic Agriculture: Towards a Local Food Web for Sustainable Urban Development
2012Siqing Chen · APCBEE Procedia · United States
This paper uses a housing development project in the United States to exemplify how civic agriculture can be integrated into urban development through forms like Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), kitchen gardens, and farmer's markets. This integration creates a local food web, enhancing civic engagement and welfare among residents, maintaining landscape authenticity, strengthening ecosystem services, reducing carbon footprint, and promoting long-term sustainability. Civic agriculture represents a transition in agricultural practice from large-scale commodity enterprises to small-scale, self-sustaining civic activities.
CommunityCSA & TeikeiEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageSuccessful strategies and barriers to community gardening in metro Atlanta, Georgia
2012Julie L. Self, Amanda Wyatt, Aimee Webb Girard · The FASEB Journal · United States (Atlanta)
This research characterized community gardens (CGs) in two urban counties in Atlanta, Georgia, through semi-structured interviews with diverse garden leaders. The study identified primary barriers to creating and sustaining CGs as leadership constraints, reliable access to natural resources, and unclear regulations. It also found that CGs foster access to fresh food, knowledge, and community connections, with benefits varying by community.
Governance failureCommunityHealthPolicy단지 내 조경요소로서 도시농업 활성화를 위한 작물지표 도출 및 생태면적률 개선방안
2012강현정, 김세용 · 한국주거학회 학술발표대회 논문집 · South Korea
Modern cities prioritize development, leading to environmental deterioration. The biotope area ratio may not adequately reflect spatial utilization and plant growth conditions in multi-unit dwellings. While urban agriculture holds potential for environmental reform, a systematic framework and clear guidelines for its practical application are currently lacking. This study aims to derive crop indices for revitalizing urban agriculture and propose development directions for the biotope area ratio.
Governance failureClimate changePolicyCommunityHEAVY METAL POLLUTION AND URBAN AGRICULTURE IN MSIMBAZI RIVERVALLEY: HEALTH RISK AND PUBLIC AWARENESS
2012Lori Leonard, W. J. S. Mwegoha, Charles Kihampa · International Journal of Plant Animal and Environmental Sciences · Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)
This study investigated public awareness and health risks from heavy metal pollution in vegetables irrigated with Msimbazi River water in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Over 71% of 35 respondents used the river for irrigation, and high levels of chromium, lead, and copper were detected in popular vegetables. 69% of respondents were unaware of industrial pollution, and 63% were unaware of potential health effects. The study found that 95.6% of adults, 30.7% of children aged 6-12, and 12.5% of children aged 2-6 were at risk of lead carcinogenic effects, while 5% of children aged 2-6, 2.8% of children aged 6-12, and 1.2% of adults were at risk from carcinogenic cadmium effects.
Contamination & food safetyHealthCommunityChapter 38 The CPUL City Toolkit: planning productive urban landscapes for European cities
2012Katrin Bohn, André Viljoen · · Germany (Berlin), United Kingdom (London)
This chapter reviews the evolving Continuous Productive Urban Landscape (CPUL) City concept in the context of Berlin and London, exploring ways to integrate sustainable food systems into the urban fabric. The CPUL City Toolkit provides an overview of key steps for planning and implementing urban agriculture as part of coherent productive urban landscape strategies. The toolkit introduces four methods of action: Action U+D, Action VIS, Action IUC, and Action R.
PolicyCommunityClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceUbiquitous Vertical Farm의 u-주거공간 서비스 도출에 관한 연구
2012이행우, 김용성, 이재일 · · South Korea
This study noted that vertical farms face problems with economic viability and a lack of resident awareness. It derived types of vertical farms applicable to residential spaces and inferred assessment items for a questionnaire survey to develop u-services. Based on issues from the survey, u-services needed in vertical farm buildings were proposed, including u-notification of crop conditions, remote/automatic control u-services, harvest information u-service, recipe information u-service, indoor air quality monitoring u-service, indoor environment adjusting u-service, and farm environment control u-service.
Economic viabilityDigital agricultureEconomicsCommunityGender Analysis of the Contribution of Urban Agriculture to Sustainable Livelihoods in Accra, Ghana
2012Adetola I. Adeoti, Olufunke Cofie, O. I. Oladele · Journal of Sustainable Agriculture · Ghana (Accra)
A study in Accra, Ghana, analyzed the gender dimensions of urban agriculture's contribution to sustainable livelihoods among vegetable producers. The study surveyed 92 male and 8 female producers, finding male producers had a mean age of 39.4 years and 6.4 years of schooling, while female producers averaged 49.8 years and 7.1 years of schooling. Farm size and access to credit were significant determinants of income from urban agriculture.
EconomicsWelfareCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceANALISIS SARANA KEGIATAN DALAM SISTEM PEMASYARAKATAN PERTANIAN KOTA SKALA RUMAH TANGGA BERBASIS GAYA HIDUP STUDI KASUS BANDUNG: KOMUNITAS HALAMAN ORGANIK
2012K P Emeraldi, Dwinita Larasati · Product Design · Indonesia (Bandung)
This study analyzed the means of activity within the household-scale urban agriculture popularization system in Bandung City. The analysis results indicate that the means of activity used in the urban agriculture popularization system do not yet support the purpose of the activity itself. This is attributed to a lack of understanding within the community regarding studies that influence contemporary society's life, such as lifestyle studies.
Governance failureCommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicySupporting the Micmac Farms Through Ethnographic Communication Research
2012Anthony Sutton · DigitalCommons (California Polytechnic State University) · United States (Maine)
This ethnographic communication research supported the Micmac Farms in Presque Isle, Maine, which were established to address food security and community health issues like obesity and diabetes. The study, conducted over three months in summer 2011, identified that administrative power structures, economic constraints, and operational planning issues threatened the farm's efforts to achieve greater economic and food security. The analysis revealed that economic behaviors dominated the data, with grants for the farm centering on economics due to historical farming discourse and business focus.
CommunityHealthFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareDevelopment from Consumer-shared Farm to Rural Citizen Community:Thinking About a New Model to Balance Urban and Rural Development
2012Wang Shu-jin · Nongye jingji yu guanli · Global
This paper discusses consumer-shared farms as a key component of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and a beneficial model for balancing urban and rural development in developed countries. It suggests that combining consumer-shared farms with rural citizen communities can genuinely improve farmers' incomes and address issues in harmonious urban-rural development. The paper explores the concept of rural citizen communities, related research topics, and policy suggestions.
CSA & TeikeiUrban–rural linkageEconomicsCommunityWomen in Urban Agriculture: Are the Policies Supportive? The Case of Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania
2012BD Mntambo · Huria Journal of the Open University of Tanzania · Tanzania
In Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania, a study examined urban agriculture practices within the policy context, focusing on the experiences and attitudes of women cultivating vegetables in open spaces through an in-depth survey. Findings indicated that women's participation in urban agriculture contributes to food security, increased household income, and poverty reduction. However, a mismatch exists between the benefits of urban farming and current policies, negatively affecting women's participation, as policies are not supportive of urban farmers, particularly women, leading to small-scale cultivation and low income.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCultivating the Social Field : Strategically moving Urban Agricultural Projects towards Sustainability
2012Ashley Courtney, Brendan McShane, Ella Wiles · · North America; Europe
This research explored how low-income urban agricultural (UA) projects in North America and Europe can be strategically supported for sustainability. The authors analyzed UA projects using the 5 Level Framework and the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, along with Leverage Points, to understand their current reality. The study produced strategic recommendations and guidance for UA projects to foster a societal shift towards sustainability.
CommunityEconomicsClimate changePolicyAgricultura urbana agroecológica - estratégia de promoção da saúde e segurança alimentar e nutricional - doi: 10.5020/18061230.2012.p381
2012Silvana Maria Ribeiro, Elaine de Azevedo, Maria Cecília Focesi Pelicioni, Cláudia Maria Bógus, Isabel Maria Teixeira Bicudo Pereira · Revista Brasileira em Promoção da saúde · Brazil
This documentary research reflected on agroecological urban agriculture in relation to health promotion and food and nutritional security, involving local communities. Data synthesis, based on reports, field activity records, participant testimonies, and project coordination interviews, revealed that agroecological urban agriculture contributed to community leadership, popular participation, and the development of food and environmental awareness among social actors. Conclusions identified relevant aspects aligned with health promotion principles, including strengthening intersectorality, local empowerment, individual and collective agency, creating healthy environments, and community mobilization.
Food sovereignty & justiceHealthCommunityFood education