Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
667 results(20 / 27)
Social Science, Public Policy, and Amnesty for Chickens
2014Merrill Eisenberg · Practicing Anthropology · United States (Arizona)
This paper describes efforts in Pima County, Arizona, to develop local policies supporting urban agriculture in Tucson. An applied anthropologist, collaborating with grassroots citizen groups and local government policymakers, guided these efforts. The study highlights how applied social science concepts and methods informed the policy development process and facilitated citizen participation in shaping urban agriculture policy.
PolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceCooperatives and Alternative Food Systems Initiatives — and More
2014Duncan Hilchey · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States
A study in the late 1990s investigated small-scale grower cooperatives in the northeastern United States, which had annual sales of US$5 million or less. It found many barriers to growth, including managers' difficulties in balancing diverse member interests, meeting buyer standards, and operating in a high-cost, low-price business. The Northeast Federation of Family-Farm Cooperatives (NEFFCO), a proposed support group, did not last beyond its grant period, indicating challenges in sustaining such initiatives.
Economic viabilityCSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityPolicyInitiating and sustaining community gardens and community kitchens: A preliminary study in Nova Scotia
2014Tim Cashion, I. Forbes, Irena Knežević · · Canada
This preliminary study in Nova Scotia, Canada, explored the initiation and sustainability of community food initiatives through in-depth interviews with coordinators. The research identified that these initiatives are in a precarious state due to reliance on volunteers, land ownership issues, and a lack of consistent funding. Despite these challenges, they persist through community support and coordinator dedication.
Governance failureCommunityEconomicsWelfarePolicyFrom Vacant Lots to Full Pantries: Urban Agriculture Programs and the American City
2014Jessica Owley, Tonya Lewis · · United States
This article explores land tenure concerns that can hinder urban agriculture development in American cities. It examines various property law tools, such as long-term leases, permits for city-owned land, and theoretical self-help nuisance concepts, used across the United States. The study highlights urban agricultural land trusts and partial property rights like conservation easements as particularly intriguing and widely applicable tools for meeting urban agricultural needs.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityParticipatory Budgeting in the United States: A Preliminary Analysis of Chicago’s 49th Ward Experiment
2014LaShonda M. Stewart, Steven A. Miller, R. W. Hildreth, Maja V. Wright-Phillips · New Political Science · United States (Chicago)
A preliminary analysis of Chicago's 49th Ward, the first participatory budgeting experiment in the United States, examined whether it resulted in different budgetary priorities and met social justice outcomes. Citizens chose projects classified as low priority by research literature, and while there was no clear pattern of projects only in affluent areas, geographic clustering was evident. Select areas received projects like community gardens, while others were limited to infrastructure repairs, indicating mixed social justice outcomes.
Equity & displacementPolicyCommunityEconomicsHealthA 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.
CommunityDIYPolicyBrooklyn'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 & justiceEconomicsPolicyCommunityThe Historical Development of the School Garden Movement in the USA
2014Green Hope, River Edge, New Jersey 07661, USA., Hye Jin Keum · Journal of people, plants, and environment · United States
The philosophical background and historical development of the school garden movement in the USA were examined. The movement demonstrated a process of formation, decline, and revival. It began to diminish after World War I and was pushed to extinction by technological advancements in the 1950s, before resurging from the 1990s to address childhood obesity, nature-deficit, and improve academic achievements.
Limited or null effectFood educationHealthPolicyFeeding 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 & justiceHealthLocal food networks as catalysts for food policy change to improve health and build the economy
2014Richard C. Sadler, Godwin Arku, Jason Gilliland · Local Environment · United States (Flint)
This study examined local food networks (LFNs) and a food policy council (FPC) in Flint, Michigan, a post-industrial city facing food access issues. Participant observation with stakeholders revealed support for community gardens, farmers' markets, and urban agriculture. Based on the synthesis of stakeholder opinions, policy recommendations were developed to aid in the continued planning of the LFN.
PolicyHealthEconomicsCommunityUrban Food Corridors - Cultivating Sustainable Cities
2014Becky L. Jacobs · eYLS (Yale Law School) · United States (Detroit)
Detroit, Michigan, has become a leader in urban agriculture, with an estimated 1500 to 2000 gardens supported by individuals and businesses, including the Cadillac Urban Gardens. Various organizations and public-private coalitions promote sustainable local agriculture in the city. Knoxville, Tennessee, proposed creating an "urban food corridor" in 2012 to improve food access, health, and stimulate economic development by connecting land, farming, processing, distribution, sale, and composting.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyThe Potential of Urban Agriculture in Montréal: A Quantitative Assessment
2014Daniel Haberman, Laura A. Gillies, Aryeh Canter, Valentine Rinner, Laetitia Pancrazi, Federico Martellozzo · ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information · Canada
This study used multiple land use scenarios to assess different spaces in Montréal, including residential gardens, industrial rooftops, and vacant land, that could be allocated to vegetable production. Results indicated that implementing hydroponics on industrial rooftops could easily satisfy Montréal's vegetable demand, though these operations are generally costly. Utilizing only vacant space also has the potential to meet the city's demand with lower operating costs.
Economic viabilityEconomicsPolicyUrban–rural linkagePolicy Statement 20137: Improving Health and Wellness through Access to Nature — American Public Health Association
2014Louise Chawla · Children Youth and Environments · United States
In 2013, the American Public Health Association issued a policy statement on "Improving Health and Wellness through Access to Nature." The statement reviews extensive evidence that contact with nature is a health-promoting experience in itself. Access to green spaces is associated with lower rates of heart disease, stroke, obesity, stress, and depression, as well as improved endocrine and immune system function, with low-income groups showing particularly significant benefits in reducing health disparities.
PolicyHealthCommunityAlternative Food Projects, Localization and Neoliberal Urban Development
2014Pascale Joassart‐Marcelli, Fernando J. Bosco · Métropoles · United States (California)
This article explores the growth of local food practices in urban southern California, focusing on farmers' markets. While alternative food initiatives like farmers' markets are often seen as resistance to capitalist pressures, this research provides evidence that they have become increasingly popular among affluent and white urban residents. This finding challenges the claim that local food fosters democracy and justice, indicating that these initiatives can reproduce neoliberal urban agendas and reshape cities along lines of race and class.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceAn Approach to Assessing Multicity Implementation of Healthful Food Access Policy, Systems, and Environmental Changes
2014Laura Oliven Silberfarb, Sonja Savre, Gayle Geber · Preventing Chronic Disease · United States (Hennepin County)
Hennepin County assessed the extent to which 41 cities were engaged in making policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes to increase residents' access to healthful food. Results revealed that some cities, particularly those with higher resident demand for healthful food, are making nationally recommended PSE changes, such as sponsoring farmers markets. However, cities moved more slowly to make changes in areas with perceived negative cost consequences or lesser public demand, such as parks and recreation vending.
Economic viabilityPolicyHealthCommunityEconomicsBringing Food Back Home: Revitalizing the Postindustrial American City Through State and Local Policies Promoting Urban Agriculture
2014Elizabeth Berg · Scholars' Bank (University of Oregon) · United States
State and local policies promoting urban agriculture contribute to revitalizing postindustrial American cities. Urban food systems encompass aspects of producing, processing, marketing, distributing, and consuming food, providing a multiplicity of benefits and services for local residents. These benefits include improved access to outdoor recreation, economic vitality, health and wellbeing, landscape beautification, and environmental restoration.
PolicyEconomicsHealthCommunityIntegrating Public Health And Community Development To Tackle Neighborhood Distress And Promote Well-Being
2014Manuel Pastor, Rachel Morello‐Frosch · Health Affairs · United States (California)
This article reviews shifts in community development, highlighting programs that integrate community development, public health, and civic engagement to address neighborhood distress and promote well-being. Examples include Sacramento, California's Building Healthy Communities program, which promoted community gardens and bike paths, and San Francisco, California's Sunnydale-Velasco housing revitalization initiative, which is transforming a public housing site into a mixed-income community. These cases illustrate the importance of interdisciplinary approaches for economic mobility, democratic participation, and community health.
CommunityHealthPolicyParadise, Future
2014Pierrette Hondagneu‐Sotelo · · United States (California)
This chapter discusses possibilities for rethinking and reinventing new models of garden making in Southern California and metropolitan regions more generally. In Southern California, diverse gardens promoting environmental and cultural sustainability, shared backyard gardening, organic vegetable gardening, wall gardens, and lawn removal efforts are observed. The chapter reviews these projects, looking at new efforts in private residential gardens, urban community gardens, and public spaces, with a focus on immigration and the Southern California region.
CommunityPolicyBiodiversityHealthUrban Agriculture Policy Making in New York’s “New Political Spaces”
2014Nevin Cohen, Kristin Reynolds · Journal of Planning Education and Research · United States (New York City)
This article examines urban agriculture (UA) policy-making processes in New York City, focusing on aspects of UA not fully addressed by existing policies, plans, and research strategies. Interviews with UA stakeholders and an analysis of the city’s UA policy-making processes show that resource needs and race- and class-based disparities within the UA system persist.
Equity & displacementPolicyCommunityEconomicsChartering Worcester's Success
2014Benjamin Drury, Renee Laliberte, Jared Watson, Connor Wilgress · Digital WPI · United States (Worcester)
The city of Worcester, MA, faces health issues due to economic instability and low access to affordable healthy food. While urban farming has the potential to address these problems, the city lacks an effective policy.
Governance failureHealthEconomicsPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceEizenberg, Efrat. 2013. From the ground up: community gardens in New York City and the politics of spatial transformation. Farnham: Ashgate. Reviewed by Matt W. Murray
2014Matt Murray · Journal of Political Ecology · United States (New York City)
Efrat Eizenberg's book "From the Ground Up" explores New York City's community gardens as spaces that resist the commodification of land. The book details the history of these gardens, including their emergence during the 1970s economic crisis when primarily Black and Hispanic residents transformed vacant land into communal green spaces. As the real estate market recovered in the 1980s, land values increased, and many gardens were threatened by gentrification pressures. Eizenberg analyzes these transformations at individual, collective, and institutional levels, highlighting how gardeners create common spaces, solidify interpersonal ties, and organize to defend their gardens.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyEconomicsSpatial Variation of Soil Lead in an Urban Community Garden: Implications for Risk‐Based Sampling
2013Lauren Bugdalski, Lawrence D. Lemke, Shawn P. McElmurry · Risk Analysis · United States (Detroit, MI)
This study examined small-scale spatial variability of soil lead within a 15 × 30 m urban community garden plot on two adjacent residential lots in Detroit, Michigan, analyzing 80 samples for total, fine-fraction, and bioaccessible lead. Concentrations varied at 1–10 m scales with a hot spot exceeding 400 ppm, and Monte Carlo simulations showed that increasing sample numbers reduces the chance of missing hot spots while compositing reduces overestimation of the mean. The authors suggest US EPA sampling objectives and guidelines should be reconsidered for reclaimed city lots where soil lead is nonuniform.
HealthCommunityPolicyWhite Spaces in Black and Latino Places: Urban Agriculture and Food Sovereignty
2013Hoover B. · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · USA
Argues that urban agriculture, largely championed by a middle-class white populace, creates 'white spaces' within Black and Latino places, overlooking the practice's historical roots in those communities and producing exclusion.
CommunityPolicyDeterminants of vacant lot conversion into community gardens: evidence from Philadelphia
2013In Kwon Park, Patricia Ciorici · International Journal of Urban Sciences · United States (Philadelphia)
This study in Philadelphia, United States, identified determinants of vacant lot conversion into community gardens using a logit model. Data on lot attributes were collected from the Philadelphia Neighbourhood Information System and a city-wide survey. The results indicate that neighborhood characteristics like poverty level, educational attainment, zoning, and owner occupancy, along with parcel characteristics such as ownership and topography, significantly impact the conversion.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsCommunity Supported Agriculture and Community Labor: Constructing a New Model to Unite Volunteers and Employers
2013A. Bryan Endres, Rachel Armstrong · · United States
This article discusses Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and 'community labor,' where customers participate in food production on farms. It highlights a paradox: traditional employment law, envisioning autonomous competition, makes little room for these novel relationships, potentially undermining CSA values and limiting its viability and growth. The authors suggest that employment law should develop a more nuanced view of relationships in the CSA context, supporting mutual gain and shared values over competition-based rules.
Governance failureCSA & TeikeiEconomicsPolicyCommunity