Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
5543 results(204 / 222)
Machiavelli and the Jam-makers
2009Anna Griffiths · Eureka street · Global
This article presents the events and decision-making processes that occurred during a community apricot jam-making session. It suggests that Niccolo Machiavelli would have found the complex politics, emotions, and diverse personalities in the community garden challenging, observing alternating forms of governance such as benign dictatorship, bureaucracy, and popular democracy.
CommunityDIYMapping Soils in Central Uganda
2009Jessica Veenstra, Daniel Dembe, Jude Nsamba, Lisa Marie Wasko, C. Lee Burras, Gail R. Nonnecke, Orum Boniface, Simon Downie, Rachael Cox · Soil Survey Horizons · Uganda
Soil surveying was conducted in the summer of 2006 and 2007 at Namasagali Primary School in Uganda, covering approximately 95 acres (38 hectares) for a school garden program. Researchers identified soils using observations and teachers' indigenous knowledge, described pedons, and measured depth, color, roots, pores, pH, electrical conductivity, texture, structure, slope, and aspect. The survey produced a map with seven polypedons, which was shared with teachers and local farmers.
Food educationCommunityWelfareYouth Leadership Development: Perceptions and Preferences of Urban Students Enrolled in a Comprehensive Agriculture Program
2009James C. Anderson, Eun‐Young Kim · Journal of Agricultural Education · United States (Chicago)
This descriptive study investigated leadership development perceptions and preferences among 284 students in a comprehensive urban agriculture program at Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences. Students reported limited involvement in school or community organizations, learning leadership primarily through sports, work, and FFA. They preferred leadership activities to be organized, fun, interactive, and provide real-world application, with training occurring in school, national workshops, or international experiences.
Food educationCommunityUrban agriculture: multi-dimensional tools for social development in poor neibourghoods
2009Éric Duchemin, Fabien Wegmuller, Anne-Marie Legault · Field Actions Science Reports · Canada (Montreal)
This article discusses urban agriculture (UA) initiatives undertaken in Montreal, Canada, for over 30 years, specifically the City-managed Community Gardening Program and six collective gardens managed by community organizations. These UA initiatives have fostered vegetable production and a socialization and education environment, contributing to individual and collective social development in economically disadvantaged districts. The various approaches achieve their established objectives and serve as multi-dimensional tools for the social development of disadvantaged populations.
CommunityFood educationWelfareHealthOlympics watch
2009· Engineering & Technology · United Kingdom (London)
This article describes the historical landscape of the 2012 London Olympic Park site, a 321-hectare brownfield in the Lea Valley. Archaeological findings by the Museum of London indicate human presence from the Mesolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman periods, with evidence of dwellings, skeletons, and a Roman coin. The site hosted textile printing in the 17th century, followed by petrol factories, bone, varnish, soap, and tallow works, distilleries, engineering, and chemical plants, and was used for landfill from the late 19th century. It also had strong electronic associations, with the development of the first diode valve in 1904 and the establishment of Britain's first radio valve factory in 1916 and first television tube factory in 1936.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageCultivating Just Planning and Legal Institutions: A Critical Assessment of the South Central Farm Struggle in Los Angeles
2009Clara Irazábal, Anita Punja · Journal of Urban Affairs · United States (Los Angeles)
This qualitative case study analyzes the destruction of the 14-acre South Central Farm in Los Angeles in July 2006, arguing it was a landscape of resistance against discriminatory legal and planning practices. The study contends that environmental justice and planning ethics provided a substantive rationale for the city to prevent its dismantling. This case highlights a failure in governance to protect community gardens threatened by dismantlement in capitalist societies.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Agriculture in Montevideo and Rosario: A response to crisis or a stable component of the urban landscape?agriculture has developed into a permanent
2009Alain Santandreu, Alberto Gómez Perazzoli, R. Terrile, Mariana Ponce · · Uruguay (Montevideo)
Urban agriculture has become a permanent activity in Rosario, Argentina, and Montevideo, Uruguay. While important for feeding cities during crises, it is currently promoted by civil society and local governments to enhance social inclusion and employment for urban farmers, particularly the poor. This transforms challenging situations into new opportunities within the urban landscape.
CommunityEconomicsWelfareImproving food security through environmental management in Ibadan: the case of the Ayeye community.
2009Bolanle Wahab, M. K. C. Sridhar, Aramide Ayorinde · Urban Agriculture Magazine · Nigeria (Ibadan)
The Sustainable Ibadan Project (SIP), established in 1994 by UNCHS (HABITAT), identified waste management and conversion to organic fertilizer as top priorities for Ibadan. Participants at a 1995 City Consultative Forum jointly identified aerobic composting technology using windrows as a viable method to collect and recycle waste, generate income, and use compost for urban agriculture.
CompostOrganic cycleFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityClosing the Loop: Community Gardening in Boulder, Colorado
2009Colleen O’Holleran · School for International Training Digital Collections (School for International Training) · United States (Boulder, Colorado)
A study in Boulder, Colorado, interviewed thirteen community gardeners to understand their motivations for participation. Gardeners were found to come from diverse backgrounds and participate for various reasons, including the desire to be outdoors, curiosity, resource sharing, a closer connection with food, self-reliance, health commitment, and pride. Despite challenges, gardeners overcome them due to their commitment to cultivating their plots.
CommunityHealthFood educationSustaining Hope: A Ten-Year Plan for the Growing Hope Center
2009Rachel Chadderdon, Laura Colangelo, Joel Heeres, Brian Lipinski, Rachel Steel · · United States
This project assessed how the Ypsilanti-based nonprofit Growing Hope could best utilize its recently acquired Growing Hope Center to promote garden-related social enterprise activities. Through literature review, surveys of urban agriculture nonprofits and Ypsilanti residents, and a survey of Washtenaw County food businesses, sufficient community demand for a market gardener training program and willingness of local businesses to purchase produce were identified. The research led to the formulation of two models, the Food Security Model and the High Production Model, and a recommendation for Growing Hope to form an Ypsilanti Food Policy Council.
CommunityFood educationPolicyEconomics"I brought a hazelnut from Macedonia": Cultural and biological diversity in a globalizing world
2009Pernilla Ouis, Ebba Lisberg Jensen · Malmö University Publications (Malmö University) · Sweden (Malmö)
This article examines the cultural parallelism between biological and cultural diversity as manifested in allotment garden areas in Malmö, Sweden, from a historical perspective. Using empirical data from interviews with allotment gardeners of different ethnic origins across Malmö, it shows how people bring their old plants and exchange varieties and species. This practice is argued to sometimes enhance contact and integration, and other times symbolize difference, contact with the country of origin, or ethnic identity.
BiodiversityCommunityHeirloom & landraceUrban–rural linkageBuilding the Resilience of Vulnerable Communities in Quito: Adapting local food systems to climate change
2009Isabelle Anguelovski · Urban Agriculture Magazine · Ecuador (Quito)
Marginalized urban communities in Quito, Ecuador, residing in informal settlements or on fragile hillsides, are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts like floods, landslides, droughts, and food scarcity. Many of these communities rely on urban agriculture for sustainable livelihoods and food security.
Climate changeFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityWelfareEditor's Introduction - Urban Pollinators and Community Gardens
2009Eric G. Strauss · Cities and the Environment · Global
This issue of CATE is dedicated to the theme of urban pollinators in relation to community gardens, addressing a gap in knowledge regarding pollinator ecology in urban landscapes. It notes that while pollinators' roles in agricultural systems are well-studied, their impact in community gardens is less understood. Six papers in this issue explore these questions, aiming to provide a foundation for understanding urban pollinators and guiding future research and management.
PollinatorsBiodiversityCommunity以都市农业发展促新农村建设：概念·观察·思考
2009刘宛 · Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Sunyatseni · China
Based on practical observations and a literature review on new rural construction in China, this article explores the concept of modern urban agriculture and its value and role in new rural construction. It points out that the development of urban agriculture can be a driving force and opportunity for new rural construction, but it is not equivalent to new rural construction itself. Government-led new rural construction should focus on farmer participation and achieving healthy urban-rural interaction.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyCommunityCharacteristics of Modern Urban Agricultural Enterprises
2009Hong Xin-xing · · Global
This study analyzed the characteristics of urban agricultural enterprises based on their concept. It also illustrated the significance of the study.
EconomicsCommunityTecendo redes agroecológicas de agricultura urbana e periurbana em assentamentos e pré-assentamentos no Distrito Federal e entorno
2009Luciana Morais de Freitas · REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE AGROECOLOGIA · Brazil
This project in the Federal District and surrounding areas of Brazil aimed to improve and expand food production and promote agroecological practices in settlements and pre-settlements. Implemented in partnership with MDS and Via Campesina, the urban and peri-urban agriculture initiative has enhanced production conditions in these settlements. It also strengthens the productive chain by training producers in agroecological practices.
Peri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityLa Agroecología como Propuesta de Educación Ambiental para la Sustentabilidad Social en Rosario. Argentina.
2009Graciela Ottmann, Eduardo Sevilla Guzmán, Antonio Lattucca · REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE AGROECOLOGIA · Argentina (Rosario)
This paper examines the environmental dimension of agroecological productive experiences, focusing on a specific case in Rosario, Argentina. It demonstrates that by articulating various agroecological experiences into productive networks, these networks gain political content, influencing transformation processes with participatory and popular education. Examples include the Network of "Huerteros/as," the Green Life consumer network, "Huerta" Parks, and Social Agroindustries, which are agroecological actions integrated with Rosario's municipal Urban Agriculture program.
Food educationCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceParticipatory Design of Public Spaces for Urban Agriculture, Rosario, Argentina
2009Marielle Dubbeling, Laura Bracalenti, Laura Lagorio · Open House International · Argentina (Rosario)
In Rosario, Argentina, city planners and university staff collaborated with two low-income communities to design and implement a multifunctional neighborhood park, public square, and road reserve for urban agriculture. A step-by-step participatory design process was followed. This participatory design contributed to improving socio-economic and environmental conditions in the city.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsBiodiversityFood educationState Power, Private Plots and the Greening of Havana's Urban Agriculture Movement
2009Adriana Premat · City & Society · Cuba
This paper, based on ethnographic research in Havana, Cuba, from 1997 to 2007, examines the creation of officially-sanctioned sustainable urban agriculture sites. It highlights the significant role of various non-state actors and interests, often overlooked in scholarly accounts, alongside the state's function. The study offers a refined understanding of the Cuban state's influence and limitations in agricultural development.
PolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceTowards Sustainable Urban Organic Agriculture and Food Security in Zimbabwe: a Comparative Study of Urban Low and High Density Suburbs of Mabelreign-Marlborough-Westgate and Mabvuku-Tafara, Harare 2005-2008
2009Crispen Dirwai, P.M. Makonese, N. Mboto · Figshare · Zimbabwe (Harare)
This study investigated how urban poor (Mabvuku-Tafara) and urban rich (Mabelreign, Marlborough, Westgate) communities in Harare, Zimbabwe, addressed the food crisis between 2005 and 2008. Using a mainly qualitative methodology to compare urban agricultural activities, findings showed that the urban poor engaged in seasonal, often inorganic, less paying off-yard farming, exposed to nature's vagaries. In contrast, the urban rich practiced on-plot perennial, often organic, researched (including soil testing) farming with greenhouses, which yielded better returns.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsOrganic cycleStudy on Urban Eco-agricultural Model in Huangshi
2009Wang Wen-zhen · Journal of Huangshi Institute of Technology · China (Huangshi)
Due to economic development, Huangshi, China, located along the Yangtze River, has shifted its agriculture from a production-centered peri-urban pattern to a multi-functional urban pattern encompassing production, ecology, and landscape. Integrating urban agriculture with Huangshi's notable location along the Yangtze River is believed to give its modern agriculture distinct features and a promising future.
Peri-urban agricultureCommunityBiodiversityImpact of Community Gardening Workshops on Food Security in Ghanaian Favelas
2009Kwesi Acheampong, Amoako Mensah, Boatemaa Boateng · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Ghana
A survey conducted from January to March across five favelas in Accra, Ghana, investigated the impact of community gardening workshops on food security. While participants gained knowledge on sustainable gardening techniques, 45% of respondents still lacked access to necessary resources like seeds and tools. The study concluded that workshops improved awareness but further support is needed to address practical implementation barriers.
Limited or null effectCommunityFood educationFood sovereignty & justiceWelfare«Re-ecologizar lo urbano». Agricultura urbana e historia ambiental
2009Antonio Ortega Santos · Historia Contemporánea · Cuba (La Habana)
This article reviews contributions from urban environmental history and examines the potential of productive strategies to transform cities into more sustainable systems. The latter part of the article presents the results of Urban Agriculture in Havana, Cuba. Havana's urban agriculture secured urban food supply levels and the sovereignty of urban agricultural producers, transforming the city into a more socio-environmentally sustainable model as an urgent measure against supply problems for the Cuban economy.
Food sovereignty & justiceClimate changeCommunityPolicyDeveloping enterprise budgets for sustainable school gardens: Service learning in a global context
2009A. D. Jones, Jennie Popp · Discovery The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural Food and Life Sciences · United States
This research aims to develop enterprise budgets for sustainable school gardens as part of a service learning program at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (UAF). These budgets are used to evaluate the costs and returns of producing crops that meet three criteria: minimal negative environmental impact, just-in-time production for school needs, and financial solvency. The research focuses on developing enterprise budgets for four crops—chili peppers, cabbage, corn, and tomatoes—and an interactive Excel® budgeting tool to evaluate revenues and expenses.
Food educationCommunityEconomicsThe green we need: an investigation of the benefits of green life and green spaces for urban dwellers' physical, mental and social health.
2009Allyson Holbrook · Figshare · Global
"The Green We Need" project, commissioned by Nursery and Garden Industry Australia (NGIA), identified 171 articles published since 2000 across 75 academic journals. These articles presented new data on the health, quality of life, and social impacts of urban dwellers' access to green space. The research strongly supported a growing body of international studies since 2000 indicating the human need for nearby green spaces for healthy living, physical and social activity, and a direct relationship between proximity to green space and its use for recreation and daily activities.
HealthCommunityFood education