Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
9074 results(206 / 363)
Raised Beds for Vegetable Production in Urban Agriculture
2018Elizabeth A. Miernicki, Sarah Taylor Lovell, Sam E. Wortman · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (Illinois)
A 2-year field experiment in Illinois compared urban production systems (direct soil, compost-only raised beds, and mixed compost-and-soil raised beds) and fertilizer sources for their effects on growing media, weeds, and vegetable yields. Compost raised beds had higher pH, organic matter, and nutrients and sharply reduced weeds, and the authors recommend raised beds with a mix of compost and soil for urban vegetable production.
CompostDIYNovel Soil Barrier Systems Potentially Protect Urban Growing Beds from Legacy Soil Contamination and Improve Soil Health
2018Blake T. Moskal, Sean T. Berthrong · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (Indianapolis)
The study tested a barrier strategy used by urban farmers in Indianapolis—layering wood chips between contaminated or low-quality background soil and healthy growing media—for protecting urban growing beds. Despite a limited sample, barriers appeared effective at separating contaminated soils from growing beds, and farming with barriers or in non-contaminated soil improved soil nutrients and physical characteristics, though phosphorus was very high in many beds, posing a potential risk to waterways.
CompostOrganic cycleHealthExploring a Big Data Approach to Building a List Frame for Urban Agriculture: A Pilot Study in the City of Baltimore
2018Linda J. Young, Michael Hyman, Barbara R. Rater · Journal of Official Statistics · United States (Baltimore)
This pilot study explored a big-data approach to building a list frame for enumerating urban agriculture, which is challenging because urban agricultural holdings tend to be small, diverse, dispersed and transient. Conducted by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service in the City of Baltimore, it identified areas of potential agricultural activity by gathering web-based information (permits, Facebook and Twitter feeds, interest groups) and then verified a sample via in-person survey. The paper presents the pilot results and discusses lessons learned and next steps.
PolicyEconomicsGarden Pollinators and the Potential for Ecosystem Service Flow to Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture
2018Gail Ann Langellotto, Andony Melathopoulos, Isabella Messer, Aaron Anderson, Nathan McClintock, Lucas Costner · Sustainability · United States (Portland, Oregon)
This study sampled bees from gardens in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area and estimated typical foraging distances to assess whether urban gardens might supply pollination services to surrounding agricultural land. It estimates that when pollination-dependent crops are nearby, 30–50% of the garden bee community could potentially provide pollination services to adjacent crops, suggesting urban gardens could provision neighboring farms or serve as a refuge for pollinators.
PollinatorsBiodiversityCultivating healthy trajectories: An experimental study of community gardening and health
2018Dietlinde Heilmayr, Howard S Friedman · Journal of Health Psychology · United States
Framing community gardening as a promising but under-evidenced multifaceted health intervention, this paper presents one of the first experimental studies on the topic. The results showed promise for aspects of community gardening while underscoring the need for more rigorous methodologies, and the article offers a framework for studying the health effects of community gardening and similar multifaceted health-promotion efforts.
CommunityHealthCategorizing urban commons: Community gardens in the Rhine-Ruhr agglomeration, Germany
2018· International Journal of the Commons · Germany (Rhine-Ruhr)
A quantitative study of community gardens in the Rhine-Ruhr agglomeration, one of Germany's most urbanized areas, showing high diversity of collective use and the importance of shared immaterial and social values in sustaining the gardens.
CommunitySocial Sustainability through Social Interaction—A National Survey on Community Gardens in Germany
2018· Sustainability · Germany
An online survey of 123 community gardens across Germany assessing social sustainability, finding that social benefits—collective activities, socializing and belonging—rather than harvests are the main motivation to participate.
CommunityWelfareDiversification in peri-urban agriculture: a case study in the Ruhr metropolitan region
2018· Journal of Land Use Science · Germany (Ruhr)
A case study of diversification strategies among peri-urban farms in Germany's Ruhr metropolitan region, documenting how urban proximity shapes multifunctional adaptation.
EconomicsPolicyA Differentiated Spatial Assessment of Urban Ecosystem Services Based on Land Use Data in Halle, Germany
2018· Land · Germany (Halle)
A spatially explicit assessment of urban ecosystem services in Halle (Saale), Germany, combining biotope and land-use data with hemeroby and accessibility to map local provisioning capacity.
BiodiversityPolicyBulk density and content, density and stock of carbon, nitrogen and heavy metals in vegetable patches and lawns of allotments gardens in the northwestern Ruhr area, Germany
2018Burghardt W., Schneider T. · Journal of Soils and Sediments · Germany (Ruhr)
Analysed pH, bulk density, and contents/stocks of organic carbon, nitrogen and heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu, Ni) in vegetable patches, lawns and compost heaps across fourteen gardens in four allotments of the northwestern Ruhr area.
Organic cycleCompostHealthSoil Fertility Characteristics and Organic Carbon Stock in Soils of Vegetable Gardens Compared with Surrounding Arable Land at the Center of the Urban and Industrial Area of Ruhr, Germany
2018Burghardt W., Heintz D., Hocke N. · Eurasian Soil Science · Germany (Ruhr)
Compared vegetable-garden soils with surrounding arable land in the central Ruhr area, analysing horizons, texture, pH, bulk density, C/N ratio, and stocks of organic carbon, nitrogen and available nutrients.
Organic cycleCompostVermicomposting of different organic materials using the epigeic earthworm Eisenia foetida
2018· International Journal of Recycling of Organic Waste in Agriculture · Global
Evaluates the efficiency of the epigeic earthworm Eisenia foetida in vermicomposting different organic substrates, including kitchen waste.
DIYCompostOrganic cycleA Semi-Systematic Review of Capillary Irrigation: The Benefits, Limitations, and Opportunities
2018· Horticulturae · Global
Reviews capillary irrigation systems such as capillary wicks, noting higher yields and lower water use than conventional irrigation, no runoff, and economical installation and operation.
DIYEmpowerment and Tech Adoption: Introducing the Treadle Pump Triggers Farmers' Innovation in Eastern Ethiopia
2018· Sustainability · Ethiopia
Introduces treadle pumps as a low-cost small-scale irrigation technology in eastern Ethiopia and examines their effect on farmer empowerment and innovation.
DIYEconomicsSchool gardening increases knowledge of primary school children on edible plants and preference for vegetables
2018Leuven J.R.F.W., Rutenfrans A.H.M., Dolfing A.G., Leuven R.S.E.W. · Food Science & Nutrition · Netherlands (Nijmegen)
A 7-month (17-lesson) school gardening program for 150 primary students aged 10-12 in Nijmegen, Netherlands; pre/post surveys showed significant increases in knowledge of edible plants and preference for vegetables.
Food educationRole of Urban Agriculture in a Secure, Healthy, and Sustainable Food System
2018· BioScience · Global
Comprehensive analysis of urban agriculture's role in achieving secure, healthy, and sustainable food systems. Examines how citizen-driven agriculture can transform food systems.
Food educationWelfareBiodiversityCommunityEffects of Horticultural Therapy on Asian Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial
2018· International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Singapore
A waitlist-control randomized controlled trial recruiting 59 older adults (29 horticultural therapy, 30 waitlist control) to investigate improvements in mental well-being and modulation of biomarker levels.
ElderlyHealthReducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers
2018Poore J., Nemecek T. · Science · Global
A meta-analysis of about 38,000 farms shows food's environmental impacts are dominated by production while transport contributes only a small share, weakening the food-miles rationale and casting doubt on transport-reduction as urban agriculture's climate justification.
PolicyEconomicsOccurrence of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in garden produce at homes with a history of PFAS-contaminated drinking water
2018· Chemosphere · USA (Minnesota)
Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were found in garden produce grown at homes with a history of PFAS-contaminated drinking water, showing home gardens can be a PFAS exposure pathway.
HealthEffects of Water Quality and Post-Harvest Handling on Microbiological Contamination of Lettuce at Urban and Peri-Urban Locations of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
2018· Foods · Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou)
Lettuce from urban and peri-urban gardens in Ouagadougou was contaminated with E. coli, coliforms, and Salmonella, with 60% of irrigation water failing WHO safety standards, indicating a microbial food-safety risk.
HealthReconciling economic viability and socio-ecological aspirations in London urban microfarms
2018· Agronomy for Sustainable Development · London, UK
Modeling 10 London urban microfarms, the study finds economic viability is achievable only by focusing on high-value leaf crops sold at high prices to restaurants while relying on volunteer labor and cheap council land, forcing trade-offs against their social-ecological aims.
EconomicsCommunityCultivating (a) Sustainability Capital: Urban Agriculture, Ecogentrification, and the Uneven Valorization of Social Reproduction
2018McClintock N. · Annals of the American Association of Geographers · USA
Demonstrates how urban agriculture becomes entangled in eco-gentrification, arguing that eco-gentrification is not merely a side effect of an urban sustainability fix but is central to how racial capitalism operates through green urbanization.
EconomicsCommunityPolicyGated gardens: Effects of urbanization on community formation and commons management in community gardens
2018Egerer M., Fairbairn M. · Geoforum · California, USA
Under rapid urbanization on California's central coast, social tensions permeate garden boundaries and shape internal relations. Conflicts over membership rules, resource management, and theft of produce erode community cohesion within the gardens.
CommunityPolicyEvaluating Food Policy Councils Using Structural Equation Modeling
2018Calancie Larissa, Allen Nicole E., Ng Shu Wen, Weiner Bryan J., Ward Dianne S., Ware William B., Ammerman Alice S. · American Journal of Community Psychology · USA
Quantitatively evaluates US food policy councils, modelling links between council characteristics and policy activity. Reveals many councils have limited capacity and achieve modest policy engagement, identifying structural weaknesses that constrain their effectiveness as governance bodies.
Policy"We're not in the business of housing:" Environmental gentrification and the nonprofitization of green infrastructure projects
2018Jeremy Németh, Alessandro Rigolon · Cities · USA (Chicago, The 606)
Case study of Chicago's publicly-backed 606 greenway showing how reliance on park nonprofits to deliver large green-infrastructure projects accelerates environmental gentrification: the governance model disclaims responsibility for the displacement it causes.
PolicyEconomicsWelfare