Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
667 results(21 / 27)
Introducing urban food forestry: a multifunctional approach to increase food security and provide ecosystem services
2013Kyle Clark, Kimberly A. Nicholas · Landscape Ecology · United States (Burlington, Vermont)
This study proposes "urban food forestry" (UFF), combining urban agriculture, urban forestry, and agroforestry, to enhance urban sustainability and food security. It analyzed 37 urban food tree initiatives, finding 73% performed only one activity (planting, mapping, or harvesting) and 8% performed all three. An analysis of 30 urban forestry master plans showed only 13% included human food security objectives. A case study in Burlington, Vermont, estimated that planting Malus domestica in public spaces could meet 108% of the city's daily fruit intake under the most ambitious scenario. The study identified 70 potential food tree species for temperate urban environments, with 30 deemed highly suitable.
CommunityPolicyClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceThe Symbolic Garden: An Intersection of the Food Movement and the First Amendment
2013Jamie M. Bouvier · Maine law review · United States
This essay argues that urban agricultural practices, such as growing food or raising animals, are symbolic acts that communicate viewpoints and support for the "Food Movement." It asserts that these acts, as symbolic expressions, deserve protection under the First Amendment. The article examines the Food Movement as a social and political movement, how urban homesteading practices symbolize it, and the application of First Amendment principles to these practices.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyNot Just the Price of Food: Challenges of an Urban Agriculture Organization in Engaging Local Residents
2013Yuki Kato · Sociological Inquiry · United States (New Orleans)
This case study of a community-supported agriculture (CSA) organization in New Orleans focused on the lack of participation by local residents in the CSA market despite its intentions. Interview and ethnographic observation data indicated a general consensus on economic constraints, while some non-resident supporters attributed the issue to a lack of knowledge about the food system. Residents, however, pointed to spatial and sociocultural barriers, including produce selection, purchase options, market access convenience, and the race-related historical and spatial context of the market's location, making the market less accessible to them.
Equity & displacementCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justicePolicyA Gradual Reawakening: Broadacre City and a New American Agrarianism
2013Ella Wise · Berkeley Planning Journal · United States
Frank Lloyd Wright's Broadacre City proposed a decentralized, agrarian landscape, which was reflected in post-WWII American suburbanization. However, the agrarian ethos of Broadacre City is absent from both suburbia and its alternatives. The rising interest in urban agriculture is argued to represent a demand to reconnect with the land, suggesting that planners should incorporate agrarian design into urban growth models.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageCommunityDeveloping a Cohesive Urban Agriculture Policy for Burlington, VT
2013Alison Nihart · ScholarWorks -A service of University of Vermont Libraries (University of Vermont) · United States (Burlington, VT)
This research analyzed urban agriculture governance in Burlington, VT, in coordination with the Urban Agriculture Task Force created in March 2011. Using a governance framework and participatory action research, it examined stakeholder needs, available policy tools, governance networks, and approaches in other cities. Over 50 policy recommendations were developed, highlighting the need to balance stakeholder needs, establish a legal basis for some aspects like livestock treatment, and partner with organizations for technical expertise.
PolicyCommunityDeployment of urban agriculture in East Lima, Peru
2013Javier Morales, Ramón Zamorano, Miguel Salvo · RURAL DEVELOPMENT 2019 · Peru (Lima)
This study showed the situation of urban agriculture five years after the "Farmers in the city" project, carried out by the International Potato Center (CIP) and GESPLAN research group in the East Cone of Lima, Peru, from 2006 to 2008. All members of the Cosanaca producer association, created under the project, were interviewed, and an expert panel was conducted with municipal urban agricultural office representatives. The results showed that Cosanaca had doubled its number of producers and that the participating municipalities had increased their number of workers in urban agriculture.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsA conceptual framework to assess urban agriculture’s potential contributions to urban sustainability: an application to San Cristobal de Las Casas, Mexico
2013Larissa Vásquez-Moreno, Ana Córdova y Vázquez · International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development · Mexico (San Cristobal de Las Casas)
This study developed a conceptual framework to assess urban agriculture's (UA) potential contributions to urban sustainability (US). The framework was applied to a qualitative analysis of UA practices in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Mexico. The study found a rich practice of UA in the city and that the framework was valuable for evidencing data and stimulating analysis. However, the study also discusses limitations of UA and further refinements needed for the framework to guide actions towards increasing UA's impact on urban sustainability.
Limited or null effectClimate changeCommunityPolicyRace, Class, and Food Justice in South Allison Hill, Pa.
2013Giovania Genevieve Tiarachristie · · United States (Harrisburg)
This qualitative study explored race-class conflicts around food and urban gardening in South Allison Hill, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a diverse, low-income neighborhood. Seven interviews with neighborhood leaders revealed that the "Whiteness" of a new wave of urban gardening can create race and class tension, hindering collaborative partnerships and local food systems development. The findings indicate structural limitations and social roadblocks, suggesting that urban gardening can exacerbate existing inequities if not approached with structural economic justice and cultural competency.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsGrowing a just garden: environmental justice and the development of a community garden policy for Hamilton, Ontario
2013Erika S. Jermé, Sarah Wakefield · Planning Theory & Practice · Canada (Hamilton)
This paper uses the process of drafting a community garden policy in Hamilton, Canada, as a case study. It illustrates how an environmental justice framework could inform effective and inclusive policy creation, while noting that barriers within the policy process could mitigate against the meaningful incorporation of environmental justice concerns. It concludes that greater inter-departmental and community collaboration, along with the routine application of an environmental justice lens, could mitigate the ill effects of inequitable resource distribution.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyWelfareRegulatory and Other Barriers to Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture:A Case Study of Urban Planners and Urban Farmers from the Greater Chicago Metropolitan Area
2013Sheila Castillo, Curtis R. Winkle, Stephen Krauss, Amalia Turkewitz, Cristina L.M. Silva, Edie Heinemann · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States (Chicago)
This study identifies seven perceived barriers to urban and peri-urban agriculture in the greater Chicago metropolitan area through interviews with urban planners and farmers. All seven barriers involve unclear or agriculture-unfriendly regulations. Results suggest that urban and peri-urban farmers are commonly forced to operate within a legal limbo or petition for exceptions to current regulations.
Governance failurePolicyPeri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkageGuerrilla Gardening in California's East Bay
2013Charlotte Lai-Sam Hryse · · United States (California)
This study examined the practices, outcomes, and motivations of guerrilla gardeners in California's East Bay through nine interviews. Projects occurred on different scales involving individuals, neighborhoods, community-based organizations, and 'Occupy the Farm,' demonstrating outcomes such as youth empowerment, community building, and civic engagement. Guerrilla gardening was shown to facilitate inclusive community organization, expand social capital, and build local resiliency and assets.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyUrban–rural linkageA Right to Farm in the City: Providing a Legal Framework for Legitimizing Urban Farming in American Cities
2013Susanne A. Heckler · ValpoScholar (Valparaiso University) · United States
This paper examines the "shrinking city" phenomenon in American cities, characterized by rapid population decline and increased vacant properties, and explores urban agriculture as a strategy to address this issue. It discusses the benefits and drawbacks of urban farming, the historical impact of American zoning and nuisance laws on agriculture, and current efforts to integrate urban agriculture into state and city policy frameworks.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsWorking the Waters: Political Ecology of Scale and Georgia's "100-year" Drought, 2007-2009
2013Ellen Kohl · Southeastern geographer · United States (Georgia)
This case study analyzed water management during the 2007-2009 drought in Athens, Georgia, examining how urban agriculture sector members recognized multi-scalar water management and used these interactions for political benefit. The study found that interactions between state, regional, and local drought management, drought perceptions, and interpretations of power to manage water during the drought led to the approval of Georgia House Bill 1281, which changed how water is managed during drought. This paper argues that it is necessary to consider the perception of drought and drought management, as well as the drought itself, because they influence how stakeholders participate in political processes and change how water is used during drought.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageClimate changeUrban Agriculture and the Sustainable City: How Policy Changes Concerning Infrastructure and Urban Agriculture Can Economically and Environmentally Benefit Atlanta
2013E. N. Ward · SMARTech Repository (Georgia Institute of Technology) · United States
This paper aimed to assert that urban agriculture provides economic and environmental benefits to cities, specifically identifying ways the City of Atlanta could leverage these benefits. It tested the hypothesis that Atlanta can economically benefit by establishing urban agriculture as a land use, using a literature review, scaling data from other cities to Atlanta, and land suitability analysis. The analysis indicated that urban agriculture offers advantages in waste management, public land management, and stormwater management, demonstrating it as an economically viable movement providing social, environmental, and economic benefits.
PolicyEconomicsClimate changeOrganic cycleNo Buts About It…The Value of Urban Food Production
2013Evan Weissman · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States (New York City)
This essay refutes the claims by Hallsworth and Wong (2013) that the benefits of urban food gardening are exaggerated and that it cannot deliver fresher or lower-cost foods. It states that Hallsworth and Wong's assumptions are incorrect and that urban gardening plays a significant role as public space, an economic development strategy, and a community-organizing tool, contributing to household food security. For example, a 0.2-hectare urban farm project in Brooklyn, New York, "East New York Farms!", produces over USD20,000 of fresh produce annually, with over 70% of transactions made through SNAP, reaching high-need community members.
Limited or null effectFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCommunityPolicyST6 - 827 AGRICULTURA URBANA EM SÃO JOSÉ DOS CAMPOS, SP: APROPRIAÇÃO DO ESPAÇO URBANO, MODOS DE VIDA E CONFLITOS
2013Samuel Henrique Damas Marinelo, Sandra María Fonseca da Costa, Leonardo Freire de Mello · Anais ENANPUR · Brazil (São Paulo)
In São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil, residents of the Altos de Santana neighborhood maintain traditional peasant characteristics by cultivating urban gardens within a Permanent Protection Area of the Paraíba do Sul River. However, the current municipal administration plans to implement an urban park in this area, which will remove the gardens cultivated by these resident farmers. This intervention is expected to alter proposals for improving the quality of life for nearby residents concerning urban agriculture, potentially generating conflicts between stakeholders regarding land use.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceDecolonizing Ecology Through Rerooting Epistemologies
2013Lauren M Bitter · Scholarship @ Claremont (The Claremont Colleges) · United States (California)
This autoethnographic thesis centers on the People and Their Plants garden in Upland, California, which represents the ecological changes caused by colonization in Southern California. The study critiques research and ethnography by examining the politics of knowledge, language, history, and ecology, and interrogates colonial/capitalist food systems that render Indigenous ways of knowing invisible. The People and Their Plants garden is presented as an act of resistance, creating space for alternative economic and decolonial food practices.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyGreen Economy and Infrastructure Contributions of USDA Urban and Nonfarm Soil Projects in the U.S.
2013Maxine J. Levin · Soil Horizons · United States
This commentary highlights a growing demand for soil information for green economy initiatives and climate change adaptation over the last 25 years. Despite this, USDA's funding and technical support for soil surveys in urban and nonfarm areas have been inconsistent and, in some places, nonexistent. The author argues for the vital role of modern soil surveys in addressing current needs.
Governance failureClimate changePolicyCommunityOrganic cycleNorth St Paul Community Gardens Proposal
2013Elizabeth Appleby, Charles Darnell, Chelsey Geralda Armstrong, David Daview-Deis · University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy (University of Minnesota) · United States
This report, titled "North St Paul Community Gardens Proposal," was completed by students enrolled in the PA 5253: Planning Participation Processes course at the University of Minnesota in fall 2013. It presents a proposal related to community gardens in North St Paul.
CommunityPolicyEvaluation of Development Projects: a Process-Centered Approach in the Outskirts of Lima, Peru* Yagüe, J. L., Montes, A., & Morales, F. J. (2013). Evaluation of Development Projects: a Process-Centered Approach in the Outskirts of Lima, Peru. Cuadernos de Desarrollo Rural, 10 (70), 181-200.
2013José Luis Yagüe Blanco, Agustín Montes, Francisco J. Morales · · Peru (Lima)
This article examines the evaluation of an urban agriculture project in the outskirts of Lima, Peru, using a process-centered approach. The results show that this approach, which combines different evaluation tools, allows for the identification and analysis of processes with involved members, providing a better understanding of the real sustainability of the results.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyImported 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 & justiceEconomicsPolicyEvaluation 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.
CommunityPolicyTo 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.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsVideo - 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.
CommunityPolicyCommunity Garden Policy Participation Proposal
2013Jenna Campbell, Phyllis Hejl, Caroline Miller, William Risse · University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy (University of Minnesota) · United States
This record is a report and poster titled "Community Garden Policy Participation Proposal." It was completed by students enrolled in PA 5253: Planning Participation Processes, taught by Dr. Carissa Schively Slotterback in fall 2013 at the University of Minnesota.
CommunityPolicy