Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
1626 results(22 / 66)
Escalamiento de la agroecología desde el huerto escolar y la importancia de reconocer la cultura, los alimentos y lugar
2021Helda Morales, Bruce G. Ferguson, Kimberly Chung, Ronald Nigh · Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente · Mexico (Chiapas)
This study explored the potential and limitations for agroecological scaling through formal educational structures, using the LabVida school gardens program in Chiapas, Mexico as a case study. Through training, educators gained an appreciation of agroecology and applied practices in their school gardens, although their understanding of agroecological principles and scientific process remained limited. The program's greatest impact was on educators’ eating habits and their perception of the value of local knowledge and its relevance to schoolwork.
Limited or null effectFood educationCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceProximity of Urban Farms to Hazards With and Without Heavy Metal Contamination in Baltimore, Maryland
2021Jonathan Hall, Isabel Shargo, Niya Khanjar, Jianna Howard, Laura Schmidt, Ashley Deng, Camryn Edwards, Isabelle Berman, Joseph Galarraga, Sacoby Wilson · Environmental Justice · United States
This study in Baltimore, Maryland, used GIS mapping and spatial analysis to assess the proximity of urban farms to environmental hazards, including those with heavy metal contamination. Analyses indicated that contamination of urban farms is a possibility due to proximity: more environmental hazards were found in census tracts with urban farms, and low-income communities of color had hazards near urban farms. Historically industrial areas showed a higher concentration of environmental hazards with heavy metal or unknown contamination.
Contamination & food safetyHealthCommunityUrban–rural linkagePolicyProximity of Urban Farms to Contaminated Sites in Baltimore, Maryland
2021Isabel Shargo, Jonathan Hall, Ashley Deng, Niya Khanjar, Camryn Edwards, Isabelle Berman, Joseph Galarraga, Sacoby Wilson · Landscape Journal · United States (Baltimore)
This study in Baltimore, Maryland, used GIS mapping and hotspot analysis to assess the proximity of urban farms to environmental hazards. Most urban farms were located in low-income communities of color. However, most environmental hazards were not near urban farms but in predominantly White areas or historical industrial centers. Despite a generally low risk of contamination, some urban farms in low-income and Black/African American communities were potentially contaminated by hazardous sites.
Contamination & food safetyHealthCommunitySilty Loam
2021Sara Nicholls, Special Collections, Fleet Library · Digital Commons - RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) · United States
"Silty Loam" is an informational pamphlet exploring various methods of food cultivation in urban environments and the motivations behind them. The pamphlet examines how city residents have challenged the separation of agriculture and urban life through initiatives like community gardens, community land trusts, and rooftop gardens. It is part of the "Brain Washing From Phone Towers" series, produced by hand using letterpress and relief printing to combine text and images.
CommunityDIYUrban–rural linkageTo What Extent Do Local Farmers' Markets, Community Supported Agriculture Programs, and Community Gardens Help Low-Income Families Improve Access to Fresh, Local Produce?
2021Christy Gene Somsen · Digital Commons - USU (Utah State University) · United States (Utah)
Farmers’ markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, and community gardens, while aiming to help low-income families access fresh produce, often assist more middle-class families. In Utah, these programs could be improved, as the state does not utilize the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program or accept WIC Cash Value Vouchers, and has few Farm to School Programs.
Equity & displacementCommunityCSA & TeikeiWelfareHealthPolicyFood educationLocavorismo: uma análise de suas contradições à luz de experiências de agricultura urbana em São Paulo
2021Manuela Maluf Santos, Paulo Eduardo Moruzzi Marques · Estudos Avançados · Brazil (São Paulo)
This article conceptually explores the "locavorism" food activism movement, noting that its practical application can have diverse and even antagonistic effects. To analyze these contradictions, two farmer organizations in São Paulo involved in local consumption circuits were interviewed to understand the potential social and environmental effects of this purchasing model. The abstract does not present the findings of these interviews.
Limited or null effectFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityEconomicsUrban–rural linkagePROJETO DE APOIO AOS SISTEMAS AGROECOLÓGICOS: UNIDADES PRODUTIVAS DA AGRICULTURA URBANA COLETIVA/COMUNITÁRIA (U-AU-CL) DE BELO HORIZONTE
2021Ana Júlia Maia Mairink, Alice Menezes Monteiro, Rejane Magiag Loura, Tiago Almeida Nogueira · · Brazil (Belo Horizonte)
This study provided academic and technical support for designing low-environmental-impact solutions to infrastructure deficiencies at the "Coqueiro Verde" Collective/Community Urban Agriculture Production Unit in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, to develop urban resilience strategies. A participatory diagnosis identified problems such as water scarcity and mismanagement, lack of sanitation, and the need for easy implementation and low cost. Primary solutions selected were the dimensioning of an Evapotranspiration Tank and the modular design of a support point based on soil-cement blocks.
CommunityClimate change12. On Empty Spaces, Silence, and the Pause
2021Rebecca Amato · Amsterdam University Press eBooks · United States (New York City)
This chapter discusses the historical production and perception of "empty space" in New York City, from settler colonialism to gentrification, driven by techniques like filtering and declaring vacancy. It highlights how the acceleration of development to maintain world city status threatens alternative visions like cooperative centers and community gardens. These alternative uses are presented as models for inclusive cities, despite being under threat.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyEconomicsBlocking out the rabbit holes: Photovoice and community gardening as a healing space for veterans
2021Karen Besterman‐Dahan, Sarah Bradley, Nora B. Arriola, Kiersten Downs · Wellbeing Space and Society · United States
In collaboration with a local garden, an evaluation explored the perceived benefits of gardening for veterans from two Veterans Affairs (VA) programs in the United States. Using focus groups and photovoice methods, four main benefits of participation were revealed: supporting mental and emotional wellbeing, improving socialization and comradery, nurturing life and identity, and learning new skills.
CommunityHealthWelfareImpact of Urban Agriculture on Household Income in Zambia: An Economic Analysis
2020Mupeta M., Kuntashula E., Kalinda T. · Asian Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development · Zambia (Kitwe, Lusaka)
Using propensity score matching on survey data from Kitwe and Lusaka, this study finds that urban agriculture participation increases household income by 13.7–19.1%, demonstrating a significant positive economic impact.
EconomicsCommunityPolicyCultivating Place: Urban Development and the Institutionalization of Seattle's P–Patch Community Gardens
2020Charlotte Glennie · City & Community · United States (Seattle)
This study examines how culture shapes urban political and economic processes by analyzing documents and interviewing advocates of Seattle's P-Patch community garden program, which has secured near-permanence for its publicly owned sites. It finds that advocates leveraged cultural capital and Seattle's legal-policy infrastructure to institutionalize the gardens within urban planning, but notes that as amenities signaling sustainability the gardens also contribute to gentrification, so equity requires deliberate consideration.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsGardening in Times of Urban Transitions: Emergence of Entrepreneurial Cultivation in Post–Katrina New Orleans
2020Yuki Kato · City & Community · United States (New Orleans)
This study examines the development of the urban cultivation scene in New Orleans over the decade following Hurricane Katrina, focusing on entrepreneurial projects. Contextualizing in-depth interviews with growers, it finds that dominant motives shifted from social missions to economic interests as the city moved from recovery to redevelopment, and argues that the distinction between socially and economically motivated cultivation cannot be easily drawn.
EconomicsCommunityPolicyResilience characteristics of the urban agriculture system in Lansing, Michigan: Importance of support actors in local food systems
2020Caitlin K. Kirby, Lissy Goralnik, Jennifer Hodbod, Zach Piso, Julie C. Libarkin · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (Lansing)
A descriptive correlational survey (n=92) of the urban agriculture system in Lansing, Michigan, examining demographics, farm characteristics, motivations, barriers, and resilience indicators. Support actors (nonprofits, university extension, municipalities) were most strongly motivated by social and environmental justice, and motivations around community-building and justice correlated significantly with several resilience indicators.
CommunityPolicyChemical and biological indicators of soil health in Chicago urban gardens and farms
2020Carmen M. Ugarte, John R. Taylor · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (Chicago)
This study evaluated chemical and biological soil-health indicators at 21 urban-to-periurban sites in Chicago (home gardens, community gardens, institutional farms, and private urban farms). It measured soil fertility, nematode trophic composition and food-web indices, and concentrations of lead, arsenic, and zinc; nematode communities differed by management scale and were likely influenced by soil organic matter and pH. Lead, arsenic, and zinc were below levels of concern, and soil fertility was significantly increased by management, particularly in community gardens and urban farms.
CompostBiodiversityCommunityDevelopment and validation of the Just Community Gardening Survey: A measure of the social and dietary outcomes of community garden participation
2020Kate G. Burt, Kathleen Delgado · Electronic Green Journal · United States (New York)
This study developed and validated a survey measuring the social and dietary outcomes of community garden participation in relation to food-system equity, testing it with community gardeners in New York City (n=38). The resulting 25-item Just Community Gardening Survey showed high test-retest reliability and internal consistency and covers domains such as social cohesion, collective efficacy, dietary intake, and food access, incorporating food-justice aspects not assessed in prior research.
CommunityHealthPolicyTowards sustainable urban food systems: Analyzing contextual and intrapsychic drivers of growing food in small-scale urban agriculture
2020Mohammed Hussen Alemu, Carola Grebitus · PLOS ONE · United States
This study used choice experiments and latent class analysis in North America to quantitatively examine what drives consumer preferences for growing food in community gardens. It found that providing tools and guidance were the most important contextual factors for participation, that proponents were characterized by high subjective knowledge and perceived benefits, and that opponents had low knowledge. The authors suggest the findings can inform policies promoting sustainable urban food systems.
CommunityPolicyDIYGrowing North Minneapolis: Connecting Youth and Community through Garden-based Experiential Learning
2020Mary Rogers, Illana Livstrom, Brandon Roiger, Amy Smith · HortTechnology · United States (Minneapolis)
Growing North Minneapolis (GNM) is an urban agriculture and youth development summer program in North Minneapolis, MN, run as a partnership between the University of Minnesota and community partners that recruits, trains, and employs youth aged 14–15 facing barriers to employment. Post-program qualitative surveys showed that youth learned across multiple domains of knowledge and valued the social interaction offered by the intergenerational mentorship structure.
Food educationCommunityWelfareConnecting Learning and Play in Farm-to-School Programs: Children's Culture, Local School Context and Nested Inequalities
2020· Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition · USA
A study of how farm-to-school educators combine education and play in a student-centered learning environment, considering children's culture, local school context, and nested inequalities.
Food educationCommunityMonitoring and mitigation of toxic heavy metals and arsenic accumulation in food crops: A case study of an urban community garden
2020Cooper A., Felix D., Alcantara F., Schroeder J. · Plant Direct · USA (San Diego)
At an urban community garden in San Diego, in-ground vegetables and fruit trees accumulated lead and arsenic, showing urban garden soils can contaminate food crops; raised beds with clean soil eliminated detectable contamination.
HealthCommunityThe tale of two community gardens: green aesthetics versus food justice in the big apple
2020· Agriculture and Human Values · New York City, USA
Contrasts two New York community gardens to reveal tensions between 'green aesthetics' and 'food justice,' arguing that an aesthetics/beautification orientation can align with gentrification and marginalize the needs of low-income communities of color.
CommunityPolicyNeighborhood Composition and Community Garden Locations: The Effect of Ethnicity, Income, and Education
2020Butterfield K. L. · Sociological Perspectives · USA
Analyzes how community garden locations relate to neighborhood composition, showing an uneven distribution in which gardens are not necessarily sited where most needed; ethnicity, income, and education shape access and can produce green-space inequity.
CommunityPolicyFood for the Cities Programme
2020FAO · Food and Agriculture Organization · Latin America and Africa
FAO Food for the Cities Programme pilot case studies in Latin America and Africa. Examines linkages between urban farmers, food banks, and school meals; sustainable food system development; institutional market connections. Demonstrates public procurement models supporting urban farmers.
PolicyCommunityUrban gardening and neglected and underutilized species in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
2020Manuela Alves da Cunha, Lidice Almeida Arlego Paraguassú, José Geraldo de Aquino Assis, Arthur Benjamin de Paula Carvalho Silva, Ryzia de Cassia Vieira Cardoso · Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine · Brazil (Salvador)
A city-wide mapping of active food gardens in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, followed by site visits and interviews with gardeners. Only 18 active food gardens could be located in the whole municipality; 17 took part (8 communal, 9 private). Gardeners averaged 55.76 years old and were 52.9% male overall, but women made up 87.5% of communal-garden gardeners and had higher education levels. For 52.9% of respondents the garden was their main source of income; 82.4% ate the produce, 70.6% also sold it and 47.1% donated. Fifty-nine neglected and underutilized species (NUS) were recorded, with 76.5% of respondents reporting they eat 19 of them. The gardens supply affordable food and food diversity without government support — but the very small absolute number of active gardens in a city of this size is equally part of the finding.
Heirloom & landraceBiodiversityCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceA Multi-Sectoral Approach Improves Early Child Development in a Disadvantaged Community in Peru: Role of Community Gardens, Nutrition Workshops and Enhanced Caregiver-Child Interaction: Project "Wawa Illari"
2020Doris González-Fernández, Ana Sofía Mazzini Salom, Fermina Herrera Bendezu, Sonia Huamán, Bertha Rojas Hernández, Illène Pevec, Eliana Mariana Galarza Izquierdo, Nicoletta Armstrong, Virginia Thomas, Sonia Vela Gonzáles, Carlos Gonzáles Saravia, Marilyn E. Scott, Kristine G. Koski · Frontiers in Public Health · Peru (Lima)
In peripheral settlements of the Pachacámac district of metropolitan Lima, Peru, community health promoters delivered a sequence of (1) home and community gardens, (2) 'conscious nutrition' and (3) parenting workshops (ICDP), comparing 113 children aged 0–3 in intervention communities with 127 in control communities at baseline, 8 and 12 months. The interventions significantly reduced the risk of food insecurity (adjusted risk ratio 0.20, 95% CI 0.08–0.51) and of language delay (0.39, 0.19–0.82), but did not significantly improve motor or social/cognitive delay. Multiple micronutrient supplement use lowered motor delay risk (0.12), while households with more pets had higher risk of motor delay (3.24), social/cognitive delay (2.72) and food insecurity (1.73). Because gardens were bundled with nutrition and parenting components, the contribution of the gardens alone cannot be isolated.
Limited or null effectHealthFood educationCommunityWelfareConsumers' Perception of Urban Farming—An Exploratory Study
2020Carola Grebitus, Lauren Chenarides, Rebecca Logsdon Muenich, Alex Mahalov · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · United States
This research investigates consumers' perception and acceptance of urban agriculture through a qualitative, exploratory field study with 19 residents from a major metropolitan area in the southwest U.S. The concept mapping procedure was used, and data were analyzed using content and semantic network analysis. Consumers' perceptions of urban farming related to environment, society, economy, and food attributes. The study found a much higher number of positive associations than negative, signaling that consumers would likely accept farming in close proximity, though individual perceptions varied greatly.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justice