Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
563 results(22 / 23)
Contaminação do Solo por Parasitas e Ocorrência de Doenças Intestinais
2008Andréa Andreis, Graziela Maria Schuh, Rejane Giacomelli Tavares · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Novo Hamburgo)
An evaluation of parasite contamination in playground soils at Horta Comunitária Joanna de Angelis in Novo Hamburgo, RS, Brazil, detected rhabditoid larvae in 33% of soil samples. An enteroparasitological survey (n=22) confirmed parasitism in 59.10% of samples. However, it was not possible to establish a correlation between the presence of parasitosis in children and in the soil.
Contamination & food safetyHealthCommunityChildhood Obesity Prevention: Successful Community-Based Efforts
2008Laure DeMattia, Shannon Lee Denney · The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science · United States
This article reviews community-based programs in the United States aimed at slowing the rate of childhood obesity, which affects one in three children. It examines interventions such as recipe preparation demonstrations, community gardens, and school-based curricula. The article concludes with suggestions for intervention efforts and funding priorities, emphasizing the importance of primary prevention focusing on high-risk populations of low-income overweight women of childbearing years.
HealthCommunityFood educationIntroduction: Localising the Global
2008Ronald Labonté, Glenn Laverack · Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks · Canada
In a Canadian city, a group of single mothers living in poverty started a community garden. This garden was primarily about creating capacity and empowering experiences, such as successfully negotiating with authorities, rather than just food production. For some, it served as a tool for political activism, while for others, it provided a sense of control and coherence through gardening.
CommunityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceHealthGrowing urban health: Community gardening in South-East Toronto
2007Wakefield S., Yeudall F., Taron C., Reynolds J., Skinner A. · Health Promotion International 22(2):92-101 · Canada
Qualitative Toronto case study using observation, focus groups and interviews. Gardeners perceived numerous health benefits, including improved food access, nutrition, physical activity, mental health, and community cohesion.
HealthCommunityThe Effects of School Gardens on Students and Schools: Conceptualization and Considerations for Maximizing Healthy Development
2007Emily J. Ozer · Health Education & Behavior · United States
While thousands of school gardens exist in the United States with anecdotal evidence of enhancing student learning, rigorous research on their effects and sustainability factors is limited. This review conceptualizes school gardens as systemic interventions for promoting student health and well-being and strengthening the school environment. It summarizes existing literature, provides a conceptual framework, and suggests further research to inform practice.
Food educationHealthCommunityAgricultura urbana na Vila Fanny, Curitiba, PR: Agroecologia fomentando uma atividade transdisciplinar de educação ambiental.
2007Michelle Melissa Althaus Ottmann, Áurea Portes Ferriani, Ricardo Serra Borsatto, Homero Cidade Júnior, Cláudio Ferraz Oliver, Eduardo Feniman, Lourival de Moraes Fidelis, Nilce Nazareno da Fonte · REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE AGROECOLOGIA · Brazil
Since August 2006, an urban agriculture, landscaping, and horticulture program has been developed with children attending the Casa da Videira NGO in Vila Fanny, Curitiba, Brazil. Weekly transdisciplinary sessions have shown preliminary results including increased children's interest in environmental topics, proposals for solutions, and changes in family attitudes. Qualitatively, the program has improved the visual appearance of the area and fostered team cohesion.
Food educationCommunityHealthClimate changeCasitas, Healing the Wounds of Displacement
2007D. Winterbottom · · United States (New York City)
In New York City, unique park spaces have been created on reclaimed neglected urban land, meeting various community needs including social, spiritual, cultural, and ecological aspects. These gardens, created by Puerto Rican immigrants as recreations of their indigenous landscapes, are valued by users for their restorative benefits such as stress reduction, ability to regain focus, calming engagement with nature, and an increased sense of well-being. This paper presents how these spaces function as restorative refuges and places to express and affirm traditional cultural values.
CommunityHealthWelfareCommunity Gardens: The Struggle for Environmental Justice in Latino Communities
2007Ariana de Lena · Occidental College Scholar (Occidental College) · United States (Los Angeles)
This research provides an overview of the environmental justice movement in relation to community gardens and examines two community gardens in Los Angeles: the El Sereno Community Garden and Proyecto Jardín. While both gardens primarily consist of Latino participants, the El Sereno garden was found to have significantly lower rates of participation. The study analyzed how a community garden can best utilize its resources to most benefit its participants and its community.
CommunityHealthWelfareAgricultura urbana e peri-urbana em Campinas/SP : analise do Programa de Hortas Comunitarias como subsidio para politicas publicas
2006Juliana Arruda, Nilson Antonio Modesto Arraes · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Campinas)
A 2005 study in Campinas, Brazil, analyzed the city's Community Garden Program (PHC) to support the formulation of new urban and peri-urban agriculture policies. Analysis of PHC management revealed an almost total disengagement between the program and sectoral policies such as education, health, and social action. However, individual actions were found to be important for project implementation and success, and the projects were significant in the lives of beneficiaries.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood educationHealthDiabetes on the Navajo nation: what role can gardening and agriculture extension play to reduce it?
2006Kevin Lombard, Sue Forster-Cox, Dan Smeal, M. K. O’Neill · Rural and Remote Health · United States
This article reviews the development of diabetes on the Navajo Nation, a serious health problem correlated with income, poor diet, and limited physical exercise. It explores the potential role of home and community gardening in diabetes reduction, building on the Navajo tradition of farming. The benefits identified include locally grown nutritious food, physical activity from gardening, income savings or sales, and positive mental outlook. The article proposes a multidisciplinary approach involving public health officials, nutritionists, and horticultural extension agents.
HealthCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceGrowing a Garden of Access, Opportunity and Healing: The Voices of Eugene’s Community Gardens
2006Eleanor Gordon · · United States (Eugene)
This abstract poetically describes the Willamette River as central to the community of Eugene, defining its development and serving as a place for people to gather, reflect, and connect with nature. It emphasizes the importance of oral history and community engagement, including working in community gardens, as a common good. The river is portrayed as a collective memory, reflecting its historical and current significance to people.
CommunityHealthFood sovereignty & justicePROMOTING COMMUNITY GARDENING TO LOW-INCOME URBAN PARTICIPANTS IN THE WOMEN, INFANTS AND CHILDREN PROGRAMME (WIC) IN NEW MEXICO
2006Shawn Teresa Flanigan, Roli Varma · Community Work & Family · United States (New Mexico)
This study investigated the effectiveness of methods used by nutrition educators to promote the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) community garden project in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. A survey of 257 clients from five clinics found that less than 30% of clients had been exposed to the project, and caseload was unrelated to the promotion methods used. However, clients exposed to any method of promotion were more likely to garden than those not exposed, and importantly, clients reported eating more vegetables after being exposed to the project.
CommunityWelfareHealthFood educationMetromorphosis: Documenting Change
2006Mark Tranel, Larry Handlin · Journal of Urban Affairs · United States (St. Louis)
This study investigated the impact of community gardens on revitalization in urban neighborhoods in St. Louis, United States. The research used GIS software to collect 1990 and 2000 Census data for 3-block radii around the study gardens, focusing on indicators of resident quality of life and neighborhood conditions. Using difference of differences to measure change, the findings indicated that Garden Impact Areas improved in these indicators.
CommunityHealthEconomicsTesting the recommendations of the Washington State Nutrition and Physical Activity Plan: the Moses Lake case study.
2006Donna B. Johnson, Lynne T. Smith · PubMed · United States (Washington)
The city of Moses Lake, Washington, a town of about 15,000 people, was chosen as a pilot site to test the conceptual approaches and recommendations of the state's Nutrition and Physical Activity Plan. An advisory committee used local policy and environment inventory data to develop a Healthy Communities plan, launching three initiatives: a trail system, breastfeeding facilities, and a community garden. Records of cumulative actions demonstrated the project's continued activity and productivity, with environmental changes and long-term health outcomes to be monitored.
CommunityHealthUpdating a fresh food access guide for a low literacy audience
2005Goldsmith, Leah · Occidental College Scholar (Occidental College) · United States (Los Angeles)
Low-income neighborhoods, communities of color, and immigrant communities in Los Angeles often experience unjust access to fresh, healthy foods. Project CAFE published the "Los Angeles Fresh Food Access Guide" in 2002 to inform residents of fresh food resources like farmers' markets and community gardens. This study conducted research on language and formatting to make information easy to understand, aiming to revise the guide for a lower literacy audience. The revised guide will include updated food resource information and new content focusing on the linkages between food and health.
CommunityHealthFood sovereignty & justiceSchool garden : senior capstone project
2005Christela Castro · Digital Commons - CSUMB (California State University, Monterey Bay) · United States (California)
The School Garden Project in Monterey County, California, was designed to address childhood obesity, which affected 21.3% of children in the county, with 50.6% of those being Hispanic. The project specifically targeted Hispanic children to tackle this issue.
Food educationHealthCommunityThe Effect of Community Gardens on Property Crime Rates in Inner City Houston
2005M.R. Gorham, Tina M. Waliczek · HortScience · United States (Houston)
This study aimed to determine if a relationship existed between reported property crimes and the presence of inner city community gardens in Houston, Texas. Property crime data from 1995 through 2004 were obtained from the Houston Police Department, and crime rates within a 1/8-mile radius surrounding community gardens were compared to the property crime rate for the entire police beat. The abstract does not state the study's results.
CommunityHealthPolicyLeisure Spaces as Potential Sites for Interracial Interaction: Community Gardens in Urban Areas
2004Kimberly J. Shinew, Troy D. Glover, Diana C. Parry · Journal of Leisure Research · United States (St. Louis)
A study focusing on African American and White gardeners in St. Louis, United States, examined whether urban community gardens are perceived as spaces where people of different races can successfully integrate. The study also sought to examine race and its relationship to perceptions, motivations, and benefits of community gardening.
CommunityHealthFood educationViolência Escolar e Horta Comunitária: A Educação Ambiental Enquanto Agente de Socialização
2004Juliana Munaretti de Oliveira, Janaína F. F. Cintrão · Revista Brasileira Multidisciplinar · Brazil (Araraquara)
This research in Araraquara, Brazil, investigated behavioral problems among high school students at a state school in Vila Xavier. A questionnaire was used to understand behaviors conflicting with social norms. The study observed changes in student behavior related to food, specifically increased appreciation for the cafeteria and respect for lunch staff. These observations led to the creation of a community garden, which contributed to students' socialization, offered possibilities for new skills, and generated value for citizenship, in addition to supplementing family nutrition.
CommunityFood educationHealthScience-Based Solutions to Obesity: What is the Role of Agriculture?
2004CAST · · United States
This comprehensive report by a twelve-member task force examines the changing role of agriculture in urban settings within historical and contemporary American society. It outlines geographic, demographic, and economic changes in rural and metropolitan life, considering policy issues such as land preservation, alternative market opportunities, sprawl, taxation, and food security. The report also presents research and educational challenges for higher education institutions.
HealthFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageGrowing Healthy Children: Can Gardening Improve Fruit and Vegetable Attitudes in Minority Children?
2004Geralyn Nolan, Jayne M. Zajicek · HortScience · United States
This research investigated whether gardening supplemented with nutritional curriculum could improve fruit and vegetable attitudes in minority children in Texas elementary schools. Children completed pre- and post-tests evaluating attitudes, snack preferences, and nutritional knowledge. Statistically significant positive differences were found in all three variables after the gardening and nutritional instruction.
Food educationHealthCommunityWhat's for dinner?Organizing around food access issues in Los Angeles.
2004Prebus, Olivia · Occidental College Scholar (Occidental College) · United States (Los Angeles)
This work addresses the gross inequity of food access in low-income neighborhoods of Los Angeles, such as MacArthur Park, where grocery stores are scarce. The author's internship at the Center for Food and Justice involved projects like a Community Food Assessment and organizing a community garden, all focused on empowering communities to tackle complex food access issues. The abstract highlights the severe problem of limited healthy food options leading to simultaneous obesity and malnutrition.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood educationHealthWelfareCommunity Gardens: Lessons Learned From California Healthy Cities and Communities
2003Joan M. Twiss, Joy Dickinson, Shirley Duma, Tanya Kleinman, Heather Paulsen, Liz Rilveria · American Journal of Public Health · United States (California)
Community gardens enhance nutrition, physical activity, and social capital, promoting public health and quality of life. The California Healthy Cities and Communities (CHCC) program funded successful community gardens in several cities, which incorporated local leadership, volunteers, and skill-building. These initiatives led to policies for land and water use, improved produce access, and strengthened community building skills.
CommunityHealthFood educationPolicyThe Story of the Queen Anne Memorial Garden: Resisting a Dominant Cultural Narrative
2003Troy D. Glover · Journal of Leisure Research · United States
This narrative inquiry explored how 14 participants in the Queen Anne Memorial Garden, a community garden built to combat urban decline, collectively reconfigured events into a “success story.” The aggregated community narrative illustrates how a collective leisure pursuit can be a grassroots effort to address urban decline and reshape collective identity.
CommunityPolicyHealthPeople, Land and Sustainability: Community Gardens and the Social Dimension of Sustainable Development
2001John Ferris, Carol Norman, Joe Sempik · Social Policy and Administration · USA
This article reports on research and experience from the USA regarding community gardens and their role in the social dimension of sustainable development. It explores how the use of urban green spaces for gardens links to health, education, community development, and food security. The article concludes that using urban open spaces for parks and gardens is closely associated with environmental justice and equity.
CommunityHealthFood educationFood sovereignty & justiceWelfare