Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
2012 results(22 / 81)
Identifying Key Benefits and Characteristics of Community Gardening for Vulnerable Populations: A Systematic Review
2023Tracey D., Gray T., Sweeting J., Kingsley J., Bailey A., Pettitt P. · Health & Social Care in the Community (Wiley/Hindawi), 2023:5570089 · Global
The first systematic review to summarize the benefits of community gardening for vulnerable populations such as low-socioeconomic-status and culturally diverse groups. Analyzing 33 studies, it finds social connection, health, education, and nutrition to be the most frequently reported benefits, supporting social inclusion and welfare.
WelfareCommunityHealthFood educationEffects of a School-Based Garden Program on Academic Performance: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial (TX Sprouts)
2023Landry M., Asigbee F., Vandyousefi S., Ghaddar R., Davis J. · Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 123(3):637-643 · United States
A cluster randomized controlled trial in mostly low-income, Hispanic Texas elementary schools testing whether the TX Sprouts garden, nutrition and cooking intervention affected academic performance. It found the program did not harm academic outcomes, showing that garden-based food education can be integrated into instructional time without lowering achievement.
Food educationHealthEconomicsThe bright and the dark side of commercial urban agriculture labeling
2023Chicoine M., Rodier F., Durif F. · Agriculture and Human Values 40(3):1153-1170 · Global
Analyzes how companies use commercial urban agriculture labeling in product marketing, examining the consumer-perceived benefits and risks of leveraging urban farming as a brand and value proposition.
EconomicsFood educationInteractions Between Kindergarten Teachers and Children While Raising Plants: Focusing on Personification
2023Miyagi R. · Journal of Science Education (Japan), 63(3):645–654 · Japan (Okinawa)
Six months of observation in a public kindergarten class (age 5) in Okinawa during plant cultivation in the garden and shared field. Analyses how teachers' personifying talk supports children's empathy and learning about plants—practical insight for kindergarten gardening and food education.
Food educationCommunityMonitoring System Enhancing the Potential of Urban Beekeeping
2023Szczurek A., Maciejewska M., Batog P. · Applied Sciences, 13(1):597 · Poland (Wrocław)
Develops and evaluates an automated monitoring system for urban beekeeping's educational, greening and awareness benefits. Sensors, cameras and scales were deployed on hives on the roof of a four-storey university building in Wrocław; three months of operation confirmed the system works and that rooftop placement is a viable urban apiary model.
PollinatorsCommunityFood education多摩地域都市農業振興協議会 活用事例
2023多摩地域都市農業振興協議会, 農林水産省 · 農林水産省 農山漁村振興交付金事例 · Japan
Case report on using the Rural Revitalisation Grant (urban agriculture function measures) to build an urban-agriculture community network around Hachioji in the Tama area through a regional council supported citizen and experience farms.
CommunityFood educationPolicy農と親しみ江東区の共生社会を考える協議会 活用事例
2023農と親しみ江東区の共生社会を考える協議会, 農林水産省 · 農林水産省 農山漁村振興交付金事例 · Japan
Grant case study creating a children's farm-contact space in Toyosu, Koto Ward, using urban farmland creation support — a report on ward-council-business collaboration for vacant-land farming, food education and an inclusive community.
Food educationCommunityPolicyWelfare株式会社Tryfe 活用事例（福岡市）
2023株式会社Tryfe, 農林水産省 · 農林水産省 農山漁村振興交付金事例 · Japan
Fukuoka case report on using MAFF grants for exchange markets linking urban farmers and citizens, promoting local food and interest in citizen and experience farms with municipal collaboration.
CommunityFood educationEconomicsPolicy株式会社ネイバーズファーム 活用事例（日野市）
2023株式会社ネイバーズファーム, 農林水産省 · 農林水産省 農山漁村振興交付金事例 · Japan
Hino case report on opening a farm for neighbourhood markets using national urban-agriculture symbiosis grants and municipal collaboration, linking citizen-farm produce distribution with community building.
CommunityFood educationPolicyかきつ畑プロジェクト推進協議会 活用事例（知立市）
2023かきつ畑プロジェクト推進協議会, 農林水産省 · 農林水産省 農山漁村振興交付金事例 · Japan
Chiryu, Aichi grant case linking local schools to promote urban agriculture, documenting a model of municipal-school-farmer collaboration in experience farms and food education near Nagoya.
Food educationCommunityPolicy一般社団法人KOBE FARMERS MARKET 活用事例
2023一般社団法人KOBE FARMERS MARKET, 農林水産省 · 農林水産省 農山漁村振興交付金事例 · Japan
Kobe grant case report on youth-oriented farmers markets using urban agriculture function grants, documenting city-farmer-civic collaboration to secure urban farmers and activate citizen farms and direct sales.
CommunityFood educationEconomicsPolicyCo-creative research for transitioning toward a fair and sustainable agri-food system in Brussels, Belgium
2023Hermesse J., Vankeerberghen A., Lohest F., Truyffaut A. · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Belgium (Brussels)
Examines six co-creative, transdisciplinary research projects in Brussels that engaged diverse stakeholders to co-produce knowledge on urban food production, distribution, and equitable food access, highlighting recommendations for institutional and legislative reform to support food system transitions.
CommunityFood educationPolicyA scoping study of urban community gardening promoted by the Philippine National Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture Banner Program (NUPAP)
2023Bayot R.S., Schreinemachers P., Mwambi M., Dominguez D.D., Oro E.M., Gonsalves J.F. · World Vegetable Center (CGIAR) · Philippines (Metro Manila)
This scoping study evaluated urban community gardening sites under the Philippines' National Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture Banner Program (NUPAP) across Metro Manila, covering 26 sites in 7 cities. Findings showed the program lacked targeted support for vulnerable populations despite coordinating numerous urban farming initiatives.
CommunityPolicyFood educationHealthDrivers of Innovative Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture in Bamenda City, Cameroon
2023Ngetleh N., Bime-Egwu M., Tambi M. · Agricultural Sciences · Cameroon (Bamenda)
This study identifies the socioeconomic and institutional drivers behind innovative urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) adoption in Bamenda City, Cameroon, demonstrating that UPA is a critical livelihood strategy for the urban poor amid rapid urbanization. The findings inform policy recommendations to support sustainable urban food production.
EconomicsCommunityPolicyFood educationEnhancing Food Literacy and Food Security through School Gardening in Rural and Regional Communities
2023· International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Australia
A study on enhancing children's food literacy and food security through school gardening in rural and regional communities, identifying dedicated garden/kitchen spaces and committed teachers as basic requirements.
Food educationCommunityHow does community food growing build community bonds? Insights from grassroots visual storytelling
2023· Local Environment · United Kingdom
Uses grassroots visual storytelling to explore how community food-growing activities build community bonds through emotional attachment and placemaking.
CommunityWelfareFood educationValuation of student-led agricultural activities at university: comparison of willingness to pay with inferred values
2023Ryo Sakurai, Takuro Uehara · Sustainability Science · Japan (Kyoto)
A contingent-valuation study at Ritsumeikan University, Japan, measuring the monetary value students place on student-led farming activities using double-bounded dichotomous-choice surveys of 375 students in 2016 and 356 in 2020, comparing each respondent's own willingness to pay (WTP) with the value they inferred other students would pay. In 2016 mean WTP was ¥1,613.6 (median ¥1,101.3) against a mean inferred value of ¥1,056.6 (median ¥742.4); in 2020 mean WTP was ¥2,376.8 (median ¥1,408.8) against ¥1,814.5 (median ¥1,150.6). Confidence intervals overlapped in both years, so the differences were not statistically significant, indicating less social-desirability bias than earlier research found. Estimated total utility was about ¥2.51 million, enough to fund the student-led agricultural project. Limitations: a single institution, no examination of the mechanisms behind inferred values, and hypothetical rather than actual donations.
EconomicsFood educationCommunityImproving Productivity of Gulayan Sa Paaralan Through Drip Irrigation Technology
2023Restilou Q. Artiaga · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Global
This experimental-comparative study investigated the productivity of "Gulayan sa Paaralan" (school garden) using drip irrigation technology. Researchers planted "pinakbet" vegetables in 16m x 16m plots, with and without drip irrigation, and compared yields over two consecutive croppings. Results showed that plots with drip irrigation consistently produced higher yields, demonstrating the technology's effectiveness in improving harvest with minimal staff and student involvement.
Food educationDIYCrop Disease Diagnosis with Deep Learning-Based Image Captioning and Object Detection
2023Dong In Lee, Ji Hwan Lee, Seung Ho Jang, Se Jong Oh, Ill Chul Doo · Applied Sciences · Global
This study proposes a deep learning-based crop disease diagnosis solution for novice urban farmers, integrating Image Captioning and Object Detection models. The Image Captioning model, using InceptionV3 and Transformer, achieved an average BLEU score of 64.96%, demonstrating high performance in generating detailed diagnostic sentences. The Object Detection model, employing YOLOv5, achieved an mAP50 of 0.382, indicating a need for further improvement in detecting infected areas.
Digital agricultureFood educationWhat is urban agriculture?
2023Alicia Papanek, Catherine Campbell, Hannah Wooten · EDIS · Global
This April 2023 publication by Alicia Papanek, Catherine G. Campbell, and Hannah Wooten, from the UF/IFAS Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, discusses the definition of urban agriculture. It covers common characteristics, types of food produced, frequently used production methods, and the purposes of various urban agriculture operations.
Food educationUrban–rural linkageDancing through the vege patch
2023Gregory Lorenzutti, Julie Ann Minaai, Brenton Surgenor · Choreographic Practices · Australia (Melbourne)
"Dancing through the vege patch" is an artist essay by choreographer Gregory Lorenzutti, reflecting on "Theatrum Botanicum," an interdisciplinary project combining dance and holistic urban farming commissioned by the Victoria College of the Arts, University of Melbourne in 2022. Lorenzutti offers insights into the relationship between knowledge production, place-based dance pedagogy, and interdisciplinary practice in tertiary education. The essay reveals how creative methodologies can invigorate practice and deepen the connection between body, space, and place.
Food educationCommunityHorta orgânica no semiárido: dispositivo de mediação interdisciplinar e educação ambiental em escolas públicas de Irecê - BA
2023Alex Salviano da Silva, Célia Regina Batista dos Santos · Revista Macambira · Brazil (Irecê)
This study investigated the contributions of interdisciplinary interventional actions, mediated by organic garden construction, to public school students' teaching and learning processes and their interest in environmental education within the context of remote education in Irecê, Brazil. Using a qualitative, interventionist action research methodology, activities integrating subjects like Biology, Mathematics, Geography, History, and Arts were conducted remotely and in person. Findings identified significant changes in school management, suggesting new perspectives for environmental education, and students showed increased awareness of their actions concerning school and home environments.
Food educationCommunityOrganic cycleSchool-based intervention impacts availability of vegetables and beverages in participants’ homes
2023Erin A. Hudson, Marissa Burgermaster, Sophia M. Isis, Matthew Jeans, Sarvenaz Vandyousefi, Matthew J. Landry, Rebecca A. Seguin‐Fowler, Joya Chandra, Jaimie N. Davis · Frontiers in Nutrition · United States
A secondary analysis evaluated the TX Sprouts school-based gardening, cooking, and nutrition education intervention on the home availability of vegetables, fruit juice, and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). The cluster-randomized trial involved 16 schools (8 intervention, 8 control) over one academic year, serving predominantly Hispanic families with low incomes, with an analytic sample of 895 participants. The intervention positively changed the home availability of targeted foods and beverages, primarily by improving the availability of vegetables and vegetable juice, suggesting a positive influence on the home food environment.
Food educationHealthCommunityMapping and characterizing the urban and periurban agriculture in Porto Alegre, Brazil
2023Geisa Zanini Rorato, Eugenia Aumond Kuhn, Bruno Luan Soares Paula de Mello, Rodrigo Vitória Alves, Giulia Togni Geremia · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Porto Alegre)
This study mapped and characterized 82 urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) initiatives in Porto Alegre, Brazil. It found that educational and health-related initiatives with social and ecological objectives predominated. A significant finding was that only half of these initiatives were active at the time of the survey, with the rest being inactive or closed, indicating structural fragilities, especially in peripheral and less dense areas impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Economic viabilityFood educationHealthCommunityPeri-urban agricultureGardens for the People
2023Clive R. Hollin · · Global
This research shifts focus from individual gardening to collective gardening activities shared by groups of people, examining communal gardens that benefit groups such as hospital residents, school pupils, or prison inmates. These "gardens for the people" take various forms, including allotments primarily for food production, school gardens for academic and social purposes, prison gardens for prisoner well-being and rehabilitation, gardens tended by immigrant populations, and guerrilla gardening.
CommunityFood educationWelfare