Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
9077 results(226 / 364)
Urban Agriculture in the Food-Disabling City: (Re)defining Urban Food Justice, Reimagining a Politics of Empowerment
2017Tornaghi C. · Antipode 49(3):781-801 · Global
Critically theorizes the neoliberal 'food-disabling city' that deprives citizens of food agency, redefining urban food justice and arguing for an urban agriculture politics grounded in empowerment and food sovereignty.
PolicyWelfareCommunityThe Intersection of Planning, Urban Agriculture, and Food Justice: A Review of the Literature
2017Horst M., McClintock N., Hoey L. · Journal of the American Planning Association 83(3):277-295 · Global
Multidisciplinary literature review questioning who benefits and who does not from urban agriculture, suggesting ways urban planners can structure urban agriculture in support of food justice.
PolicyWelfareCommunitySustainability via Active Garden Education (SAGE): results from two feasibility pilot studies
2017Lee R.E., Parker N.H., Soltero E.G., Ledoux T., Hernandez I., Sahnoune I. · BMC Public Health, 17:242 · United States
Piloted SAGE—a 12-session garden education program with songs, games, taste tests and garden care—for 89 children aged 3–5 in six early care and education centers across two US cities, evaluating reach, efficacy and implementation using the RE-AIM framework for PA and fruit and vegetable intake.
Food educationHealthCommunityH28年度 都市と農・緑が共生するまちづくりに関する調査 都市部未利用地のコミュニティ農園的活用方策検討調査 報告書
2017特定非営利活動法人 Co.to.hana, 金田 康孝, 西川 亮 · 国土交通省 都市と農・緑が共生するまちづくりに関する調査（平成28年度） · Japan (Osaka)
First-year MLIT-commissioned study by Co.to.hana validating usefulness and replicability of community farms on urban unused land, using Kitakagaya Minna-no-uen as the model — surveys, environmental monitoring, stakeholder interviews and an expert panel producing a start guide and dissemination roadmap.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsDIYFood education平成28年度 都市と農・緑が共生するまちづくりに関する調査（都市部未利用地のコミュニティ農園的活用方策検討調査）報告書
2017国土交通省都市局 · 国土交通省都市局 · Japan
A MLIT survey report on using vacant urban land as community gardens, taking Kitakagaya's 'Minna no Uen' in Osaka as a key case and analyzing its operation and effects through user surveys, stakeholder interviews and neighborhood research.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsFostering biocultural diversity in landscapes through place-based food networks: a 'solution scan' of European and Japanese models
2017Plieninger T., Kohsaka R., Bieling C., Hashimoto S., Kamiyama C., Kizos T., Penker M., Kieninger P., Shaw B.J., Sioen G.B., Yoshida Y., Saito O. · Sustainability Science (Springer) · Japan
A 'solution scan' comparing place-based food networks (teikei, direct sales, farmers' markets) in Europe and Japan, systematizing how urban-rural food connection contributes to maintaining biocultural diversity.
BiodiversityCommunity gardening in poor neighborhoods in France: A way to re-think food practices?
2017Martin P., Consalès J.-N., Scheromm P., Marchand P., Ghestem F., Darmon N. · Appetite · France (Marseille)
Study in a deprived Marseille neighborhood found that socioeconomically disadvantaged women with access to a community garden were more likely to adopt a healthy diet than matched controls without such access.
CommunityHealthWelfareFood educationUrban Allotment Gardens During Precarious Times: From Motives to Lived Experiences
2017Partalidou M., Anthopoulou T. · Sociologia Ruralis, 57(2), 211–228 · Greece (Thermi, Northern Greece)
Using Maslow's hierarchy of needs and fieldwork in a municipal allotment garden in northern Greece, the study constructs a typology of gardeners and finds that participation evolves from satisfying basic subsistence needs during economic crisis toward self-actualization and placemaking.
CommunityWelfareEconomicsPolicyThe Emergence of Municipal Allotment Gardens in Greece in Times of Crisis: Governance Challenges for New Urban Gardening Practices
2017Anthopoulou T., Nikolaidou S., Partalidou M., Petrou M. · In: Soulard CT., Perrin C., Valette E. (eds) Toward Sustainable Relations Between Agriculture and the City. Springer, Cham, pp. 181–199 · Greece
Drawing on fieldwork at three municipal allotment gardens in Greece, the chapter examines the institutional and political context of their rapid proliferation during the economic crisis and identifies governance challenges facing local authorities and urban gardening communities.
CommunityWelfarePolicyEconomicsEffects of urban expansion on suburban farmers' livelihood in Vietnam: A comparative analysis of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi
2017Vu M.H., Kawashima H. · Habitat International · Vietnam (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City)
A comparative study of suburban districts in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City finds mixed livelihood outcomes following agricultural land acquisition for urbanization, with early non-farm diversification aiding adaptation in Hanoi but elderly and low-education farmers facing unemployment and insecurity.
EconomicsPolicyUrban Agriculture in the Philippines: Initiatives, Practices, Significance, and Threats
2017Guzman C. · Sustainable Landscape Planning in Selected Urban Regions (Springer, Tokyo) · Philippines (Metro Manila)
This book chapter reviews urban agriculture initiatives, practices, and impacts in the Philippines, using Metro Manila vegetable production and peri-urban jasmine cultivation as case studies. It highlights employment and income benefits while identifying land-use competition and lack of clear policy as major threats to continued urban farming.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityBiodiversityUrban Agriculture in Helsinki, Finland
2017Hagolani-Albov S.E. · Focus on Geography, Vol. 60, No. 1 · Finland (Helsinki)
This photographic study documents four forms of urban agriculture in Helsinki — colony allotments, market gardens, box gardening, and community-supported agriculture — tracing over a century of practice and illustrating how urban farming is spatially and institutionally embedded in the city.
CommunityBiodiversityFood educationThe city as a refuge for insect pollinators
2017Hall D.M., Camilo G.R., Tonietto R.K., Ollerton J., Ahrné K., Arduser M., Ascher J.S., Baldock K.C.R., Fowler R., Frankie G., Goulson D., Gunnarsson B., Hanley M.E., Jackson J.I., Langellotto G., Lowenstein D., Minor E.S., Philpott S.M., Potts S.G., Sirohi M.H., Spevak E.M., Stone G.N., Threlfall C.G. · Conservation Biology, 31(1):24-29 · Global
A review by an international team arguing that, as pollinators decline globally under agricultural intensification and pesticide use, cities can serve as important refuges for insect pollinators including native bees. It highlights the conservation value of designing and managing urban green spaces such as gardens and community plots for pollinators, framing citizen urban agriculture as a contributor to biodiversity conservation.
PollinatorsBiodiversityCommunityPolicyFood Justice in the Trump Age: Priorities for Urban Food Advocates
2017Nevin Cohen, Janet Poppendieck, Nicholas Freudenberg · Journal of Food Law & Policy · United States
This essay outlines priorities for food advocates following the election of President Donald Trump: preserving SNAP, preventing industry deregulation, and sustaining regional food systems. It analyzes the potential conservative-backed counter-proposals to each of these priorities.
PolicyWelfareLead (Pb) Bioaccessibility and Mobility Assessment of Urban Soils and Composts: Fingerprinting Sources and Refining Risks to Support Urban Agriculture
2017Rosalie M. Sharp, Daniel J. Brabander · GeoHealth · United States (Boston)
This study assessed lead (Pb) bioaccessibility, transport, and exposure pathways in urban gardens in Roxbury and Dorchester, MA, in partnership with The Food Project, which brings local farmers into the research. Compost had lower total Pb, lower gastric Pb solubility, and less fine-particle resuspension than soils, with a mean bioaccessible Pb of 265 mg/kg—nearly an order of magnitude lower than soils. Across all matrices, grain sizes under 37 μm held a disproportionate share of bioaccessible Pb, whose isotopic composition pointed to leaded gasoline and leaded paint.
CompostHealthCommunityBiogeochemical characterization of municipal compost to support urban agriculture and limit childhood lead exposure from resuspended urban soils
2017Maia G. Fitzstevens, Rosalie M. Sharp, Daniel J. Brabander · Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene · United States (Boston)
To support urban agriculture and limit childhood lead exposure from resuspended urban soils, this study measured bulk and bioaccessible lead in five types of compost used in Boston urban gardens. Different feedstocks showed unique geochemical fingerprints; bulk lead in compost was a fraction of that in urban soils, yet the bioaccessible fraction exceeded the IEUBK model's default parameters. Based on the observed bioaccessibility, 170 mg/kg total lead in compost yields the same bioaccessible lead as the model predicts for the 400 mg/kg EPA soil benchmark, so risk assessments should treat compost as an urban matrix.
CompostOrganic cycleHealthAssessing Urban Community Gardens’ Impact on Net Primary Production using NDVI
2017Tammy E. Parece, James B. Campbell · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States
This study used the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from U.S. Landsat 5, 7, and 8 satellites to assess the environmental impact of urban community gardens across three eastern U.S. cities—Roanoke, VA; Pittsburgh, PA; and Buffalo, NY—over the 2007–2015 growing seasons. It reports that establishing community gardens altered seasonal NDVI trajectories, sometimes declining initially but then increasing over time, revealing the vigorous vegetative character of urban agriculture.
CommunityBiodiversityWater footprint of Jing-Jin-Ji urban agglomeration in China
2017· Journal of Cleaner Production · China (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei)
A study assessing the water footprint of the Jing-Jin-Ji (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei) urban agglomeration in China, highlighting pressure on water resources from agricultural and industrial production.
PolicyEconomicsFrom Edible Landscape to Vital Communities: Clover Nature School Community Gardens in Shanghai
2017· Landscape Architecture Frontiers · China (Shanghai)
Presents Shanghai's Clover Nature School community gardens, describing how an 'urban permaculture' approach fosters public participation and community building through edible landscapes.
CommunityFood educationEcosystem services of allotment and community gardens: A Leipzig, Germany case study
2017Cabral I., Keim J., Engelmann R., Kraemer R., Siebert J., Bonn A. · Urban Forestry & Urban Greening · Germany (Leipzig)
Assessed ecosystem services such as climate and water regulation and habitat provision across 30 allotment plots and adjacent community gardens in Leipzig, finding highest plant species richness in medium-intensity managed plots.
BiodiversityCommunityIoT powered portable aquaponics system
2017· Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Internet of Things, Data and Cloud Computing · Global
A smart, portable indoor aquaponics system with remote control of watering and lighting and live camera updates is proposed, aimed at urban dwellers lacking time or space to grow their own food.
DIYExploring Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting Potential for Food Production in Urban Areas
2017· Agriculture · Rome, Italy
Models rooftop rainwater harvesting to irrigate 2,631 fruit and vegetable gardens in Rome, estimating 19-33% of gardens could be water self-sufficient depending on irrigation efficiency.
DIYCommunityFood Production on a Living Wall: Pilot Study
2017Nagle L., Echols S., Tamminga K. · Journal of Green Building · United States (Pennsylvania)
Monitors the productivity of a 7.5 m² outdoor living wall planted with produce crops during the 2015 summer in State College, Pennsylvania, also collecting irradiance, water-use and soil-moisture data.
DIYCommunityLA Sprouts randomized controlled nutrition, cooking and gardening programme reduces obesity and metabolic risk in Hispanic/Latino youth
2017Gatto · Pediatric Obesity · USA (Los Angeles)
A randomized controlled trial of a 12-week after-school nutrition, cooking, and gardening program held at a community garden, assessing reductions in obesity and metabolic risk among Hispanic/Latino youth.
Food educationHealthCare farms as a space of wellbeing for people with a learning disability in the United Kingdom
2017Rotheram S., McGarrol S., Watkins F. · Health & Place · United Kingdom
Qualitative interviews with 18 clients with a learning disability who attend UK care farms examined how these spaces contribute to their health and wellbeing, identifying care farms as a positive 'space of wellbeing'.
WelfareHealth