Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
585 results(23 / 24)
SPIN-Farming: advancing urban agriculture from pipe dream to populist movement
2007Roxanne Christensen · Sustainability Science Practice and Policy · United States (Philadelphia)
This paper discusses SPIN-Farming as a tool to demonstrate the economic viability of urban agriculture, which was initially advocated in Philadelphia in 1998. While social and environmental benefits are clear, economic proof was needed to motivate policymakers. The author applied entrepreneurial experience to develop SPIN-Farming, aiming to revive the farming profession and enable a scalable, accessible farming concept across economic classes and geographical boundaries, fostering local food systems.
EconomicsPolicyCommunityThe role of collaborative community supported agriculture: Lessons from Iowa
2006Corene M. Bregendahl, Cornelia Butler Flora · Iowa State University Digital Repository (Iowa State University) · United States
In Iowa communities, collaborative Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) serves as a business incubator for new growers and helps existing growers expand and diversify. This model offers various benefits to the communities it serves.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsIntegration and Coordination: Keys to Success in California Farm to School Programs
2006Rainbow A. Vogt, Lucía Kaiser, Robert B. Rucker · The FASEB Journal · United States (California)
A study involving 28 school food service directors and 20 stakeholders in California explored interest in purchasing local produce. Directors were motivated by fresher food, supporting the local economy, and aiding California farms, but faced barriers such as lack of producers, seasonal availability, budget, convenience, facilities, and transportation. The study concluded that program expansion and long-term viability depend on a coordinated produce distribution network between farms and schools, and the integration of nutrition education and school gardens into the core curriculum.
Food educationCommunityPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsMetromorphosis: 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.
CommunityHealthEconomicsA AGRICULTURA URBANA EM UBERLÂNDIA (MG)
2006Sidivan Aparecido Resende, João Cleps · Caminhos de Geografia · Brazil
This research examines agricultural activities in the urban area of Uberlândia (MG), Brazil, aiming to understand their role and importance in development, specifically in local supply and food security. Defining urban agriculture as rural activities occurring near or within cities, the study seeks to recognize the reality and importance of these activities in Uberlândia's urban environment by comprehending rural-urban interactions.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsUrban–rural linkageAGRICULTURA URBANA- EXPERIÊNCIA DA UFRRJ
2006Edilene Lagedo Teixeira, Janailton Coutinho, Adriano Costa da Silva, Andréa Soares, Camila Silva de Oliveira, Carla Gomes dos Santos, Beatriz Ribeiro Guimarães · REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE AGROECOLOGIA · Brazil
This study, conducted in 2003 by UNISOL REGIONAL and UFRRJ, aimed to develop an organic, condiment, and medicinal garden through social education activities. A socioeconomic survey of the community revealed urgent problems with water scarcity, mosquitoes, and rodents. While two garden beds and 12 planters were built to encourage self-sustaining urban agriculture, the abstract does not explicitly state the success or failure of achieving self-sustainability or addressing the identified community problems beyond the construction itself.
Limited or null effectCommunityFood educationOrganic cycleEconomicsSquaring Farm Security and Food Security in Two Types of Alternative Food Institutions*
2006Julie Guthman, Amy Wilson Morris, Patricia Allen · Rural Sociology · United States (California)
Survey and interview research conducted in California during 2004–2005 examined the extent to which CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) and farmers' markets address food security. Managers of these institutions generally supported the idea of improving food affordability and most made efforts to do so, though these efforts varied with institutional capacity. Some managers tempered their interest in supporting food security goals with concerns such as the primary need to support farmers.
CSA & TeikeiFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsWelfareCommunity Supported Agriculture (CSA) in the Midwest United States: A regional characterization
2005Erin M. Tegtmeier, Michael Duffy · Iowa State University Digital Repository (Iowa State University) · United States
A survey of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operations across the Midwest United States characterized their operations and profitability. The study presented the characteristics and profitability of these CSA operations.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsPeri-urban agricultureExpanding Our Understanding of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA): An Examination of Member Satisfaction
2005K. Brandon Lang · Journal of Sustainable Agriculture · United States
This study tested eleven hypotheses on member satisfaction in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) using survey data from 204 members of 5 mid-Atlantic CSAs during the 2000 growing season. Results indicated that satisfaction positively correlated with supporting alternative agricultural practices, frequency of CSA visits, years of membership, and the likelihood of shares meeting produce needs. Being vegetarian, female, older, or a working member were additional predictors of satisfaction.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsThe Planner in the Garden: A Historical View into the Relationship between Planning and Community Gardens
2004Laura Lawson · Journal of Planning History · United States
This historical review of US community garden programs since the 1890s reveals an ambivalent relationship between community gardens and the planning profession. While praised for serving environmental, social, and individual objectives, community gardens are largely ignored in long-range planning due to being perceived as opportunistic and temporary. This highlights unresolved tensions between professional planning and civic concerns, and between comprehensive planning and local interventions.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsScience-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 linkageCommunity Gardens and Politics of Scale in New York City
2003Christopher M. Smith, Hilda E. Kurtz · Geographical Review · United States (New York City)
New York City community gardens have faced political contestation for thirty years, notably in 1999 when 114 gardens were slated for public auction and redevelopment. This article examines the controversy as a politics of scale, where garden advocates expanded the dispute beyond individual gardens and the city. The analysis highlights the significance of scale politics for grassroots organizations within a market-centric, neoliberal economic framework.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCommunity Supported Agriculture on the Central Coast: The CSA Grower Experience
2003Jan Perez · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · United States (California)
This 2003 research brief investigated the experiences of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) growers on the central coast of California. The study examined their motivations, economic viability, challenges, and issues related to equal access to their products. The research brief indicates that challenges and issues of equal access are present in CSA projects.
Equity & displacementCSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityConflicting Rights to the City in New York's Community Gardens
2002Lynn A. Staeheli, Don Mitchell, Kristina Gibson · GeoJournal · USA (New York City)
Analyzes the Giuliani administration's 1998–1999 policy of transferring community gardens to housing development and auctioning 100+ gardens, exposing how a city 'greening then privatizing' policy reversed itself and treated public gardens as disposable exchange-value assets.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsIncommensurability, Land Use, and the Right to Space: Community Gardens in New York City1
2002Karen Schmelzkopf · Urban Geography · United States (New York City)
This study examined the conflict over community gardens in New York City, arguing that it was a struggle concerning the right to space. The city, operating from an entrepreneurial governance perspective, claimed that the gardens represented a loss of exchange value and potential housing. The city used market economy rhetoric to dismiss incommensurable use values, thereby restricting rights to the city within a demonstration of power and "reason."
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceMotivating factors and barriers to sustainable consumer behaviour [1]
2002Sigrid Stagl, Sabine O’Hara · International Journal of Agricultural Resources Governance and Ecology · United States (New York City)
This study examined whether Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) groups are a broadly accepted or limited alternative food system, based on a household survey in two distinct socio-economic neighborhoods in upstate New York. The survey found that approximately 25% of respondents expressed interest in becoming CSA members, with similar interest levels in both wealthier and low-income areas. However, several factors preventing food demand through CSAs were identified, indicating that these barriers would need to be addressed for expansion.
Limited or null effectCSA & TeikeiEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceFood miles & supply chainSocial Inclusion in a Midwest Local Food System Project
2002C. Clare Hinrichs, Kathy S. Kremer · Journal of Poverty · United States
This 1997 case study examined a Midwest community supported agriculture (CSA) project that aimed to increase low-income participation through financial subsidies, using a telephone survey of 41 member-households. The study found that while subsidized households had lower incomes, the overall CSA sample was more advantaged in income, occupation, and education compared to local populations. The project inadvertently served the "advantaged" poor, indicating that social inclusion efforts in local food systems may not effectively reach the most vulnerable.
Equity & displacementCSA & TeikeiCommunityWelfareEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceLa participation, dans quel sens? L'exemple des organisations communautaires et de l'agriculture urbaine dans les villes de Mexico et de Cuernavaca
2002Manon Boulianne · Anthropologica · Mexico
A study on community organizations and urban agriculture in Mexico City and Cuernavaca suggests that the very meaning of participation becomes an issue for community organizations engaged in popular entrepreneurship development programs. It illustrates how the structuring effects of market production activities lead to a renegotiation of the meaning attributed to participation among the individuals and groups concerned.
Governance failureCommunityEconomicsPolicyUrban and Agricultural Communities: Opportunities for Common Ground
2002CAST · · United States
A twelve-member task force report examines the changing role of agriculture in urban settings within American society. The report frames urban agriculture historically and contemporaneously, detailing geographic, demographic, and economic changes. Policy issues such as land preservation, alternative market opportunities, sprawl, taxation, and food security are discussed, alongside research and educational challenges for institutions of higher education.
PolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageDIFFERENTIATING MULTIPLE MEANINGS OF GARDEN AND COMMUNITY
2001Hilda E. Kurtz · Urban Geography · United States (Minneapolis)
This paper examines the variations among community gardens in Minneapolis, Minnesota, suggesting they reflect differing interpretations of "community" and "garden" in urban settings. While community gardens are seen as responses to urban decay, the study highlights that issues of enclosure, inclusion, and exclusion are central to their function. Decisions regarding garden enclosure shape their role in urban neighborhoods, indicating potential limitations related to equity.
Equity & displacementCommunityEconomicsPolicyMarketing Strategies and Challenges of Small‐Scale Organic Producers in Central North Carolina
2000Susan Andreatta · Culture & Agriculture · United States
This paper describes marketing opportunities for small-scale, limited-resource organic producers in Central North Carolina, United States. It examines farmers' markets and community-supported agriculture programs, highlighting how growers advocate and educate consumers about local agriculture. The study discusses the increasing demand for local organic food and strategies for growers to enhance community support, suggesting that alternative production and niche marketing could help sustain small-scale growers amidst farm loss and declining conventional agricultural prices.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceNGO experiences in Lima targeting urban poor through urban agriculture.
2000Andres Dasso, Teobaldo Pinzas · · Peru
In Lima, Peru, a city with an infertile sandy environment and 0.0 mm average rainfall, urban agriculture has been implemented since the late 1980s to improve the living conditions of the resource-poor urban population. This initiative addresses the rapid urban growth experienced by Lima between the 1950s and 1990s, primarily due to migration.
WelfareCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceLocal food and land-use in Washington County, Oregon
2000Joshua J. Cousins · · United States (Oregon)
This qualitative study examined local food networks in Washington County, Oregon, focusing on small-scale agricultural landscapes and farmers selling through farmers markets or CSAs. It explored farmers' concerns about urbanization, farmland preservation, and their difficulties participating in local food networks. The research concluded that local food sold through alternative venues can help preserve and develop specific farm sites.
Economic viabilityCSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsPeri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkageIs This a Women's Movement? The Relationship of Gender to Community-Supported Agriculture in Michigan
1999Laura DeLind, A. Ferguson · Human Organization · United States
This paper explores the role of gender within Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) using a Michigan CSA as a case study. It notes that women constitute a majority of active CSA membership and seeks to understand what attracts them and the nature of their involvement. The study finds preliminary answers within the wider context of new social movements.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceFarmers' markets offer new business opportunities for farmers
1999Gail Feenstra, Christopher Lewis · California Agriculture · United States (California)
A survey of farmers' market managers in California indicated that farmers' markets provide growers with opportunities to expand their businesses through new market venues, value-added products, and connections with agritourism. Rural markets offered strong community support and tourist links, while small-town markets showed the most new vendors and room for growth. Metropolitan markets, though harder to access, yielded the highest gross sales and increased demand for value-added products.
EconomicsCSA & TeikeiCommunityUrban–rural linkage