Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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639 results(23 / 26)
An analysis of the impacts of health insurance rebate initiatives on community supported agriculture in Southern Wisconsin
2011Greg Jackson, Amanda L. Raster, Will Shattuck · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States (Southern Wisconsin)
Since 2005, four insurance providers in southern Wisconsin have offered rebates to policyholders who subscribe to a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation, reducing costs by up to 40%. This program, managed by MACSAC, led to increased fruit and vegetable consumption among CSA members and reduced advertising time for growers. Both the number of MACSAC member farms and the total shares offered by these farms have substantially increased, indicating the program's success in reducing grower risk and expanding production.
CSA & TeikeiHealthEconomicsPolicyFOOD, LAW & THE ENVIRONMENT: INFORMATIONAL AND STRUCTURAL CHANGES FOR A SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEM
2011Jason J. Czarnezki · Pace Digital Repository (Pace University) · United States
This article considers legal, theoretical, and practical steps towards a more sustainable food model. It argues that two changes are necessary to alter modern American food consumption: increased awareness and increased availability. The article reiterates the need to increase information available to consumers and the consequences of food choices, further arguing that structural changes in the food system are necessary to increase access to sustainable foods.
PolicyEconomicsCSA & TeikeiFood sovereignty & justiceReviving the World Wonder: Why Rooftop Gardens Should Cover Urban Landscapes
2011Juliya Litichevskaya · Rutgers computer & technology law journal · United States (Chicago)
This note discusses the renewed interest in rooftop gardens due to environmental and economic concerns about energy use in buildings and cities. It highlights Chicago's initiatives, which include over 600 public and private green roofs covering two million square feet by 2011, representing 19% of US projects. The public sector, through tax incentives, grants, and regulations, has been the main stimulant for green roof development in cities like Chicago, Washington D.C., and New York City. International cities such as Toronto, Berlin, and Tokyo have also implemented mandatory green roof laws.
PolicyClimate changeCommunityUrban Green Uses: The New Renewal
2011Catherine J. LaCroix · Planning & Environmental Law · United States
This article discusses how cities in the United States, particularly those in the Rust Belt experiencing population decline, are adopting innovative green uses for vacant and surplus land. Facing a new reality of limited growth, cities like Cleveland, Detroit, and Youngstown are utilizing urban agriculture, community green spaces, alternative energy, and green infrastructure to revitalize and serve residents. This approach is presented as a "New Renewal" for urban planning challenges.
PolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageThe good city: in defense of utopian thinking
2011John Friedmann · · United States
This paper discusses the evolving role of planners in the American metropolis, noting a shift from a vague "public interest" to engagement with diverse causes such as urban agriculture, food security, and community development. It highlights that many planners now work in non-profits on specific issues, and professional organizations have recognized the need for a more compelling expression of professional values to guide professionals.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCaption for Cover of Volume 2 Issue 1
2011A Christian · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · United States (Des Moines)
This abstract provides captions for photos related to urban planning and food systems. It describes a meeting in Des Moines, Washington, on healthy food access, a rapid market survey at a Mississippi Gulf Coast farmers' market, and individuals involved in food system policy drafting in Waterloo Region, Ontario, and urban planning academia.
PolicyHealthCommunityAgricultura urbana na cidade de Teresina: hortas comunitárias - políticas públicas ou segurança alimentar?
2011Marcos Antonio de Castro Marques Teixeira · Aleph UCLA Undergraduate Research Journal for the Humanities and Social Sciences · Brazil
This study surveyed urban gardens in Santa Maria da Codipi and Dirceu Arcoverde, Teresina, Brazil, to assess their economic viability for gardeners. The study found that urban gardens in both areas do not provide income security for those who work them. Problems identified include petty theft, low education levels, lack of technical assistance hindering investment in new crops, and pesticide use creating a competitive disadvantage.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsEducating Future Generations of Community Gardeners
2011Shane J. Ralston · PhilPapers (PhilPapers Foundation) · United States
This paper presents a Deweyan argument that school gardening prepares students for community gardening, a political activity aimed at food security, education, and community development. School gardening can also prepare children for environmental political activism, particularly involvement in gardening movements, which is presented as an interpretation of John Dewey's "civic turn" to school gardening.
Food educationCommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyHow City Hall Can Foster the Urban Farming Revolution in Buffalo
2011Michael Raleigh · eCommons (Cornell University) · United States (Buffalo)
The City of Buffalo has made progress in accepting urban farming on vacant land, but remains unwilling to take risks in this area. Policies restrict farmers' access to land, long-term security, food diversity (including animals), and sales. To foster urban farming, the City should amend these policies to grant farmers more freedom and could promote farming through a city-wide composting program and a demolition policy requiring vacant lots to be seeded with clover.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityEconomicsCompostBuilding Gardens, Rebuilding a City: Baltimore’s Community Greening Resource Network
2011Sarah Krones, Shari Edelson · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States (Baltimore)
Baltimore's Community Greening Resource Network (CGRN), established in 2008, provides gardening resources and materials to low-income residents to convert vacant urban spaces into community gardens. CGRN aims to empower residents to revitalize their communities by removing barriers to reclaiming open spaces. The program has served an increasing membership and expanding community of urban gardeners, but faces challenges with funding and staff retention.
CommunityWelfarePolicyCurrent and Emerging Issues in the New Urban Agriculture: A Case Study
2011Kathryn A. Peters · Journal of Food Law & Policy · United States
Urban agriculture in the United States takes various forms, including individual gardens on private land, public property, and church and school grounds. Key factors for success include land acquisition, zoning ordinances, access to affordable water, infrastructure, and support services like education and outreach. Major U.S. cities, such as Seattle (declared 2010 the Year of Urban Agriculture) and Cleveland (declared 2012 the Year of Local Food), recognize urban agriculture's important role in sustainable cities and local food supply systems.
CommunityPolicyFood educationFood sovereignty & justiceAn evaluation of the California Instructional School Garden Program
2011Eric L. Hazzard, Elizabeth Moreno, Deborah Lane Beall, Sheri Zidenberg‐Cherr · Public Health Nutrition · United States (California)
A mid-term evaluation was conducted on 3103 California public schools (80.6% of applicants) to assess the effectiveness of the California Instructional School Garden Program (CISGP). Many schools reported not achieving their predicted goals related to the CISGP grant, with only 39.4% of schools accomplishing all their garden-related goals. Additionally, 37.8% of schools reported that their school gardens were negatively affected by the California budget deficit, suggesting that the discrepancy between predicted and actual grant utilization may be due to a combination of budget shortfall and insufficient grant award amounts.
Limited or null effectFood educationPolicyEconomicsWhy farm the city? Theorizing urban agriculture through a lens of metabolic rift
2010McClintock N. · Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society 3(2):191-207 · United States
Theorizes urban agriculture through the metabolic rift framework, arguing it addresses ecological, social and individual rifts by rescaling production, reclaiming vacant land, and de-alienating urban dwellers from their food.
CommunityPolicyOrganic cycleDisparities and access to healthy food in the United States: A review of food deserts literature
2010Walker R. E., Keane C. R., Burke J. G. · Health & Place 16(5):876-884 · United States
Systematic review of 31 US food access and food desert studies using nine distinct measures, documenting disparities in access to healthy food across low-income and minority neighborhoods.
WelfareHealthPolicyMultistakeholder Policy Formulation and Action Planning for Urban Agriculture in Lima, Peru
2010Dubbeling M.C.E., Merzthal G., Soto N. · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · Peru (Lima)
Analyzes the multistakeholder policy formulation process for urban agriculture in Lima's Villa María del Triunfo district, demonstrating that inclusive stakeholder engagement produces more effective municipal policies addressing food security, land use, and economic development simultaneously.
PolicyCommunityWelfareMultifunctional Urban Agriculture for Sustainable Land Use Planning in the United States
2010Sarah Taylor Lovell · Sustainability · United States
This paper reviews literature on urban agriculture for land use planning in the United States, where interest in urban food production is growing due to economic and food security concerns. It discusses urban agriculture's potential for integrating multiple functions in densely populated areas, from community farms to rooftop gardens. The paper also addresses barriers and constraints, and identifies research opportunities for urban planners and landscape designers to integrate food-systems thinking into city plans.
CommunityPolicyClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Agriculture and Other Green Uses: Remaking the Shrinking City
2010Catherine J. LaCroix · Case Western Reserve University School of Law Scholarly Commons (Case Western Reserve University) · United States (Cleveland)
This paper explores legal challenges faced by shrinking cities, using Cleveland, Ohio as an example. It specifically examines issues related to downzoning urban property for urban agriculture and other green uses, focusing on takings law, fairness, and the limitations of current legal structures for Brownfield revitalization when traditional redevelopment is improbable. The study identifies significant legal constraints and challenges in implementing such land use changes.
Governance failurePolicyUrban–rural linkageEconomicsTheGeography of US Peri-Urban Agricultural Adaptation
2010J. David Clark, Douglas B. Jackson‐Smith, Darla K. Munroe, Jeff S. Sharp, Shoshanah Inwood · Indian Journal of Experimental Biology · United States
This study characterized diverse trajectories of agricultural change in US peri-urban areas, where broader agri-food system changes are compounded by land use pressures. Utilizing farmer and landowner surveys from five distinct peri-urban farming regions across the United States, the research examined different theories of agricultural structural change. The results provide an empirical profile of the types and geography of US peri-urban agriculture and the most common adaptive strategies employed by farmers at the urban-rural interface.
Peri-urban agricultureEconomicsUrban–rural linkagePolicyUrban agriculture and ecological citizenship in Philadelphia
2010Katharine Antonia Travaline, Christian Hunold · Local Environment · United States (Philadelphia)
This study explored urban agriculture's contribution to ecological citizenship in Philadelphia, United States. The analysis was based on participant-observation and open-ended interviews with leaders and community participants from seven urban agricultural organizations. The findings indicate that urban agriculture promotes public participation and social learning about environmental decisions.
CommunityFood educationPolicyPower at the Roots: Gentrification, Community Gardens, and the Puerto Ricans of the Lower East Side
2010Miranda Martinez · · United States (Lower East Side)
This work explores the dynamics of gentrification, community gardens, and their impact on the Puerto Rican community in the Lower East Side. It examines class cultures in conflict, neighborhood transformation, and the symbolic significance of the area.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justicePainting the Town Green: Realities, Challenges, and Possibilities in Mexico City’s Budding Urban Agriculture Movement
2010Molly Alexandra Croog · School for International Training Digital Collections (School for International Training) · Mexico
This paper explores the urban agriculture movement in Mexico City, investigating who practices it, how, and why. It examines the benefits of urban agriculture and its role in a future food system, discussing food security and sovereignty. Three projects—a traditional farm, a government-funded community project, and a household-level organization—are explored, with conclusions on their impact on economics, community, and environment.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCommunityPolicyZoning Considerations for Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture
2010John Ikerd · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States
According to the American Farmland Trust, approximately 1.2 million acres of U.S. farmland are converted to residential and other commercial uses annually. This farmland conversion is noted to be putting the long-run sustainability of U.S. food production at risk.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceModelo de agricultura urbana basado en el capital social: aplicación al área metropolitana de Lima (Perú)
2010Francisco Javier Morales Martín · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Peru (Lima)
This doctoral thesis proposes a new local development planning model based on social capital, applied to urban agriculture projects in the suburbs of developing countries. The model aims to identify critical initial social capital, generate new social capital, and maintain it over time through conversion into quantifiable physical capital. This approach ensures the model's sustainability, viewing urban agriculture as a means for local progress rather than an end in itself.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyUrban agriculture as a part of a sustainable metropolitan development program: A case study in Mexico City
2010Pablo Torres Lima, Alfonso Chávez-Muñoz, Gerardo Ávila-Jiménez, Sergio Contreras-Prado · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Mexico (Mexico City)
This article analyzes the principal components of a planning process that promotes the development of agricultural production zones in Xochimilco-Tlahuac, Mexico City. The experience was conceptualized in 2008 with the integration of data obtained through fieldwork, interviews, ethnographic techniques, and geomatics. The study highlights the critical need for district or metropolitan authorities to support urban agriculture to address various city development issues and concludes that re-assessing socio-territorial organization in the study region is also necessary to achieve an integrated, habitable, and sustainable city.
PolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeGrowing What You Eat: Developing Community Gardens and Improving Food Security
2010Michelle P. Corrigan · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network) · United States (Baltimore, Athens)
Food insecurity and food-related health concerns are growing in the United States, leading to increased engagement with food systems through community food security approaches like community gardening. In-depth interviews and field observations in Baltimore, Maryland, and Athens, Ohio, examined the challenges of community gardening and the extent of people's involvement in the food system. While community gardens contribute to engagement, additional assistance such as education, policy, and funding is needed to enhance food security.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthPolicyEconomics