Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
892 results(24 / 36)
Diagnostic Agronomique de la Riziculture Périurbaine dans la Commune de Ziguinchor au Sénégal
2019Maurice Dasylva, Ngor Ndour, Bienvenu Sambou, Sara Danielle Dieng · European Scientific Journal ESJ · Senegal (Ziguinchor)
In Ziguinchor, Senegal, the peri-urban rice farming system contributes to food security but is ignored by decision-makers and suffers from urbanization and physicochemical changes in rice field soils. An agronomic diagnosis, based on 180 yield squares (1/4m side) installed in 4 peri-urban valleys, showed average yields of 4.79 ± 0.35 t.ha-1. However, urbanization, silting, acidification, and progressive salinization of soils are the main limiting factors for this production system.
Governance failurePeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changePolicyThe Role of Urban Agriculture in Alleviating Poverty Facing Women in Tanzania: A Review
2019Emmanuel Patroba Mhache, Elna Lyamuya · Huria Journal of the Open University of Tanzania · Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)
This review paper examined the role of urban agriculture in alleviating poverty for women in the Dar es Salaam Region, Tanzania. It found that women's participation in urban agriculture contributes to food security, increases household income (average net income Tshs 58,356.2 per month), offers employment, and reduces poverty. However, numerous bottlenecks hinder women's involvement in urban agriculture, including poor markets, water shortage, land shortage, seed unavailability, lack of capital, lack of government support, crude working tools, lack of water pumping machines for irrigation, poor storage facilities, and lack of agricultural extension services.
Equity & displacementWelfareEconomicsBiodiversityClimate changePolicyAgroecology, the Interaction between Agriculture and Environment: An Example from Cuba
2019Ana Cristina Teixeira Alves, Miguel Nenevé · International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Science · Cuba
This study addresses the benefits of agroecology, using Havana, Cuba as an example. Following the 1989 socialist crisis and economic blockade, urban agriculture emerged as a social movement in Havana. Through sustainable practices, this movement demonstrates success in generating jobs and income, as well as enhancing food security and sovereignty. Production, technical assistance, and sales outlets are steadily growing, supported by the government through an ecological and efficient low-cost agricultural policy that combines traditional knowledge with cutting-edge technology.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsClimate changeCommunityPropuesta metodológica simple para el cultivo agrícola urbano (basada en la experiencia de una familia venezolana en Viena)
2019Debbie Méndez, Julio Quintini · · Austria (Vienna)
This project proposes a simple 7-step methodology for urban agriculture, based on the experience of a Venezuelan family participating in a community garden in Vienna, Austria, for two years. The methodology aims to enable urban residents to create sustainable communities, improve nutrition with fresh produce, and generate economic gains and better quality of life. It draws on successful urban agriculture experiences globally and aligns with Sustainable Development Goals 2, 11, and 13.
CommunityDIYFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeCentro Socio Cultural Energético Awarala - Albania La Guajira
2019Llanos Roa, Juan Sebastián · · Colombia (La Guajira)
The Awarala Project in Albania, La Guajira, Colombia, aims to create a resilient region by reducing dependence on mining and gasoline smuggling. It seeks to benefit indigenous communities, urban populations, farmers, and Venezuelan immigrants by improving living conditions through eco-rancherias with community gardens and providing spaces for tourism and alternative energy production. The project includes 15 hectares of solar panels, 30 wind turbines, and biodigesters for organic waste.
CommunityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeTemperature Variability Differs in Urban Agroecosystems across Two Metropolitan Regions
2019Monika Egerer, Brenda B. Lin, Dave Kendal · Climate · Global
Habitat-scale temperatures were investigated in urban community gardens across the California Central Coast metropolitan region, USA, and the Melbourne metropolitan region, Australia. Despite very similar annual means, strong interregional differences in temperature variability were shown, likely due to differences in the scale and scope of temperature measurements and regional topography. The plants growing within these systems were largely the same, which may be due to gardeners' capacities to adapt their gardening behaviors to reduce adverse effects of local temperature variability.
CommunityClimate changeUrban–rural linkageThe Contribution of Agro-ecology as a Solution to Hunger in the World: A Review
2019M. W. Adidja, Julius Mwine, J. G. M. Majaliwa, Joseph Ssekandi · Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension Economics & Sociology · Global
This review synthesizes agro-ecology's contribution to sustainably solving global hunger. Agro-ecology increases food availability through augmented yields and urban agriculture, enhances accessibility by reducing poverty, and improves appropriateness with high-quality, healthy food. It also contributes to water and food security by lessening pressure on water resources, increasing resilience to climate change, and empowering peasants and women.
Food sovereignty & justiceClimate changeBiodiversityExpanding the Contribution of Community Gardens to City Sustainability through Family Education Programs
2019Stavrianakis, Farmer · Children Youth and Environments · Global
This study investigated the impacts that gardening education workshops in community gardens can have on family members and their environmental behaviors. Participants reported a variety of positive impacts from the gardening workshops, including socializing, health benefits, and acquired knowledge. However, there was limited evidence of pro-environmental behavior change beyond gardening.
Limited or null effectCommunityFood educationHealthClimate changeThe Role of Food System in Promoting Environmental Planning
2019Rayeheh Khatami, Toktam Hanaei, Mohammad Reza Mansouri Daneshvar · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Iran (Mashhad)
This paper analyzed the impact of urban agriculture and urban food systems on environmental planning in a non-western city region context, using Mashhad city, Iran, as a case study. Employing qualitative approaches, a survey of documentary studies and planning tools integrated with face-to-face interviews with experts explained the role of the food system in the environmental planning process. The study examined the role of food in creating agricultural gardens as a means to improve the agricultural system in a non-western country.
Food sovereignty & justiceClimate changeEconomicsPolicyUrban gardening - an integrative approach
2019Nenad Židak, Nidžara Osmanagić Bedenik · The holistic approach to environment · Global
This paper investigates whether urban gardening is a fashion trend, utopia, or the future, using an integrative approach. Employing The World Café Method with experts in biology, chemistry, and geography, the research compared these three aspects. Results indicated that the future aspect of urban gardening holds a primary and dominant role, despite fashion and utopia providing interdisciplinary impulses.
CommunityClimate changeVulnerability and urban farming: Coping with price volatility in Ejisu-Juaben municipality, Ghana
2019Michael Osei Asibey, Mohammed Abubakari, Charles Peprah · Cogent Food & Agriculture · Ghana
This paper investigated how urban farmers in Ejisu-Juaben Municipality, Ghana, cope with input and crop price fluctuations. Data from 380 respondents identified four major factors influencing input price volatility (oil prices, exchange rates, cocoa producer prices, and inflation), but farmers had no coping strategies for these. Crop price fluctuations were influenced by natural and demand/supply factors, and farmers coped by adding value to crops and diversifying income sources, among others. However, shifting to cocoa cultivation and farming in flood plains was shown to have adverse environmental and ecological implications.
Economic viabilityEconomicsClimate changeUrban–rural linkageUrban gardens as a source of self-grown food in Czech towns and cities
2019Jan Vávra, Petr Daněk, Petr Jehlička, Miloslav Lapka · · Czech Republic
An analysis of large-scale representative survey results in Czech towns and cities investigated urban gardens as a source of self-grown food. The study found that while food production in urban areas is less frequent than in rural areas, the level of self-sufficiency in urban households is similar to that in rural households. This paper presents data on the scale of urban food production and its contributions to ecosystem services and resilience.
DIYClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceBiodiversityMoroccan towns
2019Heide Studer · · Morocco
This text focuses on urban food production in Moroccan towns, discussing existing practices and their changes during urbanization. It notes that urban food questions, including food accessibility, food sovereignty, and environmental aspects, are gaining importance in international debates due to increasing urban spaces and populations. Urban food production contributes to health for the affluent and food security for poorer populations.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityEconomicsClimate changeSustainable agriculture in organic wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.) growing in ARID region
2019N.S. Al-Ghumaiz · International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics · Saudi Arabia
This study assessed agronomic characteristics of eight bread wheat genotypes grown organically on low fertility soil in Saudi Arabia's arid Qassim region during the 2010 and 2011 growing seasons. Experiments compared conventional and organic farming systems at two locations, measuring chlorophyll content, flag leaf area, and harvest index. Findings showed differences between farming systems, with specific genotypes like YR and E-line identified as potentially suitable for sustainable organic wheat production in arid regions.
Organic cycleClimate changeExploring the Environmental Performance of Urban Symbiosis for Vertical Hydroponic Farming
2019Michael Martin, Sofia Poulikidou, Elvira Molin · Sustainability · Global
This study used life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental performance of using urban residual material flows in vertical hydroponic farming. It assessed replacing conventional growing media with paper, compost, and brewers’ spent grains, and conventional fertilizers with biogas digestate. The results indicate significant environmental performance benefits when conventional growing media are replaced, and substantial potential benefits, though less significant, when fertilizers from residual urban streams are used, suggesting potential for more circular hydroponic systems.
Organic cycleClimate changeEconomicsDigital agricultureAgricultural Productive Public Space: “An Alternative for Increasing Ecological Services, Social Development and Urban Sustainability”
2019Ignacio Carreño, Wenjun Ma · Current Urban Studies · Global
This multi-cluster quantitative and design research describes a methodology for establishing agricultural productive public spaces in cities, focusing on community participation. A case study in Shanghai, China, demonstrated how urban agriculture, in various modes, can address urban needs and improve environmental and urban conditions. The research provides a methodological approximation for formalizing local spatial development with a participatory approach, aiming to increase urban sustainability and meet the socioeconomic needs of communities.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsClimate changePolicyUrban agriculture and buddhist concepts for wellbeing: Anuradhapura sacred city, Sri lanka
2019Wasana De Silva · International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics · Sri Lanka (Anuradhapura)
This research examines urban agriculture in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, arguing it forms a 'performing system' that connects people with the city's topography and promotes wellbeing. It explores how daily life, intertwined with agriculture and irrigation around reservoirs and paddy fields, fosters spiritual experiences and contributes to a healthy and sustainable city, drawing on phenomenology, anthropology, and Buddhist philosophy.
HealthCommunityClimate changeA Framework for Integrating Agriculture in Urban Sustainability in Australia
2019A. J. Sarker, Janet F. Bornman, Дора Маринова · Urban Science · Australia
This study analyzes policy and planning practices for integrating urban agriculture into city land-use planning in Australia. It found that recent planning has overlooked and failed to realize the opportunity of urban agriculture, with regulatory and legal frameworks, including land access, being significant constraints. The study concludes that without direct public policy support and institutional recognition, integrating urban agriculture into Australian cities' development and planning goals is difficult.
Governance failurePolicyClimate changeEconomicsThe revival of urban agriculture: an opportunity for the composting stream
2019Marjorie Tendero, C. Guyot · HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · Global
This article discusses the booming urban composting sector, driven by urban agriculture's new outlets for organic materials. Individual or collective composting offers a decentralized solution with positive impacts on the environment and neighborhood social relations. Its success requires material availability in common spaces, communication systems, support for residents' initiatives, and consideration of technical, ecological, agricultural, economic, and social aspects.
CompostOrganic cycleCommunityEconomicsClimate changeSolar powered internet of things for urban framing
2019Wang, Jiaxin · DR-NTU (Nanyang Technological University) · Singapore
This project focuses on developing novel sensing and monitoring techniques for urban farming environments, particularly in land-scarce areas like Singapore, to enhance food security. It introduces various IoT platforms and elements, illustrates radio frequency and Bluetooth low energy communication principles, and explains data transmission using IDE programming. The project aims to design a system capable of temperature measurement and TDS value detection in water, combining different sensors with Arduino design.
Digital agricultureClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceUrban agriculture as a climate change and disaster risk reduction strategy
2019Marielle Dubbeling, R. van Veenhuizen, Jess Halliday · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Global
Urban and peri-urban agriculture is considered a strategy that can bring multiple benefits and help to build resilient urban food systems at the city region level and enhance the climate resilience of vulnerable residents. Cities, as major emitters of greenhouse gas (GHG), are not only contributing to climate change but are also directly and indirectly impacted by it. Key issues include rising temperatures, increasing rainfall, flooding, and urban food insecurity. Rapid urban growth will only increase the number of highly vulnerable urban communities, with the urban poor being most at risk.
Climate changeFood sovereignty & justicePeri-urban agricultureAquaponics: a positive impact circular economy approach TO feeding cities
2019Steven Beckers · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Belgium (Brussels)
The Abattoir Farm in Brussels, Belgium, established in 2015 on the roof of Foodmet, is BIGH's first full-scale production site. This project utilizes an aquaponic production system, linking fish-farming tanks to greenhouses for growing plants, recreating a natural ecosystem in an artificial environment. The system produces minimal waste, requires limited energy inputs, and delivers positive environmental impacts, while providing city consumers with year-round access to quality, locally sourced products such as tomatoes, fish, herbs, and berries.
EconomicsCommunityClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceTHE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND URBAN AGRICULTURE
2019Cvijetin Živanović, Miroslav Nedeljković · AKADEMSKI PREGLED · Global
This paper focuses on agricultural urbanism, using urban agriculture as a sustainable approach to food production, preparation, processing, and distribution in cities. Analytical methods like analysis, abstraction, and specialization, along with synthetic methods including synthesis, concretization, and generalization, were employed. The results indicate that, in most cases, industrialization and its growing social problems are the primary causes of disturbed human behavior, broken community ties, disrupted traditions, and increased crime and fear among people.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageClimate changeUsing Edible Plant and Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate (LECA) to Strengthen the Thermal Performance of Extensive Green Roofs in Subtropical Urban Areas
2019Yi-Yu Huang, Tien-Jih Ma · Energies · Global
This study conducted a four-stage field experiment on a dormitory's flat rooftop in a subtropical climate during summer to measure the surface temperature and heat amplitude reduction of extensive green roofs using edible plants (Ipomoea batata) and lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA). Roofs with Ipomoea batata showed a significantly higher passive-cooling effect than those without, and roofs with 10%–40% LECA exhibited a slightly higher cooling effect than those with conventional garden soil. The combined effects of LECA and Ipomoea batata significantly reduced the bare rooftop's average temperature by an additional 10.19 °C.
Climate changeHealthSustainable Urban Design in Singapore
2019· International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering (IJRTE) · Singapore
Singapore has achieved significant progress in sustainable urban design, contributing less than 0.2% of global greenhouse gas emissions and being recognized as Asia's greenest metropolis. The country has applied 21st-century technological innovations to enhance sustainability in areas such as transportation, energy, building, water, and urban farming.
PolicyClimate changeUrban–rural linkage