Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
1089 results(24 / 44)
Alquimias da Terra: uma experiência de usos das ervas medicinais na faxina ecológica
2020Janaina Henrique dos Santos, Clara Fagundes, Beatriz Barbalho, Nicole Massa · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Global
This report details an experience in ecological, medicinal, and biodegradable cleaning using medicinal herbs, developed by two female urban farmers. The farmers, after training, produced cleaning products for personal use and then for commercialization, aligning with agroecological urban agriculture principles. This initiative promotes income generation and women's autonomy through the use of medicinal plants and agroecological cleaning products.
DIYCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceAgroecology and the reconstruction of a post-COVID-19 agriculture
2020Miguel A. Altieri, Clara I. Nicholls · The Journal of Peasant Studies · Global
The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the relevance of agroecology as a path to reconstruct a post-COVID-19 agriculture. Agroecology can prevent future food supply disruptions by localizing food production and consumption. Five key areas for a new post-COVID-19 agriculture include overcoming pesticide reliance, enriching natural environments, revitalizing small farms, creating alternative animal production systems, and enhancing urban agriculture.
Food sovereignty & justiceClimate changeUrban–rural linkageTowards a Community Development Approach to Disaster Recovery
2020Martin Mulligan, Yaso Nadarajah · · Sri Lanka
A broadly based committee formed in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, immediately after a disaster played a crucial role in ensuring survivors received aid and respectful treatment. This study emphasizes the importance of equitable relief aid delivery and long-term assistance needs assessment. It also notes that poor people and communities often create their own coping mechanisms, and that home gardens and community gardens can enhance food security for poor households, particularly during periods of rising food prices.
CommunityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceVers un systeme alimentaire post-croissance
2020Marie-Soleil L’Allier · Revue Possibles · Global
In recent years, citizen-led agricultural and food innovations, such as urban agriculture, community gardens, collective greenhouses, and food cooperatives, have proliferated. These initiatives operate on a logic distinct from the globalized food system, forming the seeds of a post-growth society that does not depend on economic growth. This study raises the question of how to ensure these social innovations, while holding significant transformative potential, can effectively outline an ecological transition for our food system.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsClimate changeA Homegrown Solution
2020Andrew Coulter · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Global
This article argues that the medical establishment should consider prescribing diets with a higher ratio of unprocessed plant-based foods to address urban healthcare crises, chronic diseases, and health inequalities. Research indicates that vegetarian diets are associated with decreased mortality, coronary artery disease, and hypertension. Additionally, plant-based diets offer more affordable protein sources compared to meat and seafood.
HealthEconomicsWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceControlled Environment Food Production for Urban Agriculture
2019Celina Gómez, Christopher J. Currey, Ryan W. Dickson, Hye‐Ji Kim, Ricardo Hernández, Nadia Sabeh, Rosa E. Raudales, Robin G. Brumfield, Angela Shaw, Adam K. Wilke, Roberto G. López, Stephanie E. Burnett · HortScience · Global
This review discusses the application of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) techniques to urban agriculture (UA), driven by increased market demand for local produce. While CEA offers opportunities for year-round production and resource-use efficiency, significant challenges remain due to the high costs of production in urban settings. The review emphasizes that for urban growers to benefit, studies evaluating CEA for commercial food production must consider economic viability.
Economic viabilityDigital agricultureEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeDeploying urban agriculture solutions:a new offer for regions?
2019Loïc Couttelle · OpenEdition (OpenEdition) · Global
Veolia is exploring new urban and peri-urban agricultural production systems to address regional challenges like soil sealing and climate change. Through an innovative experimental approach with partners, an intensive and high-quality agricultural model combining aquaponics and bio-intensive vegetable microfarming has been identified. These solutions, located on available land, aim to provide ecosystem services, efficient production, and respond to consumer demand for short supply chains and traceability.
Climate changePeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceBiodiversityMethodology to Identify and Assess Agroecological Practices in Metropolitan Areas. Case Study, Concepción, Chile
2019Montserrat Delpino-Chamy, María Arquero de Alarcón, Sandra Calduch Fernández, José R. Soto · International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics · Chile (Concepción)
This research focused on developing and applying a methodology to identify and assess agroecological practices in the metropolitan area of Concepción, Chile. A methodology based on production forms, sociopolitical organization, and metropolitan sustainability was proposed. Strengths identified include their location in rururban interstices and small scale, contributing to metropolitan sustainability. However, weaknesses include a lack of appropriate planning policies and regulations, threatening their existence under urban development pressures.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityOrganic cyclePolicyOpuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. growing in soil and containers for urban agriculture in developing areas
2019A. Pardini, Furio Massolino, Chiara Grassi · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Global
In urban agriculture in developing areas, Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. is a promising strategic species due to its low water and soil fertility requirements and its edible entirety. This study conducted a trial comparing the initial productivity of cladodes multiplied in pots, car tires, and open fields. Results suggest that the prickly pear can be cropped better in large exhausted tires than in small plots, also saving money on materials.
DIYFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeFuturistic Urbanism- Integrating Farming into Urban Landscape for Sustainable Development
2019· International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering (IJRTE) · Global
Unplanned urban expansion leads to the conversion of farmland, causing urban environmental degradation and food security concerns. This paper analyzes the correlation between urban farming and supporting food demands in urban areas. It further discusses critical challenges and opportunities for promoting urban farming as a significant tool for encouraging balanced sustenance in urban areas.
Urban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changePolicyFood system lessons from the SDGs
2019Alison Blay‐Palmer, Laine Young · · Global
This abstract discusses how initiatives like the Habitat III New Urban Agenda and the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact can complement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at municipal and regional scales. It explores the complexities of SDG 2 (food and hunger) when considering SDG 5 (gender equality), suggesting that urban agriculture and agroecology offer potential for transformative opportunities and policy coherence.
PolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityDiagnostic 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 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 changeThe foreseen future of urban gardening
2019Efrat Eizenberg · Manchester University Press eBooks · Global
This concluding chapter reviews the literature on urban gardening, outlining both enthusiastic approaches that focus on its transformative potential and critical approaches that analyze it as greenwash or a strategy of neoliberal development. The chapter discusses how the book's chapters address this gap in understanding urban gardening and the resolutions and new directions they offer. It states that urban gardening is sometimes analyzed as a form of greenwash and a strategy of neoliberal development.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Agriculture, Production and Marketing: The Tanzania Experience
2019M. R. S. Mlozi · · Tanzania
This chapter presents research findings from an urban agriculture project conducted in several towns in Tanzania. It discusses the market flow of agricultural products in Tanzanian towns, explaining that products come from two sources: household compounds and gardens, plots, and various open spaces not part of urban dwellers' household compounds. Several factors are involved in production and marketing operations, and their complexity tends to intensify and exacerbate problems.
EconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceSituated agroecology: massification and reclaiming university programs in Venezuela
2019Olga Domené-Painenao, Francisco Herrera · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Venezuela
The Bolivarian University of Venezuela established the Program Degree in Agroecology (PDA) in 2004 to expand agroecological practices and knowledge. Over a decade, more than a thousand PDA graduates have contributed to agroecological scaling in urban and rural areas, playing a key role in urban agriculture amidst economic crisis. The PDA has created human talent for territorializing agroecology and institutionalizing pro-peasant policy in Venezuela.
Food sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsFood educationUrban–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 changeBiodiversityThe Urban Farm Concept
2019Neil Tyler · New Electronics · Global
Urban farming is becoming increasingly popular globally and is helping to lay the foundation for a more local approach to farming.
Urban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceA narrative inquiry into becoming attentive to relational ethics in recreation practice
2019Michael Dubnewick, Sean Lessard, D. Jean Clandinin, Tara-Leigh McHugh · Qualitative Research in Sport Exercise and Health · Global
This narrative inquiry explores the experiences of the first author and two non-Indigenous recreation practitioners in a community garden project involving Indigenous peoples. It highlights how they negotiated professional competence focused on program outcomes, which often overlooked relational aspects of their practice. The inquiry demonstrates how they developed an understanding of ethical living as a relational practice, thereby shifting their interactions within the community garden.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthNew agricultural purposes in the city
2019Mathilde Martin-Moreau, David Ménascé · OpenEdition (OpenEdition) · Global
This article discusses the revival of urban agriculture, which serves multiple purposes by strengthening city-nature links, creating new urban development models, and reinventing food production systems. It highlights how urban agriculture reintroduces natural and productive spaces into cities, responding to urban dwellers' aspirations to integrate rural practices.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceThe 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 agriculture towards food security of Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese host communities
2019Sudeh Dehnavi, Verena Süß · Development in Practice · Lebanon
This article outlines lessons from an urban agricultural project in Lebanon aimed at improving food security for Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese host communities. A survey of 41 participants indicated potential to enhance project performance by revising its design. Success could be increased by fine-tuning objectives based on available capacities, beneficiary expectations, and regional social, cultural, technical, and economic characteristics.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfarePolicyCommunity perception and participation of urban farming activities
2019Mohd. Ramzi Mohd. Hussain, Norul Hafizah Yusoff, Izawati Tukiman, Mohd Armi Abu Samah · · Global
This paper investigated community perception and participation in urban farming activities, employing a quantitative method and analyzing data with SPSS Version 24.0. The findings indicate that urban dwellers have a favorable perspective on urban farming. Economic aspects, specifically living expenses, significantly influenced the desire to grow food for self-consumption and save on food expenditure.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justice