Research & reports

Ella Wise · Berkeley Planning Journal · United States

Frank Lloyd Wright's Broadacre City proposed a decentralized, agrarian landscape, which was reflected in post-WWII American suburbanization. However, the agrarian ethos of Broadacre City is absent from both suburbia and its alternatives. The rising interest in urban agriculture is argued to represent a demand to reconnect with the land, suggesting that planners should incorporate agrarian design into urban growth models.

Alison Nihart · ScholarWorks -A service of University of Vermont Libraries (University of Vermont) · United States (Burlington, VT)

This research analyzed urban agriculture governance in Burlington, VT, in coordination with the Urban Agriculture Task Force created in March 2011. Using a governance framework and participatory action research, it examined stakeholder needs, available policy tools, governance networks, and approaches in other cities. Over 50 policy recommendations were developed, highlighting the need to balance stakeholder needs, establish a legal basis for some aspects like livestock treatment, and partner with organizations for technical expertise.

Vanna Gonzales, Nigel Forrest, Noreen Balos · Journal of Community Positive Practices · United States (Arizona)

This paper presents the first known case study of Gila Farm Cooperative (GFC), a U.S.-based marketing cooperative formed by refugees from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Founded in 2011 by the Phoenix International Refugee Committee, GFC has 22 members supporting Community Supported Agriculture in central Arizona. This three-month study, conducted in spring 2012, provided a descriptive analysis of GFC's structure and operational processes through participatory observation and in-depth interviews.

Kristen Lyons, Carol Richards, Lotus DesFours, Marco Amati · Australian Planner · Australia (Melbourne)

Ethical food movements, including urban agriculture initiatives, are increasing in Australia. This study uses the case of Melbourne to examine how urban agriculture participants are re-imagining urban spaces and the future of Australian agriculture and food systems. It demonstrates that the politics and practices of urban food advocates challenge and resist the enclosure of urban spaces, creating new frontiers that transgress social, political, ecological, and economic boundaries.

Javier Morales, Ramón Zamorano, Miguel Salvo · RURAL DEVELOPMENT 2019 · Peru (Lima)

This study showed the situation of urban agriculture five years after the "Farmers in the city" project, carried out by the International Potato Center (CIP) and GESPLAN research group in the East Cone of Lima, Peru, from 2006 to 2008. All members of the Cosanaca producer association, created under the project, were interviewed, and an expert panel was conducted with municipal urban agricultural office representatives. The results showed that Cosanaca had doubled its number of producers and that the participating municipalities had increased their number of workers in urban agriculture.

Cabrera Trimiño, Gilberto Javier · · Cuba (Ciudad Habana)

In Cuba, urban agriculture is a movement producing food in urban spaces using local resources under ecological principles. While large cities like Havana cannot achieve food self-sufficiency, agricultural programs can enhance understanding of the population-environment-development relationship in Cuba, the Caribbean, and Latin America. This understanding is crucial for public policies addressing contemporary challenges like environmental vulnerability and climate change impacts.

Àngels Viladomiu Canela · AusArt · Global

This article reviews artistic interventions that address urban land uses and farming methods. These actions, through planting and cultivating, generate spaces for the expression of artistic, political, and social identities, often in urban interstices like abandoned lots or non-urbanized areas. The study identifies these practices as spaces for social critique and ecological activism.

Ann Marie VanDerZanden, Jeffery K. Iles · Iowa State University Digital Repository (Iowa State University) · United States

The Iowa State University Department of Horticulture has offered study abroad programs since 1998, with 326 students participating in experiences ranging from 12-day trips to semester-long service learning projects in school gardens. These programs, which include pre-trip preparation, in-country immersion, and post-trip reflection, have proven effective in preparing students to become global citizens.

Melvin Delgado, Denise Humm-Delgado · Oxford University Press eBooks · Global

Community gardens, particularly those involving food security, have become a focus for community asset assessments. Community gardens can address instrumental community needs such as food security, spaces for intergenerational and interethnic contact, and community beautification. They can also meet expressive community needs by fostering social capital bonding and bridging, providing a place for residents to gather and connect, and promoting the exchange of knowledge and abilities related to growing food across generations and cultures.

Heike Graf · · Global

This research discusses how urban activist gardening takes many forms and is practiced in cities worldwide. It is carried out in community gardens on vacant lots, which involves the cultivation of land considered neglected.

· Lincoln (University of Nebraska) · United States

This document, "NEBLINE, May 2013," from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, covers various extension topics. It features sections on urban agriculture, food and fitness, home and family living, horticulture, environmental focus, 4-H & youth, community focus, and nutrition education programs. It also includes an extension calendar and news from Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs.

Mariana Iftisan · · Indonesia (Bandung)

This study investigated community perceptions and participation in an urban farming program in RW 04 Tamansari, Bandung, Indonesia. Findings indicated that community perception of the urban farming program was good, with residents understanding its types and benefits. However, community participation in the program was not maximal, as not all residents of RW 04 were involved.

Adam Prince · · United States (California)

This chapter considers movements to transform the food system in the United States. In Oakland, California, a growing community of urban food producers and advocates is working to address food insecurity in historically underserved communities. Diverse enclaves in Oakland exhibit various forms of community-based food production, ranging from windowsill herb patches to rooftop projects and distributed farming networks utilizing vacant lots.

Sherece Burma Tami Ambury · Earth Common Journal · Global

This article explores three visions of sustainability through urban gardening at individual, community, and city levels, as visually presented by MacEwan University Design Studies students in their final documentary photography project. It details the students' project development process, including subject location and interviews, and highlights their increased awareness and interest in how urban and suburban residents can find or grow their own food.

김재연, 김윤수, 이연숙 · 한국생태환경건축학회 학술발표대회 논문집 · South Korea

This study observed changes in residents' perception and participation in forming their community garden in urban deprived areas, following the provision of education programs. The study is significant for exploring a new method for fundamental and voluntary regeneration of deprived urban areas, rather than using conventional top-down approaches.

Md. Habibur Rahman, Mizanur Rahman, Md. Mostafa Kamal, Md. Jasim Uddin, Most. Jannatul Fardusi, Bishwajit Roy · Journal of Forest and Environmental Science · Bangladesh

This study analyzed rooftop gardening in Sylhet City Corporation, Bangladesh, from July-September 2010, collecting data from 450 gardeners. Findings showed rooftop gardening was primarily for mental satisfaction (95.3%) and leisure (87.8%), with middle-income classes most interested (43.78%). The survey recorded 53 plant species, and while few gardeners considered it commercial, cost-return analysis suggested economic viability with proper management.

Jerry L. Peters, B. Allen Talbert · ˜The œAgricultural education magazine · United States (Indianapolis)

The STAR Academy, established in 1994 in Indianapolis, Indiana, was an agricultural magnet program created to prepare inner-city youth for a new agriculture industry. Housed in a comprehensive high school, the program was designed to provide real-life application for academic subjects and foster a global understanding of agriculture. Over its almost 20-year history, the STAR Academy provided urban students with a variety of agricultural opportunities.

Larissa Vásquez-Moreno, Ana Córdova y Vázquez · International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development · Mexico (San Cristobal de Las Casas)

This study developed a conceptual framework to assess urban agriculture's (UA) potential contributions to urban sustainability (US). The framework was applied to a qualitative analysis of UA practices in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Mexico. The study found a rich practice of UA in the city and that the framework was valuable for evidencing data and stimulating analysis. However, the study also discusses limitations of UA and further refinements needed for the framework to guide actions towards increasing UA's impact on urban sustainability.

AN Asadu, EM Igbokwe, JM Chah, IA Enwelu · Journal of Agricultural Extension · Nigeria (Enugu)

This study investigated farmers' perceptions of health and environmental hazards from urban livestock keeping in Enugu Urban, Nigeria, interviewing 75 heads of households. While all respondents were aware of general health and environmental implications, only 4.0% knew livestock could cause climate change. Identified environmental issues included crop destruction (89.3%), urban filth (89.3%), and noise (88.0%), while health issues included disease spread (50.7%), accidents (46.7%), and bad smell (86.7%).

Dina C. Castro, Margaret Samuels, Ann E. Harman · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · United States

A pilot study evaluated the "Growing Healthy Kids Program" (GHK) in a Southern US state from 2008-2010 to prevent childhood obesity among low-income families. Among 95 children aged 2-15, 17% of obese or overweight participants improved their BMI classification, and 100% of normal BMI children maintained their classification. Parental reports indicated a 146% increase in fruit and vegetable availability and increased consumption of fruits (28%) and vegetables (33%) among participating children.

Sharon McDonough · Practically primary · Australia (Melbourne)

This reflective piece explores the concept of sustainability and its connection to gardening in Melbourne, Australia. The author observes that a focus on sustainability encourages individuals to engage in personal and community gardening, including planting on nature strips. An example in Melbourne highlights neighbors collaboratively planting and caring for herbs, fostering community engagement and shared resource management.

修一 舩戸 · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan (Hino City)

This paper examined the sustainability of urban agriculture through volunteer farming initiatives in Hino City and Machida City, Tokyo. In Hino City, the "Hinojin Ennou no Kai" has provided free farming assistance since 2006, while in Machida City, the NPO "Tagayasu" has offered paid assistance since 2002. Based on these cases, the impact of collaboration between citizens and local farmers on the sustainability of urban agriculture was discussed.

Douglas Carl Reeser · Development in Practice · Belize

An analysis of an NGO school garden program in two Q'eqchi' Maya communities in southern Belize revealed challenges faced by NGOs. These challenges included issues of legitimacy, cultural appropriateness, self-interest, and constructed conceptions of their target communities, raising questions about the priority between autonomous, healthy communities and the preservation of the NGO program.

María Antonia Fernández Nieto, Eduardo Zamarro Flores · Arte y Ciudad · Spain (Madrid)

This study presents a case of urban recovery through citizen participation in mural painting at Aliseda18, an urban garden on the outskirts of Madrid. Various age groups participated transversally in the mural's creation, transforming previously identity-less walls into a backdrop that provides identity to the urban garden and its neighborhood. This case demonstrates processes of public space reappropriation and urban landscape generation at the local level, responding to inhabitants' initiatives.

Rodrigo Paúl Cabrera Verdezoto, María Oyarzún, Rodrigo A Echeverría Pezoa, Carlos A. Amtmann Moyano · Idesia · Chile (Valdivia)

This research identified factors influencing the settlement of urban agricultural enterprises in Valdivia, Chile, and characterized the profile of these entrepreneurs. A sample of 28 urban farmers, identified via snowball sampling, was surveyed. The most significant factor in the settlement process was the inclusion of previously rural areas now at the urban limits (53.57%). The average age of urban farmers was 54 years, and 61% were women.