Research & reports

Juan José Quintero, Matías Álamo · Americanae (AECID Library) · Argentina (Bahía Blanca)

This study analyzes the role of institutional and social actors in the Pro-Huerta program, implemented by INTA in Bahía Blanca, Argentina. The program fosters community engagement through inter-institutional articulation and volunteer work, promoting organic family and community gardens in socio-economically marginalized areas like peripheral neighborhoods and schools. The research investigates the work of the NGO "Red de Voluntarios" within this program, using bibliographic information and interviews with key informants.

금성근 · BDI 정책포커스 · South Korea

In Busan, South Korea, the necessity of urban agricultural parks is being raised to revitalize urban agriculture and solve urban problems. These parks are expected to expand family park functions, secure urban agriculture support centers, resolve land-use issues, and create leisure spaces and jobs for the elderly. Potential sites include damaged mountainous areas near Sanbok Road, the Nakdong River floodplain, and the former site of the Gangseo Horticultural Experiment Station.

Giovania Genevieve Tiarachristie · · United States (Harrisburg)

This qualitative study explored race-class conflicts around food and urban gardening in South Allison Hill, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a diverse, low-income neighborhood. Seven interviews with neighborhood leaders revealed that the "Whiteness" of a new wave of urban gardening can create race and class tension, hindering collaborative partnerships and local food systems development. The findings indicate structural limitations and social roadblocks, suggesting that urban gardening can exacerbate existing inequities if not approached with structural economic justice and cultural competency.

Hamid El Bilali, Siniša Berjan, Jasmina Simic, Aleksandra Despotović, Sabrija Čadro, M. Kulina · Journal of Central European Agriculture · Bosnia

This study investigated urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in the Sarajevo region of Bosnia, focusing on its legal and regulatory framework, governance, and advisory services. Information was gathered through a literature review and semi-structured interviews with 30 urban gardeners, extension agents, and municipal officers. The analysis covered UPA references in agricultural policies, extension agent focus, and urban planning regulations, concluding that UPA development requires improvements in regulatory frameworks and multi-stakeholder governance.

Camilo Villagrán Oyarzún, Ken Yan Qiu Sun · Revista de Urbanismo · Chile (Santiago de Chile)

This 2013 study investigated the challenges of integrating urban agriculture into Communal Regulatory Plans in Santiago de Chile. Analyzing two case studies in different metropolitan communes, the research inferred the general state of urban agriculture's inclusion in urban planning. The findings implicitly suggest difficulties in its integration, highlighting the need for improved governance in urban planning to effectively incorporate urban agriculture.

OECD · OECD eBooks · Italy

This chapter presents three case studies on collective action in Italy. The "Land Conservation" project in Tuscany involves a local public body and farmers co-producing environmental services to enhance flood resilience and landscape maintenance. The shared garden in Campania describes the concerted management of a green area on a degraded site transformed into an eco-archaeological park. The collective management of mountain meadows and pastures in the Aosta Valley coordinates multiple stakeholders with regional support to maintain the landscape and preserve biodiversity.

Erika S. Jermé, Sarah Wakefield · Planning Theory & Practice · Canada (Hamilton)

This paper uses the process of drafting a community garden policy in Hamilton, Canada, as a case study. It illustrates how an environmental justice framework could inform effective and inclusive policy creation, while noting that barriers within the policy process could mitigate against the meaningful incorporation of environmental justice concerns. It concludes that greater inter-departmental and community collaboration, along with the routine application of an environmental justice lens, could mitigate the ill effects of inequitable resource distribution.

Andrew Carberry, Marsha Spence · Journal of Youth Development · Global

This paper presents a formative evaluation of an afterschool program, "Youth Can! Grow Healthy," which combined positive youth development and school garden curricula for elementary school children. The program used novel approaches to teach gardening and nutrition, and engaged children in advocacy for healthy community environments, including sessions on team building, healthy eating, and physical activity. Evaluation themes included successful youth engagement methods, social environment issues, and implications for program management, with results discussed to provide recommendations for future programs.

元 山中 · Hosei University Repository (Hosei University) · Japan

This plan designs a small unmanned store for farmers to directly sell vegetables, aiming to revitalize declining urban agriculture by building relationships between citizens and farmers. Thinner timber is used as a construction material, contributing to forest reproduction through forest volunteer participation and timber purchase. The unit is designed to be foldable and movable, and methods for displaying vegetables suitable for each type are proposed.

James C. Anderson · Journal of Agricultural Education · Global

This descriptive-correlational study examined personal factors that may affect the self-determination of 110 freshmen enrolled in an urban agriculture program. Results showed that when students perceived they had an influence in the decision to enroll in the program, they were more satisfied with that decision and more likely to report exerting moderate to high effort on agriculture-related academic tasks.

张艳芳 · 中国乡镇企业 · China (Xi'an)

The Xi'an Municipal Government Executive Meeting discussed urban agricultural development and approved in principle the "Xi'an Urban Modern Agricultural Demonstration Zone Plan in the Northern Foothills of Qinling (2012-2020)" and the "Xi'an Baqiao Sub-district Planning Adjustment - Hongqing Group Plan (2010-2020)". The Qinling Northern Foothills Xi'an Urban Modern Agricultural Demonstration Zone will cover the area along the Qinling Northern Foothills Ring Road and its northern regions in southern Xi'an, and most areas south of the Southern Horizontal Line.

Kelsey Hall, Courtney Meyers, David L. Doerfert, Cindy Akers, Phillip Johnson · Journal of Applied Communications · United States (Texas)

This mixed-methods study explored how Texas CSA shareholders received local food information and how CSA owners recruited and retained members, given retention rates of 20-70% nationwide. Data from an online survey of three Texas CSAs and interviews with owners showed shareholders preferred daily/weekly information searches via websites and interpersonal communication. Owners used local media, events, and word-of-mouth for recruitment, and weekly email newsletters for retention.

Miguel Lorente · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Global

This paper describes the recent social movement promoting urban gardens as sources of leisure, social interaction, and healthy self-consumption food. Factors such as environmental awareness, increased unemployment, physical exercise for retirees, the pleasure of producing one's own food, and trends are contributing to the creation of small vegetable gardens in and around cities. This small-scale activity allows urban populations to discover and understand the role of agriculture.

Marcelo Ortega Romero, Juan Mingot Marcilla, María Jesús García Martínez, Eduardo de Miguel, Miguel Izquierdo‐Díaz, Amaya Gómez · · Spain (Madrid)

This study evaluated the potential health risk from trace elements in urban garden soils in Madrid, Spain. Thirty-six composite soil samples were collected from the top 20 cm of six urban gardens, and concentrations of cobalt, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, and zinc were determined. The findings indicated that urban soils are significantly enriched in trace elements relative to background levels, suggesting a potential health risk.

David Nichols, Robert Freestone · · Australia

This paper reviews efforts to utilize and manage a specific type of neighborhood greenspace in Australia, known as internal reserves. These spaces, often underutilized, have been reinvented by residents through new gardening and leisure initiatives. Three success stories in the Melbourne suburbs of Keilor, Footscray, and Reservoir are reported, identifying empowering pathways for enriching the environmental and cultural capital of a more sustainable suburban environment.

Fátima Rodríguez Marín, Jorge Fernández-Arroyo, Helena Álvarez García · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Spain

This experience, conducted by a group of primary education students, involved school garden activities with pre-school and primary children, with a focus on pre-schoolers. Through various activities demonstrating plant growth and garden creation, children had fun learning about nature, developing conceptual, attitudinal, and procedural knowledge, including observation and respect for plants.

Jacqueline Ann Luke · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network) · United States (Cleveland)

This study surveyed three urban community gardens in Cleveland, Ohio, to assess if garden participation increased feelings of community, ties to place, and safety. Survey results indicate that urban community gardens, similar to other urban greenspaces, increase feelings of community, create ties to place through neighborhood satisfaction, and enhance feelings of safety. This research suggests that urban gardens are a positive way to repurpose vacant land in residential neighborhoods by offering greenspace and strengthening the community.

Terri Evans, Christiana Miewald · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Global

Community gardens and other local food initiatives are insufficient strategies to replace the quantity and efficiency provided by contemporary globalized food systems for supplying cheap food to urban populations.

Pierluigi Musarò, Roberta Bartoletti · Archivio istituzionale della ricerca (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna) · United States (New York City), Italy, Europe

This study maps urban gardening in New York City and Italy, tracing the evolution of urban gardens from 19th-century worker gardens to the 1970s community garden movement. It notes that contemporary urban horticulture in Italy, while influenced by the US movement, primarily focuses on social, cultural, and civic-political values, with economic and productive potential not being central or sometimes excluded.

Veguita de Graná · · Spain (Granada)

This conference addresses the question of whether urban gardens humanize cities. Students will visit the leisure gardens in Granada (Las Huertas). The conference is organized by the Permanent Seminar on Agroecology of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Granada.

Nicholas R. Brown, Kathleen D. Kelsey · Journal of Agricultural Education · United States

This instrumental case study explored the process by which an urban school district created a new, community-focused agricultural education program, addressing a national call for new programs and a lack of literature on urban agricultural education. Five themes emerged that informed a model for originating future urban agricultural education programs: reasoned motivation, hourglass advocacy, intentional innovation, community rejuvenation, and program regeneration. These themes describe the sequence of events that led to the program's creation.

Marjetica, Potr · 公共艺术 · Netherlands (Amsterdam)

The on-site project "The Cook, the Farmer, His Wife and Their Neighbour" involved the creation of a community garden and community kitchen in the Nieuw West district of Amsterdam. This collaborative project was organized with the Dutch collective Wilde Westen.

Alessandra Pavesi, Denise de Freitas, Bárbara Pacheco Lopes · · Global

This paper reaffirms the importance of community horticulture as a tool for learning scientific and political skills essential for building sustainable and resilient Socioecological Systems (SES). It explores concepts from (Agro)Ecology and Education, reframing community and school gardens from a contextualized perspective to strengthen adaptive capacity and enable systems to respond to disruptions.

Asadu A. N · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Nigeria (Imo State)

A study investigated gender roles in urban crop production in Imo State, Nigeria. Data were collected from 60 respondents via interview schedules, revealing that 60% of urban farmers were female with an average age of 40 years. Mixed cropping was the most common system, with cassava, maize, and Telfaria as major crops. Both men and women were involved in securing plots, and all family members participated in fertilization and harvesting. Weeding and processing were primarily done by women and girls, while men mostly handled chemical spraying.

Jana Adamková · Brno University of Technology Digital Library (Brno University of Technology) · Global

This article discusses how productive gardens, historically integral to cities, have been disappearing from urban structures in recent years. As urban agglomerations and their resource uses become dominant, cities increasingly depend on external food supplies. The article highlights the importance of gardens for humans and the role of productive urban space in creating a viable urban environment. It states that as the world urbanizes, urban agriculture plays an important role in contributing to the sustainability of cities in spatial, socio-economic, and environmental ways.