Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
626 results(25 / 26)
Community Gardens and Politics of Scale in New York City
2003Christopher M. Smith, Hilda E. Kurtz · Geographical Review · United States (New York City)
New York City community gardens have faced political contestation for thirty years, notably in 1999 when 114 gardens were slated for public auction and redevelopment. This article examines the controversy as a politics of scale, where garden advocates expanded the dispute beyond individual gardens and the city. The analysis highlights the significance of scale politics for grassroots organizations within a market-centric, neoliberal economic framework.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCommunity Supported Agriculture on the Central Coast: The CSA Grower Experience
2003Jan Perez · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · United States (California)
This 2003 research brief investigated the experiences of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) growers on the central coast of California. The study examined their motivations, economic viability, challenges, and issues related to equal access to their products. The research brief indicates that challenges and issues of equal access are present in CSA projects.
Equity & displacementCSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityCommunity Supported…Anything: Applying Concepts and Practices of Community Supported Agriculture to a Variety of Products in Vermont
2003Gregory Hellmann Flatt · School for International Training Digital Collections (School for International Training) · United States (Vermont)
This thesis examines the diversification of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement in Vermont, expanding beyond vegetables to include other products. The author, a CSA coordinator, documented several local businesses applying CSA concepts and practices in novel ways through participant observation, formal and informal interviews conducted at farmers' markets and agricultural conferences. The author concludes that CSA concepts and principles can be widely applied and represent a viable economic model for small- to medium-sized businesses that produce high-demand goods and services with local support.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceConflicting Rights to the City in New York's Community Gardens
2002Lynn A. Staeheli, Don Mitchell, Kristina Gibson · GeoJournal · USA (New York City)
Analyzes the Giuliani administration's 1998–1999 policy of transferring community gardens to housing development and auctioning 100+ gardens, exposing how a city 'greening then privatizing' policy reversed itself and treated public gardens as disposable exchange-value assets.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsIncommensurability, Land Use, and the Right to Space: Community Gardens in New York City1
2002Karen Schmelzkopf · Urban Geography · United States (New York City)
This study examined the conflict over community gardens in New York City, arguing that it was a struggle concerning the right to space. The city, operating from an entrepreneurial governance perspective, claimed that the gardens represented a loss of exchange value and potential housing. The city used market economy rhetoric to dismiss incommensurable use values, thereby restricting rights to the city within a demonstration of power and "reason."
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceMotivating factors and barriers to sustainable consumer behaviour [1]
2002Sigrid Stagl, Sabine O’Hara · International Journal of Agricultural Resources Governance and Ecology · United States (New York City)
This study examined whether Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) groups are a broadly accepted or limited alternative food system, based on a household survey in two distinct socio-economic neighborhoods in upstate New York. The survey found that approximately 25% of respondents expressed interest in becoming CSA members, with similar interest levels in both wealthier and low-income areas. However, several factors preventing food demand through CSAs were identified, indicating that these barriers would need to be addressed for expansion.
Limited or null effectCSA & TeikeiEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceFood miles & supply chainSocial Inclusion in a Midwest Local Food System Project
2002C. Clare Hinrichs, Kathy S. Kremer · Journal of Poverty · United States
This 1997 case study examined a Midwest community supported agriculture (CSA) project that aimed to increase low-income participation through financial subsidies, using a telephone survey of 41 member-households. The study found that while subsidized households had lower incomes, the overall CSA sample was more advantaged in income, occupation, and education compared to local populations. The project inadvertently served the "advantaged" poor, indicating that social inclusion efforts in local food systems may not effectively reach the most vulnerable.
Equity & displacementCSA & TeikeiCommunityWelfareEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceLa participation, dans quel sens? L'exemple des organisations communautaires et de l'agriculture urbaine dans les villes de Mexico et de Cuernavaca
2002Manon Boulianne · Anthropologica · Mexico
A study on community organizations and urban agriculture in Mexico City and Cuernavaca suggests that the very meaning of participation becomes an issue for community organizations engaged in popular entrepreneurship development programs. It illustrates how the structuring effects of market production activities lead to a renegotiation of the meaning attributed to participation among the individuals and groups concerned.
Governance failureCommunityEconomicsPolicyUrban and Agricultural Communities: Opportunities for Common Ground
2002CAST · · United States
A twelve-member task force report examines the changing role of agriculture in urban settings within American society. The report frames urban agriculture historically and contemporaneously, detailing geographic, demographic, and economic changes. Policy issues such as land preservation, alternative market opportunities, sprawl, taxation, and food security are discussed, alongside research and educational challenges for institutions of higher education.
PolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageDIFFERENTIATING MULTIPLE MEANINGS OF GARDEN AND COMMUNITY
2001Hilda E. Kurtz · Urban Geography · United States (Minneapolis)
This paper examines the variations among community gardens in Minneapolis, Minnesota, suggesting they reflect differing interpretations of "community" and "garden" in urban settings. While community gardens are seen as responses to urban decay, the study highlights that issues of enclosure, inclusion, and exclusion are central to their function. Decisions regarding garden enclosure shape their role in urban neighborhoods, indicating potential limitations related to equity.
Equity & displacementCommunityEconomicsPolicyAgricultural Uses of Municipal, Animal, and Industrial Byproducts
2001CAST · · United States
This comprehensive report, written by a twelve-member task force, considers the changing role of agriculture in urban settings. The report frames "urban agriculture" within historical and contemporary American society, depicting geographic, demographic, and economic changes in rural and metropolitan life. Policy issues such as land preservation, alternative market opportunities, sprawl, taxation, and food security are examined.
PolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageMarketing Strategies and Challenges of Small‐Scale Organic Producers in Central North Carolina
2000Susan Andreatta · Culture & Agriculture · United States
This paper describes marketing opportunities for small-scale, limited-resource organic producers in Central North Carolina, United States. It examines farmers' markets and community-supported agriculture programs, highlighting how growers advocate and educate consumers about local agriculture. The study discusses the increasing demand for local organic food and strategies for growers to enhance community support, suggesting that alternative production and niche marketing could help sustain small-scale growers amidst farm loss and declining conventional agricultural prices.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceNGO experiences in Lima targeting urban poor through urban agriculture.
2000Andres Dasso, Teobaldo Pinzas · · Peru
In Lima, Peru, a city with an infertile sandy environment and 0.0 mm average rainfall, urban agriculture has been implemented since the late 1980s to improve the living conditions of the resource-poor urban population. This initiative addresses the rapid urban growth experienced by Lima between the 1950s and 1990s, primarily due to migration.
WelfareCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceLocal food and land-use in Washington County, Oregon
2000Joshua J. Cousins · · United States (Oregon)
This qualitative study examined local food networks in Washington County, Oregon, focusing on small-scale agricultural landscapes and farmers selling through farmers markets or CSAs. It explored farmers' concerns about urbanization, farmland preservation, and their difficulties participating in local food networks. The research concluded that local food sold through alternative venues can help preserve and develop specific farm sites.
Economic viabilityCSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsPeri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkageIs This a Women's Movement? The Relationship of Gender to Community-Supported Agriculture in Michigan
1999Laura DeLind, A. Ferguson · Human Organization · United States
This paper explores the role of gender within Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) using a Michigan CSA as a case study. It notes that women constitute a majority of active CSA membership and seeks to understand what attracts them and the nature of their involvement. The study finds preliminary answers within the wider context of new social movements.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceFarmers' markets offer new business opportunities for farmers
1999Gail Feenstra, Christopher Lewis · California Agriculture · United States (California)
A survey of farmers' market managers in California indicated that farmers' markets provide growers with opportunities to expand their businesses through new market venues, value-added products, and connections with agritourism. Rural markets offered strong community support and tourist links, while small-town markets showed the most new vendors and room for growth. Metropolitan markets, though harder to access, yielded the highest gross sales and increased demand for value-added products.
EconomicsCSA & TeikeiCommunityUrban–rural linkageConsumer Benefits from Community Supported Agriculture Membership
1998Jack P. Cooley, Daniel A. Lass · Review of Agricultural Economics · United States (Massachusetts)
This study focused on consumer benefits, specifically cost savings, from Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) membership. It measured quantities of produce in weekly shares for three CSA farms in Massachusetts and calculated retail values. Cost savings, determined by the difference between share prices and retail values for organic produce, ranged from 60% to 150% of share prices for the studied CSA farms.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityUrban agriculture in the metropolitan zone of Mexico City: changes over time in urban, suburban and peri-urban areas
1998H. Losada, H. Martínez, J. Vieyra, R. Pealing, R. Zavala, J. Cortés · Environment and Urbanization · Mexico
This paper describes the scale and nature of agricultural production in urban, suburban, and peri-urban zones of Mexico City and how these have adapted to changing urban demands for food, wood, and recreation. Agricultural producers have successfully adapted their products and production methods, including building on traditional systems, despite environmental deterioration from urban development and lack of government support. These producers have also devised new ways to use degraded land and large volumes of waste.
EconomicsPolicyClimate changeUrban–rural linkageFactors Influencing the Decision to Join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Farm
1997Jane Kolodinsky, Leslie L. Pelch · Journal of Sustainable Agriculture · United States (Vermont)
This study estimated the probability of becoming a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) member using a binomial logit regression model, based on data collected through phone interviews with members, ex-members, and non-members of three CSA farms in Vermont. Results indicated that price, productivity shifters, consumer beliefs, and awareness impact the probability of membership.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityRutgers Urban Gardening: A Case Study in Urban Agriculture
1996Ishwarbhai C. Patel · Journal of Agricultural & Food Information · United States (Newark)
The Rutgers Urban Gardening (RUG) program in Newark, New Jersey, transformed 30 acres of wasteland into 1,900 food gardens in 1994, engaging 6,500 residents. This initiative produced over $915,000 worth of food and recycled nearly 4,000 tons of city leaves, saving participants approximately $4 million over five years. The program also fostered social interaction, improved diets for 44% of participants, and enhanced neighborhoods.
CommunityHealthEconomicsCompostUrban Community Gardens as Contested Space
1995Karen Schmelzkopf · Geographical Review · United States (New York City)
This article examines community gardens in Loisaida, a high-crime, poverty-stricken area of Manhattan's Lower East Side in New York City. The gardens provide social and economic functions, serving as safe open spaces for socialization and sources of food. A major problem identified is the competition for these sites between gardening and housing development.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsUrban Agriculture in the United States
1991Nelson L. Bills, Bills, Nelson L. · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · United States
A National Agricultural Lands Study (NALS) in the United States did not provide conclusive evidence of serious conflicts between urban development land requirements and the nation's agricultural production capacity. The study was also flawed by faulty data on farmland conversion rates.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageEconomicsUrban Agriculture: Research Questions and Zambian Evidence
1988Rakodi C. · The Journal of Modern African Studies · Zambia (Lusaka)
A field-based study of Zambian urban settlements in the 1970s-1980s, finding that urban cultivation serves as a vital survival strategy for low-income households and warrants integration into urban development planning.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyHealthUrban Farming Has Financial Advantages
1988Mary Clare Ahearn, David E. Banker, Ahearn, Mary, Banker, David · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · United States
Nearly one-third of all U.S. farms are located in metropolitan areas. These urban farms produce the majority of the nation's high-value crops, such as fruits and vegetables. They also contribute almost a third of the total value of U.S. farm sales and typically exhibit a stronger financial position compared to non-metropolitan farms.
EconomicsPeri-urban agricultureUrban Agriculture: Who Cultivates and why? a Case-Study of Lusaka, Zambia
1985Bishwapriya Sanyal · Food and Nutrition Bulletin · Zambia (Lusaka)
Urban agriculture in Lusaka, Zambia, is an innovative response by the urban poor facing insufficient income. Low-income households view urban cultivation as a long-term investment, requiring permanent urban residence (7-11 years) and access to land to ensure a return. Variations in cultivation patterns result from relative differences in land access and the need to maximize the return on domestic labor time.
WelfareEconomics