Research & reports

Samuel Henrique Damas Marinelo, Sandra María Fonseca da Costa, Leonardo Freire de Mello · Anais ENANPUR · Brazil (São Paulo)

In São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil, residents of the Altos de Santana neighborhood maintain traditional peasant characteristics by cultivating urban gardens within a Permanent Protection Area of the Paraíba do Sul River. However, the current municipal administration plans to implement an urban park in this area, which will remove the gardens cultivated by these resident farmers. This intervention is expected to alter proposals for improving the quality of life for nearby residents concerning urban agriculture, potentially generating conflicts between stakeholders regarding land use.

Alison M. Meadow · Digital Commons - University of South Florida (University of South Florida) · United States (Fairbanks)

This paper presents data on the Fairbanks Community Garden, an alternative food system initiative, focusing on its current and potential contributions to food security and social integration. The most successful aspects of the community garden include providing space and equipment to those lacking resources and creating opportunities for diverse community members to develop personal relationships.

Lauren M Bitter · Scholarship @ Claremont (The Claremont Colleges) · United States (California)

This autoethnographic thesis centers on the People and Their Plants garden in Upland, California, which represents the ecological changes caused by colonization in Southern California. The study critiques research and ethnography by examining the politics of knowledge, language, history, and ecology, and interrogates colonial/capitalist food systems that render Indigenous ways of knowing invisible. The People and Their Plants garden is presented as an act of resistance, creating space for alternative economic and decolonial food practices.

Charles E. Hess · HortScience · United States

Reflecting on horticultural science over the past 60 years, it is evident that it is in a period of great opportunity. Recognition of the role of fruits and vegetables in a healthful diet has led to food for health initiatives that encourage diets rich in horticultural crops. The 'locavore movement' fosters the popularity of purchasing locally, spurring increased interest in farmers' markets and urban gardening. Internationally, the idea of peri-urban gardening recognizes the value of horticultural crops in improving nutrition and income on relatively small areas of land in developing nations.

Leslie Gray, Patricia Guzmán, K. Michelle Glowa, Ann Drevno · Local Environment · United States (California)

This article examines La Mesa Verde, a home-gardening program in San Jose, California, to assess if home gardens offer similar financial, health, and community benefits as community gardens. The research explores the potential of home gardens to foster broader social change, cultural preservation, and self-determination, especially for recent immigrants.

Freda G. Sampson, Thomas G. Costello, Stacey Stevens, Desiree Squire · Journal of Law and Society · United States (Detroit)

This paper examines Detroit, United States, as a city in crisis, analyzing redevelopment conflicts between gentrification and revitalization. It applies a "Litmus Test for Equity and Opportunity" to current redevelopment efforts, including the Detroit Future City Plan and projects by Michael Ilitch & Company and Dan Gilbert. The analysis suggests that despite efforts, the complexities of this post-industrial city, particularly regarding its predominantly African-American population, are only superficially addressed, indicating ongoing equity challenges.

Kevin J. Holohan · Language arts journal of Michigan · United States

This paper is based on an empirical study conducted at a charter high school in a Midwestern US metropolitan area. The study investigated how social ecology, with urban agriculture as a hands-on practice, fosters an ideal of citizenship through a program where students collect traditional Puerto Rican recipes from elders and grow the necessary produce within their community.

Glenda Dimuro, Esteban de Manuel Jeréz · POLI-RED (Revistas Digitales Politécnicas) (La Universidad Politécnica de Madrid) · Brazil (São Paulo)

This paper presents the 'Cidades sem fome' project, a citizen initiative in São Paulo's degraded areas. Through urban agriculture, this project enables residents to satisfy basic needs, regain control over their lives, and challenge market-driven growth processes. It aims to reduce hunger and unemployment, foster social mobilization, and rehabilitate degraded urban areas, offering an alternative to current urban production and management models.

Catalina Freixas, Pablo Moyano Fernandez · Suburban Sustainability · United States (St. Louis)

This paper examines the role of eco-urbanism in St. Louis, a shrinking city experiencing population loss and economic decline since the 1950s. It reviews the implementation and benefits of three eco-urbanism strategies: community gardens, greenways, and urban forests. The study identifies social, ecological, and economic benefits, and suggests further adoption of eco-urbanism ideology and improved implementation strategies by the municipal government.

Marianne Sarkis, Tiffany Lee, Steph Fenner, Erin Barta, Kristina Kalolo · Clark Digital Commons (Clark University) · United States

Research was conducted using free-list, pile-sort, interviews, and surveys to examine the association between community gardening and food justice among Clark community gardeners in Worcester, MA. The findings supported the conclusion that Clark community gardeners do not conform to the food justice interpretation of a community garden. Although both actors share similar methods and ideologies, neither is attempting to fit the other's definitions.

Laura Lavid · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States

This article discusses the impact of urban gardening on a city's food system, noting that while it is not the sole solution, it offers significant benefits beyond economics. It cites historical data from World War II, where 20 million victory gardeners produced 44% of fresh vegetables in the United States. Recent studies estimate community gardens can yield $500 to $2,000 worth of produce per family annually, and a Denver study found community gardeners ate significantly more fruits and vegetables than non-gardeners.

Bruno Henrique Comassetto, Gabriela P. Solalinde Z., João Vicente Rosa de Souza, Marcelo Trevisan, Paulo Ricardo Zilio Abdala, Carlos Alberto Vargas Rossi · Revista de Administração de Empresas · Brazil

A qualitative study with in-depth interviews of urban agriculture specialists and practitioners in nine neighborhoods of a large Brazilian capital explored the meaning of urban agriculture as a consumption phenomenon. The findings indicate a dual motivation for practicing urban agriculture: an extrinsic motivation (example) and an intrinsic motivation (well-being). The practice is linked to concerns for the environment, health, and personal well-being, as well as nostalgic respect and pride for cultural heritage.

Nicholas F. Reed · Stanford law & policy review · United States (California)

This legal note centers on California Assembly Bill 551 (AB 551), introduced on February 20, 2013 by Assemblyman Phil Ting, which would create incentives for owners of undeveloped urban residential property to lease their land for agricultural use or the creation of urban green space. It positions AB 551 as a potential "Williamson Act for cities," in contrast to the 1965 California Land Conservation Act (the Williamson Act), which was intended to protect rural agricultural land from urban development; AB 551 would instead let local governments encourage commercial agriculture where urban development is infeasible or has stalled. The author reviews the social, economic, and environmental benefits attributed to urban agriculture, legal barriers such as property tax and zoning codes, and the history of differential tax programs protecting agricultural land, before explaining the rationale for the AB 551 proposal.

Joshua Birky, Elizabeth Strom · Urban Geography · United States

A review of historical and contemporary literature on the U.S. community garden movement, combined with surveys of participants in three distinctive community gardens, compares today's movement with its predecessors. It concludes that a greater diversity of gardeners and gardening motivations, combined with changing views on urban land use, will make community gardens a more lasting feature of city neighborhoods.

Rebecca J. McLain, Patrick T. Hurley, Marla R. Emery, Melissa R. Poe · Local Environment · United States

Drawing on an integrated urban political ecology and human-plant geographies framework, researchers examined foraging for wild food across Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia, and Seattle. Foraging is a vibrant, ongoing practice among diverse urban residents, yet regulations, planning practices, and the attitudes of conservation practitioners frame it as out of place in urban landscapes and something to be discouraged.

Seanna Berry · SMARTech Repository (Georgia Institute of Technology) · United States

A report on Atlanta, Georgia's local food system reviews the rationale for food systems planning, surveys mechanisms other cities and regions use to enhance the supply and consumption of locally grown food, and describes Atlanta's current efforts in this area. Building on goals that city officials and food advocates have set over the preceding five years toward a more localized and vibrant food system, it recommends strategic directions to help the city improve its efforts and overcome identified barriers.

Lawrence B. de Graaf · Journal of American History · United States (California)

A book review of Post-ghetto, edited by Josh Sides and comprising ten essays by fourteen authors, examines South Los Angeles's (formerly South Central) long history of poverty, gangs, and violence, and changes since the 1992 riots, including a proliferation of nonprofit service providers and a declining crime rate. Three of the essays focus on "food justice" — the idea that everyone deserves healthy food — arguing this goal could be reached through more supermarkets, improved local stores, community gardens, and campaigns against liquor and junk food stores. Other chapters cover the absence of large retail and malls, art, black politics, the rising status of blacks in unions, and policy for keeping youth out of gangs.

Vanessa Aparecida Camargo, Maria Christina de Mello Amorozo, Marcos Aparecido Pizano · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil (São Paulo)

A study of urban agriculture in Charqueada, São Paulo state, Brazil, georeferenced all 97 cultivated vacant lots in the urban area; 77 were selected for farmer questionnaires characterizing the population and the lots, and a subsample of 30 lots was surveyed in detail for all crops via a guided walkthrough. Results showed 80% of farmers were men over age 50 with low income, though the activity was not essential to their subsistence. Among 75 types of food plants cultivated, cassava (mandioca) was present in over 90% of lots, with a preference for crops requiring little investment. The activity was practiced informally, motivated by a desire to grow plants, without any public or private support.

Annie Crane, Leela Viswanathan, Graham Whitelaw · Local Environment · Canada (Kingston, Ontario)

This paper examines guerrilla gardening as an example of sustainability in action, using participatory action research methods. Two case studies were developed in Kingston, Ontario: Dig Kingston, a guerrilla gardening project, and the Oak Street Community Garden. The research found that interventions like guerrilla gardening open up unexpected possibilities for conceptualizing sustainability and contribute to producing engaging and sustainable communities.

Kathryn Colasanti, Michael W. Hamm, Charlotte M. Litjens · Urban Geography · United States (Detroit)

This research explores perceptions of expanding urban agriculture in Detroit, Michigan, through semi-structured interviews and focus groups. While revealing widespread support for urban agriculture as a strategy for food security and urban sustainability, the study highlights contested aspects regarding the extent to which it should occur, its purpose, and the people it would involve.

Nathan McClintock, Heather Wooten, Alethea Brown · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States (California)

This 2012 reflective case study documented the efforts of the Oakland Food Policy Council (OFPC) in Oakland, California, to develop recommendations for urban agriculture zoning. Despite popular interest in urban agriculture, zoning often acts as an obstacle to its expansion. The OFPC faced obstacles in gaining the attention of city officials and advancing its policy agenda for new zoning definitions and operating standards for urban agriculture.

Jennifer Dean · Educational Media Reviews Online · United States (Detroit)

The documentary "We Are Not Ghosts" tells the story of Detroit through interviews, focusing on the city's future and revitalization initiatives like urban farming. However, according to the review, the film glosses over the city's troubles and attempts to cover too many issues in 52 minutes, resulting in a lack of appropriate analysis for any single issue. It is described as serving more as a promotional video for Detroit than an academic one.

Erica Giorda · · United States (Detroit)

This chapter examines the emergence of urban gardens and farms in Detroit, United States, as a grassroots response to urban decay and food deserts. It notes that while institutional support was initially limited, the number of gardens is growing, with over 300 community gardens and five self-identified farms operating. The study argues that Detroit's urban farmers envision the city's future as one of gardens, driven by concepts of food justice.

Redazione · TERRITORIO · United States

This paper presents the basic features of two urban farming projects in Milwaukee and Philadelphia aimed at solving the problem of food deserts in declining inner cities of the US rustbelt. It discusses the forms and relevance of convergences between food culture and food justice, relating them to the debate on the future of urban forms in these inner cities.

Bruntfield, Jaclyn Rose · Scholars Archive - University at Albany (University at Albany, State University of New York) · United States (Columbia County, NY)

This abstract discusses the increased public scrutiny of food origins in the U.S. and the growing demand for alternatives to the mainstream food system, as evidenced by more farmers markets, organic products, and Community Supported Agriculture programs. It notes that post-WWII industrialization of food production, while providing inexpensive food, has potentially compromised people's relationships with food. Currently, only one percent of Americans identify farming as their primary occupation.