Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Impact Indicators for Community Garden Programs: Using Delphi Methods to Inform Program Development and Evaluation
2017John Diaz, Sue Webb, Laura A. Warner, Paul Monoghan · HortTechnology · Global
This study demonstrated the use of a Delphi approach with a diverse panel of community garden stakeholders to reach consensus about program outcomes for community garden programs. The panel successfully reached consensus on a variety of short-, medium-, and long-term outcomes. The study aimed to provide a framework for program development and evaluation that stakeholders can adopt to show program outcomes, addressing the difficulty of learning lessons from geographically specific community garden studies.
CommunityHealthFood educationWelfareStudy on Community Gardens for Village Development Projects
2017Jeong Nara, Myeongil Jeong, Seung-Won Han, Jaesoon Kim · Journal of people, plants, and environment · Global
This study was conducted to provide basic data for the construction of a community garden in a village. The research showed that residents have a high intention to use community gardens for rest, strolls, exercise, and appreciation, with older respondents showing higher frequency of use. Garden efficiency is enhanced when located within a 20-minute walk (1km), and it is desirable to design the space to reflect community characteristics and introduce needed facilities.
CommunityHealthElderlyIdentifying the potential of some heavy metals toxicity in urban and peri-urban cropping systems in Sierra Leone
2017Abdul Rahman Conteh, Alusaine Edward Samura, E. L. S. Hinckley, Osman Nabay, Mohamed S. Kamara · Journal of Agricultural Science and Practice · Sierra Leone (Freetown)
This study was conducted to identify the risks of heavy metal contamination in urban and peri-urban cropping systems in Sierra Leone. Soil and plant samples were collected from 72 sites in Freetown and Bo and analyzed for Zn, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Cd. Heavy metals were detected across all sites, and some mild risk of cadmium toxicity was observed in densely populated areas of Freetown, though this was not reflected in plant uptake of cadmium.
Contamination & food safetyHealthUrban–rural linkageWelfareIntroducing School Gardens to the Omani Context: A Preliminary Study with Grade 7 Classes
2017Neil Taylor, Abdulla Ambusaidi, Rashid Al‐Yahyai, Subhashni Taylor · Eurasia Journal of Mathematics Science and Technology Education · Oman
A pilot school gardening project in Oman, using a mixed-method quasi-experimental design with Grade 7 classes, investigated its impact. Quantitative findings tentatively suggest improved learning outcomes in science skill development. Qualitative findings indicated a positive impact on students' affective domain and, in some cases, encouraged healthier eating habits.
Food educationHealthHeavy metals in suburban gardens and the implications of land-use change following a major earthquake
2017Seyedardalan Ashrafzadeh, Niklas J. Lehto, Gareth Oddy, Ron G. McLaren, Ling‐Fen Kang, Nicholas Dickinson, Johannes Welsch, Brett Robinson · Applied Geochemistry · New Zealand (Christchurch)
A study in Christchurch, New Zealand, measured heavy metal (HM) concentrations in suburban garden soils and soils at risk of HM contamination due to former land uses or nearby activities. HM concentrations in suburban garden soils were higher than normal background levels, with 46% of urban garden samples exceeding the residential land use national standard for lead (210 mg kg−1), and the most contaminated soil reaching 2615 mg kg−1. Arsenic and zinc also exceeded national standards in 20% of soils. These findings suggest that soil HM concentrations should be key criteria when determining future land use for former residential areas demolished due to the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, and that redeveloping these areas as parklands or forests would result in less human HM exposure than agriculture or community gardens where food is produced and bare soil is exposed.
Contamination & food safetyHealthCommunityBottom-up governance after a natural disaster: a temporary post-earthquake community garden in central Christchurch, New Zealand
2017Roy L. Montgomery, Andreas Wesener, Fran Davies · Lincoln University Research Archive (Lincoln University) · New Zealand
This study examined a temporary community-initiated open space (CIOS) established in central Christchurch, New Zealand, after the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. CIOS are bottom-up initiatives relying on financial sponsorship, temporary land-use agreements with landowners, and volunteers. The paper discusses bottom-up governance approaches in a single post-earthquake community garden project, using concepts of community resilience and social capital, and analyzes the facilitating organization's actions, its impact, and key actors' motivations, values, perceived benefits, and challenges.
CommunityPolicyClimate changeHealthPROMOTING POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT: A SCHOOL GARDEN NARRATIVE
2017Andile Mji · Commonwealth Youth and Development · Global
This study reports on a program where 118 learners (56.8% female), aged 16-18, participated in starting and tending school gardens. The aim was to determine how an empowering environment built learners' competencies and what lessons they learned, and if their utterances reflected positive youth development attributes. Qualitative data from open-ended interviews revealed that learners changed, learned to share, understood the meaning of working with others, and their utterances were consistent with positive youth development competencies.
Food educationCommunityHealthSociabilidades, laços e redes de vizinhança.: Quintais com vida
2017Maria de Fátima dos Santos Pimenta Garcia · Service social · Global
This study discusses how urban agriculture facilitates social participation, stimulates solidarity, and fosters social belonging, thereby strengthening neighborhood networks and bringing generations together. It suggests that urban gardens encourage active aging and contribute to the biopsychosocial balance of the elderly by transforming daily life and integrating people through leisure activities and the use of common spaces.
CommunityElderlyHealthOrdering urban agriculture: farmers, experts, the state and the collective management of resources in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
2017Gabin Korbéogo · Environment and Urbanization · Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou)
This article explores how land tenure, water flows, and water quality are legally, politically, and socially framed in urban agriculture in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Urban agriculture serves as a revenue source and a socio-political arena involving state representatives, experts, and farmers. Public authorities monitor legal standards for water use and hygiene, while farmers strive for efficient resource use, sometimes challenging official norms. These competing interests lead to conflicts over resource use or rule legitimacy, which are negotiated through institutional or informal bargaining.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsCommunityHealthFood sovereignty & justiceThe case for citizen science in urban agriculture research
2017Georgia Pollard, Philip Roetman, James Ward · Kobra (Universitätsbibliothek Kassel) · Australia (South Australia)
While urban agriculture is seen as a sustainable approach to improving food security, there is a significant knowledge gap regarding the financial accessibility of urban food production for all households. If urban agriculture remains primarily a middle-class discretionary activity, its role in city-wide food security improvement will be limited. This paper demonstrates that citizen science offers an effective approach to investigate the inputs (labor, costs, water use) and outputs (produce yields, value) of urban food gardens, using the Edible Gardens project in South Australia as an example.
Equity & displacementFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCommunityHealthDIYUrban parks, gardens and greenspace
2017Jason Byrne · · Global
Research on urban greenspace, including parks, gardens, and green infrastructure, consistently demonstrates that marginalized and vulnerable communities have less access to these areas. This chapter overviews environmental injustice research on urban greenspace, examining debates and challenges for researchers and policymakers, and highlighting issues like climate injustice and food insecurity related to environmental inequality.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeHealthEffect of Urban Agriculture Experience Program on the Mental Health of the Elderly
2017Hyun‐Kyung Kang, Seung Jun Back · Journal of people, plants, and environment · Global
This study investigated the effect of an urban agriculture experience program on the mental health of seniors over 65, comparing a group participating for over six months with a control group. Using t-tests on stress and depression indices, and physiological disparity, the experiment group showed statistically significantly lower stress scores related to loneliness and health, and much lower depression levels than the control group. Autonomic nervous system analysis also indicated lower stress and normal pulse diversity for the experiment group, suggesting urban agriculture stabilizes sympathetic nerves and activates parasympathetic nerves, increasing stress resistance.
HealthElderlyFood educationCommunityConcentration of Potentially Toxic Elements in Various Berries Grown in Allotment Gardens of Rīga City, Latvia Section B Natural, exact, and applied sciences =
2017Zane Vincēviča–Gaile, Dāvis Varakājs · · Latvia
This study aimed to determine the concentration of potentially toxic elements (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Zn) in berries grown in allotment gardens in Rīga city, Latvia. Samples of raspberries, strawberries, red currants, black currants, gooseberries, and cherries were analyzed using atomic absorption spectroscopy. The results showed significant variability of element concentration among the berry species, with mean concentrations for Ni at 0.54 mg/kg, Pb at 0.20 mg/kg, Cr at 0.10 mg/kg, and Cd at 0.03 mg/kg.
Contamination & food safetyHealthSistemas alimentarios sostenibles. Potencial de la agricultura urbana para pequeños empresarios del cantón Machala
2017Dra. C. Andreína Inés González Ordóñez, MSc. David Zaldumbide, MSc. Javier Solano · · Ecuador (Machala)
This research analyzes the potential of urban agriculture for small entrepreneurs in Canton Machala, El Oro Province, Ecuador, using a documentary review of related literature. Urban agriculture is identified as having economic, social, and environmental benefits, including improved food and nutrition, reduced ecological footprint, and strengthened social fabric. Its implementation can enhance living conditions by providing healthy food, additional income, and improved environmental quality.
EconomicsCommunityHealthClimate changeMoving dirt: soil, lead, and the dynamic spatial politics of urban gardening
2017Bethany B. Cutts, Jonathan London, Shaina Meiners, Kirsten Schwarz, Mary L. Cadenasso · Local Environment · Global
This paper applies a dynamic spatial politics framework to interpret a 30-year conflict over an urban garden in Sacramento, California. It examines how urban gardens, often idealized, are also sites of conflict due to competing visions of "soil" versus "dirt." The study highlights that contaminants like lead in the soil contribute to this instability, reframing fertile soil as dangerous dirt, and influencing the garden's transformation from a countercultural space to a gentrified amenity.
Contamination & food safetyCommunityHealthPolicyAssessing the sustainability of vegetable production practices in northern Ghana
2017Eileen Bogweh Nchanji, Imogen Bellwood‐Howard, Nikolaus Schareika, Takemore Chagomoka, Johannes Schlesinger, D. Rodríguez Torres Axel, Glaser Rüdiger · International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability · Ghana (Tamale)
An ethnographic study in Tamale, Northern Ghana, assessed the sustainability of urban vegetable production between 2008 and 2014. While urbanization increased cultivation of profitable vegetables like cabbage, the practice involved irrigation with grey and wastewater and high pesticide use, posing health and environmental hazards. Industrial growth reduced open space urban agriculture by 8.7%, leading farmers to use interstitial spaces and peri-urban fringes, indicating a dynamic but not yet sustainable production system.
Contamination & food safetyHealthEconomicsClimate changePolicyOrganic cycleSeeding Social Capital? Urban Community Gardening and Social Capital
2017Søren Christensen · Civil Engineering and Architecture · Global
This meta-analysis of literature published between 2000 and 2016 examined urban community gardens' capacity to generate social capital. It found that several studies confirm urban community gardens create both bonding and bridging social capital, with indications of linking social capital. The analysis suggests future research should use mixed methods, including qualitative approaches focusing on activity meanings and documenting sociodemographic compositions, to further understand how these gardens foster social capital.
CommunityHealthImpacts sur la santé des pratiques des agriculteurs urbains à Dakar (Sénégal)
2016Ba A., Cantoreggi N., Simos J., Duchemin E. · VertigO – la revue électronique en sciences de l'environnement · Senegal (Dakar)
This study found that urban farmers in Dakar's Niayes zone face serious occupational health risks from unregulated pesticide use and contaminated irrigation water, with groundwater pollutant levels reaching up to 75 times WHO standards, while farmers themselves underestimated their own exposure risks.
HealthPolicyCommunity gardens in Israel: Characteristics and perceived functions
2016Filkobski I., Rofè Y., Tal A. · Urban Forestry & Urban Greening · Israel
A survey of 44 community garden coordinators across Israel found that community gardens serve as community anchors and sites of encounter for diverse urban populations. The study documented their characteristics and functions within the Israeli urban context.
CommunityPolicyHealthGardening Activities and Physical Health Among Older Adults: A Review of the Evidence
2016Nicklett E.J., Anderson L.A., Yen I.H. · Journal of Applied Gerontology, 35(6):678-690 · Global
A scoping review of studies published 2000–2013 examining links between planned gardening activities and older adults' physical health. Of eight eligible studies, four assessed energy expenditure and four assessed physical functioning, indicating gardening can contribute to older adults' physical activity and functional maintenance. It grounds the case for urban gardens and community plots as sites for older adults' health promotion.
ElderlyHealthWelfareThe development of a model of community garden benefits to wellbeing
2016Victoria Egli, Melody Oliver, El‐Shadan Tautolo · Preventive Medicine Reports · New Zealand (Auckland)
From April to August 2015, a model illustrating the many wellbeing benefits of community garden participation was developed based on a global, critical literature review. This model grouped the benefits into factors influencing the nutritional health environment and factors influencing the social environment. In October 2015, the model was presented to a diverse group of community members in the Tāmaki region of Auckland, New Zealand, to test its comprehension and gather feedback.
CommunityHealthFood educationNorwegian allotment gardens — a study of motives and benefits
2016Helena Nordh, Kristin Tuv Wiklund, Kaja Elisabeth Koppang · Landscape Research · Norway
This study interviewed 33 plot holders in Oslo, Norway, to explore their reasons for engaging in urban allotment gardens (AGs) and the perceived benefits. Reasons included a desire for a safe play environment for children, a place to cultivate, and outdoor contact. Benefits were related to meaningful activities, social networks, and respite from urban life, indicating physical and psychological health benefits.
CommunityHealthDIYEstudio radiométrico y de niveles de metales pesados en sedimentos de zonas de interés pesquero, terapéutico y ambiental y en suelos urbanos de diferentes ciudades de Cuba
2016Oscar Díaz Rizo Susana Olivares Rieumont · Anales de la Academia de Ciencias de Cuba · Cuba
This study in Cuba used X-ray Fluorescence and Low-Background Gamma Spectrometry to analyze heavy metal and radioactive element concentrations in marine/fluvial sediments and urban soils. It found heavy metal contamination in coastal sediments of Guacanayabo Gulf, mercury bioaccumulation in oysters from Sagua River estuary, and possible selenium contamination in catfish tissue. The study also reported, for the first time, heavy metal concentrations in urban soils of Havana, Moa, Las Tunas, and Cienfuegos, including in urban agricultural farms, evaluating their quality for urban farming and potential health impacts.
Contamination & food safetyHealthPerceptions and attitudes of participants toward urban gardening. A case study of nutrition gardens in Mucheke town, Masvingo
2016Florence Chimbwanda · Journals & Books Hosting (International Knowledge Sharing Platform) · Zimbabwe (Masvingo)
This study investigated participants' attitudes and perceptions toward urban gardening in Mucheke town, Masvingo, Zimbabwe, using questionnaires, focus group discussions, and field observations with a sample of 40 participants. It found that urban gardening is important for the community and income generation, with participants reporting benefits like additional income, family consumption, and socialization. However, participants identified challenges including theft, dilapidated canals, a single water point, and limited market access.
Governance failureCommunityHealthWelfareEconomicsCultural services provided by urban allotment garden ecosystems
2016Janina Borysiak, Andrzej Mizgajski · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Global
This study identified 64 cultural ecosystem services provided by urban allotment garden ecosystems. These services fit into the lowest level of the CICES v.4.3 classification, representing class types within one section, two divisions, three groups, and eight classes. All identified services were tabulated and discussed in light of the latest scientific publications.
CommunityBiodiversityHealth