Research & reports

Ana Carolina Paiva Rodrigues · VII CONNEPI - Congresso Norte Nordeste de Pesquisa e Inovação · Brazil (Natal)

In the Gramorezinho region of Natal-RN, Brazil, an exploratory study analyzed the socioeconomic and productive characteristics of urban and peri-urban agriculture. The methodology involved examining farmers' socioeconomic profiles, adopted production systems, and commercialization methods for key vegetable species. The study concluded that the legitimization of urban and peri-urban agriculture in Natal-RN is flawed, not only concerning municipal legislation but also regarding the guarantee of support and technical assistance for agricultural activities.

Samantha R. Lester · Digital Commons - DU (University of Denver) · United States (Denver)

This qualitative study evaluated the local food movement in the Highlands neighborhood of Denver, Colorado, through interviews with community members, restaurant owners, garden members, and organizers. The local food movement was present through various outlets, including a farmer's market, community gardens, and local food stores. Motivations for participation primarily included building community, a growing population able to support local food, and a broader network of people and organizations.

Sarah A. Moore, Morgan Apicella, Sallie A. Marston, Moses Thompson · Children Youth and Environments · United States (Tucson)

An ongoing project in Tucson, Arizona, provides university interns to K-12 schools to build and maintain school gardens and facilitate learning about the environment and sustainability. Based on experiences at Manzo Elementary, a project school in a low-income, mixed-race neighborhood, the program evaluates the effectiveness of school gardens as a tool for experiential learning and describes obstacles encountered and overcome.

Johannes Novy · · Germany (Berlin)

This seminar aims to identify the contemporary winners and losers in Berlin's urban development and how this is manifested and reproduced through urban space. Central points of interest include conflicts surrounding the "New Berlin," the potential and threats of Berlin as a "Creative City," the spatial dimension of social exclusion, the integration of migrants, and perspectives of the "right-to-the-city-movement" (e.g., guerrilla gardening). Berlin's urban landscape will be compared to those of Paris and St. Petersburg.

Geralyn A. Nolan, Amy McFarland, Jayne M. Zajicek, Tina M. Waliczek · HortTechnology · United States

Research was conducted with 141 minority elementary school children in a primarily Hispanic region of Texas to investigate whether gardening combined with a curriculum on nutrition could benefit them. After comparing pre- and posttest scores, it was concluded that gardening and nutritional instruction had a positive effect on students' nutritional knowledge, fruit and vegetable preference, and snack choices.

Silvana Maria Ribeiro, Elaine de Azevedo, Maria Cecília Focesi Pelicioni, Cláudia Maria Bógus, Isabel Maria Teixeira Bicudo Pereira · Revista Brasileira em Promoção da saúde · Global

This study reflected on how agroecological urban agriculture contributes to local health promotion and food and nutritional security. A documentary research, using reports, field activity records, participant testimonies, and an interview with project coordination, showed that agroecological urban agriculture contributes to community protagonism, popular participation, and the development of food and environmental awareness among involved social actors.

Barbara Uhlig · edoc Publication server (Humboldt University of Berlin) · Germany

This study analyzes guerrilla gardening as a protest movement where activists plant flowers, trees, and vegetables on derelict urban spaces without owner permission. The motivations for guerrilla gardening are pragmatic, ecological, political, and aesthetic, though its artistic status is often denied. The study demonstrates that guerrilla gardening aligns with George Dickie's institutional theory of art and can be classified as art.

Madlyne Samak · L Homme et la société · France

A long-term study in southeastern France examined the development of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) as an alternative marketing system for fruits and vegetables. The study found that the non-market dimension of CSA appears to have disappeared over time, from its initial form to current basket systems. This change is attributed to the diversification of farmers' sociological profiles and the transformation of marketing conditions for organic local products.

Nik Heynen, Hilda E. Kurtz, Amy Trauger · Geography Compass · Global

This review essay highlights a growing interest in issues related to food, cities, and inequality within geography. It signals the utility of concepts such as community food security, food sovereignty, and urban agriculture for conceptually linking food, justice, and cities. The essay suggests these concepts are poised to define new sub-disciplinary trajectories.

Sersnova Sersnova · · Latvia (Riga)

This study concerns small-scale urban agriculture and the transformation of family gardens in Riga, Latvia. Urban agriculture has gained recognition globally in recent decades due to its economic, social, cultural, and environmental benefits.

Silvana Maria Ribeiro, Elaine de Azevedo, Maria Cecília Focesi Pelicioni, Cláudia Maria Bógus, Isabel Maria Teixeira Bicudo Pereira · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Global

This documentary research examined agroecological urban agriculture in relation to health promotion and food security movements, involving local communities. Data was synthesized from reports, field records, testimonies, and interviews with a project coordinator. The study found that agroecological urban agriculture contributed to community protagonism, popular participation, and increased feeding and environmental awareness among social actors.

Zbigniew Ziembik, Agnieszka Dołhańczuk-Śródka, Grzegorz Kusza · Proceedings of ECOpole · Poland

Soil samples were collected from the former "Piast" cement plant within Opole city borders, Poland, and nearby allotment gardens to study radioisotope activity concentrations. Naturally occurring radioisotopes and artificial Cs were found, with K and Cs showing the biggest radioactivity concentration. No significant differences in radionuclide activities were found between soil samples from the former industrial estate and the allotment gardens.

Carmenza Ochoa Ochoa · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Colombia

Applied research based on Participatory Action Research (IAP) was conducted in Soacha municipality, Cundinamarca, Colombia, with vulnerable populations participating in an urban agriculture program. The study aimed to develop local and simple alternatives for environmental management and landscape improvement, focusing on the reuse and proper management of wastewater for crop irrigation. The project was carried out as stipulated and evolved during its implementation due to its IAP methodology, with observations, conclusions, and notes presented.

Germano Laurentino da Cunha, Adriana Celi Alves Martins, Maria José Araújo Wanderley, Raunira da Costa Araújo, Terezinha Domiciano Dantas Martins, Francisca Alexandre de Lima · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil (Solânea)

This project aimed to establish organic vegetable gardens in public elementary and high schools in Solânea, Paraíba, Brazil. Funded by CNPq, the initiative involved installing 14 garden beds with various vegetables in each participating school. Students received mini-courses on organic vegetable production, and participated in making compost and biofertilizers. The target audience demonstrated receptiveness and support for the work.

Julie L. Self, Becky Handforth, Janelle Hartman, Corey McAuliffe, Elizabeth Noznesky, Rebecca J. Schwei, Laura Whitaker, Amanda Wyatt, Amy Girard · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States

A student-driven, community-engaged learning course was developed to enhance student understanding of complex food system determinants and food choices. The course, guided by the socio-ecological model, involved students collaborating with faculty and community partners to define its objectives and curriculum. It featured student-led modules on food preferences, agriculture systems, food access, and agricultural policy, alongside community-engaged research projects that examined food distribution models in metro Atlanta and identified strategies to improve access to healthy food in low-income areas.

Seunghwan Kim, Sung-Yung Yoon, Min-Jun Cha, Hae-Jin Yoo, Ji‐Young Cho, Yoon‐Sun Kim · Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture · South Korea

This study investigated the planning, construction, partnership, and cost-sharing processes of an experimental rooftop community garden at a disabled welfare house in South Korea. The project, led by Busan Green Trust and a citizens' council, involved funding from Standard Chartered SC First Bank, volunteers, and administrative support. The established garden provided food production, urban agriculture experience, horticultural therapy, and cultural space for users, demonstrating the potential for low-cost rooftop community gardens to improve urban environments and foster community.

Maha Kandil, Ahmed El-Masry, Amira Fathy · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Egypt (Cairo)

This study examines the impact of school gardens on urban youth nutrition knowledge in Cairo, focusing on students aged 14-18. It will conduct a literature review to identify relevant theoretical constructs and employ a qualitative approach to explore school garden impacts. The theoretical framework suggests schools can act as hubs for nutrition education through garden-based learning, potentially leading to healthier dietary habits.

Luis. Verplancken · · Global

This record is an image of Father Luis Verplancken visiting children working in a school garden. The photograph was taken in the village of Gonogochi.

Harry L. Watson · Southern cultures · United States

This text discusses the evolution of food culture in the American South, from World War I-era calls for local food conservation to modern locavore movements. It highlights the current popularity of local food traditions and farmer's markets, while also raising concerns about the health impacts of large-scale industries like North Carolina's hog farming. Historically, the South was known for nutritional diseases alongside its traditional recipes.

Ian Michael Mearns · University of Washington Tacoma Digital Commons (University of Washington Tacoma) · Global

This paper proposes urban agriculture as a community system, similar to Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), to provide homeless citizens with access to food, housing, vocational opportunities, and social resources. It suggests that urban agriculture can address the lack of employment, nutritional food sources, and housing resources that have contributed to increased homelessness over the past decade.

Jennifer E. Reeves · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network) · United States (Cleveland, Ohio)

This two-year study in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, investigated urban soil health via nematode food web analysis and crop productivity via tomato fruit yield in urban gardens. Market gardens showed significantly more soil organic matter, nitrogen pools, and nematode presence than community gardens in both 2011 and 2012. However, despite these differences, there was no significant difference in the total yield of tomatoes per square meter between market and community garden types in either year. Gardens with raised beds had significantly more soil moisture content and soil organic matter than those with flat beds.

Lorena Rocca, Giovanni Donadelli, Sonia Ziliotto · DergiPark (Istanbul University) · Italy (Padua)

The "Small steps of Agenda 21" project in the "J. Mirò" nursery school in Padua, Italy, engaged children in participatory planning for their school garden. Children actively improved the garden, fostering awareness of community discussion and participation. The project demonstrated that children improved their sense of inclusiveness and responsibility.

L. Gómez Tejeda · RIT Scholar Works (Rochester Institute of Technology) · Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic's public investment in education was 2% of GNP in 2010, falling below UNESCO's 6% minimum. This pilot project, conducted at The Community for Learning School (TCFL) in the Dominican Republic during the 2011-2012 school year, enhanced 5th-8th grade science curricula with four activities: composting, a school garden, a garbage project, and an energy audit. While the school garden and composting project improved student motivation for group work and left a positive perception of environmentally friendly practices, knowledge gain about their environmental benefits was not as expected.

Christoph Kasper, Undine Giseke, Silvia Martin Han · · Morocco

As part of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research's "Future Megacities" research program, the Urban Agriculture Casablanca (UAC) project investigates the extent to which urban agriculture can contribute to sustainable city design. This project aims to integrate the provision of open space within integrated and sustainable urban growth in Casablanca, Morocco. Based on an action research approach, integrated case studies in peri-urban spaces and four pilot projects were implemented, identifying synergy potentials between the city and agriculture in connection with other relevant sectors of the social and economic system.

Jessica Isler · Educational Media Reviews Online · Global

The 2011 film "A Community of Gardeners" explores the impact of community garden projects in various urban settings. It highlights that community gardens fulfill important needs for individuals and communities by providing access to fresh food, increasing self-sufficiency, improving urban aesthetics, and strengthening communities through connections across diverse socio-economic groups. The film also presents the historical origins and different incarnations of community gardens.