Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
1627 results(26 / 66)
A agricultura urbana como forma de uso e ocupação no espaço urbano
2020Ana Carla Alves Gomes, Maria Lúcia Brito da Cruz · Revista Campo-Território · Brazil
This study investigated the spatial distribution of Urban Agriculture (UA) in Fortaleza, Brazil, particularly in the Lagoa Redonda neighborhood, and the permanence of these gardens amidst territorial disputes over urban space. Using bibliographic and secondary data surveys, site visits, and geoprocessing techniques, it analyzed the feasibility of UA reproduction and the implementation of specific policies for the activity. The study points to governance challenges, specifically territorial disputes concerning the permanence of urban agriculture in urban spaces.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityEconomicsFarming While Black: Soul Fire Farms Practical Guide To Liberation on the Land by Leah Penniman and Karen Washington
2020C. K. Cartagena · Southeastern geographer · United States
This paper reviews "Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farms Practical Guide To Liberation on the Land" by Leah Penniman and Karen Washington. The book serves as a step-by-step guide for Black farmers, detailing historical struggles and solutions against oppression and racial discrimination in the farming sector, including cases like Pigford v. Glickman and the over-policing of Ron Finley's property. It offers instruction on obtaining land and resources, farm business plans, land restoration, crop planning, preserving harvests, raising animals, urban farming, and movement building. The book acknowledges obstacles faced by Black farmers and aims to provide a reference for sustaining productive farmland and activism to achieve land autonomy.
Equity & displacementFood sovereignty & justiceWelfarePolicyCommunityAccess to Healthy Food and Promoting Healthy Lives
2020Donald A. Rakow, Meghan Z. Gough, Sharon A. Lee · Cornell University Press eBooks · United States
This chapter discusses community gardens that serve as sites for both food production and community education, through case studies in the United States. Initiatives such as the Bronx Green-up by the New York Botanical Garden, the Green Corps by the Cleveland Botanical Garden, the Growing to Green program by the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, and the Sankofa Farm at Batram's Garden are highlighted. These initiatives improve access to fresh produce for those living in food deserts, enable low-income residents to feel in control of their diet by growing their own food, and lead to ripple effects like reduced vandalism and petty crime in communities.
CommunityFood educationHealthWelfareLaboratorios para la Vida
2020Bruce G. Ferguson, Helda Morales · · Mexico (Chiapas)
The Laboratorios para la Vida action research team in Chiapas, Mexico, trains educators to use school gardens and local food systems as venues for experiential learning. However, teachers face a host of hurdles to successful garden programs, including high teacher turnover, lack of space, and the difficulty of matching garden growth with the national curriculum calendar.
Governance failureFood educationCommunityOrganic cycleAgricultura Urbana e Plantas Silvestres espontâneas: Cultivo e consumo para além do prato.
2020Mariella Camardelli Uzêda · Anais da Semana Científica Johanna Döbereiner · Brazil
This work aims to understand the origins of urban farmers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and their traditions of cultivating and consuming spontaneous wild plants. It investigates how this knowledge of biodiversity has been preserved over time and influences current cultivation practices in areas like Colonia Juliano Moreira and Guaratiba. The study also explores opportunities to diversify agro-food systems with these wild plants to intensify ecosystem services such as pollination and biological pest control.
CommunityBiodiversityFood sovereignty & justiceOrganic cycleSowing Connections in a Community Garden
2020Renate M. Winkels, Rick Artrip, Maegan Tupinio, Daniel R. George · · United States (Hershey)
At Penn State Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, PA, a program was developed within a hospital-based community garden that paired Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) cancer survivors with older experienced gardeners. The program aimed to improve diet and physical activity among AYA cancer survivors. Qualitative analysis of interviews with participants identified that the transfer of gardening knowledge was jointly valued as a positive experience, and AYA cancer survivors built confidence and positive attitudes towards their ability to garden.
CommunityHealthFood educationElderlyConsuming the city: challenges and possibilities for foraging in Toronto’s parks
2020Anna Shortly, Thembela Kepe · Forests Trees and Livelihoods · Canada (Toronto)
This paper explores the opportunities and challenges of incorporating foraging practices into parks planning and management in Toronto, Canada, where foraging is often not permitted in urban parks. The study, based on a scan of practices and interviews, concludes that urban parkland managers should establish dedicated spaces like community orchards to safely and sustainably accommodate foraging, acknowledging current restrictions.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageFrom Individual Seeds to Collective Harvests: Urban Agroecology as Political Action
2020Helda Morales, Bárbara Lazcano, Ana Isabel López García · · Mexico
This study compiles experiences from Mexico to explore how individual urban farming acts as an act of resistance. It describes food's role as a "common ground" where various political struggles intersect, including food sovereignty, gender equality, decolonization, climate change activism, indigenous rights, and social justice. The research also analyzes conditions that could facilitate a transition to broader political change and collective action, highlighting how planting actual seeds can yield not only ecological benefits but also social revolution.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityClimate changeBIODIVERSIDADE DE PLANTAS ALIMENTÍCIAS NÃO CONVENCIONAIS EM UMA HORTA COMUNITÁRIA COM FINS EDUCATIVOS
2020Michelle Medeiros Jacob · DEMETRA Alimentação Nutrição & Saúde · Brazil
A project at a federal university in Northeast Brazil studied eight unconventional food plants (PANC) in a community garden during 2018, using the Garden-Based Learning (GBL) method. Data on botanical family, names, origin, biome, uses, and nutritional indicators were collected by nutrition students. The GBL method mediated the educational process, and the studied plants showed potential for food and nutritional security due to their suitability to the Caatinga biome and nutrient variety.
CommunityFood educationBiodiversityHealthCOVID-19 FAQ for Community Gardens: Steps for Garden Managers and Gardeners
2020Natalie Seymour, Mary Yavelak, Candice Christian, Ben Chapman, Michelle D. Danyluk · EDIS · United States
Published by the UF/IFAS Food Science and Human Nutrition Department in March 2020 and revised on April 21, 2020, this flyer provides guidance for managing community gardens in the United States regarding COVID-19. It includes changes related to physical distancing, mask usage, and monitoring employee health when exposed to the virus.
CommunityHealthBecoming Posthuman
2020Saskia Van Viegen · · Canada
This chapter describes a collaborative action research project involving newcomer and Canadian-born multilingual elementary students in Canada. The project aimed to promote equity and inclusion for children from immigrant and refugee backgrounds, incorporating community and family knowledge to create a school garden and document the process with a short film. From a new materialist perspective, it explains how educators can assemble new materialist and relational pedagogies in and out of school to connect language and literacy teaching with transformations brought about by environmental change and human migration.
Food educationCommunityWelfareBuilding Sustainable Local Food Solutions
2020Jennifer Sumner, Derya Tarhan, John Justin McMurtry · Working paper/Working paper CIRIEC ... · Canada
This paper explores how Indigenous communities in Canada address chronic food insecurity through the social and solidarity economy. Using a case study of the Northern Manitoba Food, Culture and Community Collaborative, it illustrates how local initiatives such as community gardens, greenhouses, and co-operatives contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goals, particularly zero hunger. The paper emphasizes community ownership, control, and benefits as key aspects of these models.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareFood educationReconciliation and Resistance from the Ground Up: The Power of Affect in Chicago’s Community Gardens
2020Olivia Lee · Johns Hopkins University eBooks · United States (Chicago)
This study, drawing on affect theory, examines community gardens in Chicago's low-income, primarily Black South Side neighborhoods. It argues that while these gardens offer a spatial break from violence, they appear unable to fully counteract the ongoing marginalization by race and socioeconomic status. The gardens represent a quiet, nascent resistance against neoliberal injustices through intimate human-nature interaction.
Equity & displacementCommunityWelfareHealthFood sovereignty & justiceHorticultura ecológica e educação socioambiental: Ações do NEPEA no Colégio Estadual da Policia Militar de Goiás “Dr Tharsis Campos” – CEPMG em Catalão (Go)
2020Leonoura Katarina Santos, Cláudio José Bertazzo · · Brazil (Catalão)
This paper describes the Ecological Horticulture Program implemented by NEPEA at the Goias State Military Police College in Catalão, Brazil, aiming to promote socio-environmental education among elementary school students. The program used theoretical-practical classes and workshops to raise awareness about environmental sustainability, waste management, and organic production. Outcomes included composting processes, a school garden with 12 beds for various crops (e.g., lettuce, carrots), a nursery, and the creation of selective collection containers and awareness posters.
Food educationCommunityOrganic cycleClimate changeDirect producer‚Ä"consumer transactions: Community Supported Agriculture and its offshoots
2020Ted White · Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · United States
Non-market sales, barter, trade, donations, and other creative transactions have been integral to Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) since its inception, promoting creativity and new economic thinking due to its advance payment system for unknown harvests. Based on qualitative field research, primarily in the Northeastern United States, this chapter examines the innovative transactions that have enabled CSA and other Community Supported Enterprises (CSEs) to grow. While acknowledging that the 'Community Supported' model has not solved the challenge of providing adequate incomes for producers or attracting diverse participants, the chapter presents evidence of CSA as a vibrant system connecting producers and consumers through creative transactions.
Economic viabilityCSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityCommunity Gardens: A Tool for Health Promotion
2020Sarah DeSantis · · United States
This paper explored the association between community gardens and health promotion by reviewing twenty studies selected from two databases. The research found positive associations between community gardens and various health promotion outcomes across different populations. It concluded that community gardens are an effective tool for improving health promotion outcomes.
CommunityHealthAgricultura urbana no semiárido: produção de plantas medicinais no sertão baiano
2020Rosy Kátia Souza Gonçalves, Hélder Ribeiro Freitas, Braz José do Nascimento Júnior, Lucas Ricardo Souza Almeida, Isabela Oliveira Leite, Amanda Santos Moura · · Brazil (Juazeiro)
This study mapped plant species cultivated and commercialized in the Community Garden of the Urban Social Center in Bairro Alto do Alencar, Juazeiro/BA, focusing on agroecological urban agriculture's role in medicinal plant production. Results showed that 61% of the 122 garden beds were occupied with medicinal herbs, regularly supplying basil, mallow, mastruz, holy leaf, and tanchagem, among others, to meet local demand. The cultivation of herbs, alongside vegetables, reflects a growing interest in health promotion through agroecological products.
CommunityHealthFood sovereignty & justiceAGRICULTURA URBANA E SOBERANIA ALIMENTAR: UMA REFLEXÃO SOBRE A IMPORTÂNCIA DAS PRÁTICAS SOCIOAMBIENTAIS NA GRANDE GOIÂNIA (GO)
2020Lara Cristine Gomes Ferreira, Stéfanny da Cruz Nóbrega · Revista GeoNordeste · Brazil (Goiânia)
This study explores agroecological urban agriculture in the Greater Goiânia region of Brazil, aiming to qualify the debate on its current relevance, understand the role of socio-biodiversity and food sovereignty, and foster dialogue through socio-environmental education. The methodology included a theoretical-bibliographical review, secondary data collection, and action research at a public school in Goiânia. The findings suggest that agroecological urban agriculture is an alternative to reduce the negative effects of agribusiness and minimize socio-environmental problems, highlighting the importance of family farming and education for food sovereignty and social equality.
Food sovereignty & justiceClimate changeCommunityImpact of a Gardening and Physical Activity Intervention in Title 1 Schools: The TGEG Study
2020Alexandra van den Berg, Judith L. Warren, Alex McIntosh, Deanna M. Hoelscher, Marcia G. Ory, Christine Jovanovic, Michael López, Lisa Whittlesey, A. Kirk, Caren Walton, Lisako McKyer, Nalini Ranjit · Childhood Obesity · United States (Texas)
The Texas!Grow!Eat!Go! (TGEG) study assessed the individual and combined effects of school-based gardening and physical activity (PA) interventions on children's eating and PA behaviors and obesity status in 28 low-income schools in Texas. Participants included 1326 third-grade students and parents, with data collected at the beginning and end of the school year. Children in schools receiving the gardening intervention showed significant increases in nutrition knowledge, vegetable preference, and vegetable tasted, while children in gardening or PA intervention schools significantly decreased BMI percentile.
Food educationHealthCommunityCollaborative research to support urban agriculture in the face of change: The case of the Sumida watercress farm on O‘ahu
2020Jennifer Engels, Sheree J. Watson, Henrietta Dulai, Kimberly Burnett, Christopher A. Wada, ‘Ano‘ilani Aga, Nathan DeMaagd, J. J. McHugh, Barbara Sumida, Leah L. Bremer · PLoS ONE · United States (O‘ahu)
A researcher-farmer collaboration on O‘ahu's Sumida watercress farm conducted a 25-year trend analysis and a year of intensive spring water sampling. Negative correlations were found between historical crop yields and increases in the Oceanic Niño Index, temperature thresholds, and pest outbreaks. Despite urbanization, on-farm water quality was very high, and microbial analyses suggested the farm provides nutrient retention services to downstream systems. The study demonstrates that challenges facing urban agricultural systems shift over time.
Environmental trade-offsCommunityClimate changeBiodiversityOrganic cycleFarm-to-School Grant Funding Increases Children’s Access to Local Fruits and Vegetables in Oregon
2020Kristen Giombi, Anupama Joshi, Caroline Rains, Jean L. Wiecha · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States
To measure the reach of Oregon's farm-to-school grant program, descriptive analyses and t-tests were conducted between the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years. Following the intervention, the number of nonwhite students in participating districts nearly doubled, and average local food purchases, especially fruits and vegetables, increased for low-income districts. These results suggest that the opt-in approach to the grant program facilitated greater participation from low-income districts.
Food educationWelfarePolicyCommunityPhysical activity and libraries
2020Noah Lenstra · · United States
An online questionnaire conducted in Spring 2017 among public libraries in the U.S. and Canada found that 1,157 libraries offered programs related to physical activity, including yoga classes and community gardens. Forty-one percent of these libraries reported developing such programs with partner institutions, with Parks and Recreation Departments being the most commonly noted partner.
CommunityHealthGrowing Food, Sharing Culture at the Rainbow Community Garden in Winnipeg, Canada
2020Laura Lucas, Fabiana Li · Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l alimentation · Canada (Winnipeg)
The Rainbow Community Gardens in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is a community project supporting immigrant and refugee families in growing their own food. This photo essay examines the role of food and community gardens in expressing cultural identity and their possible benefits for community building, skill learning, and growing culturally appropriate foods for health and food security. These benefits gained new relevance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthFood educationWelfareFighting childhood obesity in Brazil: a grassroots perspective
2020Gamel Nasser · European Journal of Public Health · Brazil
A Brazilian non-profit developed a nutrition education project from 2016 to 2018 to combat childhood obesity, incorporating school gardens and education. The program successfully integrated activities into school curricula, leading to healthier lunches. 76% of parents reported that school gardens increased their children's fruit and vegetable intake, and 33% of children changed their eating habits after the program.
Food educationHealthCommunityExcluded by design: informality versus tactical urbanism in the redevelopment of Detroit neighborhoods
2020Lisa Berglund · · United States (Detroit)
This paper analyzes media coverage of informal practices like street vending, murals, and urban agriculture in Detroit's redeveloping neighborhoods. It reveals that while these practices are appropriated by developers and new, affluent arrivals as entrepreneurial and necessary for redevelopment, they are treated fundamentally differently from the informal practices of long-standing, marginalized residents, which are often condemned as illegal. This inconsistency highlights how legal frameworks are manipulated to exclude long-standing residents from the city's "renaissance."
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyWelfare