Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
1089 results(26 / 44)
Modelo de agricultura familiar urbano como estrategia de integración social y desarrollo sustentable en la institución agrícola Guacavia
2019Nury Katherine Da Graca Vega, Jessica Johana Roman Torres · · Colombia
This work was carried out within the framework of a research project focused on developing an urban family agriculture model as a strategy for social integration and economic development for less favored strata in Cumaral municipality, Colombia. Urban family agriculture is presented as a social development proposal that links individual needs with the use of urban spaces, fostering sustainable ecological, economic, cultural, and social activities.
CommunityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsA Case Study on the Farming Experience to Spread the Value of Urban Agriculture
2019Kim Gokmi, Ahn Jia · The International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology · Global
This study aimed to analyze the significance and types of urban agriculture, examine domestic and foreign cases, and seek development directions for urban agriculture. It notes that urban agriculture is taking hold in the West due to concerns over global warming, food safety, and urbanites seeking health and relaxation. The research plans to present development measures and conduct follow-up research for safe food.
Food educationCommunityClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceEstrategia educomunicativa para la visibilidad de los procesos de agricultura urbana de la Huerta Guerreros y Guerreras Unidos en acción de la Localidad de Suba - Bogotá
2019Rubén Darío Peña Chacón, Viviana Alejandra Vergel Rojas · · Colombia (Bogotá)
This project implemented an educommunicative strategy through a communication piece to promote the visibility and recognition of the "Guerreros y Guerreras Unidos en Acción" urban garden in Fontanar del Río, Suba, Bogotá. The garden strengthens social fabric, offers cultivation activities and urban agriculture training, and aims to share knowledge on good practices for organic food cultivation for self-consumption and as a business option. The goal is to make the garden's urban agriculture processes and organic products visible in Bogotá, demonstrating how environmental actions can foster social cohesion, good food practices, business opportunities, and coexistence.
CommunityFood educationEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceThe second green revolution: Innovative urban agriculture's contribution to food security and sustainability – A review
2019Dian Triastari Armanda, Jeroen B. Guinée, Arnold Tukker · Global Food Security · Global
This review examined emerging innovative urban agriculture (IUA) practices, revitalized since 2010 by scientific knowledge and agricultural technology. It assessed IUA's potential contribution to food security and environmental sustainability by comparing scientific literature and actual data from eighteen practitioners worldwide. The most productive IUA practice can yield up to 140 kg of vegetables per m2/year, indicating IUA's potential to support local food supply, strengthen the food value chain, and apply more sustainable practices for global food security.
Urban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeDigital agriculturePolitics and the contested terrain of urban gardening in the neoliberal city
2019Chiara Certomà, Chiara Tornaghi · Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) · Global
This book is a collection of chapters unpacking the forms, functioning, and meanings of urban gardening in the context of the neoliberal transformation of cities. It offers an overview of diverse claims in the micro-politics of garden activism and discusses how these projects are fraught with social solidarities and divisions, empowerment and learning processes, conflicts and negotiations. The collection aims to contribute to a critical discussion of the “politics of urban space” and enrich the emerging debate on radical, critical, and political gardening.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceDIYPara comprender la práctica de la agricultura urbana
2019Edgar Alfredo Portilla-Flores · DU & P: revista de diseño urbano y paisaje · Global
This article discusses urban agriculture as a contemporary practice that requires understanding across multiple dimensions. It states that urban and peri-urban food production encompasses not only agronomic aspects but also relates to food security, public policies, urban planning, entrepreneurship, recycling culture, environmental education, and recreational and therapeutic activities.
Food sovereignty & justicePolicyFood educationCommunityPostdevelopment alternatives in the North
2019Daniel Bendix, Franziska Müller, Aram Ziai · · Global
This study examines alternatives to 'development' in the Global North, focusing on community-supported agriculture (CSA), a tenement trust, and the anti-coal movement. It investigates how these cases align with postdevelopment ideas such as non-capitalist practices, new commons, local knowledge, and a break with colonialism. The research questions the universalization of Western development models and their historical hegemony.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceGlobal urbanization and food production in direct competition for land: Leverage places to mitigate impacts on SDG2 and on the Earth System
2019Stephan Barthel, Christian Isendahl, Benjamin N. Vis, Axel Drescher, Daniel Evans, Arjan van Timmeren · The Anthropocene Review · Global
Global urbanization and food production are in direct competition for land. Displacing crop production from urban and peri-urban land due to soil quality issues will demand a substantially larger proportion of the Earth’s terrestrial land surface than the area lost to urban encroachment. This risks triggering distancing effects, unfair social-ecological teleconnections, and amplifying effects within the Earth System, potentially leading to food riots in cities of the Global South. The paper identifies multi-level leverage points, specifically an advisory global policy aligned with regional policies enabling robust common property rights for bottom-up actors in urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA), to navigate urban expansion away from fertile croplands.
Governance failurePolicyUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceCampesinos de Sonsón-Colombia frente al programa de fortalecimiento de la capacidad productiva
2019Edgar Ortiz-Mena, Jairo Ricardo Mora-Delgado · Revista de Ciencias Sociales · Colombia (Sonsón)
This hermeneutic study analyzed the Urban Agriculture Program in Sonsón, Colombia, which aims to improve the living conditions of violence victims. Through in-depth interviews and participant observation with 40 elderly beneficiaries over two months, it was found that while 40% improved their diet through broiler chicken training, beneficiaries perceived that the taught production techniques were time-consuming and did not lead to short-term cost reduction or income increase. The study concludes by recognizing the perceptions and adaptation strategies of families facing change.
Economic viabilityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsFood educationUrban agriculture in the Global North & South: a perspective from FAO
2019Makiko Taguchi, Guido Santini · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Global
The FAO supports urban agriculture globally, providing technical expertise and advice to governments and working with the private sector. Its approach strengthens linkages between urban, peri-urban, and rural agriculture to enhance food security and resilience, adapting programs to local needs. Increased attention to food systems, driven by societal demands against food waste and climate change, has fostered interest in FAO's activities.
Food sovereignty & justicePolicyClimate changeWould a sustainable city be self-sufficient in food production?
2019Gaston E. Small, Robert McDougall, Geneviève S. Metson · International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics · Global
This study analyzes the potential benefits and costs of urban agriculture, comparing tradeoffs in different sustainability metrics. It assesses how optimal urban agriculture varies by context, such as maximizing production in dense areas versus filling vacant land in post-industrial cities. The research also examines urban agriculture's role in making food systems resilient and includes a case study comparing resource use and pollution for lettuce production via outdoor urban agriculture, indoor urban agriculture, conventional methods, and cross-continental transport for one U.S. metropolitan area.
Climate changeEconomicsOrganic cycleFood sovereignty & justiceSoil Constraints to Urban Agriculture in Valley Beds of Yaoundé (Cameroon)
2019Ibrahima Saidou · Journal of Environmental Science and Allied Research · Cameroon (Yaoundé)
A 2014 study in Yaoundé, Cameroon, surveyed 40 farmers and analyzed soil in two valley bed suburbs, Nkolodom and Nkolbisson, to identify soil constraints on urban agriculture. While nitrogen and phosphorus levels were adequate, soil salinity at Nkolodom was brackish to moderate (810 mS/m), potentially constraining crop growth. Soil fertility was also found to decrease with distance from farmers' houses.
Environmental trade-offsEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCropping Practices and Their Drivers in Various Cropping Systems in Peri-urban Areas of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
2019Delphine Bernadette Ouédraogo, Delwendé Innocent Kiba, Zacharia Gnankambary, Sheick K. Sangaré, Diakouba Sirima, Hassan Bismarck Nacro, Michel Papaoba Sédogo · Journal of Agricultural Science · Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou)
This study investigated cropping practices and their drivers in 133 peri-urban farms near Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Soil sample analysis revealed that monoculture led to low soil organic carbon, while polyculture led to low soil available potassium. The socio-economic conditions of the farms explained up to 60% of the variability in cropping practices.
Environmental trade-offsPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsOrganic cycleFood sovereignty & justiceFood Policy Councils, Lessons on inclusiveness
2019Jess Halliday, D.M.R. van Veenhuizen · CGSPace A Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) · Global
UA Magazine 36 focuses on Food Policy Councils. Urban Agriculture Magazine (UA Magazine) is produced by the RUAF Global Partnership on Sustainable Urban Agriculture and Food Systems. It facilitates information sharing, promotes analysis and debate on critical issues, and publishes good practices and impact stories related to urban agriculture and urban food systems.
PolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityFood Activism and Citizens’ Democratic Engagements: What Can We Learn from Market-Based Political Participation?
2019Jasmine Lorenzini · Politics and Governance · Global
This article analyzes the action repertoire of food democracy to assess the influence of market-based logics on various forms of food activism. It addresses which forms of political participation citizens use to democratize the food regime, which conceptions of democracy relate to these forms, and which critiques of market-based politics apply. The article highlights the widespread risk of unequal participation, crowding out, commodification, and state retreat across forms of participation used to democratize food regimes.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityCSA & TeikeiHistorical perspectives on the ties between cities and food
2019Nicolas Bricas, Damien Conaré · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Global
The 20th century marked a significant shift in how cities approach their food supply. While the revival of urban food policies extends beyond urban agriculture and food production, urban agriculture can play a role in reintroducing nature and agriculture into the heart of the city while rebuilding social ties. The challenge is less about feeding cities, given its limited production potential, and more about its symbolic dimension.
PolicyFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageCommunityUrban Dreams and Nightmares
2019Julian Cribb · Cambridge University Press eBooks · Global
This paper points out that none of the world's megacities can feed themselves, and food chain risks pose an imminent threat of starvation. It presents concepts such as climate-proof food supplies, novel urban food production systems, the importance of urban permaculture, rewilding, and developing wise consumers as solutions to urban food risk. However, it does not explicitly state that these solutions fully resolve the issue of urban food self-sufficiency.
Limited or null effectFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeUrban–rural linkageEconomicsAgricultura urbana em Portugal: práticas espontaneas e institucionalizadas
2019Rosangela Medeiros Hespanhol · Confins · Portugal
This field research in Portugal analyzed urban gardens, identifying both spontaneously emerging gardens with no public oversight and those organized by public authorities. Interviews revealed that urban agriculture facilitates subsistence food production without pesticides, creates intergenerational and intercultural coexistence spaces, fosters social cohesion through experience exchange, and promotes environmental education. These findings emphasize the social and cultural importance of urban cultivation practices.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceConflation in political gardening
2019Lucy Rose Wright, Ross Fraser Young · Manchester University Press eBooks · Global
This chapter introduces the concept of political gardening, contextualizing its rise within neoliberal processes and academic interest in urban gardening. It conflates political gardening with injustice, drawing on Rawls' theory of social justice. The chapter uses case study examples to define political gardening as a six-stage iterative process that participants undergo to address injustices and become engaged, democratized citizens.
Equity & displacementPolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Farming Movement
2019Pierluigi Nicolin · IGI Global eBooks · Global
This article describes the urban farming movement as a global phenomenon, emerging in cities worldwide from Mumbai to Tokyo, where cultivated areas produce food distributed locally. Driven largely by the poor and women on small farms, this politico-cultural movement integrates with urban ecosystems through food production, educational aims, and sustainability. It creates new landscapes that warrant aesthetic analysis and could influence urban visual conventions and lifestyles if scaled up.
CommunityFood educationUrban–rural linkageWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceThe Role of Urban Agriculture as a Nature-Based Solution: A Review for Developing a Systemic Assessment Framework
2018Martina Artmann, Katharina Sartison · Sustainability · Global
A systemic literature review of 166 academic articles focusing on the Global North examined urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) as a nature-based solution. The review found that UPA contributes to ten key societal challenges of urbanization, including climate change, food security, and public health, by providing social, economic, and environmental co-benefits. The study developed an integrative assessment framework for evaluating UPA implementation and impact efficiency, which should be tested using edible cities as an example.
CommunityBiodiversityClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceA Global Geospatial Ecosystem Services Estimate of Urban Agriculture
2018Nicholas Clinton, Michelle Stuhlmacher, Albie Miles, Nazli Uludere Aragon, Melissa Wagner, Matei Georgescu, Chris Herwig, Peng Gong · Earth s Future · Global
This study developed a quantitative framework to assess global aggregate ecosystem services from urban agriculture (UA) using global datasets in Google Earth Engine. Existing urban vegetation provides an estimated $33 billion annually in ecosystem services. An intensive UA adoption scenario projects potential annual food production of 100–180 million tonnes, energy savings of 14–15 billion kilowatt hours, nitrogen sequestration of 100,000–170,000 tonnes, and avoided storm water runoff of 45–57 billion cubic meters. Under this intensive scenario, the value of ecosystem services could reach $80–160 billion annually, with significant country-to-country variability.
EconomicsClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceSalutogenic Affordances and Sustainability: Multiple Benefits With Edible Forest Gardens in Urban Green Spaces
2018Jonathan Stoltz, Christina Schäffer · Frontiers in Psychology · Global
This paper explores the salutogenic potential of urban green spaces, proposing edible forest gardens as a concept for urban green space use and management. It argues that including edible forest gardens in urban green spaces (today globally dominated by lawns) could reinforce several affordances of salutogenic importance, such as social cohesion and restoration from psycho-physiological stress and attention fatigue. Increased opportunities for contact with nature and food production processes may also reinforce pro-environmental behaviors in the population.
BiodiversityHealthFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageUrban and Peri-Urban Agriculture as A Pathway to Food Security: A Review Mapping the Use of Food Sovereignty
2018Michelle Tendai. Chihambakwe, Paramu Mafongoya, Obert Jiri · Challenges · Zimbabwe
This review maps the use of food sovereignty principles in urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in Zimbabwe, addressing its potential for food security. Despite UPA being ingrained in urban households' livelihoods, institutional arrangements governing the practice remain ambivalent. The review underscores that the failure to involve all stakeholders undermines UPA, leading to heightened food insecurity and unsustainable practices.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justicePeri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomicsPeri-urban agriculture in Australia
2018Rachel Carey, Sarah James · · Australia (Sydney, Melbourne)
This chapter examines peri-urban agriculture in Australia, focusing on case studies in Sydney and Melbourne. It explores the pressures on peri-urban fringes, noting that while food needs are increasing due to population growth, the capacity of these areas to meet them is decreasing due to urban sprawl. The research highlights policy and planning options to protect these regions, emphasizing their potential contribution to urban sustainability and resilience amidst climate change and water scarcity.
Peri-urban agriculturePolicyClimate changeFood sovereignty & justice