Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
1074 results(26 / 43)
Review of the Literature
2018Kwaku Obosu-Mensah · · Global
This chapter reviews literature to identify the types of people likely to engage in urban agriculture. It explains that the labor-surplus, dependency, and cultural lag models are complementary in explaining urban residents' involvement in agriculture. Low salaries compel workers to supplement income through urban agriculture, and the sector is expected to grow with population increases, notably with the increasing entry of highly educated and skilled personnel.
EconomicsWelfareUrban–rural linkageEMPREENDEDORISMO FEMININO SOLIDÁRIO: estudo de caso em uma horta comunitária
2018Anderson Luiz Duarte, Bezamat de Souza Neto · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (São João del-Rei)
This research examines a type of solidarity female entrepreneurship carried out by a group of women participating in a community garden in São João del-Rei, Brazil. The objective is to demonstrate how knowledge exchange and management practices are established within this endeavor. The community garden is presented as an educommunicative ecosystem that creatively transforms urban space through micropolitics, aiming to address social inequalities and mitigate economic vulnerability. It also highlights female empowerment, promoting self-esteem and a sense of community belonging among participants.
CommunityEconomicsWelfareFood sovereignty & justicePENGGUNAAN MEDIA KOMUNIKASI DALAM SOSIALISASI PROGRAM URBAN FARMING DI KOTA SURABAYA
2018Henny Sri Mulyani, Herlina Agustin · Journal Acta Diurna · Indonesia (Surabaya)
This descriptive qualitative study in Surabaya, Indonesia, investigated the communication media used for socializing urban farming programs to poor families across 31 sub-districts. The research found that the Surabaya City Agriculture Office did not use mass media, instead relying on direct, interpersonal communication and technical guidance from facilitators. Messages focused on cultivating short-harvest vegetables in narrow yard spaces to support household food security and increase green spaces.
CommunityFood educationWelfareThe Effectiveness of Monarch Café and Hub City Farmers’ Market in Feeding the Northside: Perspectives from Two Communities
2018A. Laitif Qureshi · Digital Commons - Wofford College (Wofford College) · United States
This research investigated how residents in Victoria Gardens and Cleveland Heights, located in the Northside area of the United States, perceive the Hub City Farmers’ Market and Monarch Café. The Northside, previously considered a food desert, is no longer classified as such due to the establishment of Harvest Park, which includes these facilities. The study aimed to gain insight into how Harvest Park benefits the Northside community and to explore suggestions for future improvements to attract more residents.
CommunityWelfareHealthEconomicsLondon’s Urban Agriculture: Building Community through Social Innovation
2018Les Levidow · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · United Kingdom (London)
This research examines the role of 'community' in London's food initiatives and how it stimulates congenial activities through social innovation. These initiatives involve forms of social innovation such as enhancing socio-political capabilities, fulfilling unsatisfied needs, and redefining societal problems. London's food initiatives face challenges in combining these diverse aims and activities.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyWelfareHortas sócioeducativas e o trabalho de ressocialização na cadeia pública de Bananeiras, Paraíba
2018Lucas Bras Barbosa, Sérgio Syddney Borges de Araújo, Evelyn Maria Alexandre da Silva Lima, Erikson Kadoshe de Morais Raimundo, Alexandre Eduardo de Araújo, Carlos Roberto Marinho Silva Filho · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil (Paraíba)
This study analyzed the resocialization aspects for eight prisoners in the Public Penitentiary of Bananeiras-PB, Brazil, through labor activities in educational community gardens. Using a qualitative approach, it found that remuneration was not a primary factor for prisoners; instead, sentence remission, improved food, and occupation of time and mind were the most important aspects.
Food educationWelfareCommunityHealthIniciativas de hortas comunitarias municipales en Teresina - PI: Prácticas Promotoras de Renta y Trabajo
2018Maclóvia Corrêa da Silva, Cristianne Teixeira Carneiro, Ana Lúcia Barbosa Monteiro, Natália Pereira Marinelli, Eloy Fassi Casagrande · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Brazil (Teresina)
This study analyzed the characteristics of urban agricultural work in community gardens in the Dirceu and Renacimiento II neighborhoods of Teresina - PI, Brazil. A field survey of 32 farmers found that 71.88% worked 4-8 hours daily, 59.38% were retirees, and 50% worked with family collaboration. Income from vegetable sales showed 50% earned up to one minimum wage and 43% up to two minimum wages, but the activity depends on land owners, public policies, seed producers, and traders.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareTeens as Teachers in the Garden: Cultivating a Sustainable Model for Teaching Healthy Living
2018Virginia L. J. Bolshakova, John Gieng, C. Sheena Sidhu, Mary Vollinger, Lorena Gimeno, Jessica Guild · Journal of Youth Development · United States (California)
The "Healthy Living Ambassador" school garden program in low-income communities integrated resources from schools, community programs, and the University of California Cooperative Extension. This program utilized culturally competent teenagers as teachers to educate elementary school youth on healthy living. The successes and challenges of the program development were discussed, revealing that public schools often lack the resources and support to establish sustainable garden-based programming.
Governance failureFood educationHealthCommunityWelfareBuilding User Capacity Through Iterative Processes
2018Edward M. Orlowski, Julia Jovanovic · · Canada
Master of Architecture student Julia Jovanovic facilitated a participatory design process for the redesign of the Ten Friends Diner in Windsor, Ontario, which supports individuals recovering from mental illness. This process empowered the diner's staff to analyze needs and propose design solutions. The completed project supported the community partner's goal of staff empowerment and inspired additional initiatives, including a community garden.
CommunityWelfareBases para la construcción de la sostenibilidad en huertos urbanos comunitarios: Enraizando Espacios, Ciudad de México
2018Irma Xánath Bautista-Villalobos, Eduardo Garcı́a-Frapolli, Alba Hernández · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Mexico
This technical experience presents the Participatory Action research process for the Enraizando Espacios urban community garden, established in 2016 in Mexico City's Guerrero neighborhood. The study aimed to recognize the project's impact after one year, resulting in a collective memory and establishing bases for useful sustainability indicators. Key lessons learned include the importance of solidarity and cooperation for the project's success and its transformative power.
CommunityOrganic cycleWelfareFood security and productivity among urban farmers in Kaduna State, Nigeria
2018M.K. Saleh, Azher Mustafa · Journal of Agricultural Extension · Nigeria (Kaduna State)
This study investigated food security and productivity among 213 urban farmers in Kaduna State, Nigeria, using interviews and statistical analysis. Results showed that 54.5% of households were food insecure. A regression model predicted that the probability of urban farming households being food secure was 51%, indicating a limited effect on food security despite urban farming efforts.
Limited or null effectFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsWelfareHealth Benefits of Urban Allotment Gardening: Improved Physical and Psychological Well-Being and Social Integration
2017Soga M., Cox D.T.C., Yamaura Y., Gaston K.J., Kurisu K., Hanaki K. · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(1):71 · Japan
A questionnaire survey of 332 allotment gardeners and non-gardeners in Tokyo compared five self-reported outcomes: perceived general health, physical complaints, BMI, mental health and social cohesion. Allotment gardeners reported better general health, fewer complaints, better mental health and greater social cohesion, indicating that urban allotment gardening can improve residents' physical and mental health and community ties.
HealthCommunityWelfareGardening is beneficial for health: A meta-analysis
2017Soga M., Gaston K. J., Yamaura Y. · Preventive Medicine Reports · Global
Meta-analysis demonstrating that gardening yields wide-ranging health benefits, reductions in depression and anxiety and gains in life satisfaction and physical activity, underpinning the health rationale for workplace and community garden programs.
HealthWelfareCommunityThe role of urban-based agriculture on food security: Kenyan case studies
2017Omondi S. O., Oluoch-Kosura W., Jirström M. · Geographical Research 55(2):231-241 · Kenya
Through Kenyan case studies, this paper examines how urban-based agriculture strengthens the livelihood strategies and food security of urban households, particularly the poor, highlighting its role within the urban food system.
WelfareEconomicsBeyond food security: women's experiences of urban agriculture in Cape Town
2017Olivier D. W., Heinecken L. · Agriculture and Human Values 34(3):743-755 · South Africa
Examining NGO-run urban agriculture in Cape Town, this study finds projects aid food security while helping low-income women build supportive networks that unlock personal, social, and economic benefits beyond food provision.
CommunityWelfareEconomicsUrban Agriculture in the Food-Disabling City: (Re)defining Urban Food Justice, Reimagining a Politics of Empowerment
2017Tornaghi C. · Antipode 49(3):781-801 · Global
Critically theorizes the neoliberal 'food-disabling city' that deprives citizens of food agency, redefining urban food justice and arguing for an urban agriculture politics grounded in empowerment and food sovereignty.
PolicyWelfareCommunityThe Intersection of Planning, Urban Agriculture, and Food Justice: A Review of the Literature
2017Horst M., McClintock N., Hoey L. · Journal of the American Planning Association 83(3):277-295 · Global
Multidisciplinary literature review questioning who benefits and who does not from urban agriculture, suggesting ways urban planners can structure urban agriculture in support of food justice.
PolicyWelfareCommunityCommunity gardening in poor neighborhoods in France: A way to re-think food practices?
2017Martin P., Consalès J.-N., Scheromm P., Marchand P., Ghestem F., Darmon N. · Appetite · France (Marseille)
Study in a deprived Marseille neighborhood found that socioeconomically disadvantaged women with access to a community garden were more likely to adopt a healthy diet than matched controls without such access.
CommunityHealthWelfareFood educationUrban Allotment Gardens During Precarious Times: From Motives to Lived Experiences
2017Partalidou M., Anthopoulou T. · Sociologia Ruralis, 57(2), 211–228 · Greece (Thermi, Northern Greece)
Using Maslow's hierarchy of needs and fieldwork in a municipal allotment garden in northern Greece, the study constructs a typology of gardeners and finds that participation evolves from satisfying basic subsistence needs during economic crisis toward self-actualization and placemaking.
CommunityWelfareEconomicsPolicyThe Emergence of Municipal Allotment Gardens in Greece in Times of Crisis: Governance Challenges for New Urban Gardening Practices
2017Anthopoulou T., Nikolaidou S., Partalidou M., Petrou M. · In: Soulard CT., Perrin C., Valette E. (eds) Toward Sustainable Relations Between Agriculture and the City. Springer, Cham, pp. 181–199 · Greece
Drawing on fieldwork at three municipal allotment gardens in Greece, the chapter examines the institutional and political context of their rapid proliferation during the economic crisis and identifies governance challenges facing local authorities and urban gardening communities.
CommunityWelfarePolicyEconomicsFood Justice in the Trump Age: Priorities for Urban Food Advocates
2017Nevin Cohen, Janet Poppendieck, Nicholas Freudenberg · Journal of Food Law & Policy · United States
This essay outlines priorities for food advocates following the election of President Donald Trump: preserving SNAP, preventing industry deregulation, and sustaining regional food systems. It analyzes the potential conservative-backed counter-proposals to each of these priorities.
PolicyWelfareCare farms as a space of wellbeing for people with a learning disability in the United Kingdom
2017Rotheram S., McGarrol S., Watkins F. · Health & Place · United Kingdom
Qualitative interviews with 18 clients with a learning disability who attend UK care farms examined how these spaces contribute to their health and wellbeing, identifying care farms as a positive 'space of wellbeing'.
WelfareHealthThe motivations and experiences of community garden participants in Edinburgh, Scotland
2017· Regional Studies, Regional Science · United Kingdom (Edinburgh, Scotland)
Investigates the motivations and lived experiences of community garden participants in Edinburgh, Scotland.
CommunityHealthWelfareQuality of care and quality of life of people with dementia living at green care farms: a cross-sectional study
2017· BMC Geriatrics · Netherlands
A cross-sectional study in the southern Netherlands comparing quality of care and quality of life for 115 residents with dementia across green care farms, regular small-scale living facilities, and traditional nursing homes.
ElderlyWelfareHealthPost-Disaster Food and Nutrition from Urban Agriculture: A Self-Sufficiency Analysis of Nerima Ward, Tokyo
2017Sioen G., Sekiyama M., Terada T., Yokohari M. · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Tokyo, Japan
Quantifying vegetable output from urban farmland in Tokyo's Nerima Ward, the study finds a weight-based self-sufficiency rate of just 6.18% and an aggregate nutritional self-sufficiency of about 2.86%, showing urban agriculture covers only a tiny fraction of local food and nutrition needs.
PolicyWelfare