Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
845 results(27 / 34)
A Study on Urban Gardening in Everyday Life toward Sustainable Urban Regeneration - Case of Sujin 2-dong, Seongnam-si in South Korea -
2016Jae-Min Park, Jung-Kwon Choi, Eun-Yeong Park · Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture · South Korea (Seongnam-si)
This study examined urban gardening in Sujin 2-dong, Seongnam-si, South Korea, through on-site inspections and interviews, to find solutions for sustainable urban regeneration. It found that vertical gardens are prevalent due to limited space, with rooftop gardens primarily for production and stair gardens for aesthetic purposes. The study identified six garden locations and noted differences between detached and multi-household houses.
CommunityPolicyDIYThe Green School: a sustainable approach towards environmental education: Case study
2016Lalieta Somwaru · Brazilian Journal of Science and Technology · Suriname
In Suriname, "The Green School" project, initiated in October 2013, is being implemented in all primary schools nationwide. This project aims to positively influence children's environmental behavior through practical activities, focusing on biodiversity (including school gardens), waste, water, and energy. Of the 333 primary schools in Suriname, 286 have been officially designated "Green Schools," and monitoring has shown improvements in classroom and schoolyard cleanliness and sustainable water and energy usage.
Food educationBiodiversityDIYSchool Garden—Plastic Wading Pool Hydroponics
2016Edmund L. Thralls · EDIS · United States
This 4-page fact sheet, published by the UF Department of Environmental Horticulture in October 2015, provides instructions for creating a hydroponic garden using a plastic wading pool. It details the materials, tools, and construction steps required to grow various crops in a liquid nutrient solution. The publication aims to engage youth in food systems through hydroponics in school garden settings.
Food educationDIYEffects of Media Kinds and Container Forms for Urban Agriculture on the Growth Characteristics of Several Herbaceous and Woody Plants
2016Young Hyoo Kwon, Su‐Jin Kim, Ha Kyeong Oh, Sang-Kyun Han, Seak Jin Kim · Journal of people, plants, and environment · Global
This study examined the effects of media kinds and container forms on the growth of herbaceous and woody plants for urban greenery and landscape gardens. Five plant species were experimented on three different media kinds (horticultural substrate, decomposed granite, and a mix) and two container forms (vinyl pot and plug tray). Most species experimented on horticultural substrate tended to have the highest growth rate in plant height, root length, number of leaves, and fresh biomass weight. The use of plug trays was found to be more applicable than vinyl pots, considering plant growth rates and shipment convenience.
DIYUrban–rural linkageOrti urbani come dispositivi di innovazione sociale
2016Chiara Zonda · · Italy (Milan)
This abstract is a personal reflection on the author's childhood experiences with a family garden in Milan's hinterland, Italy. It describes the author's fascination with gardens and the sense of peace and community they provided. The author then notes realizing that urban gardens could serve as a strong tool for social aggregation within a neighborhood or community, leading to further research on existing successful urban garden initiatives worldwide.
CommunityPeri-urban agricultureDIYDeveloping food literacy through food production
2016Heather Yeatman · Research Online (University of Wollongong) · Global
This chapter focuses on how food literacy is developed through experiences with food production in different settings, including agriculture, urban food production, and home and school gardens.
Food educationDIYCommunityAtelier 1 Agriculture urbaine et nouveaux marchés la vente de bacs prévégétalisés aux particuliers
2016Marie-Dominique Pivetaud et Jean-Claude Legendre, Entrepreneurs chez Nature et potager en ville · · Global
This workshop focuses on the sale of pre-vegetated planters to individuals and businesses as a new market within the urban agriculture sector.
DIYEconomicsVeganic farming at the Montreal Vegan Festival
2016Stéphane Stéphane · · Canada
Stephane Groleau gave a talk on Urban Vegan Agriculture at the Montreal Vegan Festival on November 6, 2016. The event also featured an information booth on veganic agriculture. The talk highlighted that growing food in cities without animal exploitation is possible, despite urban agriculture often relying on such practices.
DIYFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityA Study on the Prefab Greenhouse on the Rooftop for the Neighborhood Regeneration in Seoul, South Korea
2016Hae-Yeon Yoo · International Journal of Smart Home · South Korea (Seoul)
This study evaluated the purpose and method of new facilities for urban farming in neighborhood regeneration during the establishment of the castle village regeneration plan in Seoul's Haengchon District. It examined a method to reduce residents' economic burden and generate profits with neighbors by utilizing unused rooftop spaces of multi-family houses. A prefabricated greenhouse designed for lightness and miniaturization was selected for the rooftop of "Haengchon Lot," the revitalization center of Haengchon-dong.
CommunityEconomicsDIYDesign, fabrication and performance evaluation of solar dryer for banana
2015Hegde V.N., Hosur V.S., Rathod S.K., Harsoor P.A., Narayana K.B. · Energy, Sustainability and Society · India
Designs and fabricates an indirect, active-type, low-cost solar dryer from locally available, biodegradable materials. Evaluates drying characteristics and quality using banana, a crop with high post-harvest losses in India.
DIYFood lossEconomicsDesign and Construction of an Inexpensive Homemade Plant Growth Chamber
2015· PLOS ONE · Global
Describes the design and construction of an inexpensive homemade plant growth chamber built from low-cost materials as an accessible alternative to costly commercial units for controlled indoor plant growth.
DIYEconomicsAn Automated System for Monitoring Soil Moisture and Controlling Irrigation Using Low-cost Open-source Microcontrollers
2015· HortTechnology · Global
An automated irrigation controller built from open-source Arduino boards, capacitance soil-moisture sensors and solenoid valves that logs volumetric water content and triggers irrigation by threshold; inexpensive and suited to home gardens, greenhouses and nurseries.
DIYEconomicsEvaluación de la producción de papa criolla solanum phureja clon paisa en contenedores de polietileno de alta densidad bajo el marco de agricultura urbana
2015Daniel Andrés Vega Castro · Luna Azul · Colombia
A 2015 descriptive study in Colombia evaluated the production of criolla potato Solanum phureja 'Paisa' clone in an urban context. High-density polyethylene double-bottom containers and agroecological production techniques, including fertilization based on organic matter, minerals, and microorganisms, were used. Results showed an average production of 528.36 g/plant for S. phureja in containers, indicating a viable alternative compared to average production in Colombia and the department of Cundinamarca.
DIYFood sovereignty & justiceTropical Permaculture and Green Building
2015Stephane Bour · · Global
Ecotrancoso focuses on restoring life to an ecosystem that has been transformed into a desert by unsustainable agricultural practices. This is achieved through the creation of a food forest.
DIYOrganic cycleBiodiversityClimate changeBrooklyn Farmer
2015Andrew Koval · Educational Media Reviews Online · United States (New York City)
The 27-minute documentary film "Brooklyn Farmer" (2014) covers organic urban rooftop farming as a business. The film offers perspectives on the cost of farm labor's exposure to pesticides versus the increased cost of organic vegetables, citing aesthetics, supply chain reduction, and human health as benefits of urban farming. While noted for its informative text and enhanced production value, a stated limitation is that it should have featured farmers in a more traditional vegetable production capacity to provide a diversity of opinion concerning the market.
DIYEconomicsHealthFood educationA Study on Improving the Utilization of Biotope Area Ratio System Considering the Plant Growth Conditions
2015Gunwon Lee, Yunnam Jeong, Seongkyun Ji, Seiyong Kim · Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society · South Korea
This study aimed to improve Biotope Area Ratio (BAR) systems to address the increasing demand for urban agriculture, particularly in residential complexes where architectural and urban planning responses are lacking. It found that existing BAR systems are limited for crop cultivation because they only consider vegetation. The research proposes expanding BAR systems to include plant growth capacity factors, such as daylight, planting interval, area, and soil depth, to better accommodate urban agriculture demands.
Governance failurePolicyDIYCommunityUse of soil amendments for urban horticulture in the savannah and forest areas of Ghana
2015Abdul‐Halim Abubakari, Laura Atuah, B. Banful, Hypolite Bayor · Journal of Soil Science and Environmental Management · Ghana
A study in Ghana reviewed literature and surveyed farmers on soil amendments for urban horticulture. The review found that research on soil amendments has been limited to land management and nutrient recovery, not addressing quality issues for specific production systems. Farmers adopt varying application rates due to lack of standardization, and barriers include technology for collection, funds for purchase, and labor employment.
Economic viabilityDIYCompostEconomicsAssessing the Residents’ Preference of Awareness Regarding Urban Agriculture at Rooftop Garden
2015Neda Jafari, Mohd Yazid Mohd Yunos, Md Azree Othuman Mydin, Osman Mohd Tahir · Applied Mechanics and Materials · Malaysia
This quantitative survey research examined residents' awareness and preferences regarding urban agriculture at rooftop gardens in The Heritage condominium in Selangor and Sri Putramas 2 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The survey results indicated that residents who participated agreed with the awareness of urban agriculture at rooftop gardens. The study aims to promote sustainable building and the use of urban agriculture in residential rooftop gardening.
DIYCommunityFood educationTrace Metal Contamination in New York City Garden Soils
2015Zhongqi Cheng, Anna Paltseva, Ireyena Li, Tatiana Morin, Hermine Huot, Sara Perl Egendorf, Zulema Su, Roxanne Yolanda, Kishan Singh, Leda Lee, Michael Grinshtein, Ying Liu, Kayo Green, Win Wai, Bushra Wazed, Richard K. Shaw · Soil Science · United States (New York City)
This study analyzed trace metal concentrations (Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Pb) in 1,652 soil samples from 904 gardens in New York City. It found that many soils exceeded New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Soil Cleanup Objective (SCO) limits for Pb, Cr, As, and Cd. Specifically, about 21% of community garden samples and 71% of home garden samples exceeded SCO limits for Pb and As, and less than 3% of all samples met criteria for unrestricted use.
Contamination & food safetyHealthCommunityDIYThe Efficacy Assessment and Manufacture of Kitchen Garden Soil Using Livestock Manure for an Urban Agriculture
2015Jong-Jin Lee, Ki Woon Chang, Ki-Pil Han, Joo-Hwa Hong, Dong‐Soek Lee, Young‐Jun Kim · 유기물 자원화 · South Korea
This study manufactured kitchen garden soil for urban agriculture and conducted a growth experiment with lettuce. Soil mixed with peatmoss, livestock manure, cocopeat, zeolite, and microbial fertilizer in a 49:35:10:5:1 ratio showed appropriate levels for pH, total nitrogen, available phosphate, cations, and salt content. In the lettuce growth experiment using this manufactured soil, leaf length increased by 21%, leaf width by 20%, chlorophyll content by 17%, and biomass by 22% compared to the control group.
DIYOrganic cycle도심주거지에 나타나는 일상문화로서의 도시정원가꾸기에 대한 고찰 - 용산구 용산동2가 해방촌을 중심으로 -
2015심주영, 조경진 · 한국조경학회지 = Journal of Korean institute of landscape architecture · South Korea
This study aims to rediscover urban gardening as an everyday culture overlooked during urbanization. Focusing on Haebangchon, an organic urban residential area in Yongsan-dong 2-ga, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, it examines how urban gardening, in its modern sense, connects with the lives of single-family home residents to improve the physical environment and foster relationships among local residents, through understanding its characteristics and spatial features.
CommunityDIYUrban–rural linkagePengembangan desain pembelajaran berbasis pendidikan pertanian (agriculture education) pada tema Urban Farming untuk meningkatkan kecakapan abad 21 di bdang biologi siswa SMA Laboratorium UM / Widya Dwi Kharismawati
2015Widya Dwi Kharismawati · SKRIPSI Mahasiswa UM · Indonesia
This study aimed to develop an agricultural education-based learning design on the theme of urban farming to enhance 21st-century skills (creativity, digital literacy, collaboration, work ethic, and leadership) in biology students at UM Laboratory High School in Indonesia. Using the Dick, Carey, and Carey (2009) development model, learning designs and materials such as syllabi, lesson plans (RPP), supplementary textbooks, and written tests were developed. Expert and practitioner evaluations indicated high validity for the developed materials, and implementation results were also rated as high.
Food educationDIYNotes toward an Introduction: Friendship as a Way of Life
2015Benjamin Shepard · Palgrave Macmillan US eBooks · United States (New York City)
This paper describes a guerilla gardening action that took place in August 2012 at a vacant lot at 181 Stanton Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. Activists dismantled a fence, cleaned the lot, and planted flowers, transforming it into a community space. Within weeks, community support led to the passage of a resolution supporting a green-thumb lease for the garden, named Siempre Verde.
CommunityDIYEngaging First Year Students through Service Learning Projects: Designing for Community Gardens
2015Karinna Vernaza · · United States
This paper describes a semester-long, community-based service learning project at Gannon University's First-Year Seminar in Engineering, utilizing the university's community garden. Projects included designing a rainwater collection system and vertical planters to engage first-year students in the engineering design process. Students' self-reported data indicated increased appreciation for engineering design and understanding of societal engineering solutions.
Food educationCommunityDIYArt Education in My Backyard: Creative Placemaking on an Urban Farm
2015Jodi Kushins · OpenSIUC (Southern Illinois University Carbondale) · Global
This paper describes an art educator's experience transforming her backyard into an urban farm with the help of friends and neighbors, combining an autoethnographic account with research. She leveraged her knowledge of artistic and educational initiatives prioritizing collective activity to position her work as participatory environmental art education. The paper is structured around the main steps of planting a garden—siting, amending, seeding, tending, and harvesting—to draw parallels between garden maintenance and designing holistic art education.
DIYCommunityFood education