Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
7626 results(272 / 306)
Defining and Applying Sustainability: Connecting Sociocultural, Economic and Biological Concepts
2011Patricia M. Clay, Julia Olson · Anthropology News · Global
The available record for this Anthropology News piece consists only of a keyword list — sustainability, biological anthropology, fisheries management, food system, sustainable fishery, Community Supported Agriculture, food and nutrition, ecology and environment — with no abstract text describing a study, method or finding.
CommunityCSA & TeikeiFood sovereignty & justiceJordi Franquesa Sànchez · Revista iberoamericana de urbanismo · Spain
A survey of garden communities (urban interventions built around private-garden housing types with strategic use of open space and facilities) in the Catalan region of Spain, spanning the late 19th century to 1960 — the point at which the rise of private-vehicle access marked a substantial shift in community design ideas. The study finds that these garden communities show versatility in adapting to different cultural contexts while retaining their main identifying features, resulting in a wide range of design outcomes and constituting a precedent relevant to the growth of present-day cities.
CommunityPolicyArrate Corres Velasco · Soberanía alimentaria, biodiversidad y culturas · Argentina
The Urban Agriculture Program of Rosario, Argentina, has succeeded in changing part of the city's landscape by integrating a social-economy project into its neighbourhoods. Formerly unused vacant lots are now community gardens managed agroecologically. Mariana Ponce and Raul Terrile, members of the technical team coordinating the initiative, describe what the program involves.
CommunityOrganic cycleFang Wei-xun · Heilongjiang nongye kexue · Global
A brief theoretical piece reviews garden planning as a creative process of translating gardens into design plans guided by economic conditions and principles of art, examining the regularity, function and disadvantages of garden planning to provide a theoretical basis for community garden planning.
PolicyCommunityFAO · Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) · Global
FAO's programme on urban and peri-urban agriculture, presenting a framework to support city food production for food security, jobs, environment and nutrition.
PolicyCommunityHealthEconomics· ランドスケープ研究（日本造園学会誌）73巻5号 pp.469- · Japan
A field study of how danchi outdoor (open) spaces are actually used, examining directions for regeneration through stock utilization; it found demand was highest for children's play, followed by walking and resting, pointing to the need for regeneration plans that promote diverse outdoor uses, including gardens.
CommunityPolicyHealthGalluzzi G., Eyzaguirre P., Negri V. · Biodiversity and Conservation 19:3635-3654 · Global
Reviews home gardens worldwide as hotspots conserving high inter- and intra-specific genetic diversity, especially traditional crop varieties and landraces, linking agrobiodiversity conservation with cultural diversity and local knowledge.
Heirloom & landraceBiodiversityCommunityHaney D. H. · Routledge · Germany
The first book to fully document Migge's life and work, presenting him as a central figure across garden reform, urban planning, the Siedlungen housing movement, and organic architecture and planning, with extensive archival illustrations.
Organic cycleCommunityWelfareVan den Berg A. E., Van Winsum-Westra M., De Vries S., Van Dillen S. M. E. · Environmental Health · Netherlands
Comparative survey of Dutch allotment gardeners and non-gardening neighbors finding gardeners, especially older adults, scored better on health, wellbeing, physical activity, and social contacts, evidencing welfare benefits of shared urban gardening.
HealthWelfareCommunityMcClintock N. · Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society 3(2):191-207 · United States
Theorizes urban agriculture through the metabolic rift framework, arguing it addresses ecological, social and individual rifts by rescaling production, reclaiming vacant land, and de-alienating urban dwellers from their food.
CommunityPolicyOrganic cycleDraper C., Freedman D. · Journal of Community Practice 18(4):458-492 · United States
Reviews 1999-2010 literature, organizing community gardening purposes, benefits and motivations into eleven themes. Finds rigorous quantitative studies sparse but a substantial body of qualitative evidence.
CommunityWelfareFood educationAlaimo K., Reischl T. M., Allen J. O. · Journal of Community Psychology 38(4):497-514 · United States
Cross-sectional random telephone survey (N=1916) in Flint, Michigan finds household involvement in community gardening/beautification and neighborhood meetings associated with perceptions of bonding and linking social capital and neighborhood norms.
CommunityWelfareWittman, H., Desmarais, A.A., Wiebe, N. (eds.) · Fernwood / Food First Books (ISBN 9780935028379) · Global
A landmark work establishing the theoretical foundations of food sovereignty, systematizing cases of peasant movements (e.g. La Via Campesina) calling for democratization of the food system across the urban-rural divide, centered on reconnecting food, land and rights.
CommunityDubbeling M.C.E., Merzthal G., Soto N. · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · Peru (Lima)
Analyzes the multistakeholder policy formulation process for urban agriculture in Lima's Villa María del Triunfo district, demonstrating that inclusive stakeholder engagement produces more effective municipal policies addressing food security, land use, and economic development simultaneously.
PolicyCommunityWelfareMarit Rosol · International Journal of Urban and Regional Research · Germany (Berlin)
Argues that the state's new acceptance of citizen-run gardens as green-space governance is an expression of neoliberalization: participation is mobilized to shift fiscal responsibility onto residents. Shows contradictory, self-undermining outcomes of this participatory policy instrument.
PolicyCommunitySarah Taylor Lovell · Sustainability · United States
This paper reviews literature on urban agriculture for land use planning in the United States, where interest in urban food production is growing due to economic and food security concerns. It discusses urban agriculture's potential for integrating multiple functions in densely populated areas, from community farms to rooftop gardens. The paper also addresses barriers and constraints, and identifies research opportunities for urban planners and landscape designers to integrate food-systems thinking into city plans.
CommunityPolicyClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceLeonie Pearson, Linda Pearson, Craig J. Pearson · International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability · Global
This paper reviews research on urban agriculture, focusing on its social, economic, and environmental sustainability dimensions. It proposes three elements and three scales for urban agriculture, highlighting legal, social, and economic constraints and opportunities. The analysis suggests future research priorities include identifying principles for resilient cities and trialling innovative institutional mechanisms.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityClimate changeK. Brandon Lang · Culture & Agriculture · United States
This paper investigates the evolution of "From the Ground Up," a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program in Maryland, and the reasons behind its changes. Based on survey and interview data, the study explores how this CSA, which connects producers and consumers through seasonal fees and weekly produce shares, has developed over time.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsKatharine Antonia Travaline, Christian Hunold · Local Environment · United States (Philadelphia)
This study explored urban agriculture's contribution to ecological citizenship in Philadelphia, United States. The analysis was based on participant-observation and open-ended interviews with leaders and community participants from seven urban agricultural organizations. The findings indicate that urban agriculture promotes public participation and social learning about environmental decisions.
CommunityFood educationPolicyPower at the Roots: Gentrification, Community Gardens, and the Puerto Ricans of the Lower East Side
2010Miranda Martinez · · United States (Lower East Side)
This work explores the dynamics of gentrification, community gardens, and their impact on the Puerto Rican community in the Lower East Side. It examines class cultures in conflict, neighborhood transformation, and the symbolic significance of the area.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceThe Urban Tomato
2010M. Fantuz · · Cuba (Havana)
This study presents a systematic analysis of urban agriculture in Havana, Cuba. It proposes a lightweight infrastructure, shaped by the existing built environment, aiming to break the constrictions of rigid orthogonal city planning by offering a new layer of walkable and productive public space. The system materializes the socio-spatial characteristics of Havana and is potentially applicable to a large share of the city.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkage規宏 小原, Norihiro Obara · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan (Kasama)
This study analyzed the development factors of Kasama Klein Garten, an extended-stay allotment garden in Kasama City, Ibaraki Prefecture, focusing on "rurality" as represented in rural areas by external actors. The findings revealed that the development of Kasama Klein Garten is driven by diverse agriculture-related events and workshops offered within the facility, which promote the reconstruction of users' rurality, and this reconstructed rurality encourages continued use of the Klein Garten.
Peri-urban agricultureCommunityUrban–rural linkageDavid Baker Architects · · United States
Armstrong Place is an affordable family townhouse community in the United States, designed as a transit-oriented development. The complex features a large shared open public courtyard with allotment gardens for families to grow food and flowers, as well as a rain garden. It includes a total of 124 rental units and ten for-sale townhomes ranging from $175,000 to $345,000 for families earning 60-100% of the Area Median Income (2011 figures).
CommunityWelfareDIYEvan Marcus Sawyer, Jason Terry Reynolds, Lee F Hermsdorf-Krasin, Robert Brian Grady · Digital WPI · United States (Worcester)
This project aimed to provide AIDS Project Worcester in Worcester, United States, with a visual prototype garden and construction-ready plans. The goal was to facilitate the design, building, and operation of a community garden for the organization.
CommunityWelfareWycliffe Cherono Nyaga · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Kenya (Nairobi)
This study in Nairobi, Kenya, investigated the impact of urban agriculture community gardens on elderly food security, health outcomes, and social support. Surveys and interviews with participants in four gardens revealed a significant improvement in dietary variety (p < 0.05) among elderly residents, with a 25% average increase in vegetable intake. Social support networks within and outside the gardens were also crucial for health maintenance.
CommunityElderlyFood sovereignty & justiceHealth