Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
7626 results(273 / 306)
Charles French, Mimi Larsen Becker, Bruce E. Lindsay · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Cuba (Havana)
This study examined urban agriculture in Havana, Cuba, using secondary data and interviews with 11 urban gardeners. It found that while agrarian reforms after 1991 led to the growth of private urban gardens and cooperatives, Cuba's integration with the global economy and adoption of free-market principles have since forced dramatic adjustments in the urban agriculture sector. This shift presents challenges to the sector's original role in food security.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsCommunityA.E. van den Berg, Mariëtte H.G. Custers · Journal of Health Psychology · Global
A field experiment with 30 allotment gardeners tested the stress-relieving effects of gardening. Participants performed a stressful Stroop task and were then randomly assigned to 30 minutes of outdoor gardening or indoor reading. Salivary cortisol levels and self-reported mood were repeatedly measured. Both gardening and reading led to decreases in cortisol during the recovery period, but the decreases were significantly stronger in the gardening group. Positive mood was fully restored after gardening, while it further deteriorated during reading.
HealthCommunityGeoffrey Ross Owens · Africa · Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)
This article, using ethnographic and historical approaches, examines unplanned peri-urban settlements on Dar es Salaam's northern and western fringe, Tanzania, between 1975 and 2000. These districts were established by educated urban professionals who used urban farming as an economic diversification strategy. The study found that these settlements contributed to the reproduction of socio-economic inequality, attracting additional economically influential urban in-migrants after 1991.
Equity & displacementPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsCommunityWelfareThe contradictory effects of timelines on community participation in a health promotion programme
2010Lesley Batten, Maureen Holdaway · Health Promotion International · Global
This article explores the multiple timelines (contract, evaluation, program phases, and seasons for a community garden project) in a health promotion program and their effects on implementation and community participation. Timelines, while assisting planning, can also constrain action or force prioritization. The study demonstrates the complexity of these timelines and highlights the importance of skilled facilitation in community development-based programs.
CommunityHealthGrady C Erickson · Lincoln (University of Nebraska) · United States (Lincoln, Nebraska)
This case study in three elementary schools in Lincoln, Nebraska, examined whether socio-economic background affects environmental awareness in children interacting with no-till, raised-bed school gardens. Surveys were used to measure environmental awareness. The hypothesis that lower socio-economic background would result in lower environmental awareness was inversely related to the findings. The school with the most impoverished background (Saratoga) showed the highest percentage of correct answers on environmental awareness surveys, while the school with the highest socio-economic scale (Norris) showed the lowest.
Food educationCommunityMolly Alexandra Croog · School for International Training Digital Collections (School for International Training) · Mexico
This paper explores the urban agriculture movement in Mexico City, investigating who practices it, how, and why. It examines the benefits of urban agriculture and its role in a future food system, discussing food security and sovereignty. Three projects—a traditional farm, a government-funded community project, and a household-level organization—are explored, with conclusions on their impact on economics, community, and environment.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCommunityPolicy美華 朱, 莉莉 木南 · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · China (Shanghai, Harbin)
This study used an internet survey to clarify urban residents' expectations for urban agriculture functions and discuss its sustainability through a comparative analysis of resident assessments in Shanghai and Harbin, China. It notes that expectations for urban agriculture functions and the relative importance of economic efficiency, sociality, and environmental protection vary by location.
EconomicsCommunityPolicyBiodiversityClaire Nettle · Chain reaction · Global
This paper discusses how community gardening can contribute to food security. However, it finds that the potential contribution of community gardens to food security is limited by their insecurity of tenure.
Governance failureCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceIrene H. Reti · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · United States (Santa Cruz, California)
This interview is about Paul Glowaski, Garden Director for the Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz, California. Glowaski, interested in urban agriculture for its self-sufficiency and food security for low-income communities, pursued organic farming training, leading to his current position at the Homeless Garden Project. The project operates a two-acre market farm that trains low-income and homeless community members in sustainable agriculture.
CommunityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceMariana Ponce, R. Terrile, Marielle Dubbeling, Femke Hoekstra, R. van Veenhuizen · Urban Agriculture Magazine · Argentina (Rosario)
This article describes the Urban Agriculture Programme in Rosario, Argentina, which has been in place since 2002. Implemented by the Municipality of Rosario's Secretary of Social Outreach in cooperation with NGO CEPAR and Pro-Huerta INTA, the program aims to create an economy that integrates people and generates inclusive spaces for production, commercialization, organization, participation, and political advocacy alongside urban farmers. The program is currently in the process of consolidation as public policy.
EconomicsCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceSarah Rabkin · · United States
Amy Courtney, founder of Freewheelin’ Farm, a community supported agriculture (CSA) program, delivers shares by bicycle-drawn trailer. Courtney, a 1997 graduate of UCSC’s Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture, started the farm in 2002 with minimal motorized vehicles, utilizing used equipment and recycled materials. She and her partners continue to haul all CSA shares six miles into Santa Cruz by bicycle. Courtney's work is driven by a commitment to social justice, community health, and cultural vitality. The farm collaborates with "Food, What?!"—a youth empowerment program, and hosts cultural and educational initiatives.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityFood miles & supply chainHealthWelfareOrganic cyclePhilip A. Loring, S. Craig Gerlach · Ethnohistory · United States (Alaska)
This paper describes the history of crop cultivation in Athabascan communities of Alaska's Tanana and Yukon Flats regions, revealing a distinct agricultural tradition dating back to the late 1800s. These gardening activities are not widely considered customary or traditional for Alaska Native communities, nor are they incorporated into historical and ethnographic literature on Alaska or high-latitude agriculture. This lack of recognition has consequences for communities experimenting with new community gardens, as land use is heavily regulated by a legal framework based on definitions of "customary and traditional."
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceFood educationMakoto Yokohari, Marco Amati, Jay Bolthouse, Hideharu KURITA · disP - The Planning Review · Japan (Tokyo)
This paper advocates for re-establishing mixed land-use garden zones in and around cities, conceptualized as spaces for urban residents to develop local food cultures. It outlines post-war planning policies that separated urban and agricultural uses, investigates demographic shifts threatening domestic agricultural production, and examines Edo's urban agricultural heritage for a new planning paradigm. The paper demonstrates the need for multifunctional green spaces with examples from the greater Tokyo area and concludes by discussing the need for hybrid garden zones that encourage mixed urban and agricultural uses.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceJohanna Lööw · · Sweden (Malmo)
This thesis presents a case study of the Barn i Stan urban agriculture project in Seved, Malmo, Sweden. Using interviews, observation, and participant observation, the study found that residents perceived the cultivation project made Seved nicer, acting as a meeting place and fostering conversation. Urban cultivation contributed to people's well-being and sense of belonging, integrated different nationalities, and taught about nature and food production, increasing pride and liveliness in the district.
CommunityHealthAndrew Flachs · Electronic Green Journal · United States (Cleveland)
This paper explored the social and cultural effects of urban gardening in the greater Cleveland area. Fieldwork indicated that gardeners combine economic, environmental, political, social, and nutritional motivations, challenging the presumption that utilitarian function and environmentalist ideology are mutually exclusive. The study aimed to convey the complexity of use, function, and intent in communal gardening spaces.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareDavid Fenimore · ISLE Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment · United States (Philadelphia)
This work explores the hidden natural and historical layers beneath Philadelphia's urban landscape, focusing on buried waterways like Mill Creek and the traces of legendary 18th and 19th-century gardens. It describes how the author discerns the re-emergence of "fragile outlines of a large wild garden" in various urban settings, including abandoned areas where wildflowers bloom and community gardens are occasionally established.
CommunityPoppy Nicol · ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) · United Kingdom (London)
This paper studies how various apples enter a community in London, using the apple as a device to analyze the city-region's food system and its connection to productive land. A multi-level analysis examined four arenas of procurement: mainstream retail (supermarkets), wholesale markets, direct links with producers (CSA box schemes, farmers' markets), and ecologically localized procurement (gleaning projects, community orchards). The study explores how these different journeys are understood and accounted for.
CommunityUrban–rural linkageFood miles & supply chainEconomicsEmma Schroeder, Robert M. House · · United States
In two interviews with Emma Schroeder, Robert House shares his memories of the Eagle Heights Community Garden during the 1960s, when he and his wife were graduate students at UW. House recalls advocating for new land grants for the gardens, cultivating various crops, irrigation, the relevance of community garden projects, canning vegetables, using fertilizers and pesticides, raising children in the Eagle Heights community, and relationships with other residents.
CommunityFood educationDIYA. Morton, Betty Franky, Emily Fisher, Erin Doran, Heather Sites · Digital Commons at University of Maryland Carey Law (University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law) · United States (Baltimore)
The student film “Baltimore Urban Gardening” highlights the benefits of creating spaces for and using locally grown produce.
CommunityFood educationHealthKevin C. Matteson, Gail Langellotto · Urban Ecosystems · United States (New York City)
A study in community gardens in densely populated Bronx and East Harlem, New York City, evaluated local and landscape factors influencing bee and butterfly richness. Contrary to predictions, models showed that within-garden variables like floral area and sunlight availability were the most influential factors for both bee and butterfly richness. Marginal support was found for models of bee richness including the number of surrounding building units, which showed a negative association.
CommunityBiodiversityPollinatorsKatie Oberwager · Archives of Oral Biology · Mexico (Oaxaca de Juárez)
This project examined the urban agriculture movement in Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico, as a potential local contribution to food sovereignty. Through interviews, observations, and participation, the research found that urban agriculture can be a form of local political expression against governmental and large agricultural company control over food production and consumption. It concluded that while urban agriculture can make a small contribution to food sovereignty, as a local movement, it cannot resolve global agricultural and food issues.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCommunityUrban–rural linkageEmma Schroeder, Almuth Koby · · United States
In a 2010 interview, Almuth Koby shared her memories of the Eagle Heights Community Garden, including her time as president of the Community Gardens Committee. She described challenges such as members failing to fulfill their duties and the issue of abandoned plots, indicating governance difficulties within the community garden. Koby also recounted her personal gardening journey, from being mentored to mentoring others and learning from diverse cultures.
Governance failureCommunityFood educationDIYThomas W. Blaine, Parwinder S. Grewal, Ashley Dawes, Darrin Snider · Journal of Extension · United States
A profile of participants in an Extension urban community gardening program in the United States showed success in attracting diverse income and age groups. Community gardening contributed to dietary changes for three-quarters of both new and continuing gardeners. The time spent in the garden weekly was influenced by factors such as years in the program, income, diet, and charitable produce donations.
CommunityHealthFood educationSarah Presogna · ScholarlyCommons (University of Pennsylvania) · United States (Philadelphia)
The Morris Arboretum is incorporating two new Green Roofs to demonstrate sustainable and functional stormwater management. The author designed an aesthetically pleasing rooftop garden, informed by visits to other local green roofs, which will mitigate stormwater runoff and showcase native and water-wise plants suitable for the Philadelphia area.
CommunityClimate changeBiodiversityN. Hooton · Development in Practice · Uganda (Kampala)
This article discusses agricultural research and development projects aiming for pro-poor outcomes through policy change. It describes two case studies of actual policy change, one on dairy marketing in Kenya and another on urban agriculture in Kampala, analyzing their policy-change processes. The study highlights two key matters: the role of 'user voice' through links with civil society and user groups, and the value of strong links with 'formal' policy-process actors.
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