Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
7626 results(288 / 306)
Re-Creating Awareness of Traditional Leafy Vegetables in Communities
2007Voster Ineke H.J, Jansen van Rensburg Willem, Van Zijl J.J.B, Venter Sonja L · African Journal of Food Agriculture Nutrition and Development · South Africa
In South Africa, traditional leafy vegetables have been labeled as weeds since the 1960s, leading to a negative perception and unwillingness to use them. Awareness activities in six communities, including training sessions in seven schools and eight community gardens, aimed to improve the status of these crops. These activities resulted in increased awareness of their poor conservation status, appointment of seed keepers, and a noticeable increase in demand for seeds and production training.
Food educationCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthDeveloping the Urban Agriculture and Constructing the Ecological City of Dongguan
2007Lai Yong-chao · Guangdong Landscape Architecture · China (Dongguan)
This article introduces the definition, features, and global situation of urban agriculture. It analyzes the dominant position for the development of urban agriculture in Dongguan city and advocates for its development and the construction of an ecological city.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyCommunityDoes community-supported agriculture support conservation?
2007Mark Anderson-Wilk · Journal of Soil and Water Conservation · Global
This abstract discusses the concept of Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA), pioneered in Japan and Europe in the 1960s and introduced to the US in the mid-1980s. CSAs are described as a model where individuals become farm members, sharing the risks and benefits of food production and receiving shares of local produce. The abstract introduces the question of whether CSAs support natural resource conservation but does not present any specific findings or conclusions regarding this question.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityOrganic cycleArchaeological Desk-Based Assessment of Hanover Works, Scotland Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire
2007Mark Stenton · Archaeology Data Service · United Kingdom (Sheffield)
This desk-based archaeological assessment of Hanover Works in Sheffield, UK, conducted in July 2007, involved a site visit and documentary research. The area was likely agricultural in the medieval period, becoming small plots by the early 17th century, and developed industrially from the early 19th century. The assessment suggests that 19th-century subsurface archaeological features may remain beneath present-day structures, though their condition is undetermined.
CommunityPolicySPIN-Farming: advancing urban agriculture from pipe dream to populist movement
2007Roxanne Christensen · Sustainability Science Practice and Policy · United States (Philadelphia)
This paper discusses SPIN-Farming as a tool to demonstrate the economic viability of urban agriculture, which was initially advocated in Philadelphia in 1998. While social and environmental benefits are clear, economic proof was needed to motivate policymakers. The author applied entrepreneurial experience to develop SPIN-Farming, aiming to revive the farming profession and enable a scalable, accessible farming concept across economic classes and geographical boundaries, fostering local food systems.
EconomicsPolicyCommunityAmbivalent landscapes—wilderness in the urban interstices
2007Anna Jørgensen, Marian Tylecote · Landscape Research · Global
This paper explores the origins of ambivalent responses to contemporary urban landscapes, proposing that post-modern wilderness can be found in urban interstices. These include woodlands, abandoned allotments, river corridors, and derelict sites where spontaneous vegetation growth occurs. Such interstitial wilderness landscapes are identified as having important functions and being rich in meaning, with implications for understanding nature-human relationships and for urban landscape planning.
CommunityBiodiversityUrban–rural linkagePolicySELECCIÓN PARTICIPATIVA DE VARIEDADES Y EXPERIMENTACIÓN CAMPESINA EN AGRICULTURA URBANA EN EL CULTIVO DEL PLÁTANO (Musa spp.)
2007María de los A Pino, Loracnis Hernández, María E Dominí, Arturo Ocampo Ramírez, Z. Terán, Eduardo Calves · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cuba
This study in San José de las Lajas and Arroyo Naranjo, Cuba, aimed to assess if participatory variety selection and farmer experimentation could introduce, adopt, and disseminate plant biodiversity in urban banana cultivation. Results demonstrated the potential of participatory methodologies to introduce and adopt materials from an agrobiodiversity fair, with selection differences based on criteria and municipal contexts. This provided initial evidence for such urban cultivation experiences.
CommunityBiodiversityHeirloom & landraceArchaeological Desk-Based Assessment of Bankwood Lane, New Rossington, South Yorkshire
2007Mark Stenton · Archaeology Data Service · United Kingdom (South Yorkshire)
In October 2007, ARCUS conducted a desk-based assessment of land at Bankwood Lane, New Rossington, South Yorkshire (SK 60828 98613), which included a site visit, documentary, and cartographic research. The site is located in an area of key significance for the Iron Age and Romano-British periods and was parkland or pasture within the Rossington Hall estate between approximately 1220 and 1938. Substantial ground disturbance was unlikely during this period or subsequent post-war development, as the site contained allotment gardens and a factory unit without basement levels.
CommunityAPLICACIÓN DE MÉTODOS PARTICIPATIVOS PARA LA DIVERSIFICACIÓN DE CULTIVOS EN LA AGRICULTURA URBANA
2007Loracnis Hernández, María de los A Pino, Elein Terry · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cuba (San José de las Lajas)
This study in San José de las Lajas, La Habana province, aimed to apply participatory methodologies to support traditional extension methods in urban agriculture and address farmers' problems with access to seed diversity and management knowledge. Three Agrobiodiversity fairs allowed producers to select preferred varieties of plantain, tomato, chili, and pepper, with FIAT-01 plantain, Amalia tomato, and Comandante Largo pepper being highly selected. A second stage focused on farmer schools and peasant experimentation for beans, which increased varietal diversity and promoted the dissemination and adoption of new varieties.
CommunityBiodiversityFood educationThe movement for an economy of solidarity: urban agriculture and local exchange trading systems in Quebec
2007Manon Boulianne · Research in economic anthropology · Canada (Quebec)
In Quebec, various initiatives linked to an "economy of solidarity" trend emerged from the mid-1990s. Using empirical material from a study conducted in Quebec between 2001 and 2004, this article aims to contribute to the understanding of marginal socioeconomic systems and practices, such as urban collective gardening and local exchange trading systems. These systems rely almost entirely on local resources and contribute to local provisioning.
EconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceCARACTERIZACIÓN DE LA DIVERSIDAD DE CULTIVOS CON VISTAS A LA ADOPCIÓN DE NUEVAS ESPECIES Y/O VARIEDADES DE FLORES DE CORTE EN DIFERENTES SISTEMAS PRODUCTIVOS DEL MUNICIPIO SAN JOSÉ DE LAS LAJAS
2007Ania Yong, Eduardo Calves, Bárbara Benítez · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cuba (San José de las Lajas)
A diagnostic study was conducted to characterize crop diversity in gardens, plots, and patios in the North, South, and Jamaica districts of San José de las Lajas, Cuba. The main crops established in the different production systems were vegetables, followed by fruit trees and flowers. Knowledge regarding cut flower production technologies was found to be insufficient, and surveys revealed that 80% of producers were over 60 years old.
CommunityElderlyFood education도시농업의 영농실태와 존속 가능성 모색
2007장동헌 · 지역사회연구 · South Korea
This South Korean study examines the status of farming activities carried out by farmers in urban and peri-urban regions in order to assess the prospects for urban agriculture's continuation, noting that despite its multifunctional role, urban farming faces difficulties including conflicts with urban residents and concerns over the safety of produce, irrigation water and agricultural labor amid urbanization; the paper aims to provide baseline data for discussing the future relationship between urban regions and agriculture.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justicePublic Facilities Built on Top of the Hanaten Sewage Treatment Plant, Osaka City
2007Kouji Sawai · 공동 추계학술발표회(2000~) · Japan
A 2007 report introduces the use of sewage treatment plant rooftops as scarce open space in the densely built-up areas of Osaka, Japan, where urbanization began early. Public facilities including a citizens' allotment garden — described as the first rooftop park in Japan — were built on top of the Hanaten Sewage Treatment Plant, and the report states that these facilities have drawn many visitors since opening in April 2005, due largely to the success of the allotment garden.
CommunityPolicyBiodiversityProblemática urbanística y agraria del huerto (s. III-II AC.)
2007Rosalía Rodríguez López · Revista General de Derecho Romano - ISSN 1697-3046 · Global
This is a historical and legal study of the garden (hortus) in Rome during the third and second centuries BC, examined in terms of the development of urban building practice. In the "Italic house," the garden formed part of the dwelling's architecture, with the compluvium-impluvium serving as a cistern supplying water to both the house and the garden. The ager publicus assigned to veterans often consisted of such small plots that it was effectively an intensive urban vegetable garden attached to a house. Cato's agronomic treatise distinguishes between the suburban garden and the garden attached to the villa (a farming estate), marking a further step in the development of the concept of the hortus.
CommunityUrban–rural linkagePolicy洪山菜薹“三高三省”关键栽培技术
2007朱林耀, 宋朝阳, 易建平, 叶晓佑 · Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Sunyatseni · China
Hongshan caitai (also called purple caitai), a local specialty of Wuhan, China, is regarded alongside Wuchang fish as one of the two great dishes of Chutian (2007). Following direction from the Wuhan municipal government, the Wuhan Municipal Bureau of Agriculture decided in 2005 to spend about three years organizing personnel from multiple fields to jointly develop six major vegetable varieties, including Hongshan caitai, according to industrialization requirements, with the aim of forming distinct regional industry characteristics. Based on years of production practice, the Hongshan Caitai Industrialization Technical Guidance Group compiled key cultivation techniques for growers' reference.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Agriculture Guide
2007A.J. Visser, J.E. Jansma, A.J.G. Dekking, M.J.M. Klieverik · Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling · Europe (Netherlands)
A guide compiling the experiences, learning moments, and tips of those involved in urban agriculture initiatives in the Netherlands, along with an indication of what is needed to further develop urban agriculture in the country.
CommunityFood educationDIYANÁLISE DO PROGRAMA DE HORTAS COMUNITÁRIAS EM CAMPINAS-SP
2007Juliana Arruda, Nilson Antonio Modesto Arraes, Arruda, Juliana, Arraes, Nilson Antonio Modesto · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil
Since 1997, the Municipal Chamber and the executive branch in Campinas, São Paulo state, Brazil, have signaled an intention to place urban agriculture on the political agenda through legislation and regulations governing the Campinas Community Vegetable-Garden Program (CVP). Based on exploratory analysis and interviews conducted in 2005 with program managers, together with documentary sources, this study examined the management of the CVP to inform possible reformulation of the municipality's urban and peri-urban agriculture policy. The analysis found an almost total disconnection between the CVP and the municipality's education, health, and social-action policies.
Governance failureCommunity双流（合江）首届冬草莓节隆重举行
2007刘剑 · 中国果业信息 · China
On December 29, 2006, the first winter strawberry festival was held in the strawberry-garden square of Hejiang town, Shuangliu county, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. At the event, a director from the China Industrial Food Association's southwest regional office awarded Shuangliu county a plaque naming it 'China's Hometown of Winter Strawberries,' and the director of the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Agricultural Economics awarded Hejiang town a plaque designating it a 'Modern Urban Agriculture Development Theory and Practice Base.'
CommunityEconomicsFood educationBABYLON RECONSIDERED: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT THROUGH ROOFTOP URBAN AGRICULTURE
2007Christopher Davis · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network) · United States
A master's thesis addressing persistent socio-economic inequality and environmental destruction in the contemporary American city, particularly environmental injustice, decaying historic structures, poor health, weak community support systems and gentrification pressure in impoverished urban neighborhoods, proposes urban agriculture as a comprehensive, integrated solution spanning urban revitalization, environmentalism and historic preservation. The research culminates in a project adapting rooftops in impoverished urban neighborhoods into a network of public agricultural gardens intended to beautify and revitalize the area.
CommunityWelfarePolicySOBRE LA EXISTENCIA DE MANEJOS GUARANÍES EN LOS HUERTOS HORGÁNICOS COMUNITARIOS DE LA CIUDAD DE ROSARIO EN EL SUR DE SANTA FE. ARGENTINA
2007Carla Ellen Lima Lemos, Eduardo Sevilla Guzmán · REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE AGROECOLOGIA · Argentina
A research note from Rosario, in southern Santa Fe province, Argentina, focused on migrant groups who moved to Rosario from Argentina's northern provinces over the past twenty years, some from the historical Guaraní cultural sphere, bringing agricultural work experience along with their language. Building on a history of resistance to industrial models of nature management through the Ligas Agrarias and, after repression under military dictatorship, work in traditional subsistence gardens within popular cooperativism, the paper sets out to open a line of research at CEPAR testing the hypothesis that Guaraní management forms exist in Rosario's community organic gardens. If supported, this could be termed a "Rosario agroecological gardening style"; the urban agriculture model that has taken shape is described as arising from the interaction between immigrant groups' knowledge and modern conventional agronomic technique.
CommunityOrganic cycleDIYFood educationThe Growing Phenomenon of School Gardens: Measuring Their Variation and Their Affect on Students' Sense of Responsibility and Attitudes Toward Science and the Environment
2007Sonja M. Skelly, Jennifer Bradley · Applied Environmental Education & Communication · United States
A study (Applied Environmental Education & Communication, 2007) summarizing a 2000 investigation of school garden program variation and its impact on 427 third-grade students, developed a typology of nine garden types from a survey of 28 third-grade teachers, classified by activity intensity (high, medium, low) and garden form (flower, vegetable, or combination). Analysis of covariance found significant differences among garden types in students' attitudes toward science and toward the usefulness of science study. No significant differences were found among garden types in students' sense of responsibility or environmental attitudes; scores on those measures were uniformly high with little variation regardless of garden type.
CommunityFood educationHealthToxicity of nitrogenous fertilizers to eggs of snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) in field and laboratory exposures
2007Shane R. de Solla, Pamela A. Martin · Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry · United States
Because many reptiles oviposit in soil within agricultural landscapes, this study evaluated the toxicity of two commonly used nitrogenous fertilizers — urea and ammonium nitrate — to snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) egg survivorship. Eggs were incubated, unmanipulated and under ambient conditions, in a community garden plot treated with urea at realistic rates up to 200 kg/ha in 2004 and ammonium nitrate up to 2,000 kg/ha in 2005, and separately in covered laboratory bins designed to minimize nitrogen loss through volatilization or leaching. In the field, neither urea nor ammonium nitrate affected hatching success or development, despite ammonium nitrate showing overt toxicity to native plants. In the laboratory, however, both fertilizer exposures reduced hatching success, lowered body mass at hatching, and reduced post-hatching survival compared with controls. The authors attribute the field's lack of toxicity to leaching and atmospheric loss of nitrogen in soil, and conclude that nitrogenous fertilizers likely have little direct impact on turtle eggs deposited in agricultural landscapes.
Environmental trade-offsCommunityBiodiversityOrganic cycleSustainable Decentralized Energy Generation & Sanitation: Case EVA Lanxmeer, Culemborg, the Netherlands
2007Arjan van Timmeren, Daniel Sidler, Marleen Kaptein · Journal of Green Building · Europe
This paper is a case study of the integration of a combined wastewater/energy system into a semi-public building, the EVA Centre, within EVA Lanxmeer, a "deep green" district in Culemborg, the Netherlands, consisting of 250 houses, offices, and a City farm. The district lies in an ecologically sensitive drinking-water extraction and retention area, and the approach centres on closing nutrient, water, and carbon cycles and integrating energy generation with waste management using the concept of exergy. The core system is based on anaerobic digestion (treating black wastewater and garden/park waste) combined with Combined Heat and Power generation, alongside a four-storey double-skin-façade closed greenhouse with vertical "hanging gardens" that incorporates wastewater treatment based on the Living Machine concept for educational purposes, recovering surplus CO2 from the biogas plant and storing heat/cold in an underlying aquifer. This "Sustainable Implant" concept is described as connecting the residential district and the EVA Centre, and its inhabitants and visitors.
CommunityClimate changeOrganic cycleUrban Vegetable Crop Production and Production Efficiency
2007Mure Agbonlahor, S. Momoh, A. O. Dipeolu · International Journal of Vegetable Science · Africa
A sample survey of 242 urban vegetable farmers conducted through March 2006 examined production efficiency and its determinants in fadama agriculture — flood-plain cropping of short-duration crops on low-lying, seasonally flooded land — in urban southwestern Nigeria, using a stochastic frontier model. Mean farm size was 0.54 hectares and mean producer age was 42.6 years, while mean technical efficiency was only 74.36%, with the main sources of inefficiency identified as labor employment and the use of land and seed/cultivar resources; the most common crop combination was Telfaria occidentale, Amaranthus hybridus and Zea mays.
Economic viabilityCommunityEconomicsPeri-urban agricultureTrust in markets: Economies of regard and spaces of contestation in alternative food networks
2007· · Global
A discussion piece describes the growth of new forms of food retailing in Europe and North America in which fresh, high-quality produce is sold directly by producers. The most visible example is the rise of farmers' markets in urban locations, alongside a revival of street and municipal markets and new arrangements such as farm shops, box schemes, community-supported agriculture and cooperative bulk purchasing. It characterizes the shared feature of these initiatives as reconnecting food producers and consumers directly, in relationships largely severed by the dominance of corporate multiple retailers, and notes that "alternative food networks" is the term commonly used to cover this range of forms. No empirical data is presented.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomics