Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
2067 results(29 / 83)
Blocking out the rabbit holes: Photovoice and community gardening as a healing space for veterans
2021Karen Besterman‐Dahan, Sarah Bradley, Nora B. Arriola, Kiersten Downs · Wellbeing Space and Society · United States
In collaboration with a local garden, an evaluation explored the perceived benefits of gardening for veterans from two Veterans Affairs (VA) programs in the United States. Using focus groups and photovoice methods, four main benefits of participation were revealed: supporting mental and emotional wellbeing, improving socialization and comradery, nurturing life and identity, and learning new skills.
CommunityHealthWelfareImpact of Urban Agriculture on Household Income in Zambia: An Economic Analysis
2020Mupeta M., Kuntashula E., Kalinda T. · Asian Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development · Zambia (Kitwe, Lusaka)
Using propensity score matching on survey data from Kitwe and Lusaka, this study finds that urban agriculture participation increases household income by 13.7–19.1%, demonstrating a significant positive economic impact.
EconomicsCommunityPolicyQuantifying nutrient recovery efficiency and loss from compost-based urban agriculture
2020Shrestha P., Small G.E., Kay A. · PLOS ONE, 15(4):e0230996 · United States
A study measuring and quantifying nutrient recovery efficiency and loss from compost application in urban gardens. It shows compost often supplies phosphorus far in excess of crop demand, and surplus P can be lost to waterways. The work argues that closing the food-waste-to-compost loop in urban agriculture must be designed for sustainable nutrient management, not just diversion.
CompostOrganic cycleFood lossEconomicsCultivating Place: Urban Development and the Institutionalization of Seattle's P–Patch Community Gardens
2020Charlotte Glennie · City & Community · United States (Seattle)
This study examines how culture shapes urban political and economic processes by analyzing documents and interviewing advocates of Seattle's P-Patch community garden program, which has secured near-permanence for its publicly owned sites. It finds that advocates leveraged cultural capital and Seattle's legal-policy infrastructure to institutionalize the gardens within urban planning, but notes that as amenities signaling sustainability the gardens also contribute to gentrification, so equity requires deliberate consideration.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsGardening in Times of Urban Transitions: Emergence of Entrepreneurial Cultivation in Post–Katrina New Orleans
2020Yuki Kato · City & Community · United States (New Orleans)
This study examines the development of the urban cultivation scene in New Orleans over the decade following Hurricane Katrina, focusing on entrepreneurial projects. Contextualizing in-depth interviews with growers, it finds that dominant motives shifted from social missions to economic interests as the city moved from recovery to redevelopment, and argues that the distinction between socially and economically motivated cultivation cannot be easily drawn.
EconomicsCommunityPolicyResilience characteristics of the urban agriculture system in Lansing, Michigan: Importance of support actors in local food systems
2020Caitlin K. Kirby, Lissy Goralnik, Jennifer Hodbod, Zach Piso, Julie C. Libarkin · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (Lansing)
A descriptive correlational survey (n=92) of the urban agriculture system in Lansing, Michigan, examining demographics, farm characteristics, motivations, barriers, and resilience indicators. Support actors (nonprofits, university extension, municipalities) were most strongly motivated by social and environmental justice, and motivations around community-building and justice correlated significantly with several resilience indicators.
CommunityPolicyChemical and biological indicators of soil health in Chicago urban gardens and farms
2020Carmen M. Ugarte, John R. Taylor · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (Chicago)
This study evaluated chemical and biological soil-health indicators at 21 urban-to-periurban sites in Chicago (home gardens, community gardens, institutional farms, and private urban farms). It measured soil fertility, nematode trophic composition and food-web indices, and concentrations of lead, arsenic, and zinc; nematode communities differed by management scale and were likely influenced by soil organic matter and pH. Lead, arsenic, and zinc were below levels of concern, and soil fertility was significantly increased by management, particularly in community gardens and urban farms.
CompostBiodiversityCommunityDevelopment and validation of the Just Community Gardening Survey: A measure of the social and dietary outcomes of community garden participation
2020Kate G. Burt, Kathleen Delgado · Electronic Green Journal · United States (New York)
This study developed and validated a survey measuring the social and dietary outcomes of community garden participation in relation to food-system equity, testing it with community gardeners in New York City (n=38). The resulting 25-item Just Community Gardening Survey showed high test-retest reliability and internal consistency and covers domains such as social cohesion, collective efficacy, dietary intake, and food access, incorporating food-justice aspects not assessed in prior research.
CommunityHealthPolicyTowards sustainable urban food systems: Analyzing contextual and intrapsychic drivers of growing food in small-scale urban agriculture
2020Mohammed Hussen Alemu, Carola Grebitus · PLOS ONE · United States
This study used choice experiments and latent class analysis in North America to quantitatively examine what drives consumer preferences for growing food in community gardens. It found that providing tools and guidance were the most important contextual factors for participation, that proponents were characterized by high subjective knowledge and perceived benefits, and that opponents had low knowledge. The authors suggest the findings can inform policies promoting sustainable urban food systems.
CommunityPolicyDIYAnalysis of the Soil Microbiome of a Los Angeles Urban Farm
2020Savanah St. Clair, Maryam Saraylou, Daila Melendez, Norman Senn, Serina Reitz, Destini Kananipour, Angelo Alvarez · Applied and Environmental Soil Science · United States (Los Angeles)
This research characterized the arable soils at Los Angeles Pierce College to address health and food-security challenges, using soil physical/chemical measurements, microbial cultivation, and 16S rDNA sequencing on a citizen-science platform. It found plant-growth-promoting, antibiotic-producing and bioremediating bacteria—including abundant Streptomyces, Bacillus and Methylobacteria—across fields with distinct microclimates, and tests indicated that plant-based oils could control antibiotic-resistant bacteria more effectively than common antibiotics. The authors say the results can guide future trials and product development by identifying target soil microorganisms and the most viable fields.
BiodiversityHealthOrganic cycleGrowing North Minneapolis: Connecting Youth and Community through Garden-based Experiential Learning
2020Mary Rogers, Illana Livstrom, Brandon Roiger, Amy Smith · HortTechnology · United States (Minneapolis)
Growing North Minneapolis (GNM) is an urban agriculture and youth development summer program in North Minneapolis, MN, run as a partnership between the University of Minnesota and community partners that recruits, trains, and employs youth aged 14–15 facing barriers to employment. Post-program qualitative surveys showed that youth learned across multiple domains of knowledge and valued the social interaction offered by the intergenerational mentorship structure.
Food educationCommunityWelfareLow Tunnels Reduce Insect Populations, Insecticide Application, and Chewing Insect Damage on Brussels Sprouts
2020· Journal of Economic Entomology · USA
Tests low-cost, spun-bonded-fabric low tunnels as a physical barrier against airborne insects on Brussels sprouts. Finds they reduce insect populations, insecticide applications, and chewing damage.
DIYHealthConnecting Learning and Play in Farm-to-School Programs: Children's Culture, Local School Context and Nested Inequalities
2020· Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition · USA
A study of how farm-to-school educators combine education and play in a student-centered learning environment, considering children's culture, local school context, and nested inequalities.
Food educationCommunityAssessing Human Health Risks from Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS)-Impacted Vegetable Consumption: A Tiered Modeling Approach
2020· Environmental Science & Technology · United States
Using a tiered model, the study shows that consuming vegetables grown in PFAS-impacted soil or irrigation water can be an important human exposure pathway, raising concern over produce from contaminated sites.
HealthMonitoring and mitigation of toxic heavy metals and arsenic accumulation in food crops: A case study of an urban community garden
2020Cooper A., Felix D., Alcantara F., Schroeder J. · Plant Direct · USA (San Diego)
At an urban community garden in San Diego, in-ground vegetables and fruit trees accumulated lead and arsenic, showing urban garden soils can contaminate food crops; raised beds with clean soil eliminated detectable contamination.
HealthCommunityThe tale of two community gardens: green aesthetics versus food justice in the big apple
2020· Agriculture and Human Values · New York City, USA
Contrasts two New York community gardens to reveal tensions between 'green aesthetics' and 'food justice,' arguing that an aesthetics/beautification orientation can align with gentrification and marginalize the needs of low-income communities of color.
CommunityPolicyNeighborhood Composition and Community Garden Locations: The Effect of Ethnicity, Income, and Education
2020Butterfield K. L. · Sociological Perspectives · USA
Analyzes how community garden locations relate to neighborhood composition, showing an uneven distribution in which gardens are not necessarily sited where most needed; ethnicity, income, and education shape access and can produce green-space inequity.
CommunityPolicyEco-gentrification and who benefits from urban green amenities: NYC's high Line
2020· Landscape and Urban Planning · USA (New York City)
Empirical study of NYC's public High Line project showing housing values near the park rose 35% and rents ~68%, with parkgoers overwhelmingly white/tourist—evidence that a flagship public greening investment captured value for the affluent and failed its low-income host neighborhood.
PolicyEconomicsWelfareFood for the Cities Programme
2020FAO · Food and Agriculture Organization · Latin America and Africa
FAO Food for the Cities Programme pilot case studies in Latin America and Africa. Examines linkages between urban farmers, food banks, and school meals; sustainable food system development; institutional market connections. Demonstrates public procurement models supporting urban farmers.
PolicyCommunityUrban gardening and neglected and underutilized species in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
2020Manuela Alves da Cunha, Lidice Almeida Arlego Paraguassú, José Geraldo de Aquino Assis, Arthur Benjamin de Paula Carvalho Silva, Ryzia de Cassia Vieira Cardoso · Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine · Brazil (Salvador)
A city-wide mapping of active food gardens in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, followed by site visits and interviews with gardeners. Only 18 active food gardens could be located in the whole municipality; 17 took part (8 communal, 9 private). Gardeners averaged 55.76 years old and were 52.9% male overall, but women made up 87.5% of communal-garden gardeners and had higher education levels. For 52.9% of respondents the garden was their main source of income; 82.4% ate the produce, 70.6% also sold it and 47.1% donated. Fifty-nine neglected and underutilized species (NUS) were recorded, with 76.5% of respondents reporting they eat 19 of them. The gardens supply affordable food and food diversity without government support — but the very small absolute number of active gardens in a city of this size is equally part of the finding.
Heirloom & landraceBiodiversityCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceA Multi-Sectoral Approach Improves Early Child Development in a Disadvantaged Community in Peru: Role of Community Gardens, Nutrition Workshops and Enhanced Caregiver-Child Interaction: Project "Wawa Illari"
2020Doris González-Fernández, Ana Sofía Mazzini Salom, Fermina Herrera Bendezu, Sonia Huamán, Bertha Rojas Hernández, Illène Pevec, Eliana Mariana Galarza Izquierdo, Nicoletta Armstrong, Virginia Thomas, Sonia Vela Gonzáles, Carlos Gonzáles Saravia, Marilyn E. Scott, Kristine G. Koski · Frontiers in Public Health · Peru (Lima)
In peripheral settlements of the Pachacámac district of metropolitan Lima, Peru, community health promoters delivered a sequence of (1) home and community gardens, (2) 'conscious nutrition' and (3) parenting workshops (ICDP), comparing 113 children aged 0–3 in intervention communities with 127 in control communities at baseline, 8 and 12 months. The interventions significantly reduced the risk of food insecurity (adjusted risk ratio 0.20, 95% CI 0.08–0.51) and of language delay (0.39, 0.19–0.82), but did not significantly improve motor or social/cognitive delay. Multiple micronutrient supplement use lowered motor delay risk (0.12), while households with more pets had higher risk of motor delay (3.24), social/cognitive delay (2.72) and food insecurity (1.73). Because gardens were bundled with nutrition and parenting components, the contribution of the gardens alone cannot be isolated.
Limited or null effectHealthFood educationCommunityWelfareConsumers' Perception of Urban Farming—An Exploratory Study
2020Carola Grebitus, Lauren Chenarides, Rebecca Logsdon Muenich, Alex Mahalov · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · United States
This research investigates consumers' perception and acceptance of urban agriculture through a qualitative, exploratory field study with 19 residents from a major metropolitan area in the southwest U.S. The concept mapping procedure was used, and data were analyzed using content and semantic network analysis. Consumers' perceptions of urban farming related to environment, society, economy, and food attributes. The study found a much higher number of positive associations than negative, signaling that consumers would likely accept farming in close proximity, though individual perceptions varied greatly.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceKnitting Together Communities - Designing the Heart of Six Corners and Old Hill
2020Samantha Bowman, Ankur Choudhary, Alexandria Connell, Megan G. Davey, Katina Decoulos, Richard Duhamel, Brooklyn Feng, Ian Finn, Doreen Guan, Sophia Liquori, Connor Moloney, Claudia Namaroff, Emily J. Noonan, Hunter Proulx, Stephen Rezendes, Maura Robitaille, Vincent Shu, Jaques Skriletz · Scholarworks (University of Massachusetts Amherst) · United States (Springfield)
The Senior Urban Design Studio 2019 developed six proposals for a transformative urban district in Springfield, MA, focusing on enhancing aesthetic quality and resident well-being. The study analyzed district assets and engaged residents through site visits, interviews, and workshops. It aimed to create a framework for a strong identity and coherence in the Six Corners and Old Hill neighborhoods, which feature active urban agriculture.
CommunityUrban–rural linkagePolicySEMEADURAS: UMA CARTOGRAFIA NA ATENÇÃO PRIMÁRIA EM SAÚDE
2020Vatsi Meneghel Danilevicz · Psicologia & Sociedade · Brazil (Bahia)
This experience report details the journey of a community garden at a Family Health Unit (USF) in southern Bahia, Brazil, aiming to revive local knowledge and create visibility. Using a cartographic methodology, the study analyzed the garden's effects on participants' health and the bond between health workers and service users. The garden, primarily involving around ten poor, elderly Black women residents, proved to be a powerful tool for therapeutic support, relationship building, cultivation of medicinal plants, reduction in allopathic medication use, and production of vegetables and fruits for participants' consumption.
CommunityHealthElderlyWelfareO reflexo da ausência de políticas de incentivo à agricultura urbana orgânica: um estudo de caso em duas cidades no Brasil
2020Larissa Maas, Rosane Malvestiti, Leila Amaral Gontijo · Cadernos de Saúde Pública · Brazil
This study assessed the main difficulties faced by seven urban organic farmers in two Brazilian cities without policies encouraging urban farming, through semi-structured interviews conducted from July to December 2018. The research revealed challenges such as a lack of trained labor, inadequate machinery and equipment for small areas, and insufficient financing, indicating that the absence of policies hinders the development of urban organic farming.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCommunity