Research & reports

Wendy Berry Mendes, Kevin Balmer, Terra Kaethler, Amanda Rhoads · Journal of the American Planning Association · North America

This study examined how land inventories can integrate urban agriculture into planning and policymaking for sustainable communities, using case studies of Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, British Columbia. The Portland inventory enabled integration and advanced social and ecological sustainability. In Vancouver, similar integration was achieved, but its smaller scope did little for public involvement and social sustainability.

Willow Saranna Russell, Lydia Zepeda · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · United States (Wisconsin)

A 2008 qualitative study in Wisconsin, USA, examined attitude and behavior changes among a subset of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members. Modified eating or cooking habits, increased consideration of food seasonality, and enhanced appreciation for farming were observed, but no "spillover" changes like reduced driving or increased use of eco-friendly products were found. The study suggests that attitude and behavior changes are generated by CSA's structural elements, not by social norms, and that demonstrated changes increase membership renewal likelihood.

Joan M. Brehm, Brian W. Eisenhauer · Journal of Rural Social Sciences · United States

This research identifies perceived benefits, motivations, and effects of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) activity on community social capital, using quantitative data from CSA memberships in Central Illinois and New Hampshire, United States. Findings indicate that food quality is the strongest motivator for CSA members, while community building and social capital development were not significant motivators or perceived benefits. However, community attachment significantly enhanced motivations like a desire for a stronger sense of community and support for local growers.

Paula Vergili Pérez, Mariângela Brito Freiberger, Ubirajara Contro Malavasi, Marinelva Curti, Marlene Matos Malavasi · Varia Scientia - Ciências da Saúde · Brazil

A diagnostic study in Marechal Cândido Rondon, Brazil, interviewed a sample of owners or users of 3,897 urban non-built lots to understand agricultural production. The most frequent reasons for lot use were producing vegetables and fruits for personal consumption and agricultural work for leisure. Common crops identified included cassava, corn, peanuts, beans, sweet potato, pumpkin, lettuce, orange, lemon, banana, and mango.

Nathan McClintock · · United States (California)

This paper uses urban political ecology to explore the rise of urban agriculture (UA) in Oakland, California, where the city aims to source 30% of its food locally, partly from UA in "food deserts." The analysis argues that 20th-century industrial capital flows and racialized urban planning concentrated capital devaluation in the flatlands, leading to the creation of food deserts. Food justice activists are mobilizing through UA to counter these uneven transformations.

Gary Paul Green, Michael L. Dougherty · Community Development · United States (Door County, Wisconsin)

This paper examined culinary tourism through a case study of the Kingdom So Delicious program in Door County, Wisconsin. The analysis was based on intensive interviews with owners/managers of four restaurants and surveys of 30 retailers and 40 farmers in the region. The most frequently cited concerns with producing for local establishments involved in culinary tourism were low prices and challenging logistics.

Laura Greenwold Derks · The South Carolina State Library Digital Collections (South Carolina State Library) · United States

A 2008 survey was conducted among 175 public and private schools in South Carolina to assess the impact of school gardens. The survey covered garden type, activities, costs, and assessment. Most responding schools indicated that students participate in the garden, suggesting opportunities for student interaction with the garden.

Nathan McClintock · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · United States (California)

This paper explores the rise of urban agriculture (UA) in Oakland, California, using an urban political ecology framework. A macro-level structural analysis of Oakland's history reveals how 20th-century industrial capital flows and racialized urban planning concentrated capital devaluation in the flatlands, ultimately giving rise to food deserts. The study suggests that food justice activists are mobilizing through UA to counter these uneven transformations, despite critiques that some urban garden programs are neoliberal, emphasizing self-betterment while filling state-left gaps.

Rich Pirog, Rebecca Rasmussen · Iowa State University Digital Repository (Iowa State University) · United States

This study determined which transportation option -- farmer delivery or customer pick-up -- consumed less fuel and emitted less CO2 for an Iowa community-supported agriculture (CSA) enterprise. The method used the CSA farmer's actual delivery route(s) including customer addresses, the type of delivery vehicle used, and a hypothetical central pick-up location and time, calculating mileage via Mapquest and fuel/emissions using Bureau of Transportation Statistics and EPA data across four vehicle categories: Ford Ranger, Dodge Caravan, Toyota Prius, and U.S. average passenger vehicle fuel economy. Delivery using a Toyota Prius resulted in 2.77 times lower fuel usage and CO2 emissions than customer pick-up using U.S. average fuel economy; however, even if all CSA customers used a Toyota Prius for pick-up, farmer delivery remained more fuel efficient, though only by a factor of 1.35.

Carolyn L. Hufford · EngagedScholarship @ Cleveland State University (Cleveland State University) · United States (New York City)

This historical account traces urban agriculture in Cleveland, Ohio, across the 20th century into the present. It documents recurring revivals of city-land food cultivation in response to economic hardship—working men's farms during the Great Depression, victory gardens during World War II, community gardens established during urban renewal, and present-day market gardeners of the local food movement—along with the Cleveland Public Schools Horticulture Program (CPSHP), which trained generations of student gardeners until it ended in 1978, after which some former school garden sites (tract gardens) became community gardens, and notes that greater Cleveland was once home to America's largest concentration of farming acreage under glass (Rose, 1950).

Steven M. Schnell · Geographical Review · United States

This abstract discusses the agrarian standard of local adaptation in farming, which asks what is the best way to farm in each of the world's numberless places, as defined by topography, soil type, climate, ecology, history, culture, and local need. It states that this standard requires bringing local nature, people, economy, and culture into a practical and enduring harmony. The text does not present findings from a study but rather a philosophical stance on agriculture.

Roxanne Christensen · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · United States (Philadelphia)

This essay discusses the development and potential of SPIN-Farming as a tool to demonstrate the economic viability of urban agriculture, which the author began advocating for in Philadelphia in 1998. The author applied their background in helping entrepreneurs to develop SPIN-Farming, aiming to revive the farming profession and rebuild local food systems. SPIN-Farming is presented as a concept learnable across economic classes and geographical boundaries, fostering engaged agriculture.

· · United States (Lawrence)

The JJAMM Food Network was launched in Lawrence, MA, in summer 2006 to address three community needs: health, education, and employment. The program enabled elders and teenagers to learn nutrition, fitness, gardening, and money management, grow crops in community gardens, and sell produce to local restaurants. Although initial funding was challenging, the U.S. Department of Agriculture granted funding for 2007, fostering intergenerational interaction and relationship building.

John Owens · Lincoln (University of Nebraska) · United States (Lincoln)

The Lincoln Journal Star published an article featuring Community Supported Agriculture Networks and a Nebraska family selling farm products at the Haymarket Farmers-Market. This article discussed the benefits and opportunities of local food from local farms.

Kandace M. Bletzacker, David H. Holben, John P. Holcomb · The FASEB Journal · United States

This study aimed to explore community food security (CFS) in the Southeastern Appalachian region of Ohio, United States. Using the methods of Lopez and Tchumtchoua (2005), 38 indicators of CFS were measured in the largest census areas (cities, towns, townships) within the study region. These indicators included general community characteristics, community food resources, community resource accessibility, and community food production. This research was conducted in a region where no prior studies on CFS had been performed.

Roxanne 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.

Manon 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.

Randall Walsh · Journal of Urban Economics 61(2): 319-344 · United States

Uses a locational-equilibrium model that treats both privately held open space and land-conversion decisions as endogenous to evaluate the metropolitan-wide impact of open-space policy. Shows that once endogenous adjustment of private open space is allowed for, expanding public preserves can actually reduce the total quantity of open space across a metropolitan area. Also finds that different strategies for spending the same open-space budget have markedly different land-use and welfare consequences.

Urban Harvest / Centro Internacional de la Papa (CIP) · Urban Harvest, Centro Internacional de la Papa (CIP) · Peru

Urban Harvest, the global urban and peri-urban agriculture initiative coordinated by the International Potato Center (CIP), published in 2007 the proceedings and declaration of its Third Inter-institutional Meeting held in Lima on 25-26 August 2006. The report notes that Lima Metropolitana spans the lower basins of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, with the Rímac's average flow of 29 m3/s far exceeding the Chillón (5 m3/s) and Lurín (0.41 m3/s), while bacterial contamination in all three rivers exceeds the vegetable-irrigation limit of 1,000 fecal coliforms per 100ml. In Villa María del Triunfo, a municipal urban agriculture program began in 2001, and by 2006 the municipality had identified 1,926 people engaged in productive urban agriculture.

Corene M. Bregendahl, Cornelia Butler Flora · Iowa State University Digital Repository (Iowa State University) · United States

In Iowa communities, collaborative Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) serves as a business incubator for new growers and helps existing growers expand and diversify. This model offers various benefits to the communities it serves.

Rainbow A. Vogt, Lucía Kaiser, Robert B. Rucker · The FASEB Journal · United States (California)

A study involving 28 school food service directors and 20 stakeholders in California explored interest in purchasing local produce. Directors were motivated by fresher food, supporting the local economy, and aiding California farms, but faced barriers such as lack of producers, seasonal availability, budget, convenience, facilities, and transportation. The study concluded that program expansion and long-term viability depend on a coordinated produce distribution network between farms and schools, and the integration of nutrition education and school gardens into the core curriculum.

Mark Tranel, Larry Handlin · Journal of Urban Affairs · United States (St. Louis)

This study investigated the impact of community gardens on revitalization in urban neighborhoods in St. Louis, United States. The research used GIS software to collect 1990 and 2000 Census data for 3-block radii around the study gardens, focusing on indicators of resident quality of life and neighborhood conditions. Using difference of differences to measure change, the findings indicated that Garden Impact Areas improved in these indicators.

Sidivan Aparecido Resende, João Cleps · Caminhos de Geografia · Brazil

This research examines agricultural activities in the urban area of Uberlândia (MG), Brazil, aiming to understand their role and importance in development, specifically in local supply and food security. Defining urban agriculture as rural activities occurring near or within cities, the study seeks to recognize the reality and importance of these activities in Uberlândia's urban environment by comprehending rural-urban interactions.

Edilene Lagedo Teixeira, Janailton Coutinho, Adriano Costa da Silva, Andréa Soares, Camila Silva de Oliveira, Carla Gomes dos Santos, Beatriz Ribeiro Guimarães · REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE AGROECOLOGIA · Brazil

This study, conducted in 2003 by UNISOL REGIONAL and UFRRJ, aimed to develop an organic, condiment, and medicinal garden through social education activities. A socioeconomic survey of the community revealed urgent problems with water scarcity, mosquitoes, and rodents. While two garden beds and 12 planters were built to encourage self-sustaining urban agriculture, the abstract does not explicitly state the success or failure of achieving self-sustainability or addressing the identified community problems beyond the construction itself.

Julie Guthman, Amy Wilson Morris, Patricia Allen · Rural Sociology · United States (California)

Survey and interview research conducted in California during 2004–2005 examined the extent to which CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) and farmers' markets address food security. Managers of these institutions generally supported the idea of improving food affordability and most made efforts to do so, though these efforts varied with institutional capacity. Some managers tempered their interest in supporting food security goals with concerns such as the primary need to support farmers.