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(295 / 306)
The Current Situation and Development Countermeasure of Jinan Urban Agriculture
2004XI Yu-kun · · China
A policy discussion of Jinan, capital of Shandong province and an economically strong city, argues for how Jinan's urban agriculture should draw on its basic conditions and advantages under a policy of integrating urban and rural areas, developing service-oriented functions such as ecological environment, leisure, tourism, experience and education alongside production and livelihood functions, so that agriculture becomes an organic part of the city.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyCommunityThe impact of a garden program on the physical environment and social climate of a prison yard at San Quentin State Prison
2004Kathryn E. Waitkus · Pepperdine Digital Commons (Pepperdine University) · United States
Prison physical environments and social climates have been found to be physically and mentally stressful for inmates, and more than 70% of those in the California prison system return to prison within three years of parole. As part of an effort to reduce this recidivism, a rehabilitative gardening program was started at San Quentin State Prison, and this primarily qualitative study set out to determine the garden project's impact on the physical environment and social climate of a prison yard from both inmate and staff perspectives, through interviews with inmate program participants, an inmate control group, and prison staff conducted before and after the garden was planted. The evidence suggested that (a) gardens invited attention, use, and refuge; (b) being in or near a garden could reduce stress; (c) gardens might provide "neutral" territory in a segregated prison yard; (d) inmate participants gained benefits from directly working with nature; (e) gardens created the possibility for hope and further change; and (f) prison staff were generally more concerned about the impact of the change than the inmates themselves. Inmate and staff expectations about the garden's impact were met or exceeded, leading to recommendations to use the Garden Program to build collaboration, trust, and respect between inmates and staff through active staff participation in classes, to expand the program to other California prisons, and to have paroled inmates collaborate with local communities on community gardens. Limitations included a reduction in program scale during the planning stages and the short time elapsed between pre- and post-garden research; the authors suggest a longitudinal study to track impact on inmates after parole.
HealthCommunityWelfareTeacher Researchers in Agricultural Education: Developing Teacher Leaders through Action Research
2004Cary J. Trexler · The Agricultural education magazine · Global
An essay on action research in agricultural education discusses its concept and value, citing organizing a community garden and determining best practices for it as one example of an action-research project, alongside after-school recreation programs and rural-community documentation efforts. It characterizes the researcher's vested personal interest in the outcome as the defining feature of action research, and frames "teacher research" — an educator's systematic reflection on their own classroom, shop, SAEs, or FFA activities — as one form of it, drawing on Schön (1983) and Mundy and Russell (1994) on knowledge embedded in practice. The piece presents no empirical data.
Food educationCommunityCommunity-Gardens and Science Laboratories as Texts for Science Literacy Development
2004Jrène Rahm · Palgrave Macmillan US eBooks · Global
A theoretical book chapter examines community gardens and science laboratories as "texts" that mediate the development of science literacy. Drawing on sociocultural theory (Vygotsky, Wertsch), it frames texts not merely as transmitters of information but as tools for dialogue and meaning-making, introducing the notion of texts as dynamic "participants" that change and grow with their users as the analytical basis for reading environments as texts.
CommunityFood educationContesting Capitalism at the Post-Soviet Dacha: The Meaning of Food Cultivation for Urban Russians
2003Zavisca J.R. · Slavic Review · Russia
An ethnographic study showing that dacha food cultivation among urban Russians serves as a discursive arena for debating the rationality and morality of the post-Soviet transition to capitalism, not merely an economic survival strategy.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyTrajectories in People's Farming in Moscow Oblast during the Post-Socialist Transformation
2003Pallot J., Nefedova T. · Journal of Rural Studies · Russia (Moscow Oblast)
Examines the diverse forms and micro-geography of personal food plot production in Moscow Oblast, revealing how geographic, historical, and structural factors shaped household farming during the post-socialist transition.
EconomicsPolicyCommunitySmall-scale Urban Agriculture in Havana and the Reproduction of the 'New Man' in Contemporary Cuba
2003Premat A. · European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies · Cuba (Havana)
Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Havana (1999-2001), this article examines urban garden parcelas as sites revealing tensions between private and public domains, finding that revolutionary values around food security and community persisted in post-Soviet Cuba despite assumptions of growing individualism.
CommunityPolicyFood educationWelfareHome gardening in urban poor communities of the Philippines
2003Miura S., Kunii O., Wakai S. · International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition · Philippines (Davao City)
A structured survey of 152 mothers in two poor urban communities in Davao City examined home gardening and dietary diversity, finding limited but notable impact of garden produce on micronutrient intake. The study assessed a community-based approach promoting home gardening to address iron and vitamin A deficiencies.
CommunityHealthWelfareFood educationCommunity Gardens: Lessons Learned From California Healthy Cities and Communities
2003Joan M. Twiss, Joy Dickinson, Shirley Duma, Tanya Kleinman, Heather Paulsen, Liz Rilveria · American Journal of Public Health · United States (California)
Community gardens enhance nutrition, physical activity, and social capital, promoting public health and quality of life. The California Healthy Cities and Communities (CHCC) program funded successful community gardens in several cities, which incorporated local leadership, volunteers, and skill-building. These initiatives led to policies for land and water use, improved produce access, and strengthened community building skills.
CommunityHealthFood educationPolicyCultivated histories in a Scottish allotment garden
2003Caitlin DeSilvey · Cultural Geographies · United Kingdom (Edinburgh)
A paper on Scottish allotment gardens examines how the ambiguity pervading allotment practice surfaces as a liability in strategic appeals and draws out the survival of historical forms in contemporary political negotiations, by juxtaposing narratives of involvement in a Scottish Parliament Allotments Inquiry and the history of a single Edinburgh allotment site.
PolicyCommunityUrban–rural linkageCommunity Gardens and Politics of Scale in New York City
2003Christopher M. Smith, Hilda E. Kurtz · Geographical Review · United States (New York City)
New York City community gardens have faced political contestation for thirty years, notably in 1999 when 114 gardens were slated for public auction and redevelopment. This article examines the controversy as a politics of scale, where garden advocates expanded the dispute beyond individual gardens and the city. The analysis highlights the significance of scale politics for grassroots organizations within a market-centric, neoliberal economic framework.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCommunity Supported Agriculture on the Central Coast: The CSA Grower Experience
2003Jan Perez · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · United States (California)
This 2003 research brief investigated the experiences of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) growers on the central coast of California. The study examined their motivations, economic viability, challenges, and issues related to equal access to their products. The research brief indicates that challenges and issues of equal access are present in CSA projects.
Equity & displacementCSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityHealth Benefits of Urban Agriculture
2003Jac Smit, Anne C. Bellows, Katherine Brown · · Global
This handout, prepared by Anne C. Bellows, Katherine Brown, and Jac Smit, summarizes a fully cited article on the health benefits of urban agriculture. The original article is available for free from the Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC).
HealthFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityRural life in the city: the chalet garden in Denmark
2003Amy Damin, James Palmer · · Denmark (Copenhagen)
This paper investigates the history and social life of allotment gardens with small cottages in Denmark, which offer a partial rural lifestyle in urban areas. These gardens allow urbanites to coexist with nature for several months annually through temporary living and plant cultivation. The study specifically examines the Sano garden near Copenhagen.
CommunityUrban–rural linkageThe Story of the Queen Anne Memorial Garden: Resisting a Dominant Cultural Narrative
2003Troy D. Glover · Journal of Leisure Research · United States
This narrative inquiry explored how 14 participants in the Queen Anne Memorial Garden, a community garden built to combat urban decline, collectively reconfigured events into a “success story.” The aggregated community narrative illustrates how a collective leisure pursuit can be a grassroots effort to address urban decline and reshape collective identity.
CommunityPolicyHealthENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY EVIDENCE AND RISK COMMUNICATION
2003Tanja Pless‐Mulloli, Karen L. Foster, J Bush · Epidemiology · United Kingdom (Newcastle upon Tyne)
Investigations in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, analyzed the extent and consequences of disposing 2000 tons of incinerator ash on over forty allotments. Soil, egg, and vegetable samples (75 soil, 21 egg, 65 vegetable) revealed contamination of footpaths with dioxin/furan (max 9000 ng/kg I-TEQ) and high levels of copper, lead, and zinc. Mean dioxin/furan levels in soil were 38 ng/kg I-TEQ and in eggs were 16.4 ng/kg I-TEQ, indicating significant contamination and potential exposure pathways for allotment gardeners and children.
Contamination & food safetyHealthCommunityPolicyA novel living agricultural concept in urban communities: Family Business Garden
2003Thilak T. Ranasinghe · International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology · Sri Lanka
Through experience in the Western Province of Sri Lanka, the "Family Business Garden" concept justifies the necessity of urban agriculture amidst limited urban infrastructure, environmental conditions, and socio-economic situations. This concept, by properly mixing environmental and commercial agricultural concerns, not only addresses family food requirements but also opens the way to produce for markets under liberalized economies by promoting agro-entrepreneurship and social capital development in urban communities.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareTowards “pro-poor” urban development in South Africa: the case of urban agriculture
2003Christian M. Rogerson · Acta Academica Critical views on society culture and politics · South Africa
This article examines international and South African research on urban agriculture's role in poverty reduction, arguing for the need for policy guidelines to support local initiatives in South Africa. It suggests that best practices from international urban agriculture policy interventions could form the basis for such guidelines.
WelfarePolicyEconomicsCommunityHarmony Development of Urban Agriculture of Urban Compact Districts--A Case Study of ChangshaZhuzhouXiangtan
2003Liao Minghui · Nongye xiandaihua yanjiu · China (ChangshaZhuzhouXiangtan)
This paper discusses the essentiality of urban agriculture development in urban compact districts, highlighting its multiple efficacies including economic, social, and ecological benefits. Based on an analysis of typical examples in ChangshaZhuzhouXiangtan, the paper describes the current status and identifies many problems in urban agriculture. Finally, numerous countermeasures are proposed for these issues.
Governance failureEconomicsCommunityBiodiversityPolicyFarmers' Views on the Green Belt in Seoul
2003Han-Cheol Hwang, Soo‐Myung Choi · Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning · South Korea (Seoul)
A study in Seoul examined farmers' views on the Green Belt policy. Leaseholders did not want changes, while landowning farmers desired revision or dissolution, with both groups citing development delays and difficulty changing land use. The Green Belt policy was found to cause development delays and land use change difficulties, indicating negative impacts on farmers.
Governance failurePolicyUrban–rural linkageCommunityLa construction contemporaine de la ville-campagne en Europe / The modern construction of a « country town » in Europe
2003Pierre Donadieu, André Fleury · Revue de géographie alpine · Europe
This paper discusses the role of agriculture in the "country town" project in Europe. Peri-urban areas, once unpleasant environments despite their essential urban functions, have recently become attractive to new inhabitants seeking countryside amenities. Urban planning supports this concept by creating green belts and integrating agriculture as an essential element of natural spaces.
Peri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkagePolicyCommunityLesson study : the school garden as an integrating context for science and language learning
2003Karen L. Nordstrom · Digital Commons - CSUMB (California State University, Monterey Bay) · United States
This research investigated the impact of collaborative, reflective teaching practice on teacher professional development in science education. The MBSP/LASERS Summer School Academy implemented lesson study, integrating hands-on, inquiry-based learning and English language acquisition within the context of a school garden. Qualitative data analyses identified emergent themes from teacher and student interviews, focus groups, and written reflection, measuring the effectiveness of lesson study on teacher professional development and student perceptions of garden-based learning.
Food educationCommunitySeasonal Production Trends and Economic Growth Models in Community Gardens as Urban Food Security Initiatives in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,
2003Mulu Tesfay Gebru · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Ethiopia (Addis Ababa)
This research in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, investigated community gardens as urban food security initiatives, collecting data through surveys and market analysis. Seasonal fluctuations showed vegetable production peaked during the rainy season, contributing up to 30% of total annual harvests. Economic models indicated a positive correlation between garden size and local income generation, highlighting the potential of community gardens for food security and economic stability.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Agriculture in Dakar's Slums: Community Gardens and Educational Outcomes
2003Mariama Diop, Aminata Sow, Ibrahima Ndiaye · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Senegal (Dakar)
This research in Dakar's slums used a mixed-methods approach to study the link between community gardens and educational outcomes among school children. A preliminary analysis indicated that students participating in community gardens showed a 15% improvement in reading comprehension scores compared to non-participants. While further statistical testing is needed, the findings suggest a positive correlation between urban agriculture and educational outcomes for low-income children.
CommunityFood educationWelfareHealth第I編 グリーン・コミュニティ・ツーリズム
2003Jitsuo Saito · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Global
This article explores the concept of green community tourism for urban citizens, discussing the ambivalence towards community and the role of green money in fostering green prosumerism. It suggests that green tourism can build communities that integrate both market and non-market economies, strengthening relationships between urban and rural communities and supporting Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). The article also references the Japanese Organic Certification Rule announced in 2000.
CommunityOrganic cycleEconomics