Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
132 results(3 / 6)
AGROECOLOGIA: DIFUSÃO DE SUAS PRÁTICAS DE PORTA EM PORTA
2019Talia Talita Sehn, Cassiano Peixoto Rosa, Andersson Daniel Steffler, Daiane Karina Grellmann, Divanilde Guerra · · Brazil (Tres Passos)
The objective was to identify cultivated species and their management, and to disseminate agroecological practices in domestic gardens and orchards in the urban perimeter of Tres Passos-RS, Brazil. Over two years, 177 residences were visited in the first year, with 165 (95%) having orchards and 147 (87%) having vegetable gardens. In the second year, 12 residences were visited, all (100%) cultivating vegetables and 10 (75%) having fruit trees.
DIYFood educationOrganic cycleDIY Detroit: Making Do in a City without Services by Kimberley Kinder
2019Brian Doucet · Technology and Culture · United States (Detroit)
Kimberley Kinder's book, "DIY Detroit: Making Do in a City without Services," ethnographically documents how Detroit residents engage in self-provisioning strategies to address voids in safety, municipal services, and development. The book details six strategies, including acting as informal realtors, defensive architecture for vacant homes, and repurposing vacant properties for urban gardening, often in "gray spaces" abandoned by landowners and neglected by officials.
DIYCommunityBiosolids Improve Urban Soil Properties and Vegetable Production in Urban Agriculture
2019Odiney Alvarez‐Campos, Gregory K. Evanylo · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States
This field study in Blacksburg, VA, investigated the effects of exceptional quality (EQ) biosolids on urban soil properties and vegetable yield over two years (2016-2018). Biosolids increased soil carbon storage by 37-84% compared to controls, but soil nitrogen availability was lower than expected. Reclamation rates of biosolids resulted in higher yields for cabbage (∼3.1 kg m⁻²) and Siberian kale (∼1.1 kg m⁻²) than inorganic fertilizer (1.0 kg m⁻² and 0.4 kg m⁻² respectively) in fall 2017, indicating potential to increase vegetable yield despite limiting soil conditions.
Organic cycleDIYHealthA IMPORTÂNCIA DE JARDINS VERTICAIS PARA A EDUCAÇÃO AMBIENTAL E A UTILIZAÇÃO DE PLANTAS ALIMENTÍCIAS NÃO CONVÊNCIONAIS (PANC) COMO ESTÍMULO À AGRICULTURA URBANA
2019Luiza Oliveira Kossatz, Luciana Adelmann · Anais do EVINCI - UniBrasil · Brazil (Paraná)
This work aims to disseminate the concept of urban agriculture by raising awareness of environmental education's benefits for human development. It proposes adopting gardens made from recycled/reusable materials and utilizing endemic Paraná plant species, known as Non-Conventional Food Plants (PANC), that can be cultivated in vertical gardens and serve as food. The research intends to highlight the need to preserve local biodiversity and reduce urban pollution.
Food educationBiodiversityDIYUrban–rural linkageDevelopment of a Rooftop Collaborative Experimental Space through Experiential Learning Projects
2019Helen Mary Rose, Charles R. Upshaw, Joshua D. Rhodes, Yuval Edrey, Michael E. Webber · · United States (Austin)
This project describes the development of the Solar, Water, Energy, and Thermal Laboratory (SWEAT Lab), a rooftop experimental space at the University of Texas at Austin built by Cockrell School of Engineering students. The SWEAT Lab is an ongoing experiential learning facility that enables engineering education by deploying energy and water-related projects, and it contains a full weather station, a rainwater harvesting system, and a rooftop garden. The project provided students with opportunities to learn firsthand about unique engineering challenges, such as weight limitations and wind resistance, and gain experience working with building facilities management.
DIYFood educationPráticas de agricultura urbana: uma análise do cultivo de hortaliças em telhados verdes
2019Adriane Cordoni Savi, Ormy Leocádio Hutner Júnior, Fernanda Cardoso Faria, Isaura Marques Souza Uhmann · Brazilian Journal of Development · Brazil
This article demonstrates urban and peri-urban agricultural practices in small backyards, remnant residential garden areas, and green roofs. These practices aim to produce food for self-consumption and to foster farming among neighbors for subsistence or as a source of supplementary family income.
DIYCommunityPeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justice[IN1255] Attracting Native Bees to Your Florida Landscape
2019Rachel E. Mallinger, Anne Yasalonis, Gary W. Knox, Wayne Hobbs · EDIS · United States (Florida)
This 7-page fact sheet aims to conserve approximately 315 species of native wild bees in Florida. Published by the UF/IFAS Entomology and Nematology Department, it shows how gardeners and land managers can aid bee conservation efforts by planting flowers in home or community gardens.
BiodiversityPollinatorsCommunityDIYFarm City
2019Mark Pontious · Journal of College Orientation Transition and Retention · United States
This article reviews Novella Carpenter's book "Farm City," which details her experiences as an urban farmer in Oakland, United States. The book describes her journey from an abandoned lot to building an urban garden and raising animals, exploring themes of discovery, responsibility, and trial-and-error. It offers discussion points for first-year college students.
DIYCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceASSENTAMENTO SÃO FRANCISCO: UMA TEIA DE PRODUÇÃO SUSTENTÁVEL
2019Matheus Martins Mendes, André Victor Sales Passos, Carol Rebouças da Silva · · Brazil
This internship experience, guided by popular extension university principles, focused on knowledge exchange between scientific and popular communities in the San Francisco settlement, Jose de Freitas, Piaui, Brazil. A partnership between the Federal Rural University of the Semiarid Region, REAPI, and local farmers led to the implementation of a women-maintained community garden and the recovery of four springs. Agroecological activities also highlighted the role of women farmers in agroecological transition.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceDIYOrganic cycleRaised Beds for Vegetable Production in Urban Agriculture
2018Elizabeth A. Miernicki, Sarah Taylor Lovell, Sam E. Wortman · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (Illinois)
A 2-year field experiment in Illinois compared urban production systems (direct soil, compost-only raised beds, and mixed compost-and-soil raised beds) and fertilizer sources for their effects on growing media, weeds, and vegetable yields. Compost raised beds had higher pH, organic matter, and nutrients and sharply reduced weeds, and the authors recommend raised beds with a mix of compost and soil for urban vegetable production.
CompostDIYESTRATÉGIAS DE CONTROLE FÍSICO-MECÂNICO SOBRE Rumex obtusifolius
2018Germano Güttler, Valmir Milani, Camila Peligrinotti Tarouco, Marcos André Nohatto, Eliete De Fatima de Ferreira da Rosa · Revista Ciência Agrícola · Brazil
A study conducted in Brazil evaluated the effects of physical-mechanical control strategies on Rumex obtusifolius (broad-leaved dock), a difficult weed in urban production. Using a randomized block experimental design, treatments including black mulching, intermittent black mulching, transparent mulching, mowing, weeding, and a control were compared. Results showed that mulching, in particular, had a greater capacity to reduce the population density and aerial dry mass of broad-leaved dock, but the effectiveness of control depends on the continuous maintenance of these strategies.
DIYOrganic cycleWater Use Behavior, Learning, and Adaptation to Future Change in Urban Gardens
2018Monika Egerer, Brenda B. Lin, Stacy M. Philpott · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · United States (California)
This citizen science study in the California Central Coast examined water use, vegetation, and soil management in urban gardens. Water use varied by gardener and was positively related to mulching and crop cover. Gardeners expressing high concern for drought and water conservation paradoxically tended to use more water, while those in gardens with more rules used less.
Climate changeCommunityDIYOnde muitos chamam de lixo a gente chama de reciclagem
2018Janaina Henrique dos Santos, Júlio César Maestri · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil
This work presents the experience of reapplying the "Revolution of the Baldinhos" Social Technology, which involves managing organic residues and urban agriculture, in Macaiba-RN, Brazil. The project focuses on women collecting household organic waste to produce thermophilic static compost for urban food production and gardening. This method, originating from the UFSC Method, was applied through the Urban Housing Project with Social Technology (MUTS), supported by AACC/RN and Banco do Brasil Foundation, marking its first national application.
CompostOrganic cycleCommunityDIYPRAÇA COLABOR[ATIVA]: NOVOS USOS DE ESPAÇOS PÚBLICOS URBANOSCOM PARTICIPAÇÃO POPULAR NO CONJUNTO HABITACIONAL ANA JACINTAEM PRESIDENTE PRUDENTE-SP
2018Juliana Cavalheiro Costa, Mayara Pisssuti Albano Vieira · COLLOQUIUM SOCIALIS · Brazil
This work aimed to gather knowledge on applying the placemaking concept to implement a community garden and orchard in an urban empty space within the Ana Jacinta Housing Complex in Presidente Prudente-SP, Brazil. The methodology involved bibliographic research on housing complexes, documentary research, and field surveys.
CommunityDIYPolicy“A Worth-While Living from the Soil”: The Farmlet in Southern California from the Late Nineteenth Century to World War II
2018Eileen V. Wallis · Western Historical Quarterly · United States (California)
This article explores the significance of urban agriculture in Southern California from the late nineteenth century to World War II. It examines how informal, small-scale, part-time urban and suburban agricultural production contributed to the region's economic development and cultural identity.
EconomicsDIYUrban–rural linkageAVALIAÇÃO DA VIABILIDADE DE UM MODELO HIDROPÔNICO ARTESANAL DE BAIXO CUSTO PARA AGRICULTURA URBANA SUSTENTÁVEL
2018David Vieira Lima, Geovane Rocha de Carvalho, Jaqueline Silva Sousa, José Weselli de Sá Andrade · Global Science and Technology · Brazil
This research in Brazil evaluated the viability of a low-cost, handmade hydroponic system for sustainable urban agriculture, constructed from 25 reused 2L PET bottles. Lettuce was cultivated in this system and a commercial system for 57 days. Statistical analysis showed that while the handmade model was less productive, it yielded plants in excellent condition for consumption at a low cost, validating it as a viable alternative for sustainable urban agriculture.
DIYUrban–rural linkageOrganic cycleCOMPARATIVE FERTILITY EVALUATION FOR PEPPERS AND MELONS ON AN EXTENSIVE GREEN ROOF.
2018R John Little · OpenSIUC (Southern Illinois University Carbondale) · United States
A research study evaluated fertility requirements for 'Sweet Hungarian' Peppers and 'Savor' Charentais Melons grown in a three-inch extensive green roof medium on the Southern Illinois University campus. Six treatments were applied to peppers and four treatments to melons, each replicated three times. This study contributes to optimizing appropriate fertility treatments for green roof agriculture.
DIYFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsOrganic cycleFood Production on a Living Wall: Pilot Study
2017Nagle L., Echols S., Tamminga K. · Journal of Green Building · United States (Pennsylvania)
Monitors the productivity of a 7.5 m² outdoor living wall planted with produce crops during the 2015 summer in State College, Pennsylvania, also collecting irradiance, water-use and soil-moisture data.
DIYCommunityOrganic Pepper Production on California's Central Coast: A Guide for Beginning Specialty Crop Growers - eScholarship
2017Jim Leap, Darryl Wong, Kirstin Yogg Comerchero · · United States (California)
This grower guide addresses the basic steps for organically growing peppers in California's Central Coast region. It notes that peppers are productive from July to October without season extension, are relatively easy to grow, and offer various marketing and culinary options. The guide also provides an overview of pepper varieties for specialty crop growers.
DIYCSA & TeikeiEconomicsHanford FFA Ornamental Horticulture Unit Master Plan
2017Savanah Diane Rhine, Russell Alan Zimmerman · DigitalCommons - CalPoly (California State Polytechnic University) · United States (California)
This project aims to develop a more functional plan for the Ornamental Horticulture (OH) Unit at the Hanford Agriculture Program, which serves over 1,000 students from three high schools in Hanford, California. A majority of these students are not in the OH Career Pathway due to a lack of a constant, fully functional unit. The plan focuses on four broad areas: vegetable boxes, greenhouses, a shade house, and beautification, to provide a functional school garden and OH Unit at the Hanford High Campus. This initiative seeks to equip students with skills in horticulture, crop, and soil sciences, greenhouse production, and irrigation technology, offering practical experience for future careers in agriculture.
Food educationCommunityDIYAgricultura urbana familiar en una ciudad media en Chiapas. Implicaciones para la sustentabilidad urbana Family urban agriculture in an average city in Chiapas. Implications for urban sustainability
2016Araceli Calderón Cisneros · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Mexico (Chiapas)
This qualitative study analyzed the role of family urban agriculture in urban sustainability in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, using open and structured interviews. The visited agricultural systems showed characteristics favoring resilience and sustainability, such as low use of external inputs and recycling of domestic waste. However, a limitation found was that the contribution of own production to family consumption is very low, despite existing food, environmental, and socio-cultural motivations for its continuity.
Limited or null effectDIYOrganic cycleFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeAgricultura urbana e produção agroecológica de hortaliças em Altamira, Pará.
2016Galdino Xavier Paula Filho, Gutemberg Armando Diniz Guerra · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil (Altamira)
This study analyzed alternative vegetable production systems in nine urban gardens in Altamira, Pará, Brazil, focusing on methods avoiding agrochemicals and chemical fertilizers, and their commercialization in two local open-air markets. Semi-structured interviews and on-site visits revealed that pest and disease control uses natural repellents like pepper, tobacco, neem, and garlic compounds. Fertilization relies on wood sawdust, crop residues (rice and coffee straw), and animal manure. Commercialization is linked to social organization and occurs through producer associations at open-air markets.
DIYOrganic cycleCommunityAvaliação da Adoção de um Kit de Irrigação de Baixo Custo e Eficiente em Uso de Água em Horta Comunitária Agroecológica, Juazeiro - BA
2016Júlio Cézar de Almeida Lopes, Hélder Ribeiro Freitas, Eliéser Santurbano Gervásio · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil
This study evaluated the adoption of a drip irrigation kit in an agroecological community garden in Juazeiro, Brazil. The introduction of the system and the social organization of the group led to low adoption of the drip irrigation system, with several farmers returning to manual watering and, to a lesser extent, micro-sprinkler systems.
Limited or null effectCommunityDIYDigital agriculture“We’re Doing It Ourselves”
2016Suleiman Osman · Journal of Planning History · United States (New York City)
The origins of public-private parks in New York City trace back to the 1970s fiscal crisis. Due to severe budget cuts at the Parks and Recreation Department, thousands of volunteers in block associations and community groups began maintaining parks through "do-it-yourself" urbanism, including guerrilla horticulture and community gardens. These self-help efforts evolved into new public-private parks by the early 1980s, reflecting antistatist impulses from both the left and right in the 1970s.
CommunityDIYPolicyFactores que influyen en la práctica de la horticultura periurbana: caso de una ciudad en el estado de Veracruz, México Factors influencing the practice of peri-urban horticulture: study case of a city in the state of Veracruz, México
2016Marco Antonio Toral Juárez, Catalino Jorge López Collado, Felipe Gallardo-López · · Mexico (Veracruz)
This study identified cultural, socioeconomic, and environmental factors influencing women's disposition to practice home horticulture and the financial profits of container vegetable production. Using non-probabilistic sampling, 114 women were selected in the peri-urban zone of Cardel City, Veracruz, Mexico, and interviewed with a Likert scale survey. The disposition to practice peri-urban horticulture was favorable, and four out of six containers had a positive cost/benefit ratio. Multiple factors affect this disposition, while the environmental factor determines which vegetables can grow.
Peri-urban agricultureEconomicsCommunityDIY