Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
639 results(3 / 26)
A produção de alimentos na agricultura urbana em tempos de insegurança alimentar: uma experiência com hortas no município de Palmas, Tocantins- Brasil
2025Francisco Pereira de Sousa, Clareana Maria Guimarães Franco, Cássio Bruno Sá de Souza, Débora de Paula Brito Fogaça, Marcos Paulo Parente Araújo, Maíra Santiago Pires Parente, Henrique D. Silva, Dirlley Douglas Alves de Oliveira · Caderno Pedagógico · Brazil
A qualitative and quantitative study in Palmas, Tocantins, Brazil, aimed to understand the interfaces of the Palmas City Hall's community garden project. Based on ethnographic research, action research, and field study, the results showed that this local practice enhances community participation in urban garden planting in northern Palmas. It aligns with Sustainable Development Goals and is a viable tool for minimizing food insecurity and hunger reduction. However, the project requires structural adjustments, promotion of public and private partnerships, and support from universities and civil society for healthy sustainability.
Governance failureCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfarePolicyIdentificação e georreferenciamento de espaços adequados à agricultura urbana e periurbana em Mossoró-RN
2025Johnny Jean, Nildo da Silva Dias, Nildo da Silva Dias, Alison Rocha de Aragão, A. JEAN, Patrícia Lígia Dantas de Morais, Rogério Taygra Vasconcelos Fernandes, Leonardo Angelo Mendonça, Vânia Christina Nascimento Porto, Khadidja Dantas Rocha de Lima · OBSERVATÓRIO DE LA ECONOMÍA LATINOAMERICANA · Brazil (Mossoró)
This study aimed to identify and georeference suitable spaces for urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in three neighborhoods of Mossoró, Brazil: Nova Betânia, Sussuarana, and Vingt Rosado. The research found that out of 1,300 hectares in these neighborhoods, 944.1 hectares are suitable for UPA. However, the study identified a lack of public policies to incentivize UPA in these areas.
PolicyFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageClimate changeDeliberative methods for cultural ecosystem services
2025Luna Khirfan · · Canada (Waterloo)
This chapter introduces three deliberative methods for cultural ecosystem services, based on empirical experimentation. One method, a conventional charrette, sought to understand and overcome barriers to community gardening at four community gardens in the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The study identified barriers to community gardening.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsDIÁLOGOS DO SABER: A CO-CONSTRUÇÃO DE CONHECIMENTO ENTRE UNIVERSIDADE E AGRICULTURA FAMILIAR NA HORTA COMUNITÁRIA POVO UNIDO, JUAZEIRO/BA
2025Rita Regina Marques Costa, Denes Dantas Vieira, Vivianni Marques Leite dos Santos, Deise Cristiane do Nascimento · · Brazil (Juazeiro)
This qualitative and quantitative field study analyzed the interaction between university extension and community-based family agriculture at the Povo Unido Community Garden in Juazeiro, Brazil. Conducted between March and May 2025, the research involved semi-structured questionnaires and dialogues with 47 farming families to understand their perceptions of knowledge exchange and interaction with educational institutions. Results showed consensus on the importance of university extension, but farmers pointed out challenges such as limited time for discussion and effective inclusion of participants with lower educational attainment.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood educationPolicyWelfareThe Need of Land for Peri-Urban Agricultural Production and Its Inclusion onto the National Public Agendas
2025Andrés Barsky · · Latin America
This chapter assesses the current state of threats to and measures to protect periurban agriculture around cities in Latin America. It highlights the social and spatial vulnerability of peri-urban agriculture and its increasing appearance on Latin American food and urbanistic agendas. Examples of strategies for the concrete management of peri-urban agriculture in Latin American cities include the institutionalization of relevant organizations, the enactment of specific laws, the implementation of programs for small-scale production, and the generation of territorial intervention instruments. The conclusion argues for the need to generate new public intervention instruments to preserve and design spaces of high productive and environmental value in periurban areas.
Peri-urban agriculturePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsAgricultura urbana e os objetivos de desenvolvimento sustentável em municípios da região metropolitana de Belém
2025Maria de Nazareth Oliveira Maciel, Herdjânia Veras de Lima, Daniel Pereira Pinheiro, Luann Yago Oliveira Maciel · Contribuciones a las Ciencias Sociales · Brazil (Belém)
This field research analyzed urban agriculture's contributions to 12 of 17 SDGs in Ananindeua, Belém, and Marituba, Pará, Brazil. A Likert scale questionnaire and participant observation were used with 120 agricultural producers. Multivariate Factor Analysis and Tukey's test (5%) showed Ananindeua had a higher factorial score, statistically differing from Belém but not Marituba. Producers in Ananindeua demonstrated a greater perception of sustainable cities, indicating urban agriculture's contributions to SDGs in all three municipalities, with Ananindeua showing greater effectiveness.
CommunityClimate changePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Planning for Regional Food Equity
2025Sullivan, Miriam Caroline · DigitalCommons - CalPoly (California State Polytechnic University) · United States
This project explores how urban planners can create regional food equity, defined by six dimensions: nutritional adequacy, affordability, cultural relevance, social and spatial equity, and popular agency in the food system. It includes a research paper on historic context, current trends, and case studies, followed by guidance for policy and plan creation. The project also analyzes three food systems plans—San Diego (2024), Chicago (2010), and Austin-Travis County (2024)—evaluating them against the outlined criteria, and delves into urban agriculture and community gardens as methods for improving regional food equity.
PolicyFood sovereignty & justiceHealthEconomicsCultivating a care-full urbanism: learning from land-based organizing in New Orleans
2025Maggie Hansen · Landscape Research · United States
This paper examines urban cultivation as a tool for sustained political engagement in New Orleans, focusing on four community-based initiatives active over the last ten years. Drawing on literature, mission statements, interviews, and site visits, it demonstrates the importance of engaging with local history, culture, and ecology in reshaping economic, social, and ecological systems through urban agriculture and stewardship.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsMODULAR SCHOOL GARDEN: A PROPOSAL FOR DEVELOPING GARDENS IN SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTS WITH POTENTIAL FOR REPLICATION IN OTHER SPACES
2025Sirlei Rodrigues do Nascimento, Oduvaldo Vendrametto, Luiz Lima, Luigi Pavarini de Lima · Seven Editora eBooks · Brazil (São Paulo)
This exploratory action-research study adopted a methodology to assess the feasibility of implementing modular school gardens in Ribeirão Pires, SP, Brazil, involving the active participation of students, teachers, and the local community. Feedback from thirteen participating students indicated an increase in knowledge about sustainable practices and cultivation techniques. The results suggest that modular gardens facilitate practical knowledge about food production and demonstrate potential for replication in other educational contexts, emphasizing the importance of integrating them as a pedagogical strategy.
Food educationCommunityPolicyHealthThe New Orleans Food System and COVID-19: A Case Study in Strengthening Food System Resiliency to Facilitate Healthy Eating
2025Brandi Stein, Megan Knapp, Elisa Muñoz, Donald Rose · Nutrients · United States (New Orleans)
This case study examines the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the New Orleans food system and the community's and local government's responses to strengthen its resiliency. Using a participant-observer approach, including a 2020 online survey of 56 local food organizations, the study identified key themes and efforts. These efforts included the "Greaux the Good" campaign for increased food assistance, policy changes for food vendor permitting, and the establishment of City Food Specialist and Urban Agriculture Liaison positions within local government. Additionally, innovative grassroots citizens' programs positively impacted food access.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceHealthNúcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas Regionais e Agrários: Investigações e Proposições Geográficas
2025Édipo Alves Lacerda · Espiral revista de geografías y ciencias sociales · Brazil
This book, organized by Gustavo Henrique Cepolini Ferreira et al., compiles texts from Unimontes researchers focused on critical geography and popular struggles for land and traditional territories in northern Minas Gerais, Brazil. It discusses conflicts from agribusiness expansion, disputes over resources, climate change effects on peasant farming, and challenges faced by quilombolas, indigenous, and traditional communities. The book addresses structural racism and other aspects of rural development, highlighting negative impacts on these communities.
Equity & displacementUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justicePolicyClimate changeCommunityThe New American Farmer – Extension Engagement with Urban Agriculture and Food Systems
2025Margaux Robinson, Karen Cunningham, Jeffery Young, Nicole Breazeale, Kenneth R. Jones · Journal of Extension · United States
This paper discusses the evolving role of Extension in urban food production, noting progress made by educators in engaging with both social and horticultural aspects of urban agriculture. It suggests that appropriately designed urban food systems can offer healthy food access, community and environmental resilience, and economic prosperity. The authors provide recommendations for Extension staff, urging them to prioritize mediating the rural/urban dichotomy, tackling structural power dynamics, and intensifying community resilience strategies.
CommunityUrban–rural linkagePolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceHealthCidade-Campo no Brasil: dinâmicas e contradições
2025Paulo Ricardo Santos Miranda · Revista Mutirõ Folhetim de Geografias Agrárias do Sul · Brazil
A collection of 13 chapters explores the interactions between city and countryside in Brazil, critically examining how capital traverses urban and rural territories, promoting expropriation and spatial reconfigurations. Studies on Uberlândia, Montes Claros, São Paulo, and the North and Northeast regions highlight land conflicts, peripheral industrialization, urban agriculture, and peasant resistance. The work emphasizes the ambiguous role of the State.
Equity & displacementUrban–rural linkageCommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyPRODUÇÃO DE HORTALIÇAS ORGÂNICAS: PROTAGONISMO FEMININO E SUSTENTABILIDADE NA VILA GALVÃO, CASA NOVA - BA
2025Suzana Márcia Souza dos Santos, Clecia Simone Gonçalves Rosa Pacheco · Editora Científica Digital eBooks · Brazil
This study analyzed the experience of the Vila Galvão Women Workers' Benevolent Association in Casa Nova, Bahia, Brazil, which produces organic vegetables in urban and peri-urban contexts. The study aimed to characterize the productive, commercial, and sociocultural aspects related to organic vegetable production and commercialization, identifying main marketing channels and understanding difficulties faced by producers. It concluded that organic production, combined with collective organization and the strengthening of the solidarity economy, represents a viable alternative for a more just, sustainable, and female-led rural development model.
Economic viabilityCommunityPeri-urban agricultureOrganic cycleEconomicsPolicyProfile of Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture in Rio de Janeiro State: Case Study
2025Letícia Englete de Mello, Dirlane de Fátima do Carmo, Daiane Cecchin, Leonardo da Silva Hamacher, Marcel Carvalho Abreu, R. M. Anjos, Mariana Vezzone · Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental · Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)
This study investigated the profile of 159 urban and peri-urban agricultural producers across 29 municipalities in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, using quantitative interviews and statistical analysis. Producers were predominantly men over 50 with limited education, cultivating small plots with organic methods but receiving little technical support. Key challenges identified were a lack of assistance and resources, and urban agriculture's potential is hindered by the absence of effective public policies.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyCommunityEconomicsImpulsores e inhibidores de la agricultura urbana a partir de una aproximación diacrónica desde 1821 hasta 2023: el caso de Xalapa (Veracruz, México)
2025Juan Camilo Fontalvo-Buelvas, María Teresa Pulido Silva, Miguel Ángel Escalona Aguilar, Raúl Romero Ramírez · Memorias · Mexico (Xalapa)
This diachronic study analyzed the drivers and inhibitors of urban agriculture in Xalapa, Mexico, through a historical tracing from 1821 to 2023. Drivers included rural immigration, academia, and government programs, while inhibitors were identified as diversification of trades, ejido laws, remittances, health policies, and food markets.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageUrban Gardening in Latin America and Panama: A New Strategy for Conservation
2025Belma Soto-Fernández, Lurys Bourdett-Stanziola · Asian Journal of Agricultural and Horticultural Research · Latin America
A documentary review on the importance of urban gardening in Latin America revealed that urban gardening, when approached through the lens of agrobiodiversity, has become a key strategy for safe food production and environmental sustainability. However, it was found that several Latin American countries lack clear and established laws to regulate this activity. Preliminary evidence of rotavirus was detected in fresh vegetables from an urban garden in Panama, indicating that urban gardens can become infection foci capable of causing diseases of public health and veterinary importance.
Governance failureCommunityBiodiversityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthEconomicsPolicyPara além do rural: Hortas Urbanas e Periurbanas como políticas públicas de garantia de segurança alimentar no meio urbano
2025Garcia, Pedro Henrique Lundquist de Souza, Carvalho, Joelson Gonçalves de · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Brazil (São Paulo)
This research, presented at the 10th Conference on Studies of Rural Settlements in July 2025, analyzes the socioeconomic impacts and challenges of urban and peri-urban gardens in Brazil, focusing on a 35-year municipal program in Penápolis, São Paulo. Based on field research and secondary data, preliminary results suggest that production for self-consumption and collective labor strengthen community bonds and reduce food insecurity. The study aims to propose improvements for local public policies.
PolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityEconomicsEnhancing urban waste sustainability through community-driven composting in São Paulo megacity
2024Amato-Lourenço L.F., Franca G.C., Seckler M.M., Mauad T. · Environmental Challenges, 14:100864 · Brazil
An analysis of a resident-led, decentralized community composting initiative begun in 2018 in São Paulo, using thermophilic decomposition (the UFSC method) in public squares. It presents a civil-society-driven waste-management model with positive environmental and social outcomes.
CompostOrganic cycleCommunityPolicyFrom access toward sovereignty: A scoping review of municipal land access policies for urban agriculture in the United States
2024Raychel E. Santo, Sara N. Lupolt, Katherine M. Uhde, Robert C. Bennaton, Keeve E. Nachman · Elem Sci Anth · United States
This scoping review compares land access mechanisms for urban agriculture across the 40 most populous US cities. It finds 75% of cities used at least one mechanism but only 20% offered multiple options; temporary-use mechanisms (e.g., Adopt-A-Lot programs, city-run farms and gardens) were more common than secure-tenure options like long-term leases and land trusts; 45% of cities designed mechanisms with an equity focus; and fewer than a quarter offered complementary support such as subsidized water, liability insurance, soil testing, or funding.
PolicyCommunityRacial equity and the USDA's Office of Urban Agriculture granting program and urban offices
2024Kristin Reynolds, Cédric Gottfried, Tamarra Thomas · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · United States
This policy brief reports findings from a study examining, through a racial-equity lens, the rollout of the USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production established by the 2018 farm bill. Drawing on national surveys, interviews in New York City and Atlanta, GIS mapping, and policy review, it situates the provisions within the USDA's history of discrimination and offers policy recommendations for engaging socially disadvantaged urban farmers.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsScalability of Urban Agriculture
2024Kristin Jones · Enquiry The ARCC Journal for Architectural Research · United States (Chicago)
Taking Alfred Caldwell's mid-century vision of small-scale farming as social empowerment as its starting point, this study examines three distinct urban farming approaches in Chicago—spanning raised-bed farming, aquaponics, hydroponics, and permaculture across a nonprofit, a community group, and a private entrepreneur—to assess their scalability and broader societal and environmental impact. It identifies numerous opportunities for scaling up and concludes that a multi-faceted, multi-scalar framework is needed to grow urban agriculture within resilient cities.
EconomicsCommunityPolicySustainable agriculture impacts in urban settings make the case for federal investments [Policy brief]
2024Hagan Capnerhurst, Hannah Quigley, Jake Hawes · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · United States
This policy brief examines the challenges facing urban agriculture in U.S. cities—scant funding, insecure land tenure, and environmental pollution—and profiles the USDA's emerging Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production as a support apparatus. It calls for consistent, permanent federal funding outside the annual budget process to enable tailored technical assistance, reformed grant initiatives, and expanded data collection.
PolicyEconomicsContending food sovereignty with cultivating kinship through community gardens
2024Max Sano · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · United States (Santa Clara Valley)
This is a book review of Gabriel R. Valle's "Gardening on the Margins," which draws on anthropological, community-based research in California's Santa Clara Valley. It highlights the La Mesa Verde community, whose gardeners engage in community gardening not only out of necessity but through an "ethic of care."
CommunityPolicySoils information for urban customers: A perspective
2024Hannah M. Ohm, Thomas M. DeSutter, Christina L. Hargiss, Keith A. Anderson, Nathan E. Derby, Beverly Alvarez‐Torres · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States
This perspective article argues that, although urban agriculture is gaining popularity across the United States and national-level soil information exists, urban residents often have limited detail about the soils in their communities. It suggests that agencies such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service could expand existing soil survey programs (e.g., WebSoilSurvey) and that trace-element testing and interpretation would improve knowledge of the risks urban soils pose to food quality. The authors emphasize opportunities for local, state and federal entities to support the soil-science needs of urban growers.
PolicyHealthCommunity