Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
165 results(3 / 7)
Understanding Social-Ecological Memory in Urban Agriculture: A Case Study from Istanbul
2023Susana Alves, Bahar Bașer Kalyoncuoğlu · Ecopsychology · Turkey (Istanbul)
This study explored the socio-ecological potential of urban agriculture in 10 family-related projects in Istanbul, where Bostans (historical urban vegetable gardens) are culturally significant. Despite their importance and UNESCO recognition, the planning and management of bostans have been hampered by rapid urbanization and a lack of integrative policies. Data from interviews, observations, and fieldwork highlighted the role of kinship in knowledge transfer and how farmers base activities on past-present affordances and future expectations.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justicePromoting dietary changes for achieving health and sustainability targets
2023Angelina Sanderson Bellamy, Ella Furness, Susanna Mills, Adrian K. Clear, Samantha Mitchell Finnigan, Elliot Meador, Alice E. Milne, Ryan T. Sharp · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · United Kingdom
This study analyzed interview data and food diaries from Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members and the wider UK population, using the 2019 EAT Lancet Commission dietary guidelines. It found that CSA members consumed diets closer to the EAT Lancet recommendations than controls, with significant differences in daily intakes of meat, dairy, vegetables, legumes, and sugar. CSA members' diets emitted on average 28% less CO2 compared to controls.
CSA & TeikeiHealthClimate changeFood sovereignty & justice«Green» practices of Kharkiv residents during the war: results of Kharkiv Green Urban Tour 2023
2023Ruslan Zaporozhchenko, Denys Shymansky · SOCIOПРОСТІР · Ukraine (Kharkiv)
The Kharkiv Green Urban Tour 2023, held in April-May 2023, aimed to reveal the “green” practices of Kharkiv residents during the war, specifically the continuation of growing and distributing home-grown vegetables and fruits in the context of urban farming. This study, conducted as part of the FUSILLI international research project, seeks to provide a clearer understanding of how residents of an urbanized city engage in improvised farming, adapt to the military situation, and reproduce green practices while helping others.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsUrban Gardens vs. Community Gardens: Tensions and Trajectories for Urban Agriculture in Istanbul
2023Candan Türkkan · Moment Journal · Turkey (Istanbul)
This paper analyzes urban gardening practices in Yedikule Bostanlari and Kuzguncuk Bostani in Istanbul, examining the convoluted relationship between the food movement and urban agriculture. It argues that while urban agriculture initiatives are significant for generating community and proposing alternative uses for urban space, they do relatively little to mitigate the structural problems underlined by the food movement. As such, even though they are examples of urban agriculture in practice, their aspirations do not readily associate with those of the food movement.
Limited or null effectCommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyKnowledge-making and the quest for a sustainable city: Promoting community food-growing in London
2023Jens Lachmund · · United Kingdom (London)
This chapter traces the emergence of initiatives promoting urban agriculture in London, a pioneering city for urban agriculture in Europe, from a history of knowledge perspective. It identifies three formative episodes: open civic experimentation in community projects, city modeling and surveying in food planning scholarship, and government-sponsored knowledge mobilization campaigns. These processes shaped London as a food-system and a space for community engagement.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceBetween ambitions and actions: how citizens navigate the entrepreneurial process of co-producing sustainable urban food futures
2023Koen van der Gaast, J.E. Jansma, Sigrid Wertheim‐Heck · Agriculture and Human Values · Netherlands
This study explored how residents of Almere Oosterwold, Netherlands, envision and organize urban agriculture futures, where 50% of plots must be used for urban agriculture. Using futuring, it found that residents have diverse future perspectives and can formulate specific actions but struggle to commit to them, attributing this to temporal dissonance. The paper concludes that both planning and entrepreneurship are necessary for realizing urban food futures.
Urban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityPolicyExploring the need for innovation in greening urban environments: Reflecting on radical practice in Greater Manchester, UK
2022Adelina Court, Aileen Kelly, Michael Hardman · Cogent Social Sciences · United Kingdom (Greater Manchester)
This paper explores the need for innovation in urban green infrastructure, focusing on enabling urban food growing in cities. It reviews current policy tools and presents a case study of a multifunctional forest school in Salford, UK, which enables larger-scale farming in a deprived area. The study, conducted by a multidisciplinary team, also proposes a visual methodology framework for future replication.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceDURKHEIM’IN TOPLUMSAL DAYANIŞMA TEORİSİ İLE GÜNÜMÜZ SOSYAL İNOVASYON GİRİŞİMLERİ ARASINDAKİ İLİŞKİ: TOPLULUK DESTEKLİ TARIMSAL KOOPERATİFLER ÖRNEĞİ
2022Yunus KÖLEOĞLU, Ali SEYYAR, Mehmet AYSOY · Hak İş Uluslararası Emek ve Toplum Dergisi · Europe
This paper discusses the meaning and role of social solidarity in modern societies, based on Emile Durkheim's theory of social solidarity, focusing on solidarity-based agricultural cooperatives as alternative economic models against capitalist/liberal systems. The paper demonstrates that modern societies can successfully present solidarity-based alternative economic models, aligned with the spirit of social innovation, as a reaction to traditional capitalist production systems amidst eroding solidarity norms. Characteristics of solidarity agricultural cooperatives operating in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) are introduced, confirming Durkheim's thesis that social solidarity can emerge through collective movements even within a capitalist-liberal system.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCSA & TeikeiContinuity and Change: Socio-Spatial Practices in Bamberg's World Heritage Urban Horticulture
2022Heike Oevermann, Daniel Keech, Marc Redepenning, Li Fan, Patricia Alberth · Urban Planning · Germany (Bamberg)
The German city of Bamberg offers lessons on how continuity and change interact within the context of inner-urban commercial horticulture, informing sustainable urban transformations in historic cities. Urban food production in Bamberg is not just well-established but a consistent, centuries-old cultural structure influencing the city's fabric. This study discusses what forms of urban horticulture were evident from Bamberg's past and which may prevail in the future.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceFeeding the City and Making the Revolution: Women and Urban Agriculture in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)
2022Marta Camps‐Calvet, Santiago Gorostiza, David Saurı́ · Antipode · Spain (Barcelona)
This study examined social reproduction practices surrounding food in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939. Core findings informed the role of women in food provision and production through individual subsistence agriculture, involvement in Barcelona’s anarcho-syndicalist agricultural collective, and participation in agriculture education and training programs. The research was based on original archival data, historical press, and interviews with witnesses of the war.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityFood educationWelfareFlat Rooftops as Productive Landscapes in Birmingham
2022Yangzixian Yang · Journal of Architectural Research and Development · United Kingdom (Birmingham)
This paper aims to assess Birmingham's suitability for flat rooftop farming in the United Kingdom. It explores two examples of rooftop farms, Brooklyn Grange in New York and Thammasat University, the largest rooftop farm in Asia, and proposes converting the tops of buildings at Birmingham City University into a flat roof farm.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsHealthExploring member trust in German community-supported agriculture: a multiple regression analysis
2022Felix Zoll, Caitlin K. Kirby, Kathrin Specht, Rosemarie Siebert · Agriculture and Human Values · Germany
A quantitative study (n=790) among Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) members in Germany used a multiple regression model to identify factors predicting trust in CSA and its farmers. The analysis found that "reputation," "supply of information," "direct social interaction," and "duration of CSA membership" influenced trust. Conversely, "certification status of the CSA farm" and "attitudes toward organic certification" did not significantly predict trust.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceFood Policy Processes in the City of Rome: A Perspective on Policy Integration and Governance Innovation
2022Bianca Minotti, Angela Cimini, Gabriella D’Amico, Davide Marino, Giampiero Mazzocchi, Simona Tarra · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Italy (Rome)
This study analyzed food policy processes in the city of Rome, Italy, focusing on the Agrifood Plan, Food Policy for Rome, and Community Gardens Movement. Using a conceptual framework combining policy integration and governance innovation, the research showed that each process performs a different form of governance based on the actors and backgrounds involved. The study demonstrated a strong link between governance innovation and policy integration, with the conception and application of policy integration varying according to the process's governance vision.
PolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceLegal Instruments to Support Short Food Supply Chains and Local Food Systems in France
2022Anna Kapała · Laws · France
This study aimed to identify legal instruments implemented in France that support short food supply chains and local food systems. The research identified these tools from various domains and levels, including national laws, government policies, and local government initiatives, analyzing them in relation to forms of short supply chains like direct marketing, producer stores, basket systems, urban agriculture, and public catering deliveries. The French instruments were found to be multiple, diverse, mostly innovative, and to consider social, environmental, and solidarity values.
PolicyFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCSA & TeikeiHow to guarantee food supply during pandemics? Rethinking local food systems from peri-urban strategic agents’ behaviour: The case study of the Barcelona Metropolitan Region
2021Sònia Callau-Berenguer, Anna Roca-Torrent, Josep Montasell-Dorda, Sandra Ricart · Investigaciones Geográficas · Spain (Barcelona)
This study analyzed the food system behavior in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region, Spain, during the initial stage of the Covid-19 pandemic (March-May 2020). Semi-structured interviews with 11 peri-urban entities and institutions revealed shortcomings in the operation and logistics of the metropolitan food system. Findings also indicated complicity between local producers and urban consumers, the role of peri-urban agricultural areas in food supply, and a need for cooperation among food system agents.
Governance failurePeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicyPowering transformative practices against food poverty with urban planning
2021Marian Simón Rojo · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · Spain (Madrid)
This study investigated how urban planning can support agroecological and right-to-food movements to create resilient urban food systems, addressing food insecurity. A case study in Madrid, Spain, found that over 14% of the population was food insecure, despite the presence of more than 400 free food distribution nodes. The analysis covered various programs and urban food initiatives, suggesting that urban planning provides tools to apply community-supported agroecological food system qualities to define context-adapted strategies, thereby reducing reliance on the industrial food sector.
PolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareChapitre 11. Jardins partagés gennevillois : genre, participation citoyenne et la fabrique de la ville
2021Emmanuelle Faure, Corinne Luxembourg, Angélique Dupont · Presses universitaires du Septentrion eBooks · France (Gennevillois)
This chapter proposes understanding urban agriculture, specifically shared gardens in Gennevilliers, as part of a collective project to develop a more environmentally respectful, food-producing city. It also views urban agriculture as a potential lever for women's emancipation. The study will explore how urban agriculture can foster collective responsibility and become a concrete vector for changing relationships within the Gennevilliers context.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareThe Unwanted Heritage of Prefabricated Wartime Air Raid Shelters—Underground Space Regeneration Feasibility for Urban Agriculture to Enhance Neighbourhood Community Engagement
2021Paweł Matacz, L. Świątek · Sustainability · Poland (Szczecin)
This article addresses the problematic heritage of Nazi German underground air raid shelters in Szczecin, Poland, by exploring their revitalization for urban agriculture. Through inventory and analysis, a modular hydroponic plant-growing system adapted to these prefabricated spaces was proposed. This solution aims to overcome negative associations, strengthen food sovereignty, initiate bottom-up community activity, and build social ties in residential neighborhoods.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceDigital agricultureUrban–rural linkageSDG Implementation through Technology? Governing Food-Water-Technology Nexus Challenges in Urban Agriculture
2021Sandra Schwindenhammer, Denise Gonglach · Politics and Governance · Germany
This qualitative and participatory case study in Germany examined the governance implications of an emerging technology in urban agriculture that connects wastewater treatment and agricultural production for urban hydroponics. The analysis found that while this technology has the potential to facilitate SDG implementation, it simultaneously creates new sector interlinkages between water and food, leading to policy demands that necessitate more integrated policymaking.
Governance failureDigital agriculturePolicyClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceCan urban agriculture be used to improve green infrastructure and social well-being? The urban garden in the Ponticelli neighbourhood of Naples
2021Fabio Amato, Lucia Simonetti · Journal of urban regeneration and renewal · Italy (Naples)
This paper focuses on the social urban garden in the Ponticelli neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of Naples, Italy, an area facing significant social and cultural problems including high unemployment and crime rates. The urban garden demonstrates how social cohesion can be built through urban agriculture and contribute to sustainability. However, the initiative risks remaining isolated and providing limited benefit to regional environmental sustainability efforts if not framed within an overall metropolitan strategy.
Limited or null effectCommunityHealthClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceIncredible Edible Todmorden: Impacts on Community Building, Education, and Local Culture. A Case for the Operationalization of a Sustainability-led Discourse
2021Michelle Brener Mizrahi · European Journal of Cultural Management and Policy · Europe
This paper analyzes how Incredible Edible Todmorden (IET), a community-led project, operated notions of sustainability through permaculture and urban farming to focus on community building and its impacts on education and local culture. The paper puts forth the argument that the discursive operationalization of sustainability can produce important effects in community building, education, and local culture at a local level.
CommunityFood educationOrganic cycleFood sovereignty & justiceAlternative = transformative? Investigating drivers of transformation in alternative food networks in Germany
2021Felix Zoll, Kathrin Specht, Rosemarie Siebert · Sociologia Ruralis · Germany
To investigate drivers of transformation in alternative food networks (AFNs) in Germany, interviews were conducted with producers and consumers in three AFN models: Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), food co-operatives, and self-harvest gardens, followed by qualitative content analysis. Participants in CSA and food co-ops reported a strong reconnection between producers and consumers, indicating transformative potential, while self-harvest gardeners primarily sought individual capacity building and access to their own garden. AFN participation was suggested to foster incremental transformation towards more sustainable food practices and a respective value system.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceA Socially-Based Redesign of Sustainable Food Practices: Community Supported Agriculture in Italy
2021Alessandra Piccoli, Adanella Rossi, Angela Genova · Sustainability · Italy
To understand the potential of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model in Italy, two investigations were conducted in 2019 and 2020, analyzing structural and organizational aspects, and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Findings indicate that CSAs represent a radically innovative experience capable of redefining production and consumption practices, demonstrating remarkable resilience due to their common value basis and strong interdependence and solidarity among members.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsConstructing Organic Food through Urban Agriculture, Community Gardens in Seville
2021Mario Jordi Sánchez, Antonio Luis Díaz Aguilar · Sustainability · Spain (Seville)
Through observation and qualitative analysis of community urban gardens in southern Spain (Andalusia), this paper notes that the people who cultivate allotments within these community gardens attribute a wide variety of different meanings to their practices. This plurality of meanings moves beyond the rational-technical dimension of the act of growing, while at the same time redefining the act of consuming organic food, because of its connection with productive and social activities.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthTransformative potential from the ground up: Sustainable innovation journeys, soft change and alignment of interests in urban food initiatives
2021Damian Maye, Paul Swagemakers, J.S.C. Wiskerke, Heidrun Moschitz, James Kirwan, Ingrid Jahrl · European Urban and Regional Studies · Europe
This study utilized the 'sustainable innovation journeys' concept to trace urban food initiatives in Rotterdam (Netherlands), Vigo (Spain), and Zurich (Switzerland) over a six-year period from 2013 to 2018. While micro-level innovation practices can induce sustainability shifts, particularly when aligned with policy interests, the study also observed potentially negative impacts due to a lack of alignment at the initiative or city-region levels.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justice