Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
1180 results(30 / 48)
Urban Agriculture in the Philippines: Initiatives, Practices, Significance, and Threats
2017Guzman C. · Sustainable Landscape Planning in Selected Urban Regions (Springer, Tokyo) · Philippines (Metro Manila)
This book chapter reviews urban agriculture initiatives, practices, and impacts in the Philippines, using Metro Manila vegetable production and peri-urban jasmine cultivation as case studies. It highlights employment and income benefits while identifying land-use competition and lack of clear policy as major threats to continued urban farming.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityBiodiversityThe city as a refuge for insect pollinators
2017Hall D.M., Camilo G.R., Tonietto R.K., Ollerton J., Ahrné K., Arduser M., Ascher J.S., Baldock K.C.R., Fowler R., Frankie G., Goulson D., Gunnarsson B., Hanley M.E., Jackson J.I., Langellotto G., Lowenstein D., Minor E.S., Philpott S.M., Potts S.G., Sirohi M.H., Spevak E.M., Stone G.N., Threlfall C.G. · Conservation Biology, 31(1):24-29 · Global
A review by an international team arguing that, as pollinators decline globally under agricultural intensification and pesticide use, cities can serve as important refuges for insect pollinators including native bees. It highlights the conservation value of designing and managing urban green spaces such as gardens and community plots for pollinators, framing citizen urban agriculture as a contributor to biodiversity conservation.
PollinatorsBiodiversityCommunityPolicyBeyond Inclusion and Exclusion: Community Gardens as Spaces of Responsibility
2017· Annals of the American Association of Geographers · Singapore
Using a Singapore case study, argues that the 'responsibilization' embedded in community gardens invariably produces practices of inclusion and exclusion, reframing gardens as spaces that impose responsibilities and can exclude.
CommunityPolicyGreen Shoots in Vacant Plots? Urban Agriculture and Austerity in Post-Crash Ireland
2017Mary P. Corcoran, Patricia C. Kettle, Cian O'Callaghan · ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies · Ireland (Dublin)
Shows how post-crash austerity governance in Dublin treated urban agriculture on vacant lots as a cheap 'stop-gap' between development booms, entrenching precarity: gardens exist only until land is reactivated for building, exposing the instrumentalization of UA under austerity.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityFood gardens as important elements of urban agriculture: Spatio-developmental trends and future prospects for urban gardening in Czechia
2017Jana Spilková, Jiří Vágner · Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography · Czechia
This study examined the historical context, current spatial patterns, and recent trends of urban food gardens in Czechia using literature review, geographical mapping, and semi-structured interviews in Prague. It found a strong tradition of urban agriculture, with gardens concentrated in major cities and industrial areas. However, uncertainty regarding land tenure and long-term sustainability were identified as major obstacles for the future of allotment and community gardens.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageContested urban green spaces in the compact city: The (re-)negotiation of urban gardening in Swiss cities
2017Simone Tappert, Tanja Klöti, Matthias Drilling · Landscape and Urban Planning · Switzerland
A qualitative study conducted in the Swiss cities of Basle, Berne, Geneva, and Zurich analyzed the political negotiation processes of urban gardening within the compact city framework. Findings demonstrated that urban growth strategies, aiming for efficient and resource-saving reorganization of urban space, are discursively rationalizing current transformation processes. This has led to traditional forms of urban gardening being closed down, displaced to less significant locations for urban development plans, or spatially and functionally transformed, while new forms of urban gardening are emerging in inner-city areas.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityUrban–rural linkageSmells like politics: planning and the inconvenient politics of intensive peri‐urban agriculture
2017Andrew Butt, Elizabeth Taylor · Geographical Research · Australia (Victoria)
This paper analyzes planning appeals and media from 2011–2016 in Victoria, Australia, regarding intensive poultry developments, revealing tensions between planning processes and local politics. Planning for intensive farming assumes stability and agricultural primacy, but concerns about agricultural industrialization are live local issues in dynamic peri-urban areas. Code-based planning's certainty does not negate the ongoing, inconvenient politics of intensive peri-urban agriculture.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyCommunityUrban green infrastructures and ecological networks for urban biodiversity conservation
2017Emily S. Minor, Elsa C. Anderson, J. Amy Belaire, Megan Garfinkel, Alexis D. Smith · · Global
This chapter explores the benefits of green infrastructure networks for urban biodiversity and proposes strategies to enhance their extent, performance, and connectivity. It suggests that planting lower-maintenance vegetation in urban green spaces, including urban agriculture and cemeteries, can reduce costs and improve air quality while providing habitat. The concept of ecological land-use complementation is introduced, where clustered urban land uses synergistically support biodiversity.
BiodiversityUrban–rural linkagePolicyGood gardeners and bad plants: Governing health in community gardens
2017Virginia Webb · New Zealand sociology · New Zealand (Palmerston North)
This research in a Palmerston North, New Zealand community garden examined the struggle over norms and power relations, specifically regarding tobacco cultivation. It found that the garden hierarchy's reluctance to accommodate alternative perspectives on tobacco cultivation revealed a troubling politics of race and class. This reluctance meant the garden's potential to disrupt social hierarchies was unrealized, highlighting how health notions can become a basis for social control.
Equity & displacementCommunityHealthPolicyAquaponics in Urban Agriculture: Social Acceptance and Urban Food Planning
2017Georgia Pollard, James Ward, Barbara A Koth · Horticulturae · Australia (Adelaide)
A study in Adelaide, Australia, investigated the social acceptance of aquaponics and its role in urban food planning through focus groups and interviews with urban food opinion leaders and local government officials. Most participants were unfamiliar with aquaponics, and perceived negatives received more attention than benefits. Urban growers' views on overcomplicated urban food planning aligned with mixed policy responses from local government areas towards urban agriculture, indicating a lack of consistent governance.
Governance failureDigital agriculturePolicyCommunityEconomicsUrban agriculture as one of the ecological applications of the regenerative city
2017د. نوفل جوزيف رزقو, د. خالد عبد الوهاب · Journal of Engineering · Global
This research hypothesizes that urban agriculture, in its various forms, is an essential and integral part of the regenerative city, affecting city planning and requiring its inclusion in city master plans as a new form of land use. The research aims to demonstrate the possibilities of using urban agriculture in its different forms within the urban fabric.
Climate changePolicyCommunityExploring potential community gardens in Thessaloniki
2017Rachel Lee Swanson · Digital WPI · Greece (Thessaloniki)
This project in Thessaloniki, Greece, aimed to understand the impact of community gardens and identify potential new sites, given the city's loss of green space due to urbanization and fiscal crisis. It found significant potential for community gardens but noted a lack of citizen awareness. The study suggests outreach campaigns could engage individuals with their communities by informing them about garden benefits.
CommunityPolicyFood education도시양봉으로 양봉산업의 발전가능성 확보 방안
2017박진 · 한국양봉학회 학술대회 자료집 · Global
This report examines the global rise of urban beekeeping, noting its diverse approaches across countries like the UK, Japan, and Denmark. While South Korea has seen an increase in urban beekeeping since 2012, with government support initiated in 2016, the sector faces significant challenges. Urban beekeeping is still largely viewed as a derivative of conventional beekeeping, and a lack of ordinances or legal frameworks hinders its widespread adoption and recognition of its environmental, social, and economic value.
Governance failureBiodiversityPollinatorsCommunityPolicyEconomicsURBAN AGRICULTURE AS A FOOD SECURITY STRATEGY FOR URBAN DWELLERS: A CASE STUDY OF MKOBA RESIDENTS IN THE CITY OF GWERU, ZIMBABWE
2017Nyasha Chaminuka, Ernest Dube · PEOPLE International Journal of Social Sciences · Zimbabwe
This qualitative study, involving 26 participants in Mkoba suburb, Gweru, Zimbabwe, analyzed urban agriculture as a food security strategy. It found that urban agriculture's growth is driven by population growth, poverty, high food prices, and unemployment, and it promotes food security, employment, and savings. However, existing legal frameworks, including the Urban Councils Act and Regional Town Planning Act, do not support but rather impede urban agriculture, alongside challenges like lack of supportive legislation, government support, and funding.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsCommunityDivorcing food and agriculture: towards an agenda for urban food security research
2017Bruce Frayne, Jonathan Crush, Cameron McCordic · · Global
Building on research from Harare's urban food system, David W. Smith proposed a global agenda for urban food security research in 1998. He noted that many national food security plans inadequately address urban food systems by focusing almost exclusively on smallholder agriculture, and that coordinated policy reviews are overdue. Smith emphasized the need to examine individual and household food insecurity in cities and questioned the role of urban agriculture in mitigating it.
Food sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkage“The Lucky country”? A critical exploration of community gardens and city–community relations in Australian cities
2017Alec Thornton · Local Environment · Australia
This study, based on Australian city case studies, explored community gardeners' views and engagement in community gardens. Findings revealed that community gardeners identified local councils as barriers to the emergence of community gardens and other forms of urban agriculture. Unlike other Western cities, effective city–community relations for community garden growth have not yet emerged in Australian cities.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceEconomics"L’agriculture urbaine", entre concept scientifique et modèle d’action
2017Maud Chalmandrier, Marine Canavèse, Yves Petit‐Berghem, Élisabeth Rémy · HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · Global
This study, using case studies of public action and gardeners' relationships with urban soil, argues that the concept of "urban agriculture" smooths over inherent tensions to promote its development as an action category. This approach tends to minimize differences in meaning among actors regarding their cultivation practices and, critically, relegates the crucial question of urban soil quality and its suitability for food crops to a secondary concern.
Contamination & food safetyPolicyCommunityHealthFarm to School Intensity Levels: A Systematic Review and Proposed Measurement Tool
2017Erin Vernoni, Jessica Price, Shoko Kumagai · · Global
A systematic review of quantitative peer-reviewed Farm to School (FTS) research found ambiguity and variability in FTS inputs. This makes it difficult to generalize outcomes for policymakers. The study proposes a pre-tested intensity measurement tool to standardize research in this area.
Methodological critiqueFood educationCommunityPolicyHealthActors’ motivations
2017Judith Schicklinski · · Global
This study examines individual motivations for commitment to sustainability issues, including urban food production, across different cities globally. It notes that legal frameworks can be a motivating factor, such as land development plans designating agricultural use. While quantitative data suggests food self-sufficiency is not a major motive in any region, qualitative data indicates its increasing importance in the Global South.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyMapeo de la agriricultura urbana y periurbana en el área metropolitana Santa Rosa-Toay: aproximaciones metodológicas para la lectura territorial
2017P. V. ERMINI, M. R. DELPRINO, B. GIOBELLINA · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Argentina (Santa Rosa-Toay)
In the Santa Rosa-Toay metropolitan area of Argentina, urban and peri-urban agriculture is noted for its scarce recognition in urban development policies and food security policies. Despite the region's urbanization, the absence of political recognition as a metropolitan area has hindered planning and management of land use and occupation according to its potential and limitations. This study developed and applied a methodological proposal to generate information on urban and peri-urban agricultural activities, integrating a spatial perspective with participatory procedures.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyHealthFood sovereignty & justiceRelying on urban gardens for survival within the building of a modern city in Colombia.
2017Colleen Hammelman · CABI eBooks · Colombia
In Medellín, Colombia, displaced women utilize urban gardens as a survival strategy amidst food insecurity and tenuous support from local government. Urban planning permits these gardens under the guise of supporting displaced families, but also for preserving open space and halting the growth of informal settlements. This chapter provides a clear example of how urban planning impacts the critical survival strategy of growing food.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareCommunityPolicyAnalyse De La Performance Productive De L’agriculture Urbaine Dans Le District d’Abidjan
2017Kouakou Kouakou Paul-Alfred · European Scientific Journal ESJ · Cote d’Ivoire (Abidjan)
This study assessed the productive performance and technical efficiency determinants of urban agriculture in the Abidjan District, Cote d’Ivoire. The analysis of the production frontier revealed that producers' technical efficiency ranged from 21% to 97%, with an average of 76%. Key determinants significantly impacting technical efficiency included the legal status of occupied space, education level, irrigation water quality, access to credit, and the nature of the main activity. The study suggests improving efficiency through strengthened training and technical support for producers and integrating urban agriculture into district development plans.
EconomicsPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceThe contribution of smallholder irrigated urban agriculture towards household food security in Harare, Zimbabwe.
2017Never Mujere · CABI eBooks · Zimbabwe (Harare)
This case study in Harare City, Zimbabwe, examined an urban irrigated agriculture project's contribution to household food security and poverty alleviation, including crop types, productivity, and farmer challenges. It found that while urban irrigated smallholder agriculture contributes to livelihoods, numerous socio-economic factors impede greater participation. Furthermore, some participants withdrew due to security threats from perceived political affiliations.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareEconomicsPolicySustainable Development Through Urban Agriculture
2017Eric R. R. Weaver · Digital Commons - University of South Florida (University of South Florida) · Global
This document compiles three publications advocating urban agriculture as a solution for UN Sustainable Development Goals. The first publication examines stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP) modeling for urban agriculture. The second highlights agriculture's role as a driver for planetary systems impacts, and the third proposes a new definition for urban agriculture due to existing ambiguities.
Climate changeCommunityPolicyEconomicsLandscape: from common good to human right
2017Laura Menatti · International Journal of the Commons · Global
This paper analyzed how the concept of landscape relates to notions of the common good, commons, and common pool resources (CPRs). Through theoretical research supported by practical examples like community gardens, it argued that landscape can be defined as a common good and can include commons and collective management of common pool resources. This analysis led to the possibility of defining the "right to landscape," arguing that landscape is a domain where human rights can be claimed and a right to which human beings are entitled.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justice