Research & reports

Hilda E. Kurtz · Urban Geography · United States (Minneapolis)

This paper examines the variations among community gardens in Minneapolis, Minnesota, suggesting they reflect differing interpretations of "community" and "garden" in urban settings. While community gardens are seen as responses to urban decay, the study highlights that issues of enclosure, inclusion, and exclusion are central to their function. Decisions regarding garden enclosure shape their role in urban neighborhoods, indicating potential limitations related to equity.

CAST · · United States

This comprehensive report, written by a twelve-member task force, considers the changing role of agriculture in urban settings. The report frames "urban agriculture" within historical and contemporary American society, depicting geographic, demographic, and economic changes in rural and metropolitan life. Policy issues such as land preservation, alternative market opportunities, sprawl, taxation, and food security are examined.

Susan Andreatta · Culture & Agriculture · United States

This paper describes marketing opportunities for small-scale, limited-resource organic producers in Central North Carolina, United States. It examines farmers' markets and community-supported agriculture programs, highlighting how growers advocate and educate consumers about local agriculture. The study discusses the increasing demand for local organic food and strategies for growers to enhance community support, suggesting that alternative production and niche marketing could help sustain small-scale growers amidst farm loss and declining conventional agricultural prices.

Andres Dasso, Teobaldo Pinzas · · Peru

In Lima, Peru, a city with an infertile sandy environment and 0.0 mm average rainfall, urban agriculture has been implemented since the late 1980s to improve the living conditions of the resource-poor urban population. This initiative addresses the rapid urban growth experienced by Lima between the 1950s and 1990s, primarily due to migration.

Joshua J. Cousins · · United States (Oregon)

This qualitative study examined local food networks in Washington County, Oregon, focusing on small-scale agricultural landscapes and farmers selling through farmers markets or CSAs. It explored farmers' concerns about urbanization, farmland preservation, and their difficulties participating in local food networks. The research concluded that local food sold through alternative venues can help preserve and develop specific farm sites.

Laura DeLind, A. Ferguson · Human Organization · United States

This paper explores the role of gender within Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) using a Michigan CSA as a case study. It notes that women constitute a majority of active CSA membership and seeks to understand what attracts them and the nature of their involvement. The study finds preliminary answers within the wider context of new social movements.

Gail Feenstra, Christopher Lewis · California Agriculture · United States (California)

A survey of farmers' market managers in California indicated that farmers' markets provide growers with opportunities to expand their businesses through new market venues, value-added products, and connections with agritourism. Rural markets offered strong community support and tourist links, while small-town markets showed the most new vendors and room for growth. Metropolitan markets, though harder to access, yielded the highest gross sales and increased demand for value-added products.

Jane Kolodinsky, Qingbin Wang, Leslie L. Pelch, Kolodinsky, Jane M., Wang, Qingbin, Pelch, Leslie · 1999 Annual meeting, August 8-11, Nashville, TN · United States

A 1999 study tests whether membership activities of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms in Vermont, US, generate utility directly. Based on survey data from Vermont, it finds that both time spent picking up produce at the farm and time spent cleaning and putting away produce at home yield utility directly, and that the direct utility from picking up produce is greater than that from cleaning and putting it away.

Richard K. Olson, L. Bauer · Lincoln (University of Nebraska) · United States

This is a two-part compilation on small-scale Midwest farming (Part I) and reintegrating agriculture and community in the Midwest (Part II), gathering contributed chapters covering topics such as small and family-sized farms, market gardening, diversified crop/livestock systems, Amish farming agroecosystems, direct marketing, community-supported agriculture, farmers' markets, farmland preservation, and local food-system strengthening in Nebraska, Iowa and the broader Midwest region of the United States.

Jack P. Cooley, Daniel A. Lass · Review of Agricultural Economics · United States (Massachusetts)

This study focused on consumer benefits, specifically cost savings, from Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) membership. It measured quantities of produce in weekly shares for three CSA farms in Massachusetts and calculated retail values. Cost savings, determined by the difference between share prices and retail values for organic produce, ranged from 60% to 150% of share prices for the studied CSA farms.

H. Losada, H. Martínez, J. Vieyra, R. Pealing, R. Zavala, J. Cortés · Environment and Urbanization · Mexico

This paper describes the scale and nature of agricultural production in urban, suburban, and peri-urban zones of Mexico City and how these have adapted to changing urban demands for food, wood, and recreation. Agricultural producers have successfully adapted their products and production methods, including building on traditional systems, despite environmental deterioration from urban development and lack of government support. These producers have also devised new ways to use degraded land and large volumes of waste.

Jane Kolodinsky, Leslie L. Pelch · Journal of Sustainable Agriculture · United States (Vermont)

This study estimated the probability of becoming a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) member using a binomial logit regression model, based on data collected through phone interviews with members, ex-members, and non-members of three CSA farms in Vermont. Results indicated that price, productivity shifters, consumer beliefs, and awareness impact the probability of membership.

Jane Kolodinsky, Leslie L. Pelch · The Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction & Complaining Behavior · United States

A US study estimating consumer satisfaction with community supported agriculture (CSA) using an ordinal probit model, based on phone-interview data collected from members of three CSA farms in Vermont. The results indicate that both experience with the CSA farm and members' reasons for joining affect satisfaction.

Ishwarbhai C. Patel · Journal of Agricultural & Food Information · United States (Newark)

The Rutgers Urban Gardening (RUG) program in Newark, New Jersey, transformed 30 acres of wasteland into 1,900 food gardens in 1994, engaging 6,500 residents. This initiative produced over $915,000 worth of food and recycled nearly 4,000 tons of city leaves, saving participants approximately $4 million over five years. The program also fostered social interaction, improved diets for 44% of participants, and enhanced neighborhoods.

Karen Schmelzkopf · Geographical Review · United States (New York City)

This article examines community gardens in Loisaida, a high-crime, poverty-stricken area of Manhattan's Lower East Side in New York City. The gardens provide social and economic functions, serving as safe open spaces for socialization and sources of food. A major problem identified is the competition for these sites between gardening and housing development.

Nelson L. Bills, Bills, Nelson L. · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · United States

A National Agricultural Lands Study (NALS) in the United States did not provide conclusive evidence of serious conflicts between urban development land requirements and the nation's agricultural production capacity. The study was also flawed by faulty data on farmland conversion rates.

Rakodi C. · The Journal of Modern African Studies · Zambia (Lusaka)

A field-based study of Zambian urban settlements in the 1970s-1980s, finding that urban cultivation serves as a vital survival strategy for low-income households and warrants integration into urban development planning.

Mary Clare Ahearn, David E. Banker, Ahearn, Mary, Banker, David · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · United States

Nearly one-third of all U.S. farms are located in metropolitan areas. These urban farms produce the majority of the nation's high-value crops, such as fruits and vegetables. They also contribute almost a third of the total value of U.S. farm sales and typically exhibit a stronger financial position compared to non-metropolitan farms.

Bishwapriya Sanyal · Food and Nutrition Bulletin · Zambia (Lusaka)

Urban agriculture in Lusaka, Zambia, is an innovative response by the urban poor facing insufficient income. Low-income households view urban cultivation as a long-term investment, requiring permanent urban residence (7-11 years) and access to land to ensure a return. Variations in cultivation patterns result from relative differences in land access and the need to maximize the return on domestic labor time.

Rodale Institute · Rodale Institute · United States

A long-running comparative farming trial launched by Rodale Institute in 1981, comparing conventional (synthetic nitrogen fertilizer and herbicides), organic legume, and organic manure systems across 72 plots for over 40 years. In drought years, organic corn yields are reported to be 31% higher than conventional, and water infiltration rates are significantly faster under organic management.

Steven L. Doud, Greg Pagano · HortScience · United States

Many American urban dwellers are rediscovering that gardens can provide inexpensive, high-quality food, recreation, and relaxation. This "green thumb boom" is particularly evident in the emergence of community garden projects in college communities, where students seek to supplement incomes and work with plants. While these projects vary in management philosophy and workload allocation, they share common goals of abundant food production and enjoyment for gardeners.