Research & reports

Paloma Silva Oliveira, Alaine Azevedo Barbosa, Alícia Cynthia Bispo dos Anjos, Aldaisa Oliveira da Silva, Ana Paula de Souza Cunha, Carlos Henrique Silva, Iasmin Adami Almeida Rolim, Vinícius Santos Barros, Charles Souza Santos, Gisele da Silveira Lemos · Saberes Plurais Educação na Saúde · Brazil

This descriptive study, conducted from July 2019 to February 2020, described the experience of eight PET-Saúde Interprofissionalidade students implementing Situational Strategic Planning (PES) at a Psychosocial Care Center for alcohol and drugs (CAPS ad) in Brazil. Students identified problems like physical structure issues, team disharmony, and lack of collaborative therapeutic projects. The PES process, which included a community garden, qualified user assistance and provided a more effective work basis for the health team.

Heidi Liere, Monika Egerer, Carly Sanchez, Peter Bichier, Stacy M. Philpott · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · United States (California)

This study surveyed 187 gardeners from 18 urban community gardens in California's central coast to investigate how socio-demographic factors affect pest reporting and management practices. Most gardeners reported pests, with ethnicity, time spent in gardens, and agricultural employment influencing reporting likelihood. The majority used curative, non-synthetic practices, but the likelihood of using curative practices varied by gardeners' ethnicity, time spent in gardens, and gender.

Heather Gray, K. Rashid Nuri · American Journal of Economics and Sociology · United States

This paper argues that industrial-chemical agriculture has abandoned the foundations of healthy agriculture, such as seed diversity and soil preservation, replacing them with genetically uniform crops. In contrast, it states that in the United States, small farms and urban agriculture are providing healthy food and reconnecting city dwellers with the life of the soil.

Susie Cochran, Leia Minaker · Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l alimentation · Canada (Ontario)

This paper reviews literature on community gardens, identifying gaps in translating their qualitative outcomes into monetary terms for municipal decision-makers. It describes a pilot return on investment assessment of a community garden in Ontario, Canada. Despite substantial data constraints, the limited available data suggest that community gardens could be an ROI-positive government investment.

Anderson Nunes de Carvalho Vieira, Alexandro Rodrigues Ribeiro, Silvio Santos Cardoso · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Cuiabá)

This study describes the socioeconomic and productive profile of urban farmers in Cuiabá, Brazil, and their potential contribution to ecological economics. Using a mixed-method descriptive approach with primary data collected via questionnaires, the research found that urban agriculture often emerges as a survival alternative for poorer populations from rural areas. The study concludes that this practice, if adequately supported, can foster a better understanding and practice of ecological economics in the region.

Jacqueline Futch, Brittany Kovacs, Anjali Prasertong, K. O’Malley, Diego Rose · Current Developments in Nutrition · United States (New Orleans)

This 2020 study cataloged innovative food system organizations in New Orleans, USA, through an online survey of 65 directors in fall 2017. The survey found that 82% of organizations were founded after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, with 77% targeting low-income populations. While 69% belonged to coalitions, only 23% reported receiving federal grants, indicating an active NGO sector addressing food and nutrition issues largely without federal support.

Fatmir Haskaj · Environment and Planning A Economy and Space · United States (New York City)

This article explores the historical context of community gardens in New York and Oakland, California, to understand and contest hegemonic forces in the urban environment. It posits that the work of gardeners is co-opted into a value regime through a process called "conspicuous labor." This process reconfigures the urban poor as productive, passive, and pastoral, contributing to gentrification.

Michael Granzow, Kevin Jones · Local Environment · Canada (Edmonton)

This paper explores the production of Prairie Urban Farm, an urban agricultural initiative in Edmonton, Canada. Drawing on interviews with regular volunteers and personal reflections, the analysis emphasizes everyday urban agriculture practices, understandings, and motivations, rather than limiting the understanding to official representations. The study pursues tensions between Prairie Urban Farm as a sustainability and food security initiative and more ambivalent understandings.

Joshua W. R. Baur · Journal of American College Health · United States (San Francisco Bay area)

A web-based survey of 76 undergraduate student volunteers at an urban university in the San Francisco Bay area explored the relationship between working at a campus community garden and student well-being. Bootstrap regression indicated that connectedness to nature and general health significantly predicted general well-being. The study suggests that campus natural spaces may contribute to student success and offer urban college students opportunities to engage with nature.

Monika Egerer, Brenda B. Lin, Lucy Diekmann · Environmental Research Communications · United States (California)

In urban community gardens on the central coast of California, USA, gardeners' adaptation of management behaviors to drought was investigated across three periods: before, during, and after the longest drought. Structural equation modeling and multivariate analyses were used to assess the impact of water policies and gardener characteristics. Findings showed that nature relatedness and gardening experience influenced drought concern, which then impacted behavioral change. Water policies were found to promote and maintain behavioral change and conservation practices even when concern was absent.

Alison Hope Alkon, Yahya Josh Cadji, Frances C. Moore · New York University Press eBooks · United States (California)

In North Oakland, California, USA, collaborations between food justice organizations and residents, spurred by gentrification, were explored. The partnership and merger of Phat Beets Produce and the Self-Help Hunger Program were analyzed, initiated after a community garden was used in a gentrification advertisement in 2014. While this collaboration created a strong alliance, it was found to be insufficient to resist the structural forces driving gentrification.

Ana Carla Alves Gomes, Maria Lúcia Brito da Cruz · Revista Campo-Território · Brazil

This study investigated the spatial distribution of Urban Agriculture (UA) in Fortaleza, Brazil, particularly in the Lagoa Redonda neighborhood, and the permanence of these gardens amidst territorial disputes over urban space. Using bibliographic and secondary data surveys, site visits, and geoprocessing techniques, it analyzed the feasibility of UA reproduction and the implementation of specific policies for the activity. The study points to governance challenges, specifically territorial disputes concerning the permanence of urban agriculture in urban spaces.

C. K. Cartagena · Southeastern geographer · United States

This paper reviews "Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farms Practical Guide To Liberation on the Land" by Leah Penniman and Karen Washington. The book serves as a step-by-step guide for Black farmers, detailing historical struggles and solutions against oppression and racial discrimination in the farming sector, including cases like Pigford v. Glickman and the over-policing of Ron Finley's property. It offers instruction on obtaining land and resources, farm business plans, land restoration, crop planning, preserving harvests, raising animals, urban farming, and movement building. The book acknowledges obstacles faced by Black farmers and aims to provide a reference for sustaining productive farmland and activism to achieve land autonomy.

Donald A. Rakow, Meghan Z. Gough, Sharon A. Lee · Cornell University Press eBooks · United States

This chapter discusses community gardens that serve as sites for both food production and community education, through case studies in the United States. Initiatives such as the Bronx Green-up by the New York Botanical Garden, the Green Corps by the Cleveland Botanical Garden, the Growing to Green program by the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, and the Sankofa Farm at Batram's Garden are highlighted. These initiatives improve access to fresh produce for those living in food deserts, enable low-income residents to feel in control of their diet by growing their own food, and lead to ripple effects like reduced vandalism and petty crime in communities.

Bruce G. Ferguson, Helda Morales · · Mexico (Chiapas)

The Laboratorios para la Vida action research team in Chiapas, Mexico, trains educators to use school gardens and local food systems as venues for experiential learning. However, teachers face a host of hurdles to successful garden programs, including high teacher turnover, lack of space, and the difficulty of matching garden growth with the national curriculum calendar.

Mariella Camardelli Uzêda · Anais da Semana Científica Johanna Döbereiner · Brazil

This work aims to understand the origins of urban farmers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and their traditions of cultivating and consuming spontaneous wild plants. It investigates how this knowledge of biodiversity has been preserved over time and influences current cultivation practices in areas like Colonia Juliano Moreira and Guaratiba. The study also explores opportunities to diversify agro-food systems with these wild plants to intensify ecosystem services such as pollination and biological pest control.

Renate M. Winkels, Rick Artrip, Maegan Tupinio, Daniel R. George · · United States (Hershey)

At Penn State Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, PA, a program was developed within a hospital-based community garden that paired Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) cancer survivors with older experienced gardeners. The program aimed to improve diet and physical activity among AYA cancer survivors. Qualitative analysis of interviews with participants identified that the transfer of gardening knowledge was jointly valued as a positive experience, and AYA cancer survivors built confidence and positive attitudes towards their ability to garden.

Anna Shortly, Thembela Kepe · Forests Trees and Livelihoods · Canada (Toronto)

This paper explores the opportunities and challenges of incorporating foraging practices into parks planning and management in Toronto, Canada, where foraging is often not permitted in urban parks. The study, based on a scan of practices and interviews, concludes that urban parkland managers should establish dedicated spaces like community orchards to safely and sustainably accommodate foraging, acknowledging current restrictions.

Helda Morales, Bárbara Lazcano, Ana Isabel López García · · Mexico

This study compiles experiences from Mexico to explore how individual urban farming acts as an act of resistance. It describes food's role as a "common ground" where various political struggles intersect, including food sovereignty, gender equality, decolonization, climate change activism, indigenous rights, and social justice. The research also analyzes conditions that could facilitate a transition to broader political change and collective action, highlighting how planting actual seeds can yield not only ecological benefits but also social revolution.

Michelle Medeiros Jacob · DEMETRA Alimentação Nutrição & Saúde · Brazil

A project at a federal university in Northeast Brazil studied eight unconventional food plants (PANC) in a community garden during 2018, using the Garden-Based Learning (GBL) method. Data on botanical family, names, origin, biome, uses, and nutritional indicators were collected by nutrition students. The GBL method mediated the educational process, and the studied plants showed potential for food and nutritional security due to their suitability to the Caatinga biome and nutrient variety.

Natalie Seymour, Mary Yavelak, Candice Christian, Ben Chapman, Michelle D. Danyluk · EDIS · United States

Published by the UF/IFAS Food Science and Human Nutrition Department in March 2020 and revised on April 21, 2020, this flyer provides guidance for managing community gardens in the United States regarding COVID-19. It includes changes related to physical distancing, mask usage, and monitoring employee health when exposed to the virus.

Saskia Van Viegen · · Canada

This chapter describes a collaborative action research project involving newcomer and Canadian-born multilingual elementary students in Canada. The project aimed to promote equity and inclusion for children from immigrant and refugee backgrounds, incorporating community and family knowledge to create a school garden and document the process with a short film. From a new materialist perspective, it explains how educators can assemble new materialist and relational pedagogies in and out of school to connect language and literacy teaching with transformations brought about by environmental change and human migration.

Jennifer Sumner, Derya Tarhan, John Justin McMurtry · Working paper/Working paper CIRIEC ... · Canada

This paper explores how Indigenous communities in Canada address chronic food insecurity through the social and solidarity economy. Using a case study of the Northern Manitoba Food, Culture and Community Collaborative, it illustrates how local initiatives such as community gardens, greenhouses, and co-operatives contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goals, particularly zero hunger. The paper emphasizes community ownership, control, and benefits as key aspects of these models.

Olivia Lee · Johns Hopkins University eBooks · United States (Chicago)

This study, drawing on affect theory, examines community gardens in Chicago's low-income, primarily Black South Side neighborhoods. It argues that while these gardens offer a spatial break from violence, they appear unable to fully counteract the ongoing marginalization by race and socioeconomic status. The gardens represent a quiet, nascent resistance against neoliberal injustices through intimate human-nature interaction.

Leonoura Katarina Santos, Cláudio José Bertazzo · · Brazil (Catalão)

This paper describes the Ecological Horticulture Program implemented by NEPEA at the Goias State Military Police College in Catalão, Brazil, aiming to promote socio-environmental education among elementary school students. The program used theoretical-practical classes and workshops to raise awareness about environmental sustainability, waste management, and organic production. Outcomes included composting processes, a school garden with 12 beds for various crops (e.g., lettuce, carrots), a nursery, and the creation of selective collection containers and awareness posters.