Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
1500 results(34 / 60)
The nutritional value of leaves of selected berry species
2017Wioletta Biel, Anna Jaroszewska · Scientia Agricola · Poland (Szczecin)
This study determined the nutritional value of leaves from four berry species (raspberry, blackberry, chokeberry, and sea buckthorn) collected from allotment gardens in Szczecin, Poland. Sea buckthorn leaves were the richest in protein, raspberry leaves in lipids, and all four were rich in crude and dietary fiber. The leaves showed desirable Ca:P and Na:K ratios, suggesting potential as mineral sources for bone formation and hypertension treatment, with sea buckthorn leaves also being a safe source of iron.
HealthCommunityUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban farming, Grugliasco
2017Zohreh Hamrang · · Italy
This study indicates that peri-urban territory provides a wide range of functions and services for surrounding urban areas, contributing to the quality of life in urban regions. These include food production, recreational services, and other services related to cultural landscape management, which in turn contribute to the ecological capacity of the landscape. Peri-urban agriculture (PUA) is characterized by two elements: intensified production with high productive value, and an extensive lifestyle with environmentally guided land use.
Peri-urban agriculturePolicyUrban–rural linkageAssessing the edible city: Environmental implications of urban agriculture in the Northeast United States
2017Benjamin Goldstein · · United States
This project aims to address uncertainties regarding the environmental performance of urban agriculture, using the Northeast United States as a case study. Existing literature lacks environmental appraisals comparing urban and rural food production, leaving questions about whether the benefits of reduced farm-to-fork distance are outweighed by energy demands of year-round growing systems, and if farm-scale resource efficiencies translate to meaningful shifts in a city's environmental footprint. This report comprises six chapters that explore and contribute to the understanding of urban food systems.
Climate changeFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageAgricultural Land and the New Urban Paradigm: Coexistence, Integration, or Conflict?
2017Ilenia Pierantoni, Massimo Sargolini · Challenges in Sustainability · Global
This contribution examines the evolving relationship between urban and rural areas, emphasizing their increasing complexity and interdependence. It discusses how managing these interdependencies can solve problems, enhance economic performance, and improve quality of life in and around urban areas. Within this context, green infrastructures and urban agriculture practices are discussed, with strategies for their implementation at regional and local scales suggested.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyEconomicsClimate changeEntre lugares e espaços: uma caminhada no grupo de CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) de Barão Geraldo
2017Maria Luiza de Andrade Benini · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil (Campinas)
This study examined how place and space influence the consolidation and configuration of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) group, using the example of a group in Barão Geraldo, Campinas, Brazil. CSA is a consumer group where consumers finance agricultural production and share benefits like food health, as well as risks like production losses. Field research, using observation and open interviews, showed that the configuration and appropriation of a space are essential for strengthening the CSA group.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageLand-Use Retention and Change to Improve Agricultural Biodiversity
2017Craig J. Pearson · · Global
This chapter addresses three aspects of agricultural biodiversity, primarily using examples from urban agriculture. It suggests viewing biodiversity as a component of land-use that contributes 'public value', rather than a suite of goals competing with food production. The chapter enumerates knowledge of land-use issues that preserve or improve agricultural biodiversity and discusses options for changing land-use to achieve this.
BiodiversityPolicyUrban–rural linkage1990年以降の奈良県の都市における農業の変化―都市農業振興基本法の施行をふまえて―
2017肇 石原, Hajime ISHIHARA · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan
Since 1990, the weakening of agricultural management foundations has been observed in urban areas of Nara Prefecture, though the decrease in productive green space and the number of full-time farmers remained at a certain level. Rice cultivation was the main crop in many areas, and engagement in agriculture-related businesses, apart from direct sales, was not extensive. Regarding the designation of productive green spaces, many cities were reluctant during the initial designation following the revised Productive Green Space Act and also during the Heisei mergers, which is identified as a challenge for future land use planning.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageFeeding Megacities by Urban Agriculture
2017Rattan Lal · · Global
This chapter describes the nature, properties, restoration, and sustainable management of urban soils to enhance food security and environmental quality. It notes that urban ecosystems are rapidly expanding and changing, with urban soils often classified as Anthropic soils. Drastic human-induced disturbances to urban soils hinder ecosystem functions, but restoration strategies aim to create novel soil types that improve vegetative production, denature pollutants, reduce salinization, and strengthen biogeochemical and biogeophysical cycling.
Urban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceOrganic cycleClimate changeUrbanization, Food Security and Nutrition
2017Marie T. Ruel, James Leo Garrett, Sivan Yosef, Meghan Olivier · · Global
This chapter reviews poverty, food security, and malnutrition in urban versus rural areas, noting a rapid shift of poverty to urban areas and high prevalence of food insecurity and malnutrition among urban dwellers. It highlights alarming rises in urban overweight and obesity, alongside persistent undernutrition. The review identifies critical knowledge gaps regarding factors shaping urban food security and calls for new research and data to inform policies supporting urban agriculture, healthy food access, and income generation to address these challenges.
Food sovereignty & justiceHealthEconomicsUrban–rural linkageHuertos en precario ¿en peligro de extinción? Su encaje en una propuesta integrada de gestión de la agricultura urbana y periurbana en el área metropolitana de Barcelona
2017Elena Domene Gómez, Francesc Coll, Marta Garcia-Sierra · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Spain (Barcelona)
Informal vegetable gardens have proliferated in Barcelona's urban periphery since the 1980s, serving as leisure spaces and food sources, and are a relevant form of agriculture. However, these "unregulated" spaces are not considered in urban and peri-urban agriculture promotion policies. A GIS methodology mapped these gardens in the Barcelona metropolitan area for 2009 and 2015, showing an increase in occupied surface during the recent economic crisis. The study evaluates contradictions leading municipal managers to eliminate or regulate these informal spaces, attributing them partly to the subjectivity of the urban and peri-urban agriculture concept and its supposed multifunctionality.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageEconomicsThe Farm in the City in the Recent Past: Thoughts on a More Inclusive Urban Historiography
2017Ruth Glasser · Journal of Urban History · United States
Scholarly literature often treats urban agriculture as a new phenomenon, but it is a neglected dimension of urban history, with some U.S. cities, especially in the Northeast, having food-raising and processing practices until the recent past. This piece explores urban development, agricultural, and immigrant history, which have largely omitted discussions of city food production, using evidence from a study of Waterbury, Connecticut. Local food production in Waterbury adapted to the growing city's needs, and the city government both supported and undermined agriculture, offering insights for urban history and current urban agriculture policy.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageIdentifying the potential of some heavy metals toxicity in urban and peri-urban cropping systems in Sierra Leone
2017Abdul Rahman Conteh, Alusaine Edward Samura, E. L. S. Hinckley, Osman Nabay, Mohamed S. Kamara · Journal of Agricultural Science and Practice · Sierra Leone (Freetown)
This study was conducted to identify the risks of heavy metal contamination in urban and peri-urban cropping systems in Sierra Leone. Soil and plant samples were collected from 72 sites in Freetown and Bo and analyzed for Zn, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Cd. Heavy metals were detected across all sites, and some mild risk of cadmium toxicity was observed in densely populated areas of Freetown, though this was not reflected in plant uptake of cadmium.
Contamination & food safetyHealthUrban–rural linkageWelfareUrban Farming dalam Kampung Vertikal sebagai Upaya Efisiensi Keterbatasan Lahan
2017Atik Dwi Nur'aini, Johanes Krisdianto · Jurnal Sains dan Seni ITS · Indonesia (Surabaya)
This study proposes “Urban Farming in Vertical Villages” as a solution to address land scarcity caused by population growth and urbanization in Surabaya City, Indonesia. The proposal aims to improve the living conditions and economic well-being of residents. The design approach incorporates “kampung” (village) behavioral principles, applied to the mass composition, facade, and unit modules of vertical housing.
CommunityEconomicsUrban–rural linkageReview – Cities and Agriculture
2017Aloysius Clemence Mosha · Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance · Global
The book 'Cities and Agriculture' presents experience and evidence on key dimensions of urban food challenges and types of intra- and peri-urban agriculture across 15 chapters. This book illuminated the urban challenge of food provisioning, which has long been overlooked in urban studies, policies, and planning. Neglecting the dynamics and sustainability of food provisioning in scientific research on sustainable urban development is identified as a serious omission, given its significant social and physical impact.
Urban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justicePolicyRELEVANSI PENGEMBANGAN PERTANIAN KOTA DI SURABAYA
2017Putu Rudy Satiawan · Jurnal Penataan Ruang · Indonesia (Surabaya)
This paper discusses the relevance of urban agriculture development in Surabaya, Indonesia. It argues that urban agriculture can create positive synergy as an alternative for efficient and effective use of city resources, revitalizing idle and public lands. Citing Havana's experience where urban agriculture transformed a crisis into productivity, the paper aims to explore the possibility of Surabaya embracing urban farming as an economic and socio-cultural development alternative, emphasizing the commitment of citizens and government.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyEconomicsThe Role and Importance of Agricultural Biodiversity in Urban Agriculture
2017Gudrun B. Keding, Céline Termote, Katja Kehlenbeck · · Kenya
Trees offer multiple benefits to urban agriculture, providing both production and service functions, and their integration into urban gardens enhances efficient resource use. In Kenya, traditional leafy vegetables were often replaced by introduced varieties, though producing perishable goods close to urban markets offers advantages. However, commercial production may lead to the dominance of exotic species and loss of indigenous ones. Urban gardens supported abundant and diverse wild flora, comparable to unmanaged plots. Rapidly growing urban populations seek food, income improvement, and cultural retention.
BiodiversityUrban–rural linkageEconomicsCan urban agriculture become a planning strategy to address social-ecological justice?
2017Javier Fernández Andrés · · Global
The abstract is too short to provide a meaningful summary. It only states that cities grew unprecedentedly in the last century, leading to an urbanized world population, and that agriculture adopted industrial methods.
PolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageMapping the growing capacity of climate smart food in urban environments
2017Gavin Schneider, Victoria Fast · Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l alimentation · Canada (Calgary)
This study assessed the potential of urban land to grow "climate smart food," a term proposed to examine the environmental impact of urban food production. Using the Bowness neighbourhood in Calgary, Alberta, as a case study, a geospatial constraint mapping process analyzed suitable private land for conversion from lawns to gardens. In 2016, six urban farms in Calgary produced approximately 8,200 pounds of food from private gardens, while 42% of Bowness's private turf grass land produced only about 800 pounds, quantifying underutilized urban land for food production.
Climate changeUrban–rural linkageCommunityCSA & TeikeiUnderstanding the complexity of agriculturalurban relationships through a systemic approach. The case of BoboDioulasso, West Africa
2017Ophélie Robineau, Christophe‐Toussaint Soulard · Natures Sciences Sociétés · Africa
This article highlights the agri-urban system concept for understanding the complexity of city-agriculture relationships, using a West African city as a case study. It aims to develop a framework for analyzing these relationships at the territorial scale of the city and its region. Three groups of city-agriculture interactions are distinguished: spatio-historical interactions, interactions between the current urban system and agriculture, and interactions within the urban agrarian system.
Urban–rural linkageEconomicsPolicyWho engages in urban and peri-urban agriculture in the condensed urban slums of Bangladesh?
2017Haruka Yamashita, Akira Ishida · Journal of Development and Agricultural Economics · Bangladesh
This study identified factors affecting urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) decision-making among poor urban slum dwellers in Bangladesh, using a logit regression model with secondary household data. In Jessore, households with more family members (without children under five), some savings, owned or rent-free housing, and 1-60 days of waterlogging were more likely to engage in UPA. In Tongi, households with owned or rent-free housing, longer residency, less than four months of waterlogging, or reliance on neighbors were more likely to engage in UPA. The findings indicate that UPA engagement factors vary across urban settings.
Urban–rural linkageWelfareEconomicsDeterminants of Diversification and Farm Performance of Urban Farmers
2017Shingo Yoshida, Hironori Yagi · JOURNAL OF RURAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION · Japan (Tokyo)
This study conducted a questionnaire survey targeting existing farmers in Tokyo to investigate the determinants of diversification and farm performance among urban farmers. Results showed some differences between mass-marketing farmers, direct-marketing farmers, and indirect-marketing farmers in terms of farm size, customer relationship capability, farm objectives, and farm performance.
EconomicsUrban–rural linkageTecnología y resolución de conflictos socio-espaciales: la agricultura urbana como alternativa al desarrollismo
2017Elżbieta Ura, J Guerra Pedroza, M Torrealba Febres-Cordero, G Buenaño Alviarez · Revista Educación Superior y Sociedad (ESS) · Venezuela (Region de los Valles del Tuy)
This research in Venezuela's Valles del Tuy region addresses socio-spatial conflicts arising from unplanned territorial occupation, despite the region's historical agricultural use. It proposes urban agriculture as an alternative to developmentalism. An action plan was designed using urban agriculture as the primary alternative to developmentalism in the Valles del Tuy region, aiming to establish foundations for socio-ecological system balance guided by the philosophy of 'buen vivir'.
PolicyCommunityUrban–rural linkageUrban Agriculture Spaces in Built Environment
2017Rawaa Fawzi Naom, Fatima fouad Yaseen · Iraqi Journal of Architecture and Planning · Global
This research explores the concept of urban agriculture within sustainable urban trends, driven by limited green areas, population growth, and neglect of urban landscapes. Through a literature review and analytical study of urban agriculture projects, the study identified contextual linking as a main characteristic and social and cultural uses as the most important functions of urban agriculture spaces. The findings led to the development of a theoretical model for urban agriculture in city landscapes.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageThe Ellstorp Lot: An Undefined Urban Landscape
2017Maria Finn · · Sweden (Malmö)
Malmö’s Lot 30:40, a former allotment garden area, has been in a state of decay since the 1990s, largely unmanaged by its owner, Jernhusen AB. This site is used by city residents for recreation, though temporary encampments by homeless people are not permitted. The area is described as an undefined urban space, existing in a fluid state that defies conventional descriptions and offers a disordered yet resilient environment.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageUrban farming and its importance for environmental sustainability
2017Mohd. Ramzi Mohd. Hussain, Norul Hafizah Yusoff, Izawati Tukiman · · Global
This paper aims to discuss the literature framework of the growing demand for urban farming activities within the city environment and how they benefit the concept of environmental sustainability. It describes the advantages of urban farming activities from environmental, economic, and social perspectives that contribute to urban sustainability, evaluating the benefits and potential of implementing urban farming within limited urban spaces.
CommunityClimate changeEconomicsUrban–rural linkage