Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
8656 results(345 / 347)
The ideology of the nature garden. Nationalistic trends in garden design in Germany during the early twentieth century
1992Wolschke-Bulmahn J., Gröning G. · Journal of Garden History, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 73–80 · Germany
Critically analyzes how the 'nature garden' ideology that emerged in early-twentieth-century Germany, while claiming scholarly basis, carried nationalist and native-plant preferences that fed into later Blood and Soil thinking.
PolicyBiodiversitySome Notes on the Mania for Native Plants in Germany
1992Gröning G., Wolschke-Bulmahn J. · Landscape Journal, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 116–126 · Germany
Examines how German landscape architects' obsession with native plants produced 'landscape rules' that, under National Socialism, became tied to the planning of occupied territories and acquired xenophobic, ideological character.
PolicyBiodiversityUrban agriculture for sustainable cities: using wastes and idle land and water bodies as resources
1992Jac Smit, Joe Nasr · Environment and Urbanization · Global
This article describes how urban agriculture can transform cities from mere consumers of food and agricultural products into sustainable generators of these products. It focuses on using wastes and idle land and water bodies as resources to achieve resource conservation and health improvement.
CommunityOrganic cycleClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceLAND USE AND TRAVEL DEMAND
1992James W. Roberts, C Wood · · Global
This paper proposes a three-way study for 1992, building on previous case studies in Milton Keynes (UK) and Almere (NL) that noted substantial differences in travel behavior due to land use. The proposed study would cover Manchester, Berlin, and a low-density, car-dependent suburb in Melbourne, examining travel habits under diverse demographic and land use conditions. It suggests potential changes in travel modes and trip lengths following planned urban structural alterations, such as reduced car space in Manchester, S-Bahn and airport extensions in Berlin, and light rail near Melbourne.
PolicyCommunityTurning sunshine into water: PV water pumping in South Africa
1992Richard Gosnell Richard Gosnell · Waterlines · South Africa
This study assesses the performance of a photovoltaic (PV) pump installed at Sondela Community Garden in South Africa. The garden is a vegetable garden managed by 46 Zulu women in a semi-rural area. The research investigates whether solar-electric water pumping can provide water supplies in a region with abundant sunshine but limited water resources.
CommunityPeri-urban agricultureClimate changeCity and Country: That Awkward Embrace
1991John M. Merriman · Oxford University Press eBooks · France
This chapter emphasizes the “awkward embrace” between city and country in the faubourg and the persistence of an urban agricultural population. It also considers how the troubled relationship between state and city affected the urban periphery and provides an overview of industry's role in faubourg development. To understand the urban periphery in France during the first half of the nineteenth century, it explores the state-city relationship (reflected in town walls), the persistence of rural life at the edge of and within cities, and industry's place in the emergence of the nineteenth-century faubourg.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyCommunityChapter 7: Urban Gardens
1991David R. Coffin · Princeton University Press eBooks · Italy (Rome)
This chapter, authored by David R. Coffin, explores urban gardens in Papal Rome. It contrasts these secular urban horticultural retreats with the cloistered gardens of monks.
CommunityUrban–rural linkageUrban Agriculture in the United States
1991Nelson 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.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageEconomicsThe International City Design Competition: Introduction
1990Jeffrey E Ollswang · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · Global
This introduction to the International City Design Competition outlines a vision to humanize cities by implementing tools over time, including narrowing streets, introducing electric mini-buses or light rail, and bold civic gestures. It proposes using pre-industrial town building principles and strategically building on existing character, with a focus on densification, incremental small-scale infill, domestication of highways, and urban food production.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageThe Meaning of Gardens: Idea, Place, and Action
1990Mark Francis, Randolph T. Hester · · United States
This publication is a collection of essays exploring the multifaceted meanings of gardens. It examines gardens through the lenses of metaphor, power, ordering, cultural expression, personal expression, and healing. Each section features various authors discussing how gardens relate to faith, social structures, design, community, individual experience, and well-being.
CommunityUrban–rural linkage‘Three's a crowd’: knowledge, ignorance and power in the context of urban agriculture in Rwanda
1989Johan Pottier · Africa · Rwanda
This article explores the themes of knowledge, ignorance, and power in the context of a Rwandan development project, demonstrating how ignorance is generated through agricultural extension. It argues that agronomic services rely on power structures reminiscent of social inequality, and assesses whether the project-induced creation of ignorance leads to the displacement of local knowledge and the adoption of new methods.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Agriculture: Research Questions and Zambian Evidence
1988Rakodi 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.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyHealthUrban Farming Has Financial Advantages
1988Mary 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.
EconomicsPeri-urban agricultureL'agriculture dans la ville : l'exemple de Bangui
1988François Villien · Cahiers d Outre-Mer · Central African Republic (Bangui)
Bangui, Central African Republic, exhibits significant inter-urban agricultural activity, reflecting population poverty. This agriculture is categorized as "inter-domain," practiced within concessions near houses, or "extra-domain," conducted outside family domains. Inter-domain agriculture includes small "jardin de case" (hut gardens) for diverse foodstuffs and larger "champ de case" (hut fields) for single crops like manioc, now also serving as income sources. Extra-domain agriculture utilizes empty land in peripheral districts for food, income, or temporary pioneer front crops, sometimes becoming permanent and hindering urban expansion. Urban agriculture is considered essential for the survival of many family units and for integrating the city into its food supply space.
CommunityWelfareEconomicsCommunity gardens as food producing units∗
1988C J van Vuuren · Development Southern Africa · South Africa
This article discusses the nature and functioning of community gardens in Ciskei, KwaZulu, and KwaNdebele, South Africa. It found that these community gardens are indigenous, acceptable to the local people, and are actively producing food, also demonstrating significant local expertise that should be recognized and developed by agencies. The article argues that these units have often been neglected by agricultural officers.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsStudies of the role of school gardens in Combatting malnutrition in Sri Lankan children†
1988Kasipathy Kailasapathy · Ecology of Food and Nutrition · Sri Lanka
This study developed a model school garden (28m²) in Sri Lanka to provide part of the nutritional requirements for school children. The garden produced an average daily yield of 813g of vegetables, supplying significant percentages of a 10-12 year old child's recommended daily intake, including 115% of calcium, 151% of iron, 557% of vitamin A, and 1222% of vitamin C.
Food educationHealthWelfareEvaluation on Urban Agricultural Land from Residents' Views in Urban Fringe Area
1988Chiaki Negoro, Atsushi Tunekawa · Journal of the City Planning Institute of Japan · Japan
This paper examines the public perception of urban agricultural land as valuable open space in urban fringe areas. The study found that urban agricultural lands are considered valuable "green" spaces, with orchards (mainly persimmon trees) and farms being particularly highly evaluated. These positive perceptions were observed in both agricultural and nearby residential areas.
Peri-urban agricultureCommunityEconomicsBestimmung des Gehaltes ausgewählter Lebensmittel an Blei, Cadmium, Kupfer, Zink und Eisen
1988M. Krelowska‐Kulas · Food / Nahrung · Poland (Kraków)
An investigation using atomic absorption spectroscopy in Kraków, Poland, found that vegetables from urban allotment gardens had average levels of lead, cadmium, copper, zinc, and iron several times higher than control samples from farms 100 km away. In some cases, maximum levels of certain elements approached the admissible limit. However, average levels of lead and cadmium in pigs and cattle showed no reason for objection.
Contamination & food safetyHealthCommunity新しい都市環境形成のための農地の緑地的価値と都市農業の役割に関する研究
1988功 梶井, 和彦 武内, 洋一 松木 · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan
This abstract describes the UTokyo Repository, an online platform aimed at centrally accumulating, preserving, and disseminating various academic achievements produced at the University of Tokyo in electronic form to the world. Its main purpose is to develop digital collections, make them available online, and preserve them for long-term access.
Urban–rural linkageBiodiversityPolicyCadmium and lead in soils and crops from allotment gardens in the Netherlands.
1987P. van Lune · Netherlands Journal of Agricultural Science · Netherlands
A study analyzed cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in soils and crops from 57 allotment gardens in potentially contaminated areas of the Netherlands. The median Cd and Pb concentrations in the soil samples were found to be higher than those in soils used for arable farming and horticulture. However, Cd and Pb concentrations in the crops themselves were normal.
Contamination & food safetyHealthHorticultural activities and demographic factors influence childrens's self-esteem
1987Williams, Patrick Neal. · K-State Research Exchange (Kansas State University) · United States (Manhattan, Kansas)
A five-month study of children gardening in the Manhattan Community Garden, Manhattan, Kansas, investigated differences in self-esteem, horticultural knowledge, and garden quality. Children without other siblings gardening showed higher self-esteem, gained more horticultural knowledge, and had better appearing gardens than children with other siblings gardening.
Food educationCommunityHealthA Comparative Study on the Types of Community Farms by Urban Residents
1987Yuzo Uchida · Journal of the City Planning Institute of Japan · Japan
This study aims to clarify the situation and types of community farms in Japan, their usage patterns, and their impact on the lives of urban residents. It notes the strong demand for community farms for cultivating vegetables and flowers among urban residents. Various types of community farms exist, including allotment gardens, Japanese Kleingartens, self-supplying community farms, and full-scale orchards in the countryside.
CommunityEconomicsHealthUrban Cultivation: A Reflection of Household Investment
1985· Food and Nutrition Bulletin · Global
Urban cultivation is an innovative response by the urban poor to insufficient real income, viewed as a form of long-term investment. This investment requires a minimum threshold of predictability of return, and most households need seven to eleven years of urban residence to gain access to land. Variations in cultivation patterns result from differences in land access and the need to maximize the return on domestic labor time. Policy implications include encouraging cultivation, providing legal land titles for land access, and increasing the productivity of rainy-season gardens.
EconomicsWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Agriculture: Who Cultivates and why? a Case-Study of Lusaka, Zambia
1985Bishwapriya 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.
WelfareEconomicsTilapia culture in conjunction with irrigation and urban farming. Final report
1983K. Bondari, E. D. Threadgill, J. Bender · OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) · United States
This study conducted two experiments on tilapia culture. Experiment I aimed to determine the potential of Tilapia aurea in an integrated irrigation system for algae removal and resource recovery. Experiment II investigated the potential use of blue tilapia in urban farming, utilizing a passive solar greenhouse, an indoor pond for overwintering, and an outdoor pond for summer growth.
DIYOrganic cycleUrban–rural linkage