Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
9074 results(350 / 363)
The Community Household: The Foundation of Everyday Resistance
2004Roberta M. Feldman, Susan Stall · Cambridge University Press eBooks · United States
This paper explores the concept of the community household through the case of Mrs. Mary Rias, a resident activist at Wentworth Gardens. Mrs. Rias, who coordinated and worked in a community garden for over a decade, is depicted as extending her caretaking and nurturing roles from her home into the community, often meeting neighbors' needs within her residence. This case illustrates mutual support and family-like relationships within the community.
CommunityWelfareSustainable Implant and EVA Centre, Culemborg; a hub for Sustainable Development
2004Arjan van Timmeren, Wiek Röling, Marleen Kaptein · · Netherlands (Culemborg)
This paper focuses on an innovation in urban development in the Lanxmeer district of Culemborg, Netherlands. A "Sustainable Implant (SI)" based on permaculture and organic design principles will be built in conjunction with the EVA-Center and an ecological city-farm. The SI functions as an interconnector for three "essential" flows in urban planning, such as wastewater management and energy generation, facilitating both vertical and horizontal integration. It is considered a sustainable hub operating at three scales: the Culemborg region, the Lanxmeer urban district, and the nearby EVA Center.
Organic cycleClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityKetahanan Pangan, Lapangan Kerja, dan Keberlaniutan Kota: studi Pertanian Kota di Enam Kota Indonesia
2004B. Setiawan dan Dwita Hadi Rahmi · Gadjah Mada University Library (Gadjah Mada University) · Indonesia
This study investigated urban farming in six Indonesian cities (Bandung, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Cirebon, Salatiga, and Pacitan). The 1997 economic crisis demonstrated that urban food security is not always guaranteed, with urban poor spending over 50% of their income on food. Research findings indicated that urban farming helped the urban poor increase food security, raise income, and create job opportunities. However, urban farming activities face many problems, including access to finance, skills and knowledge, lack of government support, and no associations for urban farmers.
Food sovereignty & justiceWelfareEconomicsCommunityLes jardins familiaux dans l’arc méditerranéen : cent ans d’agriculture dans la ville. Analyse comparative de trois agglomérations : Marseille, Gênes et Barcelone
2004Jean-Noël Consalès · Mélanges de l École française de Rome Italie et Méditerranée · France (Marseille), Italy (Genoa), Spain (Barcelona)
This comparative analysis traces one hundred years of urban agriculture in the Mediterranean arc, focusing on family gardens in Marseille (France), Genoa (Italy), and Barcelona (Spain). It identifies three major stages: from the 19th century to post-WWII, family gardens developed in France; during the Trente Glorieuses, they declined in France but emerged in Italy and Spain; and since the mid-1970s, the diffusion of ecological values has conferred important territorial functions upon family gardens.
CommunityEconomicsOrganic cycleEat Here: Reclaiming Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket
2004Brian Halweil · · Global
This book points out that the long-distance food system consumes staggering amounts of fuel, generates greenhouse gases, and compromises food security. Since 1961, the tonnage of food shipped between nations has grown fourfold, with food in the United States typically traveling 1,500 to 2,500 miles from farm to plate. While this system often runs roughshod over local cuisines, varieties, and agriculture, a local-foods movement is beginning to emerge globally.
Environmental trade-offsFood miles & supply chainFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeUrban–rural linkageWhat's for dinner?Organizing around food access issues in Los Angeles.
2004Prebus, Olivia · Occidental College Scholar (Occidental College) · United States (Los Angeles)
This work addresses the gross inequity of food access in low-income neighborhoods of Los Angeles, such as MacArthur Park, where grocery stores are scarce. The author's internship at the Center for Food and Justice involved projects like a Community Food Assessment and organizing a community garden, all focused on empowering communities to tackle complex food access issues. The abstract highlights the severe problem of limited healthy food options leading to simultaneous obesity and malnutrition.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood educationHealthWelfarePost-structuralist philosophies: Towards an etho-politics of everyday leisure practices
2004Simone Fullagar · World Leisure Journal · Australia
This article draws on Foucault's later work on ethics and subjectivity to consider Socrates' question, "how are we to live?". Through a case study of an Australian community garden project (Northey Street City Farm), it outlines the transformative potential of leisure practices in constituting the ethical self.
CommunityPolicyAgricultura urbana: uma alternativa contra a fome em Corumbá e Ladário (MS).
2004J. S. [UNESP] Gonçalves, S. A. A. dos [UNESP] Santos, F. F. CURADO · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Corumbá)
This work, part of the "Food Security and Citizenship" project coordinated by Embrapa Pantanal in Corumbá and Ladário, Brazil, aims to promote healthy food production. It seeks to improve the food quality of the urban population by creating alternatives for better food and nutritional security and income generation in these areas.
Food sovereignty & justiceWelfareHealthEconomicsCommunityThe links between urban and rural development
2003Tacoli, C. · Environment and Urbanization 15(1), 3–12 · Global
A classic synthesis of urban-rural interactions, systematizing flows of people, goods, capital and information between countryside and city, and showing—via South Asian and sub-Saharan cases—that cities are essential to rural development.
EconomicsPolicyContesting Capitalism at the Post-Soviet Dacha: The Meaning of Food Cultivation for Urban Russians
2003Zavisca J.R. · Slavic Review · Russia
An ethnographic study showing that dacha food cultivation among urban Russians serves as a discursive arena for debating the rationality and morality of the post-Soviet transition to capitalism, not merely an economic survival strategy.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyTrajectories in People's Farming in Moscow Oblast during the Post-Socialist Transformation
2003Pallot J., Nefedova T. · Journal of Rural Studies · Russia (Moscow Oblast)
Examines the diverse forms and micro-geography of personal food plot production in Moscow Oblast, revealing how geographic, historical, and structural factors shaped household farming during the post-socialist transition.
EconomicsPolicyCommunitySmall-scale Urban Agriculture in Havana and the Reproduction of the 'New Man' in Contemporary Cuba
2003Premat A. · European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies · Cuba (Havana)
Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Havana (1999-2001), this article examines urban garden parcelas as sites revealing tensions between private and public domains, finding that revolutionary values around food security and community persisted in post-Soviet Cuba despite assumptions of growing individualism.
CommunityPolicyFood educationWelfareHome gardening in urban poor communities of the Philippines
2003Miura S., Kunii O., Wakai S. · International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition · Philippines (Davao City)
A structured survey of 152 mothers in two poor urban communities in Davao City examined home gardening and dietary diversity, finding limited but notable impact of garden produce on micronutrient intake. The study assessed a community-based approach promoting home gardening to address iron and vitamin A deficiencies.
CommunityHealthWelfareFood educationThe African Market Garden: The development of a low-pressure drip irrigation system for smallholders in the Sudano Sahel
2003· Irrigation and Drainage · Sudano-Sahel (Niger)
Documents the development of a low-pressure, low-cost drip irrigation system (the African Market Garden) for smallholder growers in the Sudano-Sahel.
DIYEconomicsContribution of urban and peri-urban agriculture to food security in sub-Saharan Africa
2003Olufunke Cofie, R. van Veenhuizen, Pay Drechsel · · Sub-Saharan Africa
Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) significantly contributes to food supply, employment, livelihoods, and poverty alleviation in many Sub-Saharan African cities, providing diverse foods including perishable items. However, UPA production often carries health risks from polluted urban water and faces challenges due to limited semi-official recognition and support from city authorities, sometimes conflicting with planners regarding land tenure and water use. More data is needed for appropriate recognition of this sector.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceHealthEconomicsPolicyCommunity Gardens: Lessons Learned From California Healthy Cities and Communities
2003Joan M. Twiss, Joy Dickinson, Shirley Duma, Tanya Kleinman, Heather Paulsen, Liz Rilveria · American Journal of Public Health · United States (California)
Community gardens enhance nutrition, physical activity, and social capital, promoting public health and quality of life. The California Healthy Cities and Communities (CHCC) program funded successful community gardens in several cities, which incorporated local leadership, volunteers, and skill-building. These initiatives led to policies for land and water use, improved produce access, and strengthened community building skills.
CommunityHealthFood educationPolicyCultivated histories in a Scottish allotment garden
2003Caitlin DeSilvey · Cultural Geographies · United Kingdom (Edinburgh)
A paper on Scottish allotment gardens examines how the ambiguity pervading allotment practice surfaces as a liability in strategic appeals and draws out the survival of historical forms in contemporary political negotiations, by juxtaposing narratives of involvement in a Scottish Parliament Allotments Inquiry and the history of a single Edinburgh allotment site.
PolicyCommunityUrban–rural linkageWater, land and health in urban and peri‐urban food production: the case of Kano, Nigeria
2003Tony Binns, Roy Maconachie, Adamu Idris Tanko · Land Degradation and Development · Nigeria (Kano)
This paper examines health and environmental concerns associated with urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in Kano, Nigeria. Empirical evidence indicates that industrial and domestic toxins are reaching dangerously high levels, leading to significant pollution of soils and water channels. This raises serious questions about the sustainability of UPA and the long-term health implications of toxin exposure.
Contamination & food safetyHealthPeri-urban agriculturePolicyCommunity Gardens and Politics of Scale in New York City
2003Christopher M. Smith, Hilda E. Kurtz · Geographical Review · United States (New York City)
New York City community gardens have faced political contestation for thirty years, notably in 1999 when 114 gardens were slated for public auction and redevelopment. This article examines the controversy as a politics of scale, where garden advocates expanded the dispute beyond individual gardens and the city. The analysis highlights the significance of scale politics for grassroots organizations within a market-centric, neoliberal economic framework.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceUrban and peri-urban agricultural production in Beijing municipality and its impact on water quality
2003James M. Wolf, M S van Wijk, X Cheng, Yuanhao Hu, C.A. van Diepen, A.W. Jongbloed, H van Keulen, C H Lu, R.P. Roetter · Environment and Urbanization · China (Beijing)
This paper reviews agricultural production trends in Beijing Municipality and their impact on water quality. Rapid urbanization and agricultural intensification have led to concerns regarding water resource quantity and quality. The agricultural sector, while supplying food, is a major water user and has contributed to significant water supply-demand gaps and high levels of water pollution, particularly from intensive crop, vegetable, and livestock production.
Environmental trade-offsUrban–rural linkageEconomicsClimate changeOrganic cycleCommunity Supported Agriculture on the Central Coast: The CSA Grower Experience
2003Jan Perez · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · United States (California)
This 2003 research brief investigated the experiences of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) growers on the central coast of California. The study examined their motivations, economic viability, challenges, and issues related to equal access to their products. The research brief indicates that challenges and issues of equal access are present in CSA projects.
Equity & displacementCSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityHealth Benefits of Urban Agriculture
2003Jac Smit, Anne C. Bellows, Katherine Brown · · Global
This handout, prepared by Anne C. Bellows, Katherine Brown, and Jac Smit, summarizes a fully cited article on the health benefits of urban agriculture. The original article is available for free from the Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC).
HealthFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityOpportunities for managing solid waste flows in the periurban interface of Bamako and Ouagadougou
2003Derek Eaton, Thea Hilhorst · Environment and Urbanization · Africa
A 2003 paper examined the links between urban solid waste management and peri-urban agriculture in Bamako and Ouagadougou. Farmers near both cities value urban waste as an organic matter source and are willing to pay for it, but uncertain land tenure provides little incentive for safe disposal of dangerous elements in solid waste. Current plans to eliminate this recycling practice and promote large-scale composting are noted to be too costly for farmers, creating an incentive for illicit waste acquisition.
Governance failureOrganic cyclePeri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomicsUrban agricultural production: heavy metal contamination of Amaranthus cruentus L. grown on domestic refuse landfill soils in Ibadan, Nigeria
2003Ogunyemi Awodoyin, Taliat Opadeji · Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture · Nigeria (Ibadan)
A 2003 study in Ibadan, Nigeria, investigated heavy metal contamination of Amaranthus cruentus L. grown on domestic refuse landfill soils. Lead (Pb) and Cadmium (Cd) concentrations in soils from four landfill sites and a control site ranged from 110.5 to 678.5ppm for Pb and 2.01 to 3.20ppm for Cd. Metal accumulation in Amaranthus cruentus L. tissues was proportionate to soil Pb concentrations, while Cd levels in crop tissues exceeded soil levels. Crop growth and yield were significantly reduced due to Pb and Cd contamination, leading to the conclusion that Ibadan landfills are unsafe for Amaranthus cruentus cultivation, with heavy metal concentrations in the vegetable tissues much higher than FAO/WHO dietary allowances.
Contamination & food safetyHealthPeri-urban agricultureConsideration for Developing Modern Urban Agriculture in Beijing Area
2003Shi Ya · Journal of Beijing Union University · China (Beijing)
This study focused on new ideas and avenues for developing modern urban agriculture in the Beijing area. It considered various agricultural development styles, concluding that modern urban agriculture holds strategic significance for optimizing the city's structure and advancing its modernization level.
PolicyUrban–rural linkage