Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
1180 results(36 / 48)
El Programa de Agricultura Urbana de la Municipalidad de Rosario en Argentina
2014Lattuca A.L., Terrile R.H., Sadagorsky C. · Hábitat y Sociedad · Argentina (Rosario)
Documents Rosario's municipal Urban Agriculture Programme (PAU), launched in 2002, which grew to over 800 community farming projects on vacant land to address food insecurity and generate income for marginalized residents, with 65% of participants being women.
CommunityPolicyFood educationWelfareBuilding Urban Resilience: Assessing Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture in Dakar
2014Padgham J., Jabbour J. · United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) · Senegal (Dakar)
This UNEP report presents findings from a 2012 knowledge assessment of urban and peri-urban agriculture in Dakar, identifying key sustainability threats including urban encroachment, degraded water and soil quality, fragmented policy, and farmers' limited credit access.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityHealthWhat are the impacts of urban agriculture programs on food security in low and middle-income countries: a systematic review
2014Korth M., Stewart R., Langer L. · Environmental Evidence · Global
After screening 8,142 records and 198 full texts, not a single study met the inclusion criteria for rigorous impact evaluation; the review found no evidence either supporting or refuting that urban agriculture positively affects food security in low- and middle-income countries.
WelfarePolicyUrban agriculture: a global analysis of the space constraint to meet urban vegetable demand
2014Martellozzo F., Landry J., Plouffe D., Seufert V., Rowhani P., Ramankutty N. · Environmental Research Letters · Global
A global analysis estimating that meeting urban dwellers' vegetable demand from within cities would require roughly one-third of total global urban area, demonstrating that space constraints make full urban self-provisioning unrealistic in many countries.
PolicyEconomicsStrawberry fields forever? Urban agriculture in developed countries: a review
2014Mok H., Williamson V., Grove J., Burry K., Barker S., Hamilton A. · Agronomy for Sustainable Development · Global
This review of urban agriculture across the developed world acknowledges its role in food security and social well-being but stresses that it carries significant costs, input requirements, and constraints, underlining major hindrances to cities feeding themselves this way.
EconomicsPolicyGive peas a chance? Urban agriculture in developing countries. A review
2014Hamilton A., Burry K., Mok H., Barker S., Grove J., Williamson V. · Agronomy for Sustainable Development · Global
This global review of urban agriculture in developing countries catalogs its benefits alongside the costs and hindrances of the practice, underscoring the resource constraints and operational obstacles that temper its promise as a food-security solution.
EconomicsPolicyCritical geography of urban agriculture
2014Chiara Tornaghi · Progress in Human Geography · Global
This paper defines the scope and an initial agenda for a critical geography of urban agriculture, noting that despite growing interest across disciplines, it remains a marginal field in human geography. Beyond rhetoric, urban agriculture raises questions for critical geographers, particularly regarding its role in reshaping urban landscapes and experimenting with alternatives to capitalist urban organization. The paper highlights that urban agriculture is sometimes establishing embryonic forms of recreating the Commons.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceAllotment Gardens Contribute to Urban Ecosystem Service: Case Study Salzburg, Austria
2014Jürgen H. Breuste, Martina Artmann · Journal of Urban Planning and Development · Austria (Salzburg)
This study investigated how urban allotment gardens contribute to ecosystem services in Salzburg, Austria. A survey was conducted with 156 allotment gardeners across four allotment associations, focusing on the role of allotment gardens in recreation, food production, nature experience, ecological gardening, and environmental behavior. The results indicated the importance of allotment gardens for recreation and nature experience, alongside a declining importance of traditional food production. An increasing interest in ecological gardening and general environmental awareness among allotment gardeners was also observed.
CommunityBiodiversityPolicyFood educationFarming Cuba: Urban Agriculture From the Ground Up
2014Carey Clouse · · Cuba (Havana)
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Cuba developed a significant urban agriculture initiative. By 1998, Havana alone had over 8,000 urban farms, producing nearly half of the country's vegetables. This grassroots effort evolved into the largest sustainable agriculture program, establishing Cuba as a world leader in urban farming.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyClimate changeExploring guerrilla gardening: gauging public views on the grassroots activity
2014David Adams, Michael Hardman, Peter J. Larkham · Local Environment · Global
This paper explores those affected by guerrilla gardening, noting that it often colonizes land without permission and transforms areas without consulting local communities. Grounding its argument in evidence from three guerrilla groups, the study investigates the public's views on several informal gardening projects. Responses were very mixed, ranging from positive comments about improving aesthetics to negative remarks surrounding the practices of some groups. Ultimately, the paper demonstrates that although often promoted as constructive, guerrilla gardening can result in adverse impacts on those who surround colonized sites.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyUnpermitted Urban Agriculture: Transgressive Actions, Changing Norms and the Local Food Movement
2014Sarah Schindler · Faculty publications · Global
This article explores unauthorized actions in urban and suburban communities that further local food goals, despite violating existing laws and norms. Examples include keeping chickens, planting gardens on foreclosed lots, and operating underground restaurants. The study examines the overlap between food policy and land use law concerning these transgressive activities.
PolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceApplications Potential of Structural Path Analysis in Urban Agriculture: A Literature Review
2014Harry Kasumba, Tabukeli Musigi Ruhiiga · Journal of Human Ecology · Global
This literature review explored the potential of Structural Path Analysis (SPA) for investigating urban agriculture. The review found that urban agriculture has not yet attracted scholarship using the SPA technique. It also identified that smaller geographical areas often lack applicable databases for SPA, and a critical requirement for SPA is a developed system of continuous record-keeping by participants, which is often absent.
Methodological critiqueEconomicsPolicyMethodology for Assessing the Association between Urban Market Vegetable Contamination and Consumer Biomarker Exposure in Kinshasa, 2014
2014Aminata Koné, Kouamé M. Adou · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Congo (Kinshasa)
This article details a methodology developed in 2014 to assess the association between heavy metal contamination in market-sold vegetables and consumer biomarker exposure in Kinshasa, Congo. The cross-sectional design includes stratified random sampling of vendors, laboratory analysis of leafy vegetables for lead, cadmium, and mercury, recruitment of regular consumers for interviews and blood/urine sample collection, and statistical analysis using multiple regression. The described protocol was successfully piloted, demonstrating feasibility with a high participant recruitment rate.
Contamination & food safetyHealthPolicyResearch on development strategy of urban agriculture based on customer value
2014Long Cheng-zh · Guangdong nongye kexue · Global
This article, based on comprehensive literature research, proposes a framework for an urban agriculture strategic development plan. The framework is rooted in customer value theory, focusing on modern industry competition and strategic theory. It suggests that the strategic approach for urban agriculture should fully activate the entrepreneurial spirit of market participants while maintaining its quasi-public product attributes.
EconomicsPolicyHealthCommunityClimate changeGovernance of agriculture in the cities of developing countries: Local leaders perspectives
2014Suleiman Mkwela Hawa · Journal of Geography and Regional Planning · Tanzania (Dar Es Salaam)
This study assessed the governance of urban agriculture (UA) in Kinondoni Municipality, Dar Es Salaam City, Tanzania, through the perceptions of 24 local leaders. Unstructured interviews focused on leadership quality, infrastructure provision, and farmers' land rights. The leaders generally perceived limited efforts and plans to support UA in the municipality based on these criteria.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsUrban agriculture and poverty alleviation in developing countries
2014Zogo Ndomo, Yannick Emmanuel · Bulletin of animal health and production in Africa · Global
Urban agriculture in developing countries is a vital asset in the livelihood strategies of urban households, having expanded rapidly over the last two decades and contributing to income generation for unqualified workforces. However, the illegal status of urban agriculture has created a governance vacuum, necessitating policy formulation and institutionalized management to secure land for the urban poor and improve food security and the environment. Political leaders have a role in regulating this sector.
Governance failureEconomicsPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageEnhancing Food Security and Economic Welfare through Urban Agriculture in Zimbabwe
2014Ezra Pedzisai, Pedzisai Kowe, C. H. Matarira, Anyway Katanha, Ronald Rutsvara · Journal of food security · Zimbabwe
The contributions of urban agriculture to household food security and income were assessed in Cold Stream, a low-income residential area of Chinhoyi town in Zimbabwe. Twenty questionnaires were administered to urban farmers, five key informants were interviewed, and three fieldworks were carried out. Results showed that urban agriculture is a prominent livelihood for the poor unemployed majority (53%), and while local non-governmental organizations provide inputs and technical advice, there is no government support. Questionnaire results confirmed that farmers are poor, using yields and income primarily for basic necessities. All urban farmers (100%) consume their produce, enhancing food security. A majority (80%) agreed that urban farming makes food cheaper, improving accessibility. About half (48%) also agreed that urban agriculture reduces food insecurity in their rural homes. Challenges include a lack of credit lines for inputs and unfavorable policy arrangements that classify urban agriculture as an illegal activity.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsWelfareCommunityPolicyCuban Agriculture and Food Sovereignty
2014Efe Can Gürcan · Latin American Perspectives · Cuba
An analysis of the restructuring of Cuban agriculture shows that food sovereignty policies in Cuba are built on a fourfold strategy emerging from a state/civil-society partnership at local, national, and regional levels. These strategies include the collectivization of land through agrarian cooperatives, the socialization of urban agriculture based on participatory methods, the guaranteeing of local access to food through free agricultural markets, and the transnationalization and solidarity of agroecological movements.
Food sovereignty & justicePolicyCommunityPotentials of Urban Agriculture in Reflection of “The Thessaloniki Project - Red and Green”
2014Zsuzsanna Fáczányi · YBL Journal of Built Environment · Greece (Thessaloniki)
This paper explores the potentials of urban agriculture by analyzing proposals from "The Thessaloniki Project - Red and Green" and other urban agriculture projects. It discusses a course at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki where MSc students designed urban agriculture forms for a fallow area in Thessaloniki, Greece, considering the local crisis situation. The analysis emphasizes the necessity of community generation through such initiatives.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsUPM hargai sumbangan industri dan komuniti
2014Bahagian Komunikasi Korporat · · Malaysia (Serdang)
On February 12, 2014, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) held an 'UPM – Industry Networking Night-Nurturing Partnership in Urban Agriculture' dinner in Serdang, Malaysia. The event aimed to recognize the contributions of industry and the UPM community to UPM's excellence and national development, and to strengthen collaboration between both parties.
CommunityPolicyPOPULAÇÃO-AMBIENTE. DESENVOLVIMENTO E AGRICULTURA URBANA NUM MUNICIPIO DE HAVANA, CUBA
2014Gilberto Javier Cabrera Trimñio · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cuba (Havana)
In Cuba, urban agriculture is viewed as a movement to produce food in available urban spaces using local resources under sustainable ecological principles. While large cities like Havana cannot achieve food self-sufficiency, implementing agricultural programs there can foster an understanding of the population-environment-development relationship, which is crucial for public policies addressing environmental vulnerability and climate change impacts.
Food sovereignty & justicePolicyClimate changeCommunityOptions for local financing in urban agriculture
2014Irene S. Egyir, Olufunke Cofie, Marielle Dubbeling · CGSPace A Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) · Ghana (Accra)
This chapter, based on a 2009 study in Accra, Ghana, assessed the practices of institutions and programs that could finance urban agriculture, as well as existing bottlenecks and opportunities in financing. Information was gathered through surveys involving 179 respondents from financial institutions, urban farmers, traders, and processors, alongside literature reviews, stakeholder mapping, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and a validation workshop.
EconomicsPolicyTransnational at Home: Intercultural Gardens and the Social Sustainability of Cities in Innsbruck, Austria
2014Markus Schermer · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Austria (Innsbruck)
This paper examines an intercultural community garden in Innsbruck, Austria, as a case study. It uses interviews, observations, and newspaper clippings to describe how intercultural gardens function as transnational spaces. These gardens foster new social networks and learning processes, impacting urban social cohesion and community stability by enabling interaction beyond assimilation.
CommunityPolicyWelfareThe role of intercultural gardens in the construction of a sustainable city. The example of Innsbruck in Austria
2014Markus Schermer · Hábitat y Sociedad · Austria (Innsbruck)
This paper examines the importance of social stability and cohesion for urban sustainability amidst changing relations between diverse cultural groups due to global migration. It analyzes the role of intercultural gardens, which are gaining attention for migrant integration, using the intercultural community garden in Innsbruck, Austria, as a case study. The empirical material is based on interviews, observations, and newspaper clippings.
CommunityPolicyS'intégrer pour se pérenniser : pratiques d'agriculteurs urbains dans trois villes du Sud
2014Ophélie Robineau, Julia Tichit, Thomas Maillard · Espaces et sociétés · Global
This study examines the socio-spatial integration of urban agriculture in three Southern cities, despite its limited consideration in urban planning policies. In Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso), farmers secure access to productive resources through social relations. In Metro Manila (Philippines), local actor networks ensure the sustainability of practices. In Saint-Louis (Senegal), farmers' self-initiated organizations enable them to assert their interests with urban authorities, highlighting the challenge of urban agriculture not being adequately integrated into planning policies.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceEconomics