Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
1180 results(37 / 48)
Governmentality in urban food production? Following “community” from intentions to outcomes
2014Luke Drake · Urban Geography · Global
This study analyzed six case studies of community gardens, categorized by grassroots, externally-organized, and active nonprofit management, to examine how "community" definitions influence participation or resistance in urban food production. The analysis highlights specific organizational and management moments that affect engagement, scrutinizing community gardens as sites of governmentality that produce neoliberal subjects.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomics도시농업의 이론, 패러다임 및 유형 분석을 통한 지속가능한 개발방향에 관한 연구
2014한주형, 장동민 · · Global
This study aimed to propose sustainable development directions for urban agriculture by analyzing its theories, paradigms, and types. It classified urban agriculture definitions into five types, identified four similar concepts, and defined sustainable urban agriculture theory using four keywords: eco-environmentalism, human socialism, high-tech, and capital economy. The study also derived 16 development types for urban agriculture, suggesting its evolution into a "new 6th industry" through a feedback linkage from primary to fifth industries.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyEconomicsClimate changeDigital agricultureEmergence and Effects of Urban Agriculture in Cuba
2014Janice Argaillot · Espaces et sociétés · Cuba
This article analyzes the development of urban agriculture in Cuba. Driven by crises from the USSR collapse and US blockade, Cuba developed an internationally recognized agricultural model. The study explores the causes of urban agriculture's emergence in Cuba, its various forms, and its repercussions on citizens' social and cultural life.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicyCommunityContribución desde Cuba a la actualización de los términos campesinado, agricultura urbana y soberanía alimentaria
2014Angelina Herrera Sorzano · Veredas: Revista del Pensamiento Sociológico · Cuba
This article from Cuba addresses the terms "rural peasantry," "urban agriculture," and "food sovereignty" from a Cuban perspective. It aims to update knowledge on these concepts, which are considered basic pillars of rural development and food needs satisfaction in Latin American and Caribbean rural development.
Food sovereignty & justicePolicyUrban–rural linkagePolyrational property: rules for the many uses of land
2014Benjamin Davy · International Journal of the Commons · Global
This theoretical paper argues that effective land policy should accommodate diverse land uses with plural property relations, as no single property rule fits all land use types. It observes that while everyday practice often manages varied demands, many existing theories of property and land policy do not recognize this plurality. The paper proposes a "polyrational theory" that identifies eight distinct types of land uses, each requiring its own appropriate property rules, to ensure desirable land uses are supported by suitable property relations.
PolicyCommunityCommunity Gardens Versus Family Gardens? Urban Reform and Controversies Around the Beautiful Garden and its Legitimate
2014Arnaud Frauenfelder, Christophe Delay, Laure Scalambrin · Espaces et sociétés · Switzerland (Geneva)
This article examines a contemporary urban reform in Geneva concerning family gardens, whose status is now in competition with new forms of community gardens. While the reform is presented as necessary, spokespersons for family allotment associations welcome it with some reservation. Social actors' positions for or against the reform implicitly refer to different socially situated modes of gardening and lifestyles, revealing that "urban agriculture" masks heterogeneous social meanings behind a visible consensus.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageDependency syndrome by communities or insufficient ingestion period by benefactor organizations? The Chirumanzu caritas community gardening project experiencein Zimbabwe
2014Mark Matsa, Beauty Dzawanda · · Zimbabwe
This study assessed the performance of Caritas-initiated and sponsored community gardens in Chaka ward, Chirumanzu District, Zimbabwe, during and after the sponsors' regime. Data was collected using questionnaires, interviews, and direct observations, and analyzed with descriptive statistics and content analysis. Results showed that the gardens flourished during Caritas's presence but quickly shrank and folded after the NGO's departure, indicating a lack of sustainability.
Governance failureCommunityEconomicsClimate changePolicy– Regenerative design and development
2014Dominique Hes, Chrisna du Plessis · · Global
This chapter examines how the Living Building Challenge (LBC) supports transformation towards an ecological worldview, focusing on its "Petals." The LBC's Site Petal determines where and what type of development can be built and how to restore a place, while the Urban Agriculture Imperative requires projects to contribute to local and regional food production. The Energy Petal aims to utilize the site's energy budget, and the Materials Petal is noted for its demanding imperatives.
PolicyCommunityClimate changeTo Integrate is to Survive: Urban Agricultural Practices in Three Southern Towns
2014Ophélie Robineau, Julia Tichit, Thomas Maillard · · Burkina Faso (Bobo-Dioulasso)
This study examines the socio-spatial integration of urban agriculture in three southern cities: Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso), Metro Manila (Philippines), and Saint-Louis (Senegal). It highlights different integration modes resulting from urban farmers’ practices. In Bobo-Dioulasso, farmers establish social relationships to ensure access to productive resources; in Metro Manila, the appropriation of practices and networks of actors at the local level guarantees sustainability; and in Saint-Louis, farmer-initiated organizations assert their interests with urban authorities.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceTheory of Connotation and Path of“Modern Agriculture into Town”
2014Liu Hong-yi · Nongye xiandaihua yanjiu · Global
This paper discusses the concept of "modern agriculture into town," or urban agriculture, covering various city sizes and urban agglomeration areas. Findings indicate that urban farming is viable only when the comprehensive utility of agricultural output per town's land equals or exceeds that of non-agricultural industries. Urban agriculture is characterized by marketability, high profitability, public goods, and vulnerability, and requires national food security, agricultural scientific progress, and reduced industrial-agricultural disparity.
PolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceComparison of Foreign and Domestic Development Modes of Urban Agriculture
2014Na Chen · · Global
This paper analyzed typical urban agriculture practices in domestic and foreign cities, categorizing them into industrialization and community citizenization modes. It compared differences in key functions, agricultural forms, and driving bodies, concluding that the modern industrialization mode is suitable for China's national conditions. The study proposes building an urban agriculture development system that focuses on economic functions while considering social and ecological aspects, with government leadership, enterprise operation, and farmer participation.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityUrban–rural linkageDay in the Lab: Urban Informatics Research Lab, Queensland University of Technology
2014Mark Bilandzic, Marcus Foth · QUT ePrints (Queensland University of Technology) · Australia
The Urban Informatics Research Lab at Queensland University of Technology focuses on interdisciplinary topics at the intersection of social, spatial, and technical research domains, including urban planning, civic innovation, and urban agriculture. The lab's approach involves user-centered design research to understand, conceptualize, develop, and evaluate sociotechnical practices and digital technology opportunities in urban environments.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyDigital agricultureFood security and environmental health
2014Karen Rideout · Environmental Health Review · Global
The NCCEH (National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health) has conducted presentations and workshops since 2008 to explain the concept of food security within the context of public and environmental health practice. They have illustrated the relevance of food security to public health, explored ways to identify and mitigate potential health risks of food security projects like urban agriculture, and identified intersections between food security advocacy and public health protection.
HealthFood sovereignty & justicePolicySUITABILITY FOR URBAN AGRICULTURE AND PERMACULTURE OF SOME BIOTYPES AND NEW VARIETIES OF SPECIES WITH SANOGENE CHARACTERISTICS AND QUALITIES
2014Balan Viorica, V. Tudor, Oana Mencinicopschi, Carmen Gabriela Manole, Baia Sprie · AgroLife Scientific Journal · Romania (Bucharest)
Multidisciplinary research at UASVM of Bucharest recommended specific varieties and biotypes with sanogene characteristics suitable for cultivation in urban and suburban gardens. These included Deea, Elita 124, and Roxia from black currant; Rolan and Jh. Van Tets from red currant; V2 biotype from wolfberry; and Rares, Valeria, Carmela, Viorica, Bucovina, and Ilinca from apricot. These selections were based on characteristics such as early fruiting, production under ecological conditions, low to medium shrub and tree volume, plant density, high self-compatibility, and the quality, organoleptic, biochemical, and sanogene properties of the fruits.
DIYPolicyBiodiversityOrganic cycleA quiet revolution? Beneath the surface of Ireland's alternative food initiatives
2014Aisling Murtagh · Irish Geography · Ireland
This exploratory paper considers the broad dynamics of alternative food activity in Ireland, examining the nature of resistance and whether a collective vision exists across initiatives, illustrated by two examples: a community garden and a consumer food co-op. Alternative food initiatives commonly found in Ireland include allotments, community gardens, farmers’ markets, farm shops, and on-farm food enterprises.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyAssessing supply-demand balance of nitrogen toward local-scale organic material circulation: a case studyof suburban residential district in Metro Manila
2014Yuki Sampei, Yuji Hara, Akinobu Murakami, Armand PALIJON, Kazuaki Tsuchiya, Makoto Yokohari · Journal of The Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture · Philippines (Metro Manila)
The nitrogen supply-demand balance in compost and vegetable production on vacant lots in suburban residential districts of Quezon City, Metro Manila, was assessed. Analysis revealed that almost half of the subdivisions faced nitrogen oversupply, while several were in short supply. Current centralized composting facilities may not adequately support a continuous compost recycling system due to their distribution patterns. It was proposed that existing barangay-based policies on organic waste management and urban agriculture require greater flexibility and attention to coordination systems across subdivision boundaries.
Governance failureCompostOrganic cyclePolicyPeri-urban agricultureContentious Territorial Alliances: Coalition Politics and Struggles over Urban Development in Pikine, Senegal
2014Nicole C. List · EchoGéo · Senegal (Pikine)
Based on fieldwork in Pikine, a rapidly urbanized city in Senegal's Dakar region, two interconnected conflict cases concerning the development of urban agricultural land for middle-class and elite housing were analyzed. The analysis indicates that public and private actors, including producers, traditional authorities, real estate developers, and local/central government officials, are abandoning old forms of governance in favor of "territorial alliances" to promote their own urban development projects. These alliances lead to new relationships between local/central government members and civil society, impacting urban Senegal's land registry, property rights, and public infrastructure.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban agriculture in Vila Nova de Gaia: the nurturing symbiosis
2014Isabel Martinho da Silva · Journal of Landscape Architecture · Portugal (Vila Nova de Gaia)
In Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, an urban agriculture policy was introduced in 2012 with the launch of the Municipal Network of Urban Allotment Gardens. This program views urban agriculture as an opportunity to meet the demand for such spaces within the urban area, solve maintenance problems for municipal lands, and improve the environmental, aesthetic, and social quality of the landscape. This paper presents and discusses the network's capacity to promote urban agriculture despite the economic crisis and to change landscape 'ownership'.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsBeyond Gardening: A New Approach to HCI and Urban Agriculture
2014Tad Hirsch · The MIT Press eBooks · Global
This chapter explores a new approach to Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and urban agriculture. It includes sections on understanding urban agriculture, moving from urban form to urban experience, from cultivation to food provisioning, an expanded definition, a framework, and a case study of Sunroot Gardens.
Digital agricultureCommunityPolicyA Probe on Urban Agriculture-Oriented Ecological City
2014Tong Zhou, Tao Zhao · Applied Mechanics and Materials · Global
This article introduced the connotation and function of urban agriculture, analyzing the relationship between its development and ecological city construction. It concluded that the development of urban agriculture is conducive to eco-city construction and an inevitable choice for it.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyClimate changeMarketing of Urban Agriculture Produce in Three Municipalities in Tanzania: Opportunities and Challenges
2014Kizito K. Mwajombe · · Tanzania
This study investigated urban agriculture (UA) produce marketing in three Tanzanian municipalities. Findings showed UA farmers lacked pre-arranged contracts with buyers, limiting their marketing, and faced problems including poor packaging, bylaws, taxes, and difficulty meeting consumer preferences. Farmers also lacked direct links to retail and consumer units like supermarkets.
Economic viabilityEconomicsPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceメトロマニラ郊外部を対象とした有機性廃棄物の地域内循環実現可能性
2014Yuki Sampei, Yuji Hara, Akinobu Murakami, Armando M. Palijon, Kazuaki Tsuchiya, Makoto Yokohari · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Philippines
This study assessed the nitrogen supply-demand balance in compost and vegetable production on vacant lots in subdivisions and barangays in Quezon City, Metro Manila, using GIS. It found that nearly half of the subdivisions experienced nitrogen oversupply, while others faced shortages. Although cooperation among subdivisions within a barangay could improve nitrogen balance, the current centralized composting facilities were deemed insufficient to support a continuous compost recycling system due to their distribution patterns. The study concluded that current barangay-based policies on organic waste management and urban agriculture need greater flexibility and attention to inter-subdivision coordination across barangay boundaries.
Governance failureCompostOrganic cyclePolicyPeri-urban agricultureThe politics and technologies of urban waste
2014Jonathan Crush · · Global
Cities in the global South face a deepening crisis of food inaccessibility, characterized by food poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. This urban crisis is largely invisible to policy and research communities, with less attention given to urban food security than in the 1990s. Urban agriculture is the only aspect of urban food security receiving significant attention, though it is improbably seen as the key to achieving food security in these cities.
Equity & displacementFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsWelfareSeeds for Change? Attaining the benefits of community gardens through council policies in Sydney, Australia
2014Gregory Mintz, Phil McManus · Australian Geographer · Australia (Sydney)
This research in Sydney, Australia, evaluates and compares the quality of community garden policies with the distribution of community gardens across local councils and broader geographic regions. It identifies areas that could benefit from increased access to community gardens and discusses ways for councils and the Sydney Region to improve their policies. The study aims to determine what elements community garden policies should contain to best promote these gardens and their benefits.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageDriving forces of land use
2014Matilda Thelin · · Sweden
This qualitative study in peri-urban Uppsala, Sweden, identifies driving forces influencing land use decisions by commercial farmers and institutional landowners. It notes that approximately 700 hectares of land in Sweden are diverted from food production annually, with Uppsala Municipality showing the greatest change in 2013. The expropriation of agricultural land for urban development leads to farmers losing land resources and increased competition for remaining land, resulting in high land prices.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkage