Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
2091 results(38 / 84)
Edible Green Infrastructure for Urban Regeneration and Food Security: Case Studies from the Campania Region
2020Alessio Russo, Giuseppe T. Cirella · Agriculture, 10(8), 358 · Global
An empirical study analyzing ten edible green infrastructure (EGI) urban-regeneration case studies in Italy's Campania region through the lens of community development, involvement and education. It documents how citizen-engaged urban gardens contribute to public health (stress reduction, physical activity) and the regeneration of derelict land, with sustainability strengthened by far-sighted urban planning across all five provinces.
CommunityHealthFood educationWelfareEconomicsThe role of community seed banks in achieving farmers' rights
2020Vernooy R., Sthapit B., Bessette G. · Development in Practice · Global
Drawing on case studies from Bangladesh, Cote d'Ivoire, India, and Zimbabwe, examines how community seed banks operationalize farmers' rights through conservation, access, and seed sovereignty at the local level.
Heirloom & landraceCommunityPolicyBiodiversityFeatures and Functions of Multifunctional Urban Agriculture in the Global North: A Review
2020Orsini F., Pennisi G., Michelon N., Minelli A., Bazzocchi G., Sanyé-Mengual E., Gianquinto G. · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 4, 562513 · Global
Reviews multifunctional urban agriculture in the Global North, systematizing six functions (food production, ecosystem services, social integration, education, health, economy) and showing the functional continuity between rural and urban farming.
BiodiversityCommunityAugmenting agroecological urbanism: the intersection of food sovereignty and food democracy
2020Resler M.L., Hagolani-Albov S.E. · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Global
Constructs the concept of 'agroecological urbanism', discussing—at the intersection of food sovereignty and food democracy—the political and social transformative power of urban-rural food connection.
CommunityPeri-urban agriculture as quiet sustainability: Challenging the urban development discourse in Sogamoso, Colombia
2020Feola G., Suzunaga J., Soler J., Wilson A. · Journal of Rural Studies · Colombia (Sogamoso)
Drawing on a survey of 160 peri-urban farming households in Sogamoso, this study applies the concept of 'quiet sustainability' to challenge dominant urban development discourses that frame peri-urban agriculture as backward, demonstrating its role in strengthening social cohesion and environmental sustainability.
CommunityPolicyWelfareFood educationCOVID-19 Outbreak and Urban Green Space, Food Security, and Quality of Life: Case of Urban Home Gardens in Kandy, Sri Lanka
2020Dissanayake L., Dilini S. · Open Journal of Social Sciences · Sri Lanka (Kandy)
A questionnaire-based study in the Kandy municipal area found that urban home gardens significantly contributed to household food security and quality of life during COVID-19 lockdowns, with social well-being and mental health benefits highlighted across all satisfaction levels.
HealthCommunityFood educationWelfarePositive aging benefits of home and community gardening activities: Older adults report enhanced self-esteem, productive endeavours, social engagement and exercise
2020Scott T.L., Masser B.M., Pachana N.A. · SAGE Open Medicine, 8:2050312120901732 · Australia
A study of older Australians examining links between home and community gardening and psychosocial and physical well-being. Older gardeners reported greater self-esteem, sense of productive endeavour, social engagement and exercise, associated with more positive attitudes to ageing. It shows allotments and gardening groups can protect older adults from isolation and support positive ageing.
ElderlyHealthWelfareCommunityCommunity-scale composting for food waste: A life-cycle assessment-supported case study
2020· Journal of Cleaner Production · Malaysia
Uses a university case study and life-cycle assessment to demonstrate community-scale food waste composting; with leaves as bulking agent it took 7 months, yielding 30% compost meeting organic fertiliser standards.
DIYCommunityFood lossUrban Horticulture for Food Secure Cities through and beyond COVID-19
2020Muhammad Mumtaz Khan, Muhammad Tahir Akram, Rhonda Janke, Rashad Qadri, Abdullah M. Al‐Sadi, Aitazaz A. Farooque · Sustainability · Global
This study reviews contemporary urban horticulture, illustrating traditional and innovative developments, as a response to global concerns about food supply and environmental protection in urban settings, exacerbated by factors like population growth and the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights how current urban cropping systems can be enhanced with modern techniques like vertical gardening and hydroponics. These methods are presented as eco-friendly, energy-saving, and capable of ensuring consistent fresh food supplies and more sustainable agriculture.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityDIYClimate changeGREEN ROOF CONCEPT ANALYSIS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF URBAN FARMING PRACTICE IN CITIES
2020Nur Huzeima Mohd Hussain, Nur Hayati Hashim, Asmat Ismail · Malaysian Journal of Sustainable Environment · Global
This paper conceptually reviews the ideas, issues, and imperatives of implementing urban farming on rooftops, investigating an alternative for urban dwellers to achieve resilience. It uses comparative analysis of established texts and secondary data from cases in Singapore, Japan, USA, and Thailand. The study aims to localize the concept of rooftop urban farming and establish a conceptual discourse for its implementation in Malaysia.
DIYCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeCollaborative Community-supported Agriculture: Balancing Community Capitals for Producers and Consumers
2020Cornelia Butler Flora, Corry Bregendahl · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Global
This study examines expectations and benefits in collaborative Community-Supported Agriculture (cCSAs) using the community capitals framework, surveying past and present producers and consumers from three of four cCSAs in Iowa. It found that participants who received multiple 'goods' beyond economic benefits, such as social, cultural, human, and political capital, were more likely to continue their associations and were more satisfied. cCSA structures that evolved to maximize multiple capitals for individual producers and consumers proved most sustainable, demonstrating the interactive nature of successful farmer-consumer relationships.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsJardins partagés : une alternative pour la participation dans la gestion urbaine de proximité. Le cas du jardin Ezzouhour de Boumati à Alger
2020Fatiha Tamani-Djebra, Meriem Chabou Othmani, Radjaa Bensouyah · Insaniyat / إنسانيات · Algeria (Algiers)
This article analyzes shared gardens as a practice that fosters citizen participation in local urban management. The "Ezzouhour" garden in the AADL Boumati housing estate in El-Harrach, Algiers, as Algeria's first shared garden and a pilot operation, demonstrates that its implementation contributes to resident mobilization and appropriation. Shared gardens are stated to promote a sense of belonging and home, and to be a vector for successful local urban management and improved neighborhood living environments.
CommunityPolicyDesign as Interface
2020Yutaka Sho, James Setzler · · Rwanda
This chapter describes the work of General Architecture Collaborative (GAC), a nonprofit firm operating in Rwanda since 2008, which aims to make architecture accessible to traditionally excluded communities. GAC collaborates with local partners to invest in communities, exemplified by a health center that uses open spaces for community gardens and a demonstration kitchen for healthy eating workshops. This work highlights GAC's role as an interface within the international development industry's building culture.
CommunityFood educationHealthNærum Allotment Gardens
2020Phoebe Lickwar, Roxi Thoren · · Denmark
The Nærum Allotment Gardens in Denmark are publicly owned and privately leased and managed. A national Allotment Garden Association provides gardeners with a forum to counter the inherent vulnerability of these allotments to land use change. This structure indicates a persistent vulnerability of the gardens to changes in land use.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceClimate Factors and Climate Change in Urban Agroecosystems
2020Monika Egerer · · Global
This chapter discusses how climate-related factors and climate change may affect the biodiversity of plants and animals in urban agroecosystems, and the ecosystem functions and services they provide. It notes that little research in urban agroecology explicitly investigates the impacts of local weather patterns or regional climate cycles on biodiversity, ecosystem functions, or service delivery. The chapter aims to bridge agricultural and urban literature to enhance understanding of social-ecological processes in urban agroecosystems during the climate change era.
Climate changeBiodiversityCommunityDIY"Don't Just Come for Yourself": Understanding Leadership Approaches and Volunteer Engagement in Community Gardens
2020Jeffrey Gilbert, Christina Chauvenet, Brett C. Sheppard, Molly De Marco · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Global
This study investigated leadership styles and volunteer engagement in community gardens through interviews with 13 garden managers and six focus groups with 48 volunteers. Findings revealed that managers struggled to recruit and retain volunteers capable of maintaining gardens. Garden managers exhibited either collaborative or directive leadership styles, both of which were acknowledged and appreciated by participants.
Governance failureCommunityHealthFood educationLas huertas urbanas comunitarias como espacios generadores de servicios ecosistémicos en la localidad de Fontibón y su contribución al bienestar
2020Carrero Gaitán, Karen Nathaly · · Colombia
This study collected data from six active community urban gardens in Fontibón, Colombia, analyzing their agronomic practices, sociodemographic aspects, and purposes. It assessed the influence of these gardens on participants' well-being, focusing on ecosystem supply and cultural services. The three most important services identified by participants were stress reduction, decreased loneliness, and improved governance and social dynamics.
CommunityHealthBiodiversityPolicyTerritorializing the Urban-Rural Border in Medellín, Colombia: Socio-Ecological Assemblages and Disruptions
2020Colleen Hammelman, Alexis Saenz-Montoya · Journal of Latin American geography · Colombia (Medellín)
In Medellín, Colombia, large infrastructure projects by the local government, intended to transform the city, have contributed to a neoliberal sustainability agenda. Data from community meetings (2015-2017) with displaced people engaged in subsistence urban agriculture revealed that these projects exclude marginalized residents from newly valued "natural" commons. This territorialization strategy controls peripheral spaces by including approved actors while dispossessing less powerful residents of their right to the city.
Equity & displacementUrban–rural linkageCommunityPolicyWelfareA közösség által támogatott mezőgazdálkodás szubjektív aspektusai
2020Ilona Liliána Birtalan, Bernadett Kis, György Bárdos · Magyar Pszichológiai Szemle · Hungary
This literature review explored the subjective aspects of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) participation. The methodology involved selecting papers with specific word combinations and further studying references and recommended articles. The review found that CSA participation can be interpreted not only through factual advantages but also through aspects like Similar Thinking, Locality (urban-rural axis), Personal Care, Lifestyle Change, and Rewriting of Schemes, which are considered equally important.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityHealthUrban–rural linkageAn anthropological reflection on urban gardening through the lens of citizenship
2020Robin Smith · · Global
This chapter analyzes the concept of food citizenship within urban gardening from an anthropological perspective. Urban gardens fulfill local needs in many communities, from widening food access to serving as an avenue for engagement in food politics. It is also shown that urban gardens can be understood as autonomous spaces that governance regimes struggle to bring under their purview.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEl huerto escolar: una herramienta pedagógica para la conciencia medioambiental del alumnado
2020Gutiérrez Sánchez-Osorio, Maria Lúcia · · Global
This work explores the school garden as a program for environmental education in early childhood and primary stages. It outlines specific environmental activities integrated into various courses, using garden tasks as a central theme. Through these activities, students actively learn about current environmental problems and discover alternatives for sustainable development.
Food educationClimate changeCommunitySchool gardening activities as contextual scaffolding for learning science: participatory action research in a community school in Nepal
2020Kamal Prasad Acharya, Chitra Bahadur Budhathoki, Birgitte Bjønness, Bhimsen Devkota · Educational Action Research · Nepal
This participatory action research in a community school in Nepal's Chitwan district investigated school gardening as a contextual scaffold for science learning among sixth and seventh graders. Initial barriers included time allocation and curriculum integration, but students, teachers, and parents later reported active engagement. Overall, school gardening activities positively affected students' understanding of scientific concepts.
Food educationCommunityStart me up! Food biodiversity and youth-led innovations
2020Eliot Gee, Hyun-Ju Lee · · Global
Gee and Lee explore the incorporation of local food biodiversity into food and agriculture innovations, with attention to emerging youth-led practices. The chapter highlights opportunities and challenges of mobile apps, urban agriculture, and youth movements. These varied examples are assessed to suggest how social and technological innovative approaches can be leveraged to ensure fair and effective promotion and protection of local food biodiversity across the producer–consumer spectrum.
BiodiversityFood educationCommunityKatakin kōṃṃan jikin kallib ilo jikuul – Republic of the Marshall Islands School Learning Garden Program
2020Koh Ming Wei, Samuel Bikajle · · Republic of the Marshall Islands
This paper describes the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) School Learning Garden Program, which adapts the Ku Aina Pa teacher training program from Hawai‘i. The program focuses on using learning gardens as outdoor labs for interdisciplinary environmental education, opening new avenues for teaching and learning in the RMI.
Food educationCommunityClimate changeThe Role of Social Assets on Community Well-Being in Urban Farming Project
2020Milah Zainal, Siti Raba’ah Hamzah, M. Z. Rosmiza · Journal of Asian Scientific Research · Malaysia
This article reviewed the role of social assets in community well-being within urban farming projects, noting a gap in previous Malaysian studies on this topic. Social assets were identified as motivational forces that foster cooperation and benefit agricultural development. Analysis of past research indicated that social assets contribute to knowledge sharing, access to resources, community garden development, motivation, technology transfer, and good agricultural practices. The study recommends incorporating social assets into policies aimed at improving urban farmer well-being.
CommunityWelfareEconomics