Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
2067 results(39 / 83)
Cartoforum – A Map-Based Discussion Forum with Applications in the Planning of Cycle Lanes, Community Food Gardens and Campus Sustainability
2019Justin Pierre, Victoria Fast, Jyothi Kumari, Claus Rinner · GI_Forum · Canada (Toronto)
Cartoforum is a map-based discussion forum developed using the Boundless geostack for crowdsourcing public planning ideas. This paper presents its software architecture and functionality through three pilot studies: cycle lane planning in Toronto, Canada, community garden site-selection in the Toronto region, and campus sustainability at the University of Kerala, India. These studies demonstrate Cartoforum's utility in argumentation mapping and its potential for citizen participation.
CommunityPolicyDigital agricultureEVALUACIÓN DE LA CALIDAD DEL SUELO DE UN HUERTO URBANO EN XALAPA, MÉXICO.
2019Yadeneyro de la Cruz Elizondo, Juan Camilo Fontalvo-Buelvas · Suelos Ecuatoriales · Mexico (Xalapa)
In an urban green area in Xalapa, Mexico, soil quality was evaluated prior to the implementation of a university garden. The soil was brown and sandy loam with poor aggregate stability and a bulk density of 2.52 g/cm3. Biologically, earthworm density was poor at 67.2 ind/m2 and the number of edaphic groups was poor at 5, though pH was optimal at 6.58 and organic matter was medium at 6.45%. Overall soil quality was assessed as moderate, indicating a need for an integrated soil management plan for improvement.
Organic cycleBiodiversityCommunityUrban Agriculture, Revalorization, and Green Gentrification in Denver, Colorado
2019Joshua Sbicca · · United States (Colorado)
This study investigated the potential for urban agriculture to drive green gentrification, using Denver, Colorado, as a case study. Urban agriculture was shown to drive gentrification and act as a force for displacement, even when advocates are aware of its exclusionary potential for urban farmers and residents. The research argues that political economy and cultural forces create neighborhood disinvestment and economic marginalization, and urban agriculture contributes to green gentrification through a process of revalorization that exploits rent gaps.
Equity & displacementEconomicsPolicyCommunityHealthDireito à alimentação e os direitos da personalidade: da previsão à concretização desse direito sob a perspectiva do acesso à justiça
2019Dirceu Pereira Siqueira, Mariana Peixoto Espósito, Bruna Caroline Lima de Souza · Revista de Constitucionalização do Direito Brasileiro · Brazil (Maringá)
This article aimed to analyze the right to food and related public policies in Brazil, with an emphasis on the Urban and Periurban Agriculture Program and the Community Garden Program of the City of Maringá / PR, examining their effectiveness as public policies for realizing the right to food. The methodology involved a bibliographic review and interview-based field research. It was concluded that the Community Gardens Program is effective as a public policy in realizing the right to food.
PolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityWelfareA Mixed-methods Examination of the Geospatial and Sociodemographic Context of a Direct-to-Consumer Food System Innovation
2019Jared T. McGuirt, Marilyn Sitaker, Stephanie Jilcott Pitts, Alice S. Ammerman, Jane Kolodinsky, Rebecca A. Seguin‐Fowler · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States
This study examined the sociodemographic and geospatial context of cost-offset community supported agriculture (CO-CSA) pickup locations in relation to low-income customer residential locations across 23 pickup sites in four U.S. states (New York, North Carolina, Vermont, and Washington). Using GIS and interviews, it was found that pickup sites were an average of 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) from customers’ homes, further than the supermarket (2.9 miles or 4.7 km). Farmers reported efforts to select convenient locations, but CO-CSA customers expressed mixed levels of accessibility.
CSA & TeikeiWelfareEconomicsCommunityPANC na sua mesa
2019Angela Almeida Almeida · Esferas · Brazil
This photographic essay originated from participation in free classes offered by the "Horta Comunitária Nutrir" Community Garden Laboratory in Brazil, where research on Non-Conventional Food Plants (PANC) is conducted. The author learned about the plants, executed recipes, and took photographs. The work is based on the belief that when art and science converge, they bring together multiplicity-diversity and nature-culture, contained within the interconnection of images and the plurality of life's spheres.
CommunityFood educationWaste separation and school garden as school transformation tools
2019Ana Paula Schmitz Rodrigues, Eunice Aita Isaia Kindel · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Porto Alegre)
This qualitative study, conducted with elementary school students in a public school in Porto Alegre, Brazil, aimed to raise environmental awareness through direct engagement in creating a school garden and separating solid waste. Student statements were recorded and categorized to understand their perceptions of solid waste, nutrient cycling, and food. The findings indicated students' detachment from the environment and highlighted the need for more interdisciplinary and continuous environmental education practices in schools.
Food educationCommunityOrganic cycleFactors That Affect African-American Enrollment in Urban Agricultural Degree Programs in the Commonwealth of Virginia
2019Thomas Earl Tracy · ODU Digital Commons (Old Dominion University) · United States (Virginia)
This study investigated reasons for the low enrollment of African Americans in urban agriculture degree programs in Virginia, which contributes to few African Americans in leadership positions in the urban agriculture industry. Data were collected through surveys and interviews with agriculture students, non-agriculture students, and department chairpersons at Virginia State University and other colleges. The findings indicate a dearth of African Americans enrolled in these programs.
Equity & displacementPolicyFood educationLimited Access to Healthy Foods: How Zoning Helps to Close the Gap
2019Tara Hubbard · Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) · United States (Spokane)
In Spokane, United States, city planners are exploring the potential of zoning ordinances to create healthier food environments in response to rising rates of obesity and chronic diseases. Some low- or mixed-income neighborhoods have limited access to healthy foods, and this brief provides specific guidance on utilizing zoning to increase access to farmers' markets, urban agriculture, and healthy food retail, while also limiting fast foods.
PolicyHealthCommunityEstudos sobre agricultura urbana no Brasil no período de 2008 a 2017
2019Paula Fernanda Nóvoa Souza Lara, Maria Mirtes Cortinhas dos Santos, Izaura Cristina Nunes Pereira Costa, Thiago Almeida Vieira · Amazonia Investiga · Brazil
This study analyzed scientific production on urban agriculture in Brazil from 2008 to 2017, using data from the CAPES Periodicals Portal. It observed that articles on urban agriculture remain scarce, despite the topic's social, environmental, and economic potential and relevance. The study suggests that state support for agricultural production in urban spaces could encourage the adoption of urban agriculture practices and related studies.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsComprehensive Farm-to-School: A Mixed-Methods Case Study of the Classroom, Cafeteria, and Community
2019Suzanna Elkin · ScholarWorks -A service of University of Vermont Libraries (University of Vermont) · United States
This dissertation presents a mixed-methods case study of a comprehensive Farm-to-School (FTS) program in a northern California school district. It comprises three papers, each exploring one of the "3-C" domains: classroom, cafeteria, and community. The first study qualitatively examines teacher involvement in FTS, the second uses mixed methods to research a new school lunch program, and the third examines the community aspect.
Food educationCommunityHealthEconomicsImplantação de horta comunitária em um campus universitário : inclusão social e qualidade de vida
2019Bianca Jacqueline Silva · · Brazil
This study describes a project for implementing a community garden at the Itabira campus of the Federal University of Itajubá. The project began with dialogue among campus workers and aims to foster greater involvement with the university community and local population. The garden is planned as a space for observation, cultivation, and leisure, potentially contributing to education and activities on ecology, environmental education, and integrated management of solid and organic waste, with positive impacts on the local environment and participants' health.
CommunityElderlyFood educationHealthUMass Carbon Farming Initiative Design Overview
2019Nikhil Villani, Jack Stambaugh · ScholarWorks@UMassAmherst (University of Massachusetts Amherst) · United States
The UMass Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) at the Agricultural Learning Center (ALC) involves Stockbridge School of Agriculture students and faculty researching and practicing regenerative food production. Initiated in Spring 2018, students designed and installed a chestnut-sheep silvopasture on a two-acre site. The first season involved starting a chestnut nursery, planting chestnuts, and rotationally grazing six sheep between rows.
Food educationCommunityOrganic cycleClimate changeScaling out agroecology from the school garden: the importance of culture, food, and place
2019Bruce G. Ferguson, Helda Morales, Kimberly Chung, Ronald Nigh · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Mexico
A case study of the LabVida school gardens program in Chiapas, Mexico, explored the potential and limitations of scaling agroecology through formal education. Educators gained an appreciation for agroecology and learned practices, though their understanding of agroecological principles and scientific processes remained limited. The program's greatest impact was on educators' eating habits and their perception of the value of local knowledge. The study demonstrates that garden and food-system work can leverage institutional resources to improve educational outcomes, including agroecological literacy.
Food educationCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceDiscursos de agricultura urbana em São Paulo: formação, profusão e captura
2019Martin Jayo, Eduardo de Lima Caldas · kult-ur revista interdisciplinària sobre la cultura de la ciutat · Brazil (São Paulo)
A study in São Paulo, Brazil, examined recent forms of appropriation of the urban agriculture agenda, using a historical analysis of urban agriculture practices by Caldas and Jayo (2019). It was observed that traditional urban agriculture discourses have been captured by new actors, including parts of the public sector opportunistically appropriating the theme and the real estate market promoting an imitation of urban agriculture as a marketing tool.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsCommunityDeveloping undergraduate community psychology pedagogy and research practice
2019August John Hoffman, Jordan Seitz, Anthonie Collins, Rich Downs · Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community · United States
This study describes the experiences of two community psychology students participating in "green" volunteer sustainable programs. One student worked with young men in a youth detention facility maintaining a vegetable garden, while another organized a community apple harvest in Wyoming, MN. Participants were interviewed about their subjective experiences and how these programs improved understanding of diverse cultures and the value of outdoor "green" voluntary programs.
CommunityFood educationHealthASSENTAMENTO SÃO FRANCISCO: UMA TEIA DE PRODUÇÃO SUSTENTÁVEL
2019Matheus Martins Mendes, André Victor Sales Passos, Carol Rebouças da Silva · · Brazil
This internship experience, guided by popular extension university principles, focused on knowledge exchange between scientific and popular communities in the San Francisco settlement, Jose de Freitas, Piaui, Brazil. A partnership between the Federal Rural University of the Semiarid Region, REAPI, and local farmers led to the implementation of a women-maintained community garden and the recovery of four springs. Agroecological activities also highlighted the role of women farmers in agroecological transition.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceDIYOrganic cycleMutirão como ferramenta política: agricultura urbana e cidadania.
2019André Ruoppolo Biazoti, André Ruoppolo Biazoti · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (São Paulo)
This paper analyzes the mutirão (collective work) practices established in some community gardens in São Paulo city. Mutirão is observed as a practice with an inherent political and insurgent character that promotes not only food production but also shared management of public spaces, community building, and the production of the common as a political principle of self-governance.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyPaesaggi transitori e agricoltura urbana: possibilità dagli scenari di espansione urbana a Guaratiba, Rio de Janeiro
2019A Noussia · Research Open (London South Bank University) · Brazil
This paper discusses urban agriculture on city peripheries within a scenario of urban expansion, focusing on the Guaratiba neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. It argues that the city's urban expansion process does not invest in the inclusion of urban agriculture activities within the area's socio-environmental dynamics.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyUrban–rural linkageHealthy eating promoting in a Brazilian sports-oriented school: a pilot study
2019Fábia Massarani, Marta Citelli, Daniela Silva Canella, Josely Correa Koury · PeerJ · Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)
This pilot study evaluated the eating habits of 83 adolescent athletes in an experimental school in Rio de Janeiro from 2013 to 2016. Following the implementation of a school garden, experimental kitchen activities, and health promotion classes, the frequency of raw salad and fruit consumption increased, suggesting that integrated healthy eating promotion programs may improve eating habits.
Food educationHealthCommunityGrowing Local: The Role of Urban Gardening in Fostering Food Security, Sustainability, and Community
2019Franklin Wagner, Lindsey Payne · Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement · United States (Lafayette)
In summer 2016, Purdue University researchers collaborated with Lafayette's GrowLocal Urban Gardens Network in Lafayette, Indiana, to conduct a baseline analysis of current community gardening initiatives. Using qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, they identified motivations and barriers to participation through stakeholder interviews and focus groups. The study indicated that urban gardens as community spaces may serve a greater purpose than providing fresh food, and its results informed a planning document for GrowLocal with strategic recommendations for governance, communication, event integration, and collaborative grants.
CommunityFood educationFood sovereignty & justiceHealthWelfareKnowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs and Behaviors Regarding Fruits and Vegetables among Cost-Offset Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) Applicants, Purchasers, and a Comparison Sample
2019Karla L. Hanson, Leah C. Volpe, Jane Kolodinsky, Grace Hwang, Weiwei Wang, Stephanie Jilcott Pitts, Marilyn Sitaker, Alice S. Ammerman, Rebecca A. Seguin‐Fowler · Nutrients · United States
A cross-sectional study in August 2017 surveyed cost-offset Community Supported Agriculture (CO-CSA) applicants (purchasers n=46, non-purchasers n=18) and a comparison sample (n=105) of low-income adults with children. CO-CSA applicants reported better knowledge, self-efficacy, home habits, and diet than the comparison sample. Among applicants, purchasers and non-purchasers had equivalent knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs, but children in purchaser households consumed significantly more fruits and vegetables (4.14 vs. 1.83 cups, p = 0.001).
CSA & TeikeiHealthWelfareFood educationSafe community gardening practices: focus groups with garden leaders in Atlanta, Georgia
2019Candis M. Hunter, Dana Williamson, Melanie Pearson, Eri Saikawa, Matthew O. Gribble, Michelle C. Kegler · Local Environment · United States (Atlanta)
This study used five focus groups with Atlanta community garden leaders to investigate perspectives on composting, hygiene, and mulching, which are practices to reduce exposure to soil contaminants. Gardeners cited a need for more funding, volunteers, and training. A primary barrier to composting and mulching was concern about contamination of source materials, and participants did not directly link these practices to reducing soil contaminant exposure. Hygiene challenges included concerns about beneficial bacteria, inadequate water access, and limited supplies.
Contamination & food safetyCommunityHealthCompostAGRICULTURE IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2018: SUMMARY AND PERSPECTIVE
2019Carl Zulauf · EСONOMY FINANСES MANAGEMENT Topical issues of science and practical activity · United States
The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, the latest US farm bill, authorized programmatic changes without major spending realignment across its 12 titles. Commodity assistance payments are now more closely tied to market conditions, and commitment to private-public partnerships for environmental issues increased. US land conservation programs are evolving into a pyramid policy approach, and mandatory funding for research, extension, and agricultural export programs saw significant increases. Issues addressed across multiple titles include urban agriculture, organic production, and assistance for various farmer groups.
PolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceThe experience of community urban gardens: Social organization and food security
2019Joeli Silva de Souza, Ryzia de Cássia Vieira Cardoso, Lídice Almeida Arlego PARAGUASSÚ, Sidione Ferreira dos Santos · Revista de Nutrição · Brazil (Salvador-Bahia)
A cross-sectional exploratory study in Salvador-Bahia characterized community gardens, with five out of seven gardens participating and data collected from 13 horticulturists. 80.0% of gardens lacked land legalization, 100.0% operated without technical support, and 60.0% had no social organization. Major difficulties included lack of funding, volunteers, and water use restrictions, indicating insufficient policies limited technical support and financing.
Governance failureCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicy