Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
11393 results(421 / 456)
Chen Mei-jing · Anhui nongye kexue · China (Beijing)
This study introduced theories of ecological economy construction and used Yanqing County, Beijing City, as an example. It proposed strategies for ecological economy construction in Yanqing County, focusing on accelerating ecological industry development through modern urban agriculture, new urban industry, and leisure and tourism. The strategies also emphasized ecological culture construction and integrating ecological industry with ecological culture to achieve comprehensive county development.
PolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageNyuk Hien Wong, Yu Chen · · Singapore
In Singapore, there was a need to demonstrate the thermal benefits of rooftop gardens with tangible data as a potential measure to mitigate the urban heat island effect. This study conducted local measurements and calculations to demonstrate the thermal benefits of rooftop gardens in the tropics.
Climate changePaula Vergili Pérez, Mariângela Brito Freiberger, Ubirajara Contro Malavasi, Marinelva Curti, Marlene Matos Malavasi · Varia Scientia - Ciências da Saúde · Brazil
A diagnostic study in Marechal Cândido Rondon, Brazil, interviewed a sample of owners or users of 3,897 urban non-built lots to understand agricultural production. The most frequent reasons for lot use were producing vegetables and fruits for personal consumption and agricultural work for leisure. Common crops identified included cassava, corn, peanuts, beans, sweet potato, pumpkin, lettuce, orange, lemon, banana, and mango.
DIYCommunityEconomicsLaure DeMattia, Shannon Lee Denney · The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science · United States
This article reviews community-based programs in the United States aimed at slowing the rate of childhood obesity, which affects one in three children. It examines interventions such as recipe preparation demonstrations, community gardens, and school-based curricula. The article concludes with suggestions for intervention efforts and funding priorities, emphasizing the importance of primary prevention focusing on high-risk populations of low-income overweight women of childbearing years.
HealthCommunityFood educationNathan McClintock · · United States (California)
This paper uses urban political ecology to explore the rise of urban agriculture (UA) in Oakland, California, where the city aims to source 30% of its food locally, partly from UA in "food deserts." The analysis argues that 20th-century industrial capital flows and racialized urban planning concentrated capital devaluation in the flatlands, leading to the creation of food deserts. Food justice activists are mobilizing through UA to counter these uneven transformations.
Equity & displacementFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsCommunityPay Drechsel · CGSPace A Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) · Global
This paper discusses the global food crisis, which has caused skyrocketing food prices and riots in some countries. Underlying the food crisis is the deeper issue of the looming water crisis.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsClimate changeFriedhelm Streiffeler, Elsamawal Khalil Makki, Ali Ayoub · Econstor (Econstor) · Sudan (Khartoum)
This research in Greater Khartoum, Sudan, investigated urban and peri-urban agriculture as a livelihood strategy for internally displaced persons. While urban agriculture significantly reduces absolute poverty, its implementation faces many problems due to natural, economic, and social differences in the new environment, resulting in a low degree of agricultural development. Migrants with smaller fields and lower agricultural development showed a greater desire to return to their homeland, and social integration also influenced the decision to stay or return.
Economic viabilityWelfareCommunityUrban–rural linkageEconomicsPublic Affairs Office · DigitalCommons - CalPoly (California State Polytechnic University) · United States (Los Angeles)
Students and faculty at Cal Poly cultivated 4,000 fruit and vegetable plants on 180 vertical panels, which are intended for mounting on commercial building walls in Los Angeles' inner city. These vertical panels were designed to maximize growing space in congested urban locations. The project aims to provide a practical solution for accessing fresh, affordable produce.
DIYFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityChris Hillbruner, Rebecca Egan · Food and Nutrition Bulletin · Bangladesh (Dinajpur)
A study in Dinajpur, Bangladesh, from 2002 to 2003, investigated the impact of seasonality on food security and nutritional status in approximately 600 low-income urban households. Data collected through surveys and child measurements revealed significantly higher rates of food insecurity, wasting, and inadequate growth during the monsoon season compared to the dry season. While dietary diversity and lost work due to weather were identified as pathways affecting food security, child illness was not found to be a significant mechanism contributing to seasonal nutritional declines.
Limited or null effectFood sovereignty & justiceHealthEconomicsHIERARCHICAL BAYESIAN SCALING OF SOIL PROPERTIES ACROSS URBAN, AGRICULTURAL, AND DESERT ECOSYSTEMS
2008Jason P. Kaye, Anandamayee Majumdar, Corinna Gries, Alexander Buyantuyev, Nancy B. Grimm, D. Hope, G. Darrel Jenerette, Weixing Zhu, Lawrence A. Baker · Ecological Applications · United States (Phoenix)
A study in a 7962-km2 area around Phoenix, Arizona, USA, used a hierarchical Bayesian model to predict soil organic carbon (oC), inorganic carbon (iC), total nitrogen (N), and available phosphorus (avP) storage. Both Bayesian and traditional approaches indicated that oC, N, and avP were higher in mesic residential and agricultural areas than in deserts or xeric residential areas. Cultural variables like impervious surface cover, tree cover, and turfgrass cover were significant predictors, and an estimated 1140 Gg of oC and 130 Gg of N had accumulated in human-dominated soils.
Organic cycleClimate changeMaría Amalia Lorda, Jezabel Franza, María Belén Kraser, Daniel Paoloni, Silvina Raitzin, Gabriel Oscar Reiter · Revista de Lengua y Literatura (National University of Comahue) · Argentina (Bahia Blanca)
This communication provides the foundations for implementing "Park-Gardens" in Bahia Blanca, Argentina, to recover urban and peri-urban spaces. Park-Gardens are described as multifunctional public spaces, participatively managed by the state and civil society using ecological cultivation techniques. They contribute to local development, strategic planning, improved sanitary conditions, strengthened biodiversity, and sustainable resource management, while enabling agrochemical-free food production.
CommunityEconomicsOrganic cyclePolicyGary Paul Green, Michael L. Dougherty · Community Development · United States (Door County, Wisconsin)
This paper examined culinary tourism through a case study of the Kingdom So Delicious program in Door County, Wisconsin. The analysis was based on intensive interviews with owners/managers of four restaurants and surveys of 30 retailers and 40 farmers in the region. The most frequently cited concerns with producing for local establishments involved in culinary tourism were low prices and challenging logistics.
Economic viabilityEconomicsCSA & TeikeiCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceC.J. Arene, G.I.O. Mbata · Agricultural Economics (Zemědělská ekonomika) · Nigeria (Abuja)
This study analyzed the profitability of urban agriculture using metropolitan organic waste in Abuja, Nigeria. Results indicated that the enterprise is profitable, with output price being the most important determinant of maximum variable profit. The study also showed that farmers' education level, age, per capita farm income, and household size are important determinants for choosing urban agriculture for food security and environmental quality improvement.
EconomicsOrganic cycleFood sovereignty & justiceLaura Greenwold Derks · The South Carolina State Library Digital Collections (South Carolina State Library) · United States
A 2008 survey was conducted among 175 public and private schools in South Carolina to assess the impact of school gardens. The survey covered garden type, activities, costs, and assessment. Most responding schools indicated that students participate in the garden, suggesting opportunities for student interaction with the garden.
Food educationCommunityEconomicsMeng Qing-hu · Shanxi Architecture · China
This paper discussed the relationship between urban planning and public policy, illustrating the importance of establishing public policy. The establishment goals of public policy were generalized from human settlement environment construction, urban public space management, and the renovation of city villages and city farms, aiming to implement harmonious development of urban economic society and enhance people's living standards.
PolicyCommunityDick Foeken · · Africa
This study analyzed the relationship between urban policy and the practice of urban agriculture by the poor, based on two studies in Nakuru Municipality, Kenya, and Morogoro and Mbeya Municipalities, Tanzania. The legal and policy setting in these towns was found to be confusing, and the poor generally do not benefit from policy measures, if policies exist at all.
Governance failurePolicyWelfareEconomicsUrban–rural linkageBernard Keraita, Pay Drechsel, Flemming Konradsen · Journal of Risk Research · Ghana
A study in Ghana used participatory research methods to summarize farmers' perceptions of health risks and risk reduction measures in urban vegetable farming irrigated with untreated wastewater. Farmers were aware of health risks from wastewater, perceiving occupational skin infections as the greatest risk, while consumer health risks were rated very low. Many international risk reduction measures were deemed unsuitable by farmers, who preferred simple, low-cost alternatives.
Contamination & food safetyHealthCommunityWei Xu · Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment · Global
This study examines the interaction between the sustainable development of urban agriculture and the increase in peasants' income, treating them as a combined system. It identifies a synergistic relationship between increased peasant income and urban agriculture development, but also a competitive relationship between maximizing short-term income and ecological sustainable development. The research suggests that a sustainable urban agricultural resource allocation mechanism can foster coordination and positive interaction, with urban circular agriculture economy being a basic strategy for this coordination.
Economic viabilityEconomicsOrganic cyclePolicyUrban–rural linkageZoia Komirenko, D.M. Hoermann, Komirenko, Z., Hoermann, D.M. · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Ukraine (Kyiv)
This study surveyed 240 Kyiv households with urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in 2005 using a standardized questionnaire. Data collected covered production, inputs, sales, and the importance of plots for self-sufficiency, recreation, and leisure. Cluster analysis identified four groups of UPA users, revealing that the importance of UPA shifts from livelihood necessity to recreational resource, or combines both, depending on the plot type.
Peri-urban agricultureEconomicsCommunityWelfareDolly Kumar, Archana Mishra · · India (Vadodara)
This study conducted the first comprehensive survey of ant communities in Vadodara District, India, to assess diversity and species composition in urban and agricultural ecosystems. Using pitfall traps and hand collection, 22 ant species from 13 genera and five subfamilies were collected. Urban ecosystems contained 15 species from nine genera, while agricultural ecosystems had 16 species from ten genera, with species composition unique to each habitat and likely influenced by surrounding vegetation and biota.
BiodiversityCommunityAlberto Zezza, Luca Tasciotti, Zezza, Alberto, Tasciotti, Luca · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Global
This paper investigates the importance of urban agriculture (UA) for poor and food-insecure households in urban areas, using survey data from 15 developing or transition countries. It aims to fill research gaps by analyzing, from a comparative perspective, UA's potential role in addressing urban food insecurity problems. The paper defines UA as crop and livestock production within city boundaries.
HealthWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceNathan McClintock · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · United States (California)
This paper explores the rise of urban agriculture (UA) in Oakland, California, using an urban political ecology framework. A macro-level structural analysis of Oakland's history reveals how 20th-century industrial capital flows and racialized urban planning concentrated capital devaluation in the flatlands, ultimately giving rise to food deserts. The study suggests that food justice activists are mobilizing through UA to counter these uneven transformations, despite critiques that some urban garden programs are neoliberal, emphasizing self-betterment while filling state-left gaps.
Equity & displacementFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsCommunityHan Lu-yu · Chinese and Overseas Architecture · China
With the continuous promotion of social economy and living quality, the living behaviors of suburban residents are diversifying. Higher demands in spirit, culture, and leisure entertainment are driving the construction of more community gardens. Gangcheng Garden, a large new community garden in northern Gaoqiao Town, with its natural and comfortable landscaping environment and various leisure, cultural, and gymnastic facilities, has become a place for leisure, entertainment, neighborly communication, and refuge.
CommunityPeri-urban agricultureRui Chen · Chinese Agricultural Mechanization · Global
Urban agriculture is based on a combination of manufacture, life, and ecology, emphasizing urban and rural development in step, and the co-prosperity of economy, ecology, and society. This study adopted the analytic network process (ANP) to construct an evaluation index system of urban agriculture, based on domestic and international research. Theoretical foundations of ANP were discussed, and dependence and feedback among indexes were analyzed. The result of the ANP model for the index system was obtained with SD software.
EconomicsOrganic cycleUrban–rural linkagePolicyCheng Cun-ren · Journal of Agricultural Mechanization Research · China
This study introduces the status of machinery equipment for facility agriculture in China and compares it with foreign equipment. It analyzes problems in Chinese facility agriculture, finding that the current machinery equipment faces challenges in achieving high efficiency, quantity, and quality compared to international standards.
Economic viabilityDigital agricultureEconomics