Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
2091 results(44 / 84)
Methodology to Identify and Assess Agroecological Practices in Metropolitan Areas. Case Study, Concepción, Chile
2019Montserrat Delpino-Chamy, María Arquero de Alarcón, Sandra Calduch Fernández, José R. Soto · International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics · Chile (Concepción)
This research focused on developing and applying a methodology to identify and assess agroecological practices in the metropolitan area of Concepción, Chile. A methodology based on production forms, sociopolitical organization, and metropolitan sustainability was proposed. Strengths identified include their location in rururban interstices and small scale, contributing to metropolitan sustainability. However, weaknesses include a lack of appropriate planning policies and regulations, threatening their existence under urban development pressures.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityOrganic cyclePolicyPENENTU SOSIAL PENGLIBATAN KOMUNITI DALAM PROJEK KEBUN KOMUNITI BANDAR: SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN URBAN COMMUNITY GARDEN PROJECTS
2019Zaidi Tajuddin, Sarmila Md Sum, Rosmiza Mohd Zainol, Hamzah Jusoh · · Malaysia
This article reviews the issue of community involvement in urban community garden projects, focusing on social determinants that influence project sustainability. Analysis of past studies contributed to a better understanding of significant factors affecting the community in the People’s Housing Program area. It concludes that future research is needed to study the community gardening experience in Malaysia and the factors affecting community involvement.
CommunityPolicyHealthAgricultura urbana: ¿Nuevo mercado multifuncional?
2019Julián Briz Escribano, Isabel de Felipe Boente · Mundo del agrónomo: la revista del Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros Agrónomos de Centro y Canarias · Global
Urban naturalization, as the incorporation of nature into our environment, can occur spontaneously and invasively through what are called "weeds" with native flora and fauna, or in a controlled manner through agriculture, both in orchards and gardens.
Urban–rural linkageCommunityFood system lessons from the SDGs
2019Alison Blay‐Palmer, Laine Young · · Global
This abstract discusses how initiatives like the Habitat III New Urban Agenda and the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact can complement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at municipal and regional scales. It explores the complexities of SDG 2 (food and hunger) when considering SDG 5 (gender equality), suggesting that urban agriculture and agroecology offer potential for transformative opportunities and policy coherence.
PolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityDirect and indirect effects of urban gardening on aboveground and belowground diversity influencing soil multifunctionality
2019Simon Tresch, David Frey, Renée‐Claire Le Bayon, Paul Mäder, Bernhard Stehle, Andreas Fließbach, Marco Moretti · Scientific Reports · Switzerland (Zurich)
A study in 85 urban gardens across Zurich, Switzerland, investigated the impact of gardening on five soil functions and the relationship between plant (600 spp.) and soil fauna (18 earthworm spp., 39 springtail spp.). High plant diversity positively affected soil fauna and multifunctionality, but intense garden management decreased plant diversity. This indicates a trade-off where intensive gardening, while potentially beneficial for some aspects, can negatively impact overall plant diversity.
Environmental trade-offsBiodiversityOrganic cycleCommunityVicar Ioan Marian, Edifier of Pedagogical Education in Năsăud (Romania)
2019Horațiu Catalano · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Romania
This survey aimed to highlight the complex personality of curate-educator Ioan Marian and his contributions to the social, educational, and cultural life in Năsăud County, Romania. His name is connected to the establishment of the first preparatory course for teacher training on November 1, 1837, in addition to the Năsăud Normal School. He also founded a school for girls, ordered the construction of schools in frontier villages, increased teachers' salaries, set up school gardens for pomiculture, and contributed to the education of people with hearing impairments.
Food educationCommunityAgroecology, the Interaction between Agriculture and Environment: An Example from Cuba
2019Ana Cristina Teixeira Alves, Miguel Nenevé · International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Science · Cuba
This study addresses the benefits of agroecology, using Havana, Cuba as an example. Following the 1989 socialist crisis and economic blockade, urban agriculture emerged as a social movement in Havana. Through sustainable practices, this movement demonstrates success in generating jobs and income, as well as enhancing food security and sovereignty. Production, technical assistance, and sales outlets are steadily growing, supported by the government through an ecological and efficient low-cost agricultural policy that combines traditional knowledge with cutting-edge technology.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsClimate changeCommunityUrban Allotment Gardens for the Biomonitoring of Atmospheric Trace Element Pollution
2019Miguel Izquierdo‐Díaz, Peter E. Holm, Fernando Barrio‐Parra, Eduardo De Miguel, Jonas Duus Stevens Lekfeldt, Jakob Magid · Journal of Environmental Quality · Global
This study evaluated air pollution in urban green areas using edible plants. Analysis of 36 unwashed leaf samples showed that plants exposed next to roads had higher contents of traffic-related elements, and outdoor samples were enriched in marine aerosol ions. Cadmium and lead concentrations did not exceed European legal maximum levels for vegetables, indicating their consumption would be safe.
Contamination & food safetyHealthCommunityPropuesta metodológica simple para el cultivo agrícola urbano (basada en la experiencia de una familia venezolana en Viena)
2019Debbie Méndez, Julio Quintini · · Austria (Vienna)
This project proposes a simple 7-step methodology for urban agriculture, based on the experience of a Venezuelan family participating in a community garden in Vienna, Austria, for two years. The methodology aims to enable urban residents to create sustainable communities, improve nutrition with fresh produce, and generate economic gains and better quality of life. It draws on successful urban agriculture experiences globally and aligns with Sustainable Development Goals 2, 11, and 13.
CommunityDIYFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeCentro Socio Cultural Energético Awarala - Albania La Guajira
2019Llanos Roa, Juan Sebastián · · Colombia (La Guajira)
The Awarala Project in Albania, La Guajira, Colombia, aims to create a resilient region by reducing dependence on mining and gasoline smuggling. It seeks to benefit indigenous communities, urban populations, farmers, and Venezuelan immigrants by improving living conditions through eco-rancherias with community gardens and providing spaces for tourism and alternative energy production. The project includes 15 hectares of solar panels, 30 wind turbines, and biodigesters for organic waste.
CommunityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeGardening with children and pre-service teachers
2019Janice Kroeger, Terri Cardy, Abigail E. Recker, Lynn Gregor, Aubrey Ryan, Anna Beckwith, Jacob Dunwiddie · · Global
This study aimed to enhance pre-service teachers' abilities to engage in hands-on work in school gardens with primary and preschool children. A professor and her students worked to build reciprocity and social connections globally. This initiative involved North American and Ghanaian Elders collaborating to nurture children's understanding of growing spaces and address the common notion of caring for the Earth.
Food educationCommunityThe foreseen future of urban gardening
2019Efrat Eizenberg · Manchester University Press eBooks · Global
This concluding chapter reviews the literature on urban gardening, outlining both enthusiastic approaches that focus on its transformative potential and critical approaches that analyze it as greenwash or a strategy of neoliberal development. The chapter discusses how the book's chapters address this gap in understanding urban gardening and the resolutions and new directions they offer. It states that urban gardening is sometimes analyzed as a form of greenwash and a strategy of neoliberal development.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceTranslating Urban Walkability Initiatives for Older Adults in Rural and Under-Resourced Communities
2019Alexandra Klann, Linh Gia Vu, Mollie Ewing, Mark Fenton, Rachele Pojednic · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Global
This review examines best practices from urban initiatives to increase walkability for older adults, focusing on their implementation in rural, resource-limited communities. The literature review revealed that simple, built environment approaches such as microscale and pop-up infrastructure, municipal parks, and community gardens can increase physical activity in urban neighborhoods for older adults. These strategies suggest great potential for rural communities.
CommunityHealthElderlyProgramas de agricultura urbana como estrategia para la generación de modelos de negocios inclusivos
2019Juan Sebastián Hernandez, Diego Cardona Arbeláez, Clara Judith Brito Carrillo · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Colombia
This paper presents a qualitative case study of an urban agriculture program implemented by an NGO in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, from July 2017 to June 2018. The program targeted low-income populations, aiming to improve their food, environmental, and economic conditions. The study details the program's success factors, challenges, benefits for beneficiaries, and describes an inclusive business model derived from the NGO's strategy.
CommunityEconomicsWelfareUrban Agriculture, Production and Marketing: The Tanzania Experience
2019M. R. S. Mlozi · · Tanzania
This chapter presents research findings from an urban agriculture project conducted in several towns in Tanzania. It discusses the market flow of agricultural products in Tanzanian towns, explaining that products come from two sources: household compounds and gardens, plots, and various open spaces not part of urban dwellers' household compounds. Several factors are involved in production and marketing operations, and their complexity tends to intensify and exacerbate problems.
EconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceTemperature Variability Differs in Urban Agroecosystems across Two Metropolitan Regions
2019Monika Egerer, Brenda B. Lin, Dave Kendal · Climate · Global
Habitat-scale temperatures were investigated in urban community gardens across the California Central Coast metropolitan region, USA, and the Melbourne metropolitan region, Australia. Despite very similar annual means, strong interregional differences in temperature variability were shown, likely due to differences in the scale and scope of temperature measurements and regional topography. The plants growing within these systems were largely the same, which may be due to gardeners' capacities to adapt their gardening behaviors to reduce adverse effects of local temperature variability.
CommunityClimate changeUrban–rural linkagePower-shifts in the organizational landscapes of transport provision
2019Nadine Appelhans, Sabine Baumgart · · Morocco
An analysis of documents related to planning and agriculture and interviews with experts in Morocco indicated that urban and rural issues were treated as separate areas. Urban development affects daily travel distances as urban expansion changes distances between cultivated land and dwelling places. Data from Morocco show a lack of serious support for urban agriculture and animal husbandry in expanding urban agglomerations.
Governance failureEconomicsUrban–rural linkagePolicyCommunityEnclave deliberation and common-pool resources: an attempt to apply Civic Preference Forum on community gardening in Hungary
2019Fanni Bársony, György Lengyel, Éva Perpék · Quality & Quantity · Hungary
This paper analyzed the experiences of a Civic Preference Forum organized for community gardeners in Hungary in 2017. The study aimed to assess if the forum was an adequate format for discursive participation and how this deliberative method could be applied to common-pool institution design for community gardening. Findings indicated that the Civic Preference Forum fulfilled the criteria of equal and open discursive participation, and the analytic dimensions of discourse quality analysis worked well. The forum provided new scientific knowledge on community gardens as common-pool resources, revealing that gardeners' discourse focused on themes such as dependence and independence, monitoring and control, active and passive membership, equal and unequal participation, free riding and collective action, and rules and norms of land cultivation and behavior.
CommunityPolicyLes campagnes urbaines: quels scénarios pour demain?
2019Pierre Donadieu · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Global
This article analyzes the political and socio-economic processes that contributed to the decline of urban agriculture over the last 50 years. It then illustrates how the concept of a common urban landscape in the 21st century facilitates new public policies for maintaining agricultural spaces and activities in urban areas. Finally, the article describes three potential scenarios for agriculture and gardening development within urban territories.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageCommunityExpanding the Contribution of Community Gardens to City Sustainability through Family Education Programs
2019Stavrianakis, Farmer · Children Youth and Environments · Global
This study investigated the impacts that gardening education workshops in community gardens can have on family members and their environmental behaviors. Participants reported a variety of positive impacts from the gardening workshops, including socializing, health benefits, and acquired knowledge. However, there was limited evidence of pro-environmental behavior change beyond gardening.
Limited or null effectCommunityFood educationHealthClimate changeAny Sign of Virtual School Garden Exchanges? Education for Sustainable Development in School Gardens since 1992: A Systematic Literature Review
2019Johanna Lochner, Marco Rieckmann, Marcel Robischon · Journal of Education for Sustainable Development · Global
This systematic literature review analyzed 158 peer-reviewed articles on school gardening, with a focus on Virtual School Garden Exchanges (VSGEs) and their connection to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The study examined the global perspective of ESD, the use of digital media, and international exchanges in school gardens. Only 14 articles directly incorporated these three perspectives, leading to the identification of possible directions for future research on VSGE.
Food educationCommunityDigital agricultureA narrative inquiry into becoming attentive to relational ethics in recreation practice
2019Michael Dubnewick, Sean Lessard, D. Jean Clandinin, Tara-Leigh McHugh · Qualitative Research in Sport Exercise and Health · Global
This narrative inquiry explores the experiences of the first author and two non-Indigenous recreation practitioners in a community garden project involving Indigenous peoples. It highlights how they negotiated professional competence focused on program outcomes, which often overlooked relational aspects of their practice. The inquiry demonstrates how they developed an understanding of ethical living as a relational practice, thereby shifting their interactions within the community garden.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthAsesoría para la conformación de una fundación de agricultura urbana
2019Wendy Johanna Murcia Gulumá, Óscar Andrés Pérez Soler, Sindy Rodríguez Rodríguez · · Colombia (Bogotá)
This study provided advisory support to an urban garden in Bogotá, Colombia, named "Guerreros y Guerreras Unidos en Accion," which had been operating empirically since 2005 without formal legal status or strategic planning. The garden, primarily involving individuals over 50 without formal employment, sought to formalize its activities by establishing a foundation. The intervention aimed to guide the garden's members through the legal and administrative steps for formalization.
Governance failureCommunityWelfareOrganic cyclePolicyNew agricultural purposes in the city
2019Mathilde Martin-Moreau, David Ménascé · OpenEdition (OpenEdition) · Global
This article discusses the revival of urban agriculture, which serves multiple purposes by strengthening city-nature links, creating new urban development models, and reinventing food production systems. It highlights how urban agriculture reintroduces natural and productive spaces into cities, responding to urban dwellers' aspirations to integrate rural practices.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceUsing decomposition of household items as an indicator of soil health and educational tool in Kamuli District, Uganda
2019Theresa Brehm · Iowa State University Digital Repository (Iowa State University) · Uganda
This study, conducted at Naluwoli Primary School garden in Kamuli district, Uganda, tested the decomposition of household items as an inexpensive indicator of soil health. Cotton underwear, green and rooibos teas, and birch wood sticks were buried for 4, 7, 14, and 21 days in hand-tilled and untilled soils. Untilled soils decomposed cotton by 0.68% less and birch wood sticks by 0.86% more per day than hand-tilled soils, while tea data was inconclusive due to outside biological factors.
Food educationOrganic cycleCommunity