Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
1180 results(47 / 48)
Urban harvest: cities, food, activism and the third sector
2001Robyn Lynn · ResearchOnline at James Cook University (James Cook University) · Global
This paper highlights the significance of urban food production, which has been historically neglected despite its potential to address issues of globalization, urbanization, and environmental degradation. It explores the relationship between cities, food production, and activism, noting a growing local food movement that resists global food discourses. The paper aims to identify issues within urban food production activism and its organizational aspects.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityClimate changePolicyUrban agriculture, a project for Tunis
2001Moez Bouraoui, Pierre Donadieu, André Fleury · Cahiers Agricultures · Tunisia (Tunis)
In Tunis, the concept of public green spaces has not evolved much, and the risk of continuous urbanization is real, making agriculture not inherently sustainable between dynamic urbanization poles. However, new attitudes are emerging, with environmental concerns influencing public planning policies, and residential forms, recreational/cultural practices associated with agriculture, and new citizen interest in rural areas are appearing. These developments may signal the beginning of a new planning policy and the advent of urban agriculture in Tunis.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageCommunityStadtnahe Landwirtschaft in der Stadt- und Freiraumplanung
2001Frank Lohrberg · OPUS Publication Server of the University of Stuttgart (University of Stuttgart) · Global
This study argues that agricultural production forms near cities, often overlooked by municipal and environmental policy, are innovative, consumer-oriented, and economically efficient. It suggests that urban and and open space planning should abandon the prejudice that agriculture on the city outskirts is an outdated model. A differentiated view reveals an "urban" agriculture that is more vital than its rural counterpart and can provide important impulses for more sustainable cities and efficient planning.
Peri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomicsClimate changeUrban agriculture and its qualified personnel cultivation
2001Bu Miao · Journal of Zhangkai Aguotechaical College · Global
Urban agriculture aims to meet the needs of modernization and high-grade consumption in large central cities. Its establishment and development rely on creative, highly skilled personnel and scientific research from agricultural higher education and research organizations. Colleges and universities involved in urban agriculture education should establish appropriate specifications, patterns, and mechanisms for personnel cultivation, aligning with urban modernization demands for the industry's establishment, operation, and management.
Food educationPolicyRecognitions about utilization of water edge in childhood and evaluations about advanced utilization of irrigation ponds.
2000N. Hayashi, Tsuyoshi Takahashi · JOURNAL OF RURAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION · Global
A questionnaire survey focused on childhood perceptions of water edge use was conducted to derive a strategy for advanced utilization of irrigation ponds. Statistical analysis of residents' answers concluded that perceptions of playgrounds and agriculture are important in planning advanced utilization of irrigation ponds. Concrete tentative plans include environmental education and allotment gardens.
CommunityPolicyACHIEVING URBAN FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD
2000James Leo Garrett, Garrett, James L. · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Global
This work presents a table of contents for a publication addressing urban food and nutrition security in the developing world. It covers topics such as urbanization, rural-urban interdependence, urban livelihoods, food supply and distribution, the significance of urban agriculture, nutrition transition, urban women's work-life balance, urban health threats, and programming for urban food and nutrition security.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsHealthPolicy특집 : 지역사회와 농업구조의 변화 / 도시근교농업의 복합산업화와 공간 활용
2000유병규 · · Global
This paper argues that peri-urban agriculture faces difficulties in maintaining its agricultural production function alone due to external factors such as rising land prices, urban development, the IMF crisis, and WTO agricultural renegotiations. It proposes that to revitalize peri-urban agriculture, a multi-industrialization strategy is needed, emphasizing not only agricultural production but also the spatial concept of "rural areas" by incorporating secondary and tertiary industry concepts. Specifically, the paper suggests that multi-industrialization strategies within the spatial concept of urban-integrated rural areas, such as the creation of "urban agricultural villages," are essential for the maintenance and development of agriculture.
Economic viabilityPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsPolicyUrban–rural linkageRewriting the Plot: Sustaining allotments in the UK and Japan
2000Richard Wiltshire, Ren Azuma · Local Environment · Global
In the late 1980s, Japanese experts seeking a model allotment garden rejected the UK model, perceiving it as low status and in decline, in favor of the German Kleingarten. This paper suggests reconsidering the UK experience, given efforts to rebrand UK allotment gardening within sustainable development and the challenges faced by the Japanese Kleingarten model in the 1990s' changed economic climate.
CommunityPolicyThe greening of the "barrios": Urban agriculture for food security in Cuba
1999Altieri M.A., Companioni N., Cañizares K., Murphy C., Rosset P., Bourque M., Nicholls C.I. · Agriculture and Human Values · Cuba (Havana)
This study analyzes Cuba's grassroots urban agriculture movement that emerged after the 1989 Soviet collapse, showing how ~8,000 gardens nationwide operated on agroecological principles without synthetic inputs, providing Havana with thousands of tonnes of produce by 1996.
CommunityPolicyBiodiversityOrganic cycleFarming in the shadow of the city: changes in land rights and livelihoods in peri-urban Accra
1999Daniel Maxwell, Wordsworth Odame Larbi, Grace Mary Lamptey, Sawudatu Zakariah, Margaret Armar‐Klemesu · Third World Planning Review · Ghana (Accra)
This paper compares four cases within peri-urban Greater Accra, Ghana, to assess the impact of rapid urban sprawl on the surrounding area. The study examines cases including land loss to housing, protection of agricultural land from urban sprawl, environmental degradation due to urbanization, and commercialization of peri-urban agricultural production from changing market demand. The paper also reviews the perspective that rapid peri-urban growth leads to the destruction of agricultural livelihoods without necessarily replacing them with alternative economic activity.
Equity & displacementPeri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageThe changing nature of the peri‐urban zone in Africa: Evidence from Dar‐es‐Salaam, Tanzania
1999John A. G. Briggs, Davis Mwamfupe · Scottish Geographical Journal · Tanzania (Dar-es-Salaam)
Drawing on recent evidence from Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, this paper suggests that a combination of structural adjustment measures and the eased economic crisis in the 1990s changed conditions, resulting in the increasing commodification of land in the peri-urban zone. This shift transformed the peri-urban zone into an area of investment and economic opportunity, rather than survival, leading to the increasing exclusion of poorer urban groups. Furthermore, confusion arising from current Tanzanian land law, particularly tensions between customary and statutory law, complicates the situation.
Equity & displacementPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsPolicyUrban–rural linkageThe Policy of Facilities and Management of Allotment Garden Based on an Analysis of User's Conscious
1999Keiichi Moritsuka, Yoshiyuki Tokunaga, Hiraku Hoshi, Hiroshi Suda · INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING REVIEW · Global
This paper proposes policies for allotment garden facilities and management, based on a survey of users' consciousness. The survey found that some users rent gardens that do not satisfy their purpose due to a lack of publicly available information about allotment gardens. The paper concludes that garden managers must publicize the purpose of establishing gardens and show eagerness, while users should communicate with managers, guides, and other users.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityUrban Agriculture, Food Security and the Environment: Socio-economics, Land Use Conflicts and Cultivators’ Views
1998Godfrey D. Mudimu, Shepherd Siziba, Benjamin Hanyani‐Mlambo · OpenDocs (Institute of Development Studies) · Zimbabwe (Harare)
This study in Harare, Zimbabwe, examined the socio-economics of urban crop production on municipal lands, cultivators' views, and land use conflicts. Urban agriculture, a widespread practice for subsistence maize and food security, is not supported by planners and conflicts with urban land use provisions. Findings revealed a serious lack of environmental concern among cultivators, with most ignoring stream bank regulations and lacking knowledge of environmental effects.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCommunityPolicyThe significance of the limits to growth for the discussion of social policy
1998F.E. Trainer · International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy · Global
This paper presents the "limits to growth" perspective, arguing that current living standards in rich countries are globally unsustainable. It criticizes profit maximization and market forces as inappropriate for the needs of the world's poor, and explores how to reduce per capita resource use and environmental impact through small-scale, self-sufficient economies. It suggests that access to communal property and services should replace income as the means to a satisfying life, and mentions the role of community gardens and workers in saving towns.
CommunityEconomicsPolicy关于“都市农业”的概念功能及其发展战略与对策建议
1998安晓宁, 王全辉 · 调研世界 · Global
This study examines the scientific concept of "urban agriculture." Urban agriculture first emerged in developed countries and regions such as Europe, America, and Japan in the first half of the 20th century, then rapidly spread to other developed areas. Its English term (Agriculture in countryside) originally referred to agriculture within metropolitan areas, specifically certain agricultural practices in developed nations.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageTHE CHARACTER OF FARMLAND POSSESSION AND USE FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF SETTLEMENT LOCATION : A study on farmland conservation in rural region from the viewpoint of settlement location Part2
1998Hiroshi AIZAWA, Daisuke Watanabe, Yohtaro ARIMA, Naoko Suzuki · Journal of Architecture and Planning (Transactions of AIJ) · Global
This paper analyzed the relationship between farmhouse management conditions and land possession, and agricultural land use design problems for regional agricultural development. Findings indicate that nuclear farmhouses in suburban and plain areas tend to acquire concentrated land, while those in hilly and mountainous areas do not efficiently possess farmland. It is necessary to improve farmland possession and use by lending inferior farmland from small farmers to nuclear farmhouses. In suburban areas, farmers show little intention to lend land for allotment gardens, requiring eased regulations and support measures. In hilly and mountainous areas, farmers' intentions to lend land are linked to management conditions and possession forms, reconfirming the need for regional zoning planning.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageCommunitySeed regulation: choices on the road to reform
1997Tripp R., Louwaars N. · Food Policy · Global
Analyzes how seed laws and regulatory systems shape farmers' freedom over their own seed and informal seed systems, presenting policy choices for reforming seed regulation in developing countries.
Heirloom & landracePolicyEconomicsURBAN AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES AND WOMEN'S STRATEGIES IN SUSTAINING FAMILY LIVELIHOODS IN HARARE, ZIMBABWE
1996Godfrey D. Mudimu · Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography · Zimbabwe (Harare)
This study examines the role of women in urban agriculture and perceptions of urban space use for agriculture in Harare, Zimbabwe. Despite its utility in meeting household food needs, urban agriculture is not planned for or supported by urban planners and managers as a legitimate urban land use. The activities of women, who are the main participants in urban agriculture, directly conflict with planning provisions for urban space. The study offers empirical insight on perceptions of space use for agriculture in an urban tropical environment, where conflicts can arise from different perceptions and alternative uses.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceWelfarePolicyCommunityIn Situ Conservation of Landraces in Centers of Crop Diversity
1995Brush S. B. · Crop Science 35(2):346-354 · Global
A foundational paper presenting three cases of ongoing farmer maintenance of landraces—potatoes in the Peruvian Andes, maize in southern Mexico and wheat in western Turkey—and the rationale for in situ conservation.
Heirloom & landraceBiodiversityPolicyUrban Agriculture in Zimbabwe: Implications for Urban Management and Poverty
1995Beacon Mbiba · · Zimbabwe (Harare)
This paper addresses the implications of urban agriculture for urban management and poverty in Zimbabwe, covering various aspects such as off-plot cultivation in Harare, urban cultivation at home, urban maize markets, and institutional responses to uncontrolled urban cultivation. Evidence from Harare suggests that urban agriculture can be a counterproductive activity, highlighting challenges and conflicts in urban management.
Governance failureCommunityWelfarePolicyHealthOptions for municipal interventions in urban poverty alleviation
1995Emiel A. Wegelin, Karin M. Borgman · Environment and Urbanization · Global
This paper reviews the wide range of options available to municipalities in the Global South for alleviating or reducing poverty. These options include employment creation, improving low-income groups’ access to justice and protection from crime, and enhancing urban services such as water supply, sanitation, solid waste management, public transport, health care, and education. The paper also outlines how municipal action must encourage and support community-based organizations, NGOs, and the private sector, and how changes in regulatory frameworks for land management, urban agriculture, and housing can contribute to poverty alleviation.
WelfarePolicyEconomicsCommunityInstitutional responses to uncontrolled urban cultivation in Harare: prohibitive or accommodative?
1994Beacon Mbiba · Environment and Urbanization · Zimbabwe (Harare)
This review examines local government responses to uncontrolled urban cultivation in Harare, Zimbabwe, covering both the colonial period and post-independence since 1980. The study finds that local authorities struggle to manage urban agriculture effectively and sustainably. It suggests new directions for policy and research to address these difficulties.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityUrban agriculture in Kampala: Indigenous adaptive response to the economic crisis
1993Daniel Maxwell, Samuel Zziwa · Ecology of Food and Nutrition · Uganda (Kampala)
This study examines urban agriculture in Kampala, Uganda, as an adaptive response to economic hardships. It identifies significant constraints, including institutional obstacles to accessing underutilized urban land, municipal bylaws that suppress urban agriculture, and urban officials' indifferent to hostile views. The study found that these bylaws and views are based on misleading or false generalizations about urban agriculture.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityLAND USE AND TRAVEL DEMAND
1992James W. Roberts, C Wood · · Global
This paper proposes a three-way study for 1992, building on previous case studies in Milton Keynes (UK) and Almere (NL) that noted substantial differences in travel behavior due to land use. The proposed study would cover Manchester, Berlin, and a low-density, car-dependent suburb in Melbourne, examining travel habits under diverse demographic and land use conditions. It suggests potential changes in travel modes and trip lengths following planned urban structural alterations, such as reduced car space in Manchester, S-Bahn and airport extensions in Berlin, and light rail near Melbourne.
PolicyCommunityThe International City Design Competition: Introduction
1990Jeffrey E Ollswang · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · Global
This introduction to the International City Design Competition outlines a vision to humanize cities by implementing tools over time, including narrowing streets, introducing electric mini-buses or light rail, and bold civic gestures. It proposes using pre-industrial town building principles and strategically building on existing character, with a focus on densification, incremental small-scale infill, domestication of highways, and urban food production.
PolicyUrban–rural linkage