Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
2067 results(48 / 83)
Alternative and Virtual Rurality: Agriculture and The Countryside as Embodied in American Imagination
2017Lisa M. Butler Harrington · Geographical Review · United States
This study in the United States identified connections to ideals of rurality in popular culture, despite the shrinking rural population. Based on literature, field observation, computer searches, and U.S. Census of Agriculture data, manifestations include rural tourism, small-scale farming, urban agriculture, farmers’ markets, and housing developments centered on farm activities. These idealized relationships with rurality are linked to health, well-being, nature connection, aesthetics, privacy, and nostalgia.
Urban–rural linkageCSA & TeikeiCommunityHealthImportancia de los cursos de agricultura urbana ante el cambio climático y la seguridad alimentaria en México
2017Adela Chávez, Juan Ariosto Palacios Vásquez · DELOS Desarrollo Local Sostenible · Mexico
This research argues for the importance of not only studying climate change and its consequences but also consolidating professional training in urban food production to strengthen food security. It emphasizes the urgent need to provide learning units related to sustainable development, climate change, and food at all educational levels.
Food educationClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceEffects of a School-Based Intervention on BMI z-Scores and Fitness Parameters in Mississippi Delta Children
2017Kathy B. Knight, Janie W. Cole, Lacy M. Dodd, Charlotte B. Oakley · International Journal of School Health · United States
The "Eating good and moving like we should (EGMLWS)" school-based intervention aimed to prevent and reduce childhood obesity among primarily African American third-grade students in 7 Mississippi Delta schools. The program included curricula, school gardens, and school menu consultation. Pre- and post-intervention BMI z-scores and Fitnessgram parameters (PACER and back-saver sit-and-reach) were compared. Mean BMI z-scores significantly lowered in 2 schools, did not change in 4 schools, and increased in 2 schools. PACER scores increased in 5 of 7 schools, and sit-and-reach scores increased in 5 and 6 schools respectively.
Limited or null effectFood educationHealthCommunityAn Inventory and Assessment of Street Amenities and Vacant Lots in Downtown Lewiston, Maine: Defining Potential to Create a Healthier Neighborhood
2017Dacota Griffin, Joe Tulip, Noah Morasch · · United States (Lewiston)
This project created an ArcGIS inventory of street amenities in downtown Lewiston, Maine, supporting the Healthy Neighborhoods (HN) organization. A scoring index was developed to compare streets, and a brief assessment of vacant lots was conducted to evaluate future development potential. Findings showed trees greatly outnumbered other amenities, significant variation in sidewalk smoothness with vacant lots more common in flawed areas, and limited, non-uniform distribution of community gardens and open access green spaces.
CommunityHealthEconomicsSocial Impact through Design: Experiments in Urban Agriculture
2017Sallie Hambright-Belue, Martin J. Holland · The Plan Journal · United States (South Carolina)
Students from Clemson University's School of Architecture and Department of Landscape Architecture collaborated with the local non-profit "Feed & Seed" in West Greenville, South Carolina, to develop urban agriculture solutions. Addressing issues in a "Food Desert" (an area without access to fresh foods), students focused on food hubs, food cycles, education, and social cohesion to promote economic equity, community building, and social justice. This work explored the role of designers in creating solutions for fractured neighborhoods, cities, and regions.
CommunityFood educationWelfareEconomics2017 Statewide List of Iowa CSA Farms and Organizers Serving Iowa
2017Leigh Adcock · Iowa State University Digital Repository (Iowa State University) · United States
This directory lists 105 Iowa farms operating Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) enterprises. For each farm, contact information, website links, available produce, and distribution range are provided.
CSA & TeikeiUrban–rural linkageYéego Gardening! A Community Garden Intervention to Promote Health on the Navajo Nation
2017India J. Ornelas, Desiree Deschenie, Jesse Jim, Sonia Bishop, Kevin Lombard, Shirley A.A. Beresford · Progress in community health partnerships · United States
Yéego Gardening! is a community garden intervention designed to increase gardening behavior, access to low-cost fruits and vegetables, and consumption in Navajo communities. The intervention involved constructing and maintaining gardens in two Navajo communities, holding monthly workshops on gardening and healthy eating, and conducting community outreach. Community input was essential throughout the planning and implementation.
CommunityHealthFood educationDan Carmody
2017· Policy Press eBooks · United States (Detroit)
Dan Carmody, President of Detroit's Eastern Market Corporation, discussed the market's history and its importance for food access in Detroit. He addressed the role of urban agriculture and the new wave of gentrification, which has the potential to significantly impact the Market.
Equity & displacementFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicyCommunityReverberação Política e Educativa para Cidade Saudável
2017Ana Maria Girotti Sperandio, Adriana Aparecida Carneiro Rosa, Betânia Gonçalves de Carvalho, Pereira, Bruna Ridolfi · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil
This field research in Santa Barbara d’Oeste, São Paulo state, Brazil, aimed to identify healthy city values and principles by studying the Community Garden of Maria Augusta Canto Camargo Bilia Municipal School. It explored political strategies for health, education, and social justice through the garden-school community interrelationship, identifying strategies proposed by caregivers, managers, and residents regarding experience exchange and student participation in urban community garden products. The study concluded that actions improving empowerment, autonomy, and governance are essential for constructing healthy city indicators.
CommunityFood educationHealthPolicyChapter 2: Agriculture sector modernization and renewable energy development: perspectives from developing countries
2017Deborah Hines, Sarah Balistreri · Sustainable energy developments · Latin America and the Caribbean
This chapter highlights successful Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture (UPA) practices in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) that have improved food and nutrition security and increased dietary diversity. It introduces sustainable production techniques that reduce dependence on traditional energy sources and promote renewable energy. The chapter provides evidence that UPA activities can reduce poverty and hunger, generate food and nutrition security benefits, and create employment and income for poor urban households in LAC.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsHealthClimate changeCupuaçu sob sistemas agroflorestais: qualidade agroindustrial das polpas e a susceptibilidade a doença vassoura-de-bruxa
2017Pedro Vitor Pereira Guimarães, Maria Fernanda Berlingieri Durigan, Hyanameyka Evangelista de Lima-Primo · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil
Cupuaçu is important for family and peri-urban agriculture and indigenous communities in the Amazon, contributing to local food security. This study aimed to characterize pulps from cupuaçu plants with varying susceptibility to witch's broom disease. Differences were observed mainly in chemical and physical-chemical characteristics among pulps, with emphasis on susceptible and highly susceptible plants. All evaluated pulps complied with established quality standards, but significant differences were found between physicochemical characteristics, proportional to the plants' susceptibility to witch's broom disease, particularly for soluble solids (SS) and titratable acidity (AT).
Peri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceCultivating belonging: refugees, urban gardens, and placemaking in the Midwest, U.S.A.
2017Christopher Strunk, Margaret Richardson · Social & Cultural Geography · United States (Midwest)
This paper explores how refugee gardeners and local officials in a small Midwestern U.S. city use and experience urban gardens, identifying three aspects: the material garden, the imagined garden, and the community’s garden. It argues that refugee agricultural practices challenge traditional understandings of nature and urban planning, promoting inclusive understandings of agriculture, cities, and sustainability.
CommunityWelfarePolicyCultivating an Alternative Paradigm in Urban Areas to Achieve Greater Food Certainty in The United States
2017Owen Beatty · ScholarsArchive at Johnson & Wales University (Johnson & Wales University) · United States
This study analyzed food insecurity in the United States, focusing on populations below the poverty threshold. It found that large-scale agricultural production has led to "food deserts" isolated from affordable, quality food. Urban agriculture, by localizing production, was identified as a viable resource and potential solution for individuals experiencing hunger and those in food deserts.
Food sovereignty & justiceWelfareEconomicsPolicyPolitical and Educatinal Reverbaration for a Health City
2017Ana Maria Girotti Sperandio, Adriana Aparecida Carneiro Rosa, Betânia Gonçalves de Carvalho · Cadernos de Pós Graduação em Arquitetura e Urbanismo · Brazil (São Paulo)
This article identifies healthy city values and principles and discusses the results of field research conducted in the Community Garden of Maria Augusta Canto Camargo Bilia Municipal School in Santa Barbara d’Oeste, São Paulo, Brazil. The study explored political strategies for health, education, and social justice through the interrelationship between the garden and the school community. It utilized “Observational Dialogue” and a WHOQOL-100 readjustment questionnaire, concluding that actions improving empowerment, autonomy, and governance are essential for constructing healthy city indicators.
CommunityFood educationHealthPolicyUrban Agriculture as an instrument of Environmental Education and Sustainable Development
2017Deborah Dotta Corrêa, Gilson Luis Borges Corrêa, Lisiane Ilha Librelotto · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil
This study examined the role of urban agriculture from a Brazilian agricultural perspective through qualitative and exploratory bibliographic research. It hypothesized that urban agriculture serves not only to supply food demand but also as a promoter of environmental education and sustainable development. The findings indicated that urban agriculture revives previously used agroecological principles, effectively contributes to environmental education, and enhances sustainable development by fulfilling the economic, social, and environmental orders of urban ecosystems.
Food educationClimate changeCommunityAdults and Children in Low-Income Households that Participate in Cost-Offset Community Supported Agriculture Have High Fruit and Vegetable Consumption
2017Karla L. Hanson, Jane Kolodinsky, Weiwei Wang, Emily H. Morgan, Stephanie Jilcott Pitts, Alice S. Ammerman, Marilyn Sitaker, Rebecca A. Seguin‐Fowler · Nutrients · United States
This study surveyed 41 adults and children (2-12 years) in August 2015 and 23 in February 2016 from low-income households participating in a 50% subsidized Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program in the United States. Participants' fruit and vegetable intake (FVI) was higher than US averages, and they more frequently met vegetable recommendations. While some seasonal produce was consumed more often when locally in-season, causality between CO-CSA participation and FVI could not be inferred due to potential self-selection bias.
CSA & TeikeiHealthWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceCreating Socioecological Novelty in Urban Agroecosystems from the Ground Up
2017Monika Egerer, Alessandro Ossola, Brenda B. Lin · BioScience · United States (California central coast)
This study conceptualizes community garden soils within the novel ecosystem framework, arguing that gardeners cultivate novel agroecosystems from their garden beds' soil. On the California central coast, community garden soils may not be influenced by land-use legacies associated with geographic location. Instead, intensive soil reworking by gardeners can wash out legacy signals and decadal chronological trends, leading to soil homogenization that reduces biophysical ties to the underlying earth.
Environmental trade-offsCommunityBiodiversityFood sovereignty & justiceOrganic cycleCommunity gardens: Exploring race, racial diversity and social capital in urban food deserts
2017Jennifer Jettner · VCU Scholars Compass (Virginia Commonwealth University) · United States
A mixed-methods approach examined race, racial diversity, and social capital in community gardens located in Southern urban food deserts in the United States. Results indicated that while gardeners were racially diverse across the sample, most community gardens were racially segregated, and the majority of gardeners appeared middle-class. Community gardens showed limited potential to advance social justice and indirectly enhanced community food security, primarily through the efforts of people of color, rather than directly benefiting food-insecure gardeners.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfarePerspectivas da Agroecologia nas cidades: Experiências da Agricultura Urbana na região do M’Boi Mirim da cidade de São Paulo
2017Zilma Borges de Souza, Lya Cynthia Porto de Oliveira, E. C. A. S. S. LIMA, Fábio Bruno Queiroga, Joyce Rodrigues · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil (São Paulo)
This research analyzes the development, functions, social practices, and income generation of urban agriculture in Jardim Angela and Jardim Sao Luis, located in the M’Boi Mirim region of São Paulo, Brazil. It maps existing initiatives and prospects opportunities for agroecological food production in private and collective spaces. The study presents partial results from an interdisciplinary project involving three universities.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceOrganic cycleRECOVERY OF HEALTHY AND SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES THROUGH EXPERIENCES OF AGROECOLOGY AND URBAN AGRICULTURE
2017Silvana Maria Ribeiro, Jessica Franco, Mariana Tarricone Garcia, Cláudia Maria Bógus, Helena Akemi Wada Watanabe · DEMETRA Alimentação Nutrição & Saúde · Brazil
This paper discusses the recovery of practices focused on food, health, and the environment through four workshops held in Brazil in 2012 and 2013, which systematized experiences from the agroecological urban agriculture project "ColhendoSustentabilidade." This participatory qualitative research, involving 24 participants, revealed that contact with land in garden activities contributes to cultural recovery and new knowledge construction, promotes gradual changes in eating habits by emphasizing the food-health-environment relationship, and provides opportunities for social interaction involving food.
HealthFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityFood educationUrbanization alters communities of flying arthropods in parks and gardens of a medium-sized city
2017Edward Lagucki, Justin Burdine, Kevin E. McCluney · PeerJ · United States (Toledo, Ohio)
This study investigated associations between urbanization and flying arthropod communities in 30 gardens and parks in Toledo, Ohio, during July and August 2016, collecting 2,369 individuals across nine orders using elevated pan traps. Flying arthropod community composition was associated with percent impervious surface and canopy cover. Overall abundance was negatively associated with impervious surface and positively with distance to city center, with specific taxa showing similar responses, indicating urbanization reduces taxa important for urban agriculture.
BiodiversityPollinatorsClimate changeDesigning urban agriculture education for social justice: Radical innovation through Farm School NYC
2017Kristin Reynolds · International Journal of Food Design · United States (New York City)
Farm School NYC, an adult education program in New York City, was examined as an example of radical innovation in urban agriculture education for social justice. Based on research conducted between 2013 and 2014, the program uses critical pedagogy and popular education to train adult students in urban farming, social justice advocacy, and teaching skills. A network of urban agriculture practitioners, educators, and activists created this community-based training program, which infuses radical visions of social change into its daily educational activities.
Food educationCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceSustainability's incomplete circles: towards a just food politics in Austin, Texas and Havana, Cuba.
2017Jonathan Lowell, Sara Law · CABI eBooks · United States (Texas), Cuba
A comparative study of urban agriculture projects in Austin, Texas, and Havana, Cuba, revealed that sustainability discourses primarily focus on food production methods, with little attention paid to persistent food insecurity issues that urban agriculture has yet to address, or to the cultural politics of food, where race, class, and gender shape access to food choices. While agricultural practices and their perceived value were similar in both cities, the study found comparable outcomes in how food exposed spatial and social divisions.
Equity & displacementFood sovereignty & justicePolicyWelfareCommunityGardening the Community: A Discussion of Japanese Knotweed Eradication Methods
2017Sable Liggera · Smith ScholarWorks (Smith College) · United States (Springfield, MA)
A project was conducted to compare methods for controlling and eradicating Japanese knotweed on the plot of Gardening the Community, an urban gardening organization in Springfield, MA. This study discussed the methodology, effectiveness, and ecological impact of two options: repetitive mowing and the use of the herbicide glyphosate. Glyphosate stem injection was determined to be the most efficient method, reducing knotweed volume by 95-100% after one year, but was rejected due to the organization's no-herbicide policy. The final recommendation was repetitive cutting, which showed a stable decrease in knotweed stem height if more than four cuts were applied in one growing season.
CommunityBiodiversityOs dilemas da agricultura urbana: a experiência da maior e mais antiga horta orgânica do Vale do São Francisco
2017Denes Dantas Vieira, Reimilde Gomes da Silva Amorim · EXTRAMUROS - Revista de Extensão da Univasf · Brazil (Juazeiro)
This study aimed to investigate the dilemmas of the social trajectory of the Povo Unido community garden in Juazeiro/BA, Brazil, located on the banks of the São Francisco River. This garden is known for its organic vegetable production and as one of the first groups focused on overcoming poverty and combating hunger in Brazil's semi-arid northeast. The research contributes to reflection based on social organization and organic food production.
Economic viabilityWelfareCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justice