Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
147 results(5 / 6)
Książki z serii „Biblioteka Młodych Miczurinowców” jako przykład łączenia popularyzacji wiedzy i ideologizacji młodego pokolenia w latach 50. XX wieku
2017Bogumiła Staniów · Roczniki Biblioteczne · Poland
This article discusses the "Young Michurinist Library" series, popular science books about nature for children and young people published in post-war Poland from 1953 to 1956. The books in this series provided readers with information on plants, animals, and amateur husbandry, alongside elements of communist ideology. They aimed to disseminate Michurinism and teach pupils how to cultivate crops, maximize the use of available plants, and enrich their diet with easily managed farm animals, often through fictionalized stories.
Food educationCommunityPolicyLe jardin partagé : le jardin Auguste Renoir à Paris
2017Fabienne Charraire · · France (Paris)
Shared gardens are a form of small, collective gardens, often urban, inherited from workers' gardens. Their purpose extends beyond mere gardening, serving as places of social life, often with educational and festive aims, open to all. These gardens are typically managed by an association on temporarily or permanently occupied land.
CommunityFood educationAroma-Home’s edible stories: An urban community garden performs
2017Susan C. Haedicke · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · France (Paris)
Aroma-Home, an artist-initiated community garden in Villetaneuse, France, transformed a bleak construction site into an urban agricultural commons starting in 2013. Local inhabitants and an artist reclaimed public spaces, creating a community garden that wove together food-growing, storytelling, and place-making through cultural practices around growing, preparing, and sharing food among multi-ethnic participants.
CommunityDIYFood educationGrowing the community – a case study of community gardens in Lincoln's Abbey Ward
2017Jennifer Jackson · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · United Kingdom (Lincoln)
This qualitative case study examined Green Synergy's community garden initiatives in Lincoln's Abbey Ward, UK, using observation, interviews, a focus group, and a workshop. It explored the social element of community gardening in building connections between social and natural capital. The study found that collaborative creation of green spaces fosters bonding and bridging social capital within communities and challenges narratives of individual and community capacity.
CommunityHealthFood educationOkul Öncesi Eğitim Kurumlarının Bahçelerinin Peyzaj Tasarımı ve Alan Kullanımlar
2017Sertaç Güngör · Journal of Agricultural Faculty of Gaziosmanpasa University · Turkey (Konya)
This study investigated the current state of gardens in 7 nursery schools in Selçuklu district, Konya city, Turkey, regarding landscape design and space usage. The findings revealed that the nursery school gardens were not used effectively, lacked sufficient green space in their landscape design, and were not properly designed to contribute to children's mental and physical development.
Limited or null effectFood educationHealthCommunitySpecificities of French community gardens as environmental stewardships
2017Ana Cristina Torres, Sophie Nadot, Anne‐Caroline Prévot · Ecology and Society · France
This study used participant observation and semi-structured interviews to explore motivations, practices, and processes in French community gardens, relating them to environmental stewardship. It found that environmental, social, and self-motivations drive gardener participation, fulfilling needs through processes like nature contemplation, environmental education, and renewing social-ecological relationships. French community gardens provide new experiences of nature and foster environmental stewardship by cultivating relational values, offering opportunities for creative conservation.
CommunityBiodiversityFood educationPolicyFostering behaviour change to encourage low-carbon food consumption through community gardens
2017Ju Eun Kim · International Journal of Urban Sciences · United Kingdom (London)
This empirical research evaluated the role of London's community gardens in promoting participants' environmentally friendly food consumption patterns, thereby lowering London's foodprint. An online survey was circulated to 95 community gardens in London, with 48 gardeners responding, complemented by semi-structured interviews. The study confirmed that the timespan of community garden participation is not an absolute indicator of low-carbon food consumption choices, while identifying experiential and social learning as key aspects promoting gardeners' behavioral change.
CommunityClimate changeFood educationHealthErnte Deine Stadt : Die Stadtbibliothek als Impulsgeber und aktiver Erfahrungs- und Lernort
2016Jens A. Geißler, Tim Schümann · · Germany
The Bad Oldesloe City Library developed a new event series, "Harvest Your City," focused on urban gardening. This series aimed to impart knowledge on food cultivation in urban spaces, encourage environmental responsibility, address the origin of food, and promote collective action. Traditional event elements like lectures and exhibitions were combined with a seed exchange and an analog makerspace for building insect hotels, successfully establishing the library as an active learning space.
Food educationCommunityLes jardins partagés : interface entre nature et sociétéMise en place du jardin partagé du mini M à Rangueil
2016Josselin Rouhier · · Europe
Shared gardens are a powerful support for social connection, enabling collective activities and participatory consultations that foster exchanges and interactions among various stakeholders. They serve as a meeting point for administrations, developers, associations, and residents. Shared gardens are presented as an example of sustainable development, promoting intergenerational communication and socio-professional diversity within urban natural spaces.
CommunityOrganic cycleFood educationMetropolitan foodscapes with multifunctional land use
2016Malin Gustafsson, Matilda Olsson · · Netherlands (Schiedam)
This thesis focuses on a design proposal for a multifunctional foodscape in a peri-urban area on the city edge of Schiedam, in the Metropolitan Region of Rotterdam-The Hague, Netherlands. The proposal includes food production, education, and recreation, aiming to transform peri-urban areas into multifunctional zones and exemplify their role as transition zones between urban and rural landscapes. An empirical pre-study was conducted, focusing on urban farming in Rotterdam, dairy farming in Midden-Delfland, and greenhouse horticulture in Westland.
Peri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkageFood miles & supply chainPolicyEconomicsFood educationCampUS: co-designing spaces for urban agriculture with local communities
2016Davide Fassi, Laura Galluzzo, Annalinda De Rosa · Virtual Community of Pathological Anatomy (University of Castilla La Mancha) · Italy (Milan)
This paper discusses social innovation-based experiments developed within the "campUS" research project at Politecnico di Milano. Focusing on urban agriculture, it examined the design strategy, methodologies, and social innovation impact of two experiments conducted in a nursery school and a middle school in Milan. These experiments are positioned as a step towards infrastructuring, a more open-ended long-term process where diverse stakeholders can innovate together.
CommunityFood educationHistorical allotment gardens in Wrocław - the need to protection = Historyczne ogrody działkowe we Wrocławiu - potrzeba ochrony
2016Wanda Kononowicz, Katarzyna Gryniewicz-Balińska · Digital library of Zielona Gora (University of Zielona Góra) · Poland
This paper describes the historical development of allotment gardens in Wrocław, Poland, from the mid-nineteenth century. It notes the emergence of various types, including rented gardens, gardens for the poor or factory workers, school gardens, Schreber gardens, and "war" vegetable gardens cultivated between 1914-1918.
CommunityFood educationPolicyBohnen, Bohrer, Samenbomben
2016Jens A. Geißler, Tim Schümann · · Germany
The Bad Oldesloe City Library in Germany organized an event series on urban gardening, integrating makerspaces and community learning. This initiative aimed to position the library as a modern learning hub and foster new urban initiatives.
CommunityFood educationL'expérience agricole des citadins dans les jardins collectifs urbains : le cas de Montpellier
2015Scheromm P. · Développement durable et territoires · France (Montpellier)
Based on 40 semi-structured interviews, this study examines the agricultural motivations and practices of urban dwellers participating in collective gardens in Montpellier, revealing how city residents reconstruct an agricultural identity through gardening.
CommunityFood educationHeirloom & landraceSowing Resilience and Contestation in Times of Crises: The Case of Urban Gardening Movements in Barcelona
2015Marta Camps‐Calvet, Johannes Langemeyer, Laura Calvet‐Mir, Erik Gómez‐Baggethun, Hug March · Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) · Spain (Barcelona)
This research examined the role of urban gardens in building community resilience and articulating resistance in Barcelona, Spain, based on data from 27 urban gardening initiatives (13 self-governed, 14 public). Results showed that urban gardens contribute to resilience by fostering social and ecological diversity, transmitting local ecological knowledge, and creating opportunities for collective action and self-organization.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceBiodiversityFood educationApplication of the Green Revolution Game
2015Maria Boștenaru Dan · Open Journal of Ecology · Italy (Pavia)
The Green Revolution Game is employed in teaching at Karlsruhe University in Germany and Ohio University in the US. This game is used not only for simulation but also as a basis for generating data for study projects, analyzing educational approaches, the applicability of game theory for simulating water scarcity hazards in rice cultivation, and its transferability from India to the context of high-yield rice and urban agriculture in Pavia, Italy.
Food educationUrban–rural linkageBiodiversityClimate changeLa construcció discursiva de la competència ecociutadana a l'escola primària: la realització d'un disseny tecnològic col·laboratiu a l'hort escolar agroecològic
2015Miren Rekondo Iparraguirre · TDX (Tesis Doctorals en Xarxa) · Europe
This doctoral thesis explores the development of eco-citizenship competence in school gardens, specifically through collaborative technological design activities. Elementary school students designed and assembled an irrigation system for their school garden over ten activities. Analysis showed students integrated elements from various design proposals without exclusive opposition, and that design conflicts led to a more dynamic and complex garden model. The study also found differences in argumentative discourse structure and dynamics between scientific argumentation and technological design activities.
Food educationCommunityDIYOrganic cyclePutting Food Banks Out of Business: Final Report
2015Beth Perry, ⁄ Walsh, Diana Silver · White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) · United Kingdom
This project, conducted from October 2014 to May 2015, focused on the Biospheric Foundation in Blackfriars, East Salford, UK. The Biospheric Foundation was an urban socio-ecological experiment aiming to implement a whole-system approach to urban farming in a deprived area. Its goals included designing interconnected systems, retrofitting a building for ecological research, and raising public awareness of healthy food and ecological systems in urban settings.
CommunityFood educationHealthWelfareDoes the Royal Horticultural Society Campaign for School Gardening increase intake of fruit and vegetables in children? Results from two randomised controlled trials
2014Christian M., Evans C., Cade J. · Public Health Research, Vol. 2, No. 4 (NIHR Journals Library) · United Kingdom
Two randomised controlled trials in London primary schools evaluating the RHS Campaign for School Gardening. They found gardening alone had very little impact on children's fruit and vegetable intake, suggesting it must be combined with nutrition education to change diet.
Food educationHealthPolicyEvaluation of the impact of a school gardening intervention on children's fruit and vegetable intake: a randomised controlled trial
2014Christian M.S., Evans C.E.L., Nykjaer C., Hancock N., Cade J.E. · International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity · UK
A randomized controlled trial across 23 schools comparing an RHS-led gardening intervention with a teacher-led one; 641 children completed it, finding little evidence that school gardening alone improves children's fruit and vegetable intake.
Food educationHealthYou are Hungry: Flâneuring, Edible Mapping and Feeding Imaginations
2014Mikey Tomkins · Repository hosted by TU Delft Library (TU Delft) · United Kingdom (London)
This research explored reactions to the idea of potential urban agriculture landscapes through 32 participatory walks with 150 local residents around a 25-hectare site in east London. The walks used an "edible map" that suggested food growing in vacant urban areas. The study showed initial engagement with urban agriculture and local food systems, but also produced a strong critique of urban spatial design and a desire for place-making.
Governance failureCommunityFood educationPolicy‘Plants Are Fashioned by Cultivation, Man by Education’
2014Robert Mattock · · United Kingdom
This article discusses the decline in horticultural skills and work ethic in the United Kingdom over the last century, attributing it to the welfare state's de-incentivization of the workforce. The diverse plant vocabulary and cultivation skills once common among Victorian gardeners and landscape designers are now largely lost, impacting the conservation of designed landscapes. While efforts are being made to revive school gardens and promote apprenticeships and craft skills, the article concludes that more work is needed to re-establish a traditional work ethic in apprenticeships.
Limited or null effectFood educationDIYBuilding Culture: Ernst May and the New Frankfurt am Main Initiative, 1926–1931
2013Henderson S. R. · Peter Lang (Studies in Modern European History, vol. 64) · Germany
A comprehensive history of Ernst May's New Frankfurt initiative within the Weimar context, covering housing settlements, construction and material innovations, the parks-and-garden-colony program, the Frankfurt Kitchen, and reforms in schools and medical facilities.
PolicyCommunityWelfareFood educationGarden Culture of the Twentieth Century (Gartenkultur des 20. Jahrhunderts)
2013Migge L., Haney D. H. · Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection (Ex Horto series); Harvard University Press · Germany
An annotated English translation (edited and introduced by David H. Haney) of Migge's foundational 1913 treatise, presenting the primary source for his social and productive garden theory, from urban parks to housing settlements with allotment gardens.
Organic cycleCommunityFood educationEducación Ambiental con los más pequeños: empezando a crear un huerto
2013Fátima Rodríguez Marín, Jorge Fernández-Arroyo, Helena Álvarez García · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Spain
This experience, conducted by a group of primary education students, involved school garden activities with pre-school and primary children, with a focus on pre-schoolers. Through various activities demonstrating plant growth and garden creation, children had fun learning about nature, developing conceptual, attitudinal, and procedural knowledge, including observation and respect for plants.
Food educationCommunity