Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
2066 results(51 / 83)
Landscape and Local Correlates of Bee Abundance and Species Richness in Urban Gardens
2016Robyn D. Quistberg, Peter Bichier, Stacy M. Philpott · Environmental Entomology · United States (California)
This study investigated bee abundance and species richness in 19 urban community gardens on the California central coast using aerial nets and pan traps. Researchers found 55 bee species and identified that local factors, such as garden size, floral abundance, mulch cover, bare ground, and grass, were generally more important correlates than landscape factors. Medium bees were less abundant in areas with more medium-intensity developed land within 2 km.
BiodiversityPollinatorsCommunityAn Integrated Environmental Analysis Framework for Multi-Functional Urban Food Production Utilizing Nutrient Recycling from Organic Waste Streams
2016William Kort · UWM Digital Commons (University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee) · United States
This study developed a framework for life cycle environmental assessment of urban organic waste utilization in urban agriculture, specifically fruit and vegetable production. Results suggest that a full "urban nutrient cycle" offers significant environmental benefits, including meeting up to 70% of vegetable and 17% of fruit consumption needs in Northern and Eastern U.S. cities, with potential water savings of 10-17% of annual domestic use. Optimizing resource recovery through source separation leads to 1-2% lower wastewater generation and up to 44% greater phosphorus recovery, while overall energy and emissions benefits are 1-2% of a city's annual totals.
Organic cycleCompostClimate changeBiodiversityIndividualist and collectivist consumer motivations in local organic food markets
2016Zachary Schrank, Katrina Running · Journal of Consumer Culture · United States
This study analyzed consumer motivations in Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs using interview data from 58 members in a large southwestern US city. Researchers investigated whether members were primarily motivated by individual interests (e.g., nutritional benefits, taste) or collective concerns (e.g., environmental, economic). Findings indicated that CSA members pursued individualist and collectivist goals equally, emphasizing environmental issues and sustainability through local organic consumption as a pathway to individual health.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceNepali Bhutanese Refugees Reap Support Through Community Gardening
2016Mónica M. Gerber, Jennifer L. Callahan, Danielle N. Moyer, Melissa L. Connally, Pamela M. Holtz, Beth M. Janis · International Perspectives in Psychology · United States
This exploratory mixed-methods study investigated the perspectives on community gardening among Nepali Bhutanese refugees (N=50; 62% female) in the United States, comparing gardeners (n=22) and non-gardeners (n=28). Quantitative results showed no significant differences between groups regarding symptoms of depression, anxiety, somatic complaints, or adjustment to life in the US. However, community gardening was significantly positively associated with social support, a finding further supported by qualitative data.
Limited or null effectCommunityHealthWelfareAgricultura urbana e recursos hídricos: compreendendo o uso da água nas hortas comunitárias da região do barreiro, Belo Horizonte - MG
2016Caio Vieira Vasconcelos · · Brazil (Belo Horizonte)
This study presents a case study on water use in urban agriculture in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, focusing on community gardens in the Barreiro region (Vila Pinho and Jardim Produtivo gardens). It describes the physical structure and irrigation operations, and analyzes 2015 water consumption data in comparison with climatic variables. The research identified limitations, threats, positive aspects, opportunities, and potential solutions related to water use in these community gardens.
CommunityOrganic cycleClimate changeWelfareAGRICULTURA URBANA COMO FATOR DE DESENVOLVIMENTO SUSTENTÁVEL: um estudo na Região Metropolitana de Maringá
2016Vicente Chiaramonte Pires · Pesquisa & Debate. Revista do Programa de Estudos Pós-Graduados em Economia Política. ISSN 1806-9029 · Brazil (Maringá)
A qualitative study in community gardens within Brazil's Maringá Metropolitan Region revealed that urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) offers significant contributions to the economic and social development of participating farmers and their families. This project has been in place since 2008, providing technical assistance and urban extension.
CommunityEconomicsPeri-urban agricultureThe Palliative Role of Green Space for Somali Bantu Women Refugees in Displacement and Resettlement
2016Reed Coughlan, Sarah E. Hermes · Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies · United States (New York State)
This article investigates place attachments among Somali Bantu women refugees resettled in New York State, USA, using photo-elicitation and narrative interviews. The study explored their recollections of farms in Somalia, gardens in Kenyan refugee camps, and community gardens in New York. Green spaces were found to be important in all three locations, particularly for their therapeutic, restorative, and spiritual capacities in the gardens of both the camps and resettlement areas, serving various palliative functions.
CommunityHealthWelfareMy Drought is Different from Your Drought: A Case Study of the Policy Implications of Multiple Ways of Knowing Drought
2016Ellen Kohl, John A. Knox · Weather Climate and Society · United States (Georgia)
This paper examines the relationship between scientific definitions of drought and water management politics, using a case study of the 2007–09 drought in Georgia, USA. Data from archival research, direct observation, and interviews with urban agricultural sector members, environmental regulators, and government officials revealed how stakeholders produced and utilized multiple understandings of drought. The study found that stakeholders can leverage drought complexity to achieve political goals and alter water management, as demonstrated by the green industry in Georgia in 2009.
PolicyClimate changeUrban–rural linkageMore‐than‐Active Food Citizens: A Longitudinal and Comparative Study of Alternative and Conventional Eaters
2016Michael Carolan · Rural Sociology · United States (Colorado)
Researchers in Colorado studied individuals participating in alternative food practices (CSA, farmers' markets, food cooperatives) and conventional eaters. Participants were surveyed and re-surveyed two years later, with 119 qualitative interviews conducted, and a phone survey of 106 conventional eaters. The study aimed to understand how alternative foodscape engagement compares to conventional eating, how responses change after exposure to alternative foodscapes, and why individuals might think and behave differently.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsAgricultura urbana e gestão territorial em Recife/PE/Brasil: qual o lugar da agricultura urbana no planejamento da cidade?
2016Rúbio José Ferreira, Cláudio Jorge Moura de Castilho · Ateliê Geográfico · Brazil (Recife)
This text examines the place of urban agriculture and its practitioners in the urban planning process in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. The main results indicate that urban agriculture and urban farmers are not effectively considered by Recife's urban planning technicians. This may be due to urban agriculture being a social practice used by people from the "lowest layers" of society in a marginal area of the local urban economy.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityEconomicsWelfareAgricultura urbana e segurança alimentar: estudo de caso da horta comunitária da COHAB em Lavras/MG
2016Heliene Macedo de Araújo, Thiago Rodrigo de Paula Assis, Ana Paula Borges Martins · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil (Lavras)
This qualitative case study aimed to identify the potential of urban agriculture in promoting food and nutritional security (SAN) based on the experience of the COHAB community garden association in Lavras/MG, Brazil. Interviews were conducted with 13 (48%) of the 27 association members using semi-structured questionnaires. Findings revealed that all interviewees had ancestral ties to farming, and cultivation was learned and passed down through generations. Food access was consistently ensured for families and neighborhood residents through commercialization, self-consumption, and donation, with 11 members prioritizing self-consumption. The garden produced 58 diverse products, demonstrating urban agriculture's link to SAN promotion and improved family diets.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityHealthEconomicsImpact of school-based vegetable garden and physical activity coordinated health interventions on weight status and weight-related behaviors of ethnically diverse, low-income students: Study design and baseline data of the Texas, Grow! Eat! Go! (TGEG) cluster-randomized controlled trial
2016Anita Evans, Nalini Ranjit, Deanna M. Hoelscher, Christine Jovanovic, Michael López, Andrew M. McIntosh, Marcia G. Ory, Lisa Whittlesey, Lisako McKyer, A. Kirk, Caitlin A. Smith, Catherine Walton, Natalia I. Heredia, Judith L. Warren · BMC Public Health · United States (Texas)
The Texas Grow! Eat! Go! (TGEG) study is a five-year factorial group randomized controlled trial involving 28 schools, assessing the impact of gardening, nutrition, and physical activity interventions on low-income elementary students. Baseline data from 1369 students and 1206 parents, primarily Hispanic and African American, showed that students did not meet national guidelines for vegetable consumption or physical activity. At baseline, no statistical differences were observed among the four treatment groups.
Food educationHealthWelfareFrom the ground up: Community gardens in New York City and the politics of spatial transformation, by Efrat Eizenberg
2016Roger Mark Selya · Journal of Urban Affairs · United States (New York City)
Efrat Eizenberg's study on community gardens in New York City and the politics of spatial transformation explores how groups of poor, ethnic, and racial minorities managed to obtain land for community gardens. This abstract only presents the research questions and does not detail the methodology or findings.
CommunityPolicy" But Our Hands Are Tied ": Assessing School Gardening Efforts at Title I Elementary Schools in Pinellas County, Florida
2016Alexandra Grace Lancey · · United States (Florida)
This ethnographic study in Pinellas County, Florida, investigated school gardening efforts at Title I elementary schools, focusing on an organization that installs gardens in "failing" schools. The research found that strict public school standards and neoliberal education reform paradoxically prevent teachers and administrators from fully utilizing school gardens for nutrition education. This limits their effectiveness in discussing nutrition, healthy eating, and local food, as the focus shifts to state-regulated education standards, revealing significant infrastructural challenges.
Governance failureFood educationHealthPolicyCommunityEstudio de la agricultura urbana y periurbana de varzea grande (MT) bajo la perspectiva del análisis de clusters
2016Diogo José Amorim de Almeida, Dilamar Dallemole, Arturo Alejandro Zavala Zavala · Revista Ibero-Americana de Ciências Ambientais · Brazil (Varzea Grande)
This study analyzed the urban and peri-urban horticultural production structure in Varzea Grande, Mato Grosso, Brazil, using an exploratory empirical and bibliographic approach followed by Cluster Analysis of primary data from local producers. Despite contributing to food production and maintaining disease-vector-free land, the research found that this activity is in decline. Its low profitability and challenging commercialization process make it unattractive or merely a supplementary income, as small productive forces struggle to sustain themselves against the current market structure and unfavorable social policies.
Limited or null effectUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureHealthEconomicsCOMMUNITY GARDENS FOR SPECIAL NEEDS AND NURSING HOME COMMUNITIES, APARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH STUDY
2016Mary Ellen Mitchell-Rosen · NSUWorks (Nova Southeastern University) · United States
This participatory action research study in Broward County, Florida, investigated the experiences of geriatric populations and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities participating in a garden project with health professions students. The project aimed to address obesity, autism, mental health, and elderly services by providing healthy nutrition interventions and group garden activities. Data collection via focus group interviews is complete, and analysis is ongoing, but stakeholders have reported positive changes in nutritional choices and improved mental status among clients.
CommunityHealthWelfareElderlyFood educationGarden Insects 101: Attracting Beneficials & Deterring Pests - July 19, 2016
2016Cat Buxton · · United States
This record describes a community event titled "Garden Insects 101: Attracting Beneficials & Deterring Pests" held on July 19, 2016, from 6 PM to 7 PM at the WRJ Community Garden at Ratcliffe Park in the United States. The event featured Cat Buxton discussing beneficial insects and pests.
CommunityBiodiversityAgricultura urbana familiar en una ciudad media en Chiapas. Implicaciones para la sustentabilidad urbana Family urban agriculture in an average city in Chiapas. Implications for urban sustainability
2016Araceli Calderón Cisneros · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Mexico (Chiapas)
This qualitative study analyzed the role of family urban agriculture in urban sustainability in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, using open and structured interviews. The visited agricultural systems showed characteristics favoring resilience and sustainability, such as low use of external inputs and recycling of domestic waste. However, a limitation found was that the contribution of own production to family consumption is very low, despite existing food, environmental, and socio-cultural motivations for its continuity.
Limited or null effectDIYOrganic cycleFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeFood and Fuel Administration
2016David J. Bettez · · United States (Kentucky)
During World War I, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Herbert Hoover as head of the US Food Administration to promote food conservation and increase production. In Kentucky, Fred Sackett served as federal food administrator, implementing programs like “meatless” and “wheatless” days, encouraging housewives to use substitutes and children to grow school gardens. The federal government also established a Fuel Administration, headed in Kentucky by Wiley Bryan, who encouraged fuel conservation and increased production, and attempted to ensure equitable coal distribution during the 1917-1918 winter shortage.
Food educationCommunityPolicyIntegración de huertos-jardín en espacios públicos: caso de estudio: Oaxaca de Juarez, Oaxaca
2016Aurora Minna Poó Rubio, Aurora Poó Rubio, Esmeralda Soto Carrasquel · Repositorio Institucional Zaloamati (Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana) · Mexico
This study examines the integration of garden-orchards into public spaces in Oaxaca de Juarez, Oaxaca, from the perspective of landscape as the insertion of aesthetic and utilitarian green areas in growing and changing cities. It argues that sustainable green areas like urban gardens enhance social and spatial integration, improving socio-economic aspects. The research aims to understand how implementing garden-orchards in public spaces generates or rehabilitates urban environments and their potential as green infrastructure.
CommunityFood educationEconomicsAgricultura urbana e produção agroecológica de hortaliças em Altamira, Pará.
2016Galdino Xavier Paula Filho, Gutemberg Armando Diniz Guerra · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil (Altamira)
This study analyzed alternative vegetable production systems in nine urban gardens in Altamira, Pará, Brazil, focusing on methods avoiding agrochemicals and chemical fertilizers, and their commercialization in two local open-air markets. Semi-structured interviews and on-site visits revealed that pest and disease control uses natural repellents like pepper, tobacco, neem, and garlic compounds. Fertilization relies on wood sawdust, crop residues (rice and coffee straw), and animal manure. Commercialization is linked to social organization and occurs through producer associations at open-air markets.
DIYOrganic cycleCommunityLong-Term Outcomes of an Urban Farming Internship Program
2016Nancy F. Sonti, Lindsay K. Campbell, Michelle Johnson, Sarita Daftary-Steel · Journal of Experiential Education · United States (New York City)
Long-term impacts of an urban farming youth internship were evaluated in Brooklyn, New York. Alumni surveyed 1 to 9 years after program completion were enrolled in college or graduate school at higher rates than their peers and reported connections to the environment and healthy eating. Participants reported learning job skills through the internship, including farming practices, time and money management, teamwork, and public speaking.
Food educationCommunityHealthWelfareJaques Avenue Bioshelter Report: An Assessment of Needs, Potential Uses and Partnerships in Worcester, MA
2016Joseph H. Hersh · Clark Digital Commons (Clark University) · United States (Worcester, MA)
This report assesses the needs, potential uses, and feasibility for a community bioshelter in Worcester, MA, for Worcester Common Ground, Inc. Approximately twenty-five stakeholder interviews were conducted to gather insights. The findings highlight themes such as prospective partnerships, long-term sustainability, and broader project impacts, recommending an educational orientation for the bioshelter.
CommunityUrban–rural linkageClimate changeIntroduction
2016Tina Marie Waliczek, Jayne M. Zajicek · · United States
This paper outlines urbanization, theories explaining nature's influence on humans, the definition of traditional and urban horticulture, human issues in horticulture, benefits of plants to urban communities, and urban horticulture programs.
CommunityHealthFood educationExamining Feasibility of Mentoring Families at a Farmers' Market and Community Garden
2016Daniel R. George, Monica Manglani, Kaitlin Minnehan, Alexander Chacon, Alexandra I. Gundersen, Cheryl Dellasega, Jennifer L. Kraschnewski · American Journal of Health Education · United States
A program at Penn State Medical Center's farmers' market and community garden integrated medical student mentors with nutritional education for four families with overweight/obese children. Two families completed all visits, spending an average of 32 minutes per visit, with expenditures of $40.68, and reporting one weekly produce item unused. The program was found feasible and beneficial for participating families, students, and vendors.
Food educationHealthCommunity