Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
1626 results(53 / 66)
Urban farming nel food desert
2012Redazione · TERRITORIO · United States
This paper presents the basic features of two urban farming projects in Milwaukee and Philadelphia aimed at solving the problem of food deserts in declining inner cities of the US rustbelt. It discusses the forms and relevance of convergences between food culture and food justice, relating them to the debate on the future of urban forms in these inner cities.
Food sovereignty & justiceHealthCommunityWelfareStrucutural, Chemical and Bacteriological Characterization of the Rhizosphere of Zea Mays Grown in Metal-Contaminated Soil
2012Nahed N. Mahrous · The Journal of Pediatrics · Canada (Hamilton)
This project investigated metal, bacteria, and corn root interactions in metal-contaminated soils from Blackfrairs Community Garden and a Hamilton home. It found that bacterial numbers were lower than in uncontaminated soils, and bioavailable metal concentrations increased over time. High concentrations of metals were detected in grains, with copper, iron, and manganese accumulating in rhizospheres, and zinc distributed throughout root tissue in Blackfrairs plants.
Contamination & food safetyHealthCommunityDeveloping Justice-Oriented Teachers: Reciprocal Mentoring in Marginalized Communities
2012Joan Armon, Elizabeth Grassi · ePublications at Regis University (Regis University) · United States
This study describes two initiatives aimed at developing justice-oriented pre-service teachers. "Study Abroad in the Neighborhood" involves pre-service teachers visiting local families to learn Spanish language and culture. "Environmental Regeneration through Permaculture Food Gardens" focuses on pre-service teachers and children constructing school gardens linked to curriculum, food cultures, and health. These community contexts aim to enhance pre-service teachers' cultural and environmental awareness of local injustices.
Food educationCommunityHealthCommunity gardens, creative community organizing, and environmental activism
2012· · United States (New York City)
In New York City, social workers and community organizers engage in environmental protection practices through community organizing aimed at creating and preserving green spaces. Much of this activism takes place within community gardens, which are recognized as spaces for social engagement, community building, and social justice-based activism.
CommunityHealthPolicyBiodiversityDesenvolvimento do milheto sob adubação orgânica no município de Corrente - PI Development of organic manure on millet in the city Corrente-PI
2012Alisson Amorim da Silva, Sammy Sidney, Rocha Matías, Rafaela Ribeiro de Souza, Roberto Lustosa Silva, Júlio César Azevedo Nóbrega · · Brazil
The effect of different percentages of cattle manure (0%, 20%, 40%, and 60%) on millet development was evaluated in a greenhouse at the community garden of Corrente city hall, Brazil. The percentage of cattle manure significantly affected the number of leaves, plant height, shoot dry mass, and main root length. A manure dose equivalent to 40% of the total substrate volume was found to provide nutrient amounts closer to the ideal for achieving maximum efficiency in millet's physical variables.
CompostCommunityCivic Agriculture: Towards a Local Food Web for Sustainable Urban Development
2012Siqing Chen · APCBEE Procedia · United States
This paper uses a housing development project in the United States to exemplify how civic agriculture can be integrated into urban development through forms like Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), kitchen gardens, and farmer's markets. This integration creates a local food web, enhancing civic engagement and welfare among residents, maintaining landscape authenticity, strengthening ecosystem services, reducing carbon footprint, and promoting long-term sustainability. Civic agriculture represents a transition in agricultural practice from large-scale commodity enterprises to small-scale, self-sustaining civic activities.
CommunityCSA & TeikeiEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageSuccessful strategies and barriers to community gardening in metro Atlanta, Georgia
2012Julie L. Self, Amanda Wyatt, Aimee Webb Girard · The FASEB Journal · United States (Atlanta)
This research characterized community gardens (CGs) in two urban counties in Atlanta, Georgia, through semi-structured interviews with diverse garden leaders. The study identified primary barriers to creating and sustaining CGs as leadership constraints, reliable access to natural resources, and unclear regulations. It also found that CGs foster access to fresh food, knowledge, and community connections, with benefits varying by community.
Governance failureCommunityHealthPolicySupporting the Micmac Farms Through Ethnographic Communication Research
2012Anthony Sutton · DigitalCommons (California Polytechnic State University) · United States (Maine)
This ethnographic communication research supported the Micmac Farms in Presque Isle, Maine, which were established to address food security and community health issues like obesity and diabetes. The study, conducted over three months in summer 2011, identified that administrative power structures, economic constraints, and operational planning issues threatened the farm's efforts to achieve greater economic and food security. The analysis revealed that economic behaviors dominated the data, with grants for the farm centering on economics due to historical farming discourse and business focus.
CommunityHealthFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareAgricultura urbana agroecológica - estratégia de promoção da saúde e segurança alimentar e nutricional - doi: 10.5020/18061230.2012.p381
2012Silvana Maria Ribeiro, Elaine de Azevedo, Maria Cecília Focesi Pelicioni, Cláudia Maria Bógus, Isabel Maria Teixeira Bicudo Pereira · Revista Brasileira em Promoção da saúde · Brazil
This documentary research reflected on agroecological urban agriculture in relation to health promotion and food and nutritional security, involving local communities. Data synthesis, based on reports, field activity records, participant testimonies, and project coordination interviews, revealed that agroecological urban agriculture contributed to community leadership, popular participation, and the development of food and environmental awareness among social actors. Conclusions identified relevant aspects aligned with health promotion principles, including strengthening intersectorality, local empowerment, individual and collective agency, creating healthy environments, and community mobilization.
Food sovereignty & justiceHealthCommunityFood educationCafeteria Man
2012Barb Bergman · Educational Media Reviews Online · United States (Baltimore)
The film "Cafeteria Man" follows Tony Geraci, Food and Nutrition Director for Baltimore schools, as he works to improve school lunch quality. It highlights how local fresh foods benefit students and farmers, and how school gardens provide learning opportunities for students in urban neighborhoods. The film also touches on obstacles to improved school lunch, including schools not receiving purchased fresh produce.
Food educationHealthCommunityEconomicsAGRICULTURA URBANA E ÊXODO RURAL
2012Ana Carolina Vinholi, Pedro Martins · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Itajaí)
This article investigates urban agriculture practices in Itajaí/SC, Brazil, to identify their potentials and obstacles for territorial development. Using participant observation and semi-structured interviews, the study concludes that urban agriculture is an expanding phenomenon closely linked to rural exodus. It also serves as a space for the conservation of traditional knowledge.
Urban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityEconomicsEstudo exploratório sobre as características socioeconômicas e produtivas da Agricultura Urbana e Periurbana desenvolvida em Natal-RN
2012Ana Carolina Paiva Rodrigues · VII CONNEPI - Congresso Norte Nordeste de Pesquisa e Inovação · Brazil (Natal)
In the Gramorezinho region of Natal-RN, Brazil, an exploratory study analyzed the socioeconomic and productive characteristics of urban and peri-urban agriculture. The methodology involved examining farmers' socioeconomic profiles, adopted production systems, and commercialization methods for key vegetable species. The study concluded that the legitimization of urban and peri-urban agriculture in Natal-RN is flawed, not only concerning municipal legislation but also regarding the guarantee of support and technical assistance for agricultural activities.
Governance failureEconomicsCommunityPeri-urban agriculturePolicyLocal food actions and motivations in the Highlands neighborhood of Denver, CO
2012Samantha R. Lester · Digital Commons - DU (University of Denver) · United States (Denver)
This qualitative study evaluated the local food movement in the Highlands neighborhood of Denver, Colorado, through interviews with community members, restaurant owners, garden members, and organizers. The local food movement was present through various outlets, including a farmer's market, community gardens, and local food stores. Motivations for participation primarily included building community, a growing population able to support local food, and a broader network of people and organizations.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceDesigning Nature for Learning: School Gardens for Youth and Child Education
2012Sarah A. Moore, Morgan Apicella, Sallie A. Marston, Moses Thompson · Children Youth and Environments · United States (Tucson)
An ongoing project in Tucson, Arizona, provides university interns to K-12 schools to build and maintain school gardens and facilitate learning about the environment and sustainability. Based on experiences at Manzo Elementary, a project school in a low-income, mixed-race neighborhood, the program evaluates the effectiveness of school gardens as a tool for experiential learning and describes obstacles encountered and overcome.
Food educationCommunityThe Effects of Nutrition Education and Gardening on Attitudes, Preferences, and Knowledge of Minority Second to Fifth Graders in the Rio Grande Valley Toward Fruit and Vegetables
2012Geralyn A. Nolan, Amy McFarland, Jayne M. Zajicek, Tina M. Waliczek · HortTechnology · United States
Research was conducted with 141 minority elementary school children in a primarily Hispanic region of Texas to investigate whether gardening combined with a curriculum on nutrition could benefit them. After comparing pre- and posttest scores, it was concluded that gardening and nutritional instruction had a positive effect on students' nutritional knowledge, fruit and vegetable preference, and snack choices.
Food educationHealthCommunity11072 - Instalação de hortas orgânicas em escolas públicas de ensino fundamental e médio de Solânea, PB
2012Germano Laurentino da Cunha, Adriana Celi Alves Martins, Maria José Araújo Wanderley, Raunira da Costa Araújo, Terezinha Domiciano Dantas Martins, Francisca Alexandre de Lima · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil (Solânea)
This project aimed to establish organic vegetable gardens in public elementary and high schools in Solânea, Paraíba, Brazil. Funded by CNPq, the initiative involved installing 14 garden beds with various vegetables in each participating school. Students received mini-courses on organic vegetable production, and participated in making compost and biofertilizers. The target audience demonstrated receptiveness and support for the work.
Food educationCommunityCompostOrganic cycleCommunity-Engaged Learning in Food Systems and Public Health
2012Julie L. Self, Becky Handforth, Janelle Hartman, Corey McAuliffe, Elizabeth Noznesky, Rebecca J. Schwei, Laura Whitaker, Amanda Wyatt, Amy Girard · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States
A student-driven, community-engaged learning course was developed to enhance student understanding of complex food system determinants and food choices. The course, guided by the socio-ecological model, involved students collaborating with faculty and community partners to define its objectives and curriculum. It featured student-led modules on food preferences, agriculture systems, food access, and agricultural policy, alongside community-engaged research projects that examined food distribution models in metro Atlanta and identified strategies to improve access to healthy food in low-income areas.
Food educationCommunityHealthPolicyCSA & TeikeiVictory Is a Question of Stamina Send-The Wheat Meat-Fats-Sugar the Fuel for Fighters: United States Food Administration
2012Harry L. Watson · Southern cultures · United States
This text discusses the evolution of food culture in the American South, from World War I-era calls for local food conservation to modern locavore movements. It highlights the current popularity of local food traditions and farmer's markets, while also raising concerns about the health impacts of large-scale industries like North Carolina's hog farming. Historically, the South was known for nutritional diseases alongside its traditional recipes.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsAn Assessment of Soil Health and Productivity in Urban Gardens
2012Jennifer E. Reeves · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network) · United States (Cleveland, Ohio)
This two-year study in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, investigated urban soil health via nematode food web analysis and crop productivity via tomato fruit yield in urban gardens. Market gardens showed significantly more soil organic matter, nitrogen pools, and nematode presence than community gardens in both 2011 and 2012. However, despite these differences, there was no significant difference in the total yield of tomatoes per square meter between market and community garden types in either year. Gardens with raised beds had significantly more soil moisture content and soil organic matter than those with flat beds.
Limited or null effectCommunityEconomicsOrganic cycleHealthChapter 35 Food, homes and gardens: public community gardens potential for contributing to a more sustainable city
2012Carolin Mees, Edie Stone · · United States (New York City)
In New York City, community gardens were established by resident groups in the 1970s, contributing to recreation, food security, and sustainable urban development. Their number has fluctuated over the past 30 years, with approximately 600 gardens existing today, over 300 of which are on public land. Recently, in response to climate change and economic crisis, elements like beehives and rainwater harvesting have been legalized and used to maximize food production and conserve water. This chapter will use qualitative data analysis, secondary literature discussion, and participant observation to evaluate the employment and function of these garden components and how the city's community gardens contribute to a sustainable city.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsClimate changeTHE OCCURRENCE OF LEAD IN SOIL AND VEGETABLES AT A COMMUNITY GARDEN IN OMAHA, NEBRASKA
2012Jodi L. Sangster, Andrew Nelson, Shannon L. Bartelt‐Hunt · International Journal for Service Learning in Engineering Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship · United States (Omaha)
Soil and vegetable samples were collected from a community garden in Omaha, Nebraska, which had known soil lead contamination. Total lead content was evaluated using atomic absorption spectroscopy, revealing lead concentrations in soil ranging from 4 to 574 ppm, with an average of 128.4 ppm in growing beds and 31.5 ppm in OmaGro compost. Lead was also present in vegetable samples at or below 16.25 ppm.
Contamination & food safetyCommunityHealthProducing for the Future: A Collaboration between Low-Income Youth, Congregations, and Researchers - Youth Impact Evaluation
2012Lacy Weinblatt, Sarah Najdek · · United States (Oregon)
The Oregon State University research project "Producing for the Future" involved low-income youth, adult partners, and researchers collaborating to design and plant a community garden and develop a microenterprise to market produce. The project aimed to compare participants' knowledge and attitudes regarding local food resources, gardening, organic eating, and healthy lifestyles before and after their involvement. This study used data to analyze changes among participants pre and post-experience, but specific findings are not reported.
CommunityFood educationHealthWelfareFeasibility Study and Best Practices for a Campus Community Garden on the University of Arkansas Campus
2012Samantha Jones · Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science · United States (Arkansas)
To assess the feasibility of a campus community garden at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville (UAF), an online survey of 88 campus community gardens in the United States and Canada, visits to six gardens, and interviews with UAF students, faculty, staff, and administration members were conducted. The study determined that a campus community garden at UAF was feasible if identified challenges and obstacles were properly addressed. This research identified seven best practices for campus community gardens.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyTrace Element Soil Contamination at Urban Community Gardens in Washington, DC
2012Adam J Long · Scholarship @ Claremont (The Claremont Colleges) · United States (Washington, DC)
This study investigated heavy metal soil contaminants in 13 urban community gardens in Washington, DC, analyzing 45 soil samples using X-ray fluorescence (XRF). While most samples fell below US EPA action levels for common contaminants, high concentrations of lead (above the US EPA action level of 400 ppm) were found in the native soil of three garden sites, meriting concern due to potential health problems in children.
Contamination & food safetyCommunityHealthFood sovereignty & justiceCould Toronto Provide 10% of its Fresh Vegetable Requirements from Within its Own Boundaries? Part II, Policy Supports and Program Design
2012Rod MacRae, Joe Nar, James Kuhns, Lauren Baker, Russ Christianson, Martin Danyluk, Abra Snider, Eric V. Gallant, Penny Kaill-Vinish, Marc Michalak, Janet Oswald, Sima Patel, Gerda R. Wekerle · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Canada (Toronto)
This paper, focusing on Toronto, identifies subtle impediments to scaling up urban agriculture beyond self-provisioning, despite land not being an insurmountable barrier. These include taxation systems assuming agriculture is a strictly rural activity, inadequate knowledge sharing among urban producers, limited access to soil, water, and seeds, and a lack of incentives for landowners. Achieving 10% of the city's commercial fresh vegetable demand requires significant policy and program initiatives in five key areas, including governance, coordination, and financing.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCommunity