Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
1545 results(59 / 62)
Agricultura urbana: un aporte a la rehabilitación integral
2010Nerea Morán Alonso · · Global
This article reviews the historical background of urban agriculture, highlighting it as an example of action in crisis situations and the social potential of food production in urban contexts. In Southern countries, urban agriculture has gained importance as a development strategy, including programs led by international organizations. Urban gardens, by integrating nature into the city, contribute to urban metabolic efficiency and enhance biological diversity.
CommunityBiodiversityPolicyClimate changeDelivering on Sustainability's Global and Local Orientation.
2010Eva Collins, Kate Kearins · Academy of Management Learning and Education · New Zealand (Auckland)
A sustainability instructor took a graduate class to an eco-village near Auckland, New Zealand, where students observed off-grid homes and community gardens. While New Zealand students were inspired by the alternative lifestyle, two international students from China and Tajikistan expressed that this lifestyle was how they lived at home and they did not wish to live that way, preferring the New Zealand lifestyle. This indicates a limited appeal of the eco-village model to some international students.
Limited or null effectCommunityFood educationUrban–rural linkageClimate change아파트내 「헬스 커뮤니티 파밍가든」의 효용성에 관한 연구
2010윤혜경, 이연숙, 이홍성 · 한국생태환경건축학회 학술발표대회 논문집 · Global
This study investigates the utility of "Health Community Farming Gardens" within apartment buildings in Korea, aiming to present a realistic and effective apartment floor plan that enhances residents' health. Through a literature review of green infrastructure and urban farming, the research confirms that green infrastructure and urban farming revitalize apartment culture, effectively address ecosystem deterioration, and foster a green cultural spread within resident communities. The study emphasizes the innovation of integrating farming gardens into apartment buildings to maintain residents' holistic health.
CommunityHealthBiodiversityClimate change今天，你“拼客”了吗？
2009袁新华 · 环境 · Global
Amidst the trend of sustainable development, various environmentally friendly lifestyle attempts have spontaneously emerged worldwide. Examples include neighbors sharing laundry rooms and gardens to reduce resource consumption, exchanging old refrigerators for food or pianos via radio programs, and transforming abandoned land into community gardens. People who enjoy these sharing and collaborative behaviors are called "Pīn Kè".
CommunityClimate changeOrganic cycleThe Development of Urban Agriculture to Improve the City's Ecological Role of Qinghai Analysis
2009XU Guang-zhong · Journal of Qinghai Normal University · China (Qinghai)
This analysis proposes the development of urban agriculture in Qinghai to address the ecological crisis arising from rapid urbanization. Urban agriculture, based on modern science and technology, integrates production, services, and consumption, possessing economic, ecological, and social functions. Promoting urban agriculture in Qinghai is stated to expand urban green areas and enhance the eco-city's functions.
BiodiversityClimate changeEconomics르 그랑 파리 프로젝트의 시사점
2009홍석기 · 정책리포트 · France (Paris)
The "Le Grand Paris Project" proposes a major reform of Paris to transform it into a sustainable and globally competitive city for the 21st century. Proposed plans, to be implemented from 2020 to 2030, include physical spatial expansion beyond current boundaries, establishment of new governance for geographical and sociocultural integration, and a shift from a single-core radial to a multi-core linear urban structure. The project also suggests urban agriculture, agro-cities, and green car activation to improve the urban environment in line with the Kyoto Protocol.
PolicyClimate changeUrban–rural linkageDevelopment of vegetable farming: a cause of the emergence of insecticide resistance in populations of Anopheles gambiae in urban areas of Benin
2009Anges Yadouléton, Alex Asidi, Rousseau F Djouaka, B. James, Christian Agossou, Martin Akogbéto · Malaria Journal · Benin
A study in urban areas of Benin investigated the impact of rapid vegetable farming development on the emergence of insecticide resistance in Anopheles gambiae populations, using sociological data, bioassay tests, and biochemical analysis. The expansion of urban agriculture led to improper insecticide use for vegetable pests, exerting strong selection pressure on mosquito larval populations. This resulted in the emergence of insecticide resistance in malaria vectors, with permethrin mortality rates of 76% in Parakou, 23.5% in Porto-Novo, and 17% in Cotonou.
Environmental trade-offsEconomicsHealthClimate changeThermal Impact of Strategic Landscaping in Cities: A Review
2009Yu Chen, Wong Nyuk Hien · Advances in Building Energy Research · Global
This chapter reviews three major types of urban greenery: public green areas, rooftop gardens, and vertical landscaping, from systematic and thermal benefit perspectives. It synthesizes worldwide research on these types of urban greenery and provides general guidelines for strategic landscaping in cities.
Climate changeBiodiversityUrban–rural linkageBuilding the Resilience of Vulnerable Communities in Quito: Adapting local food systems to climate change
2009Isabelle Anguelovski · Urban Agriculture Magazine · Ecuador (Quito)
Marginalized urban communities in Quito, Ecuador, residing in informal settlements or on fragile hillsides, are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts like floods, landslides, droughts, and food scarcity. Many of these communities rely on urban agriculture for sustainable livelihoods and food security.
Climate changeFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityWelfarePreliminary Analysis of Urban Green Rooftops’ Environmental Benefits
2009Xing Dong · China Environmental Protection Industry · Global
This paper introduces basic knowledge of rooftop gardens and discusses their various environmental benefits.
BiodiversityClimate change«Re-ecologizar lo urbano». Agricultura urbana e historia ambiental
2009Antonio Ortega Santos · Historia Contemporánea · Cuba (La Habana)
This article reviews contributions from urban environmental history and examines the potential of productive strategies to transform cities into more sustainable systems. The latter part of the article presents the results of Urban Agriculture in Havana, Cuba. Havana's urban agriculture secured urban food supply levels and the sovereignty of urban agricultural producers, transforming the city into a more socio-environmentally sustainable model as an urgent measure against supply problems for the Cuban economy.
Food sovereignty & justiceClimate changeCommunityPolicyDeterminants of sustainability in urban and peri-urban agriculture
2009Andreas Buerkert, Eva Schlecht, Martina Předotová, Rodrigue V.C. Diogo, Katja Kehlenbeck, Jens Gebauer · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · Sub-Saharan Africa
This study analyzed urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) systems in major Sub-Saharan African cities, measuring carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fluxes and conducting biodiversity studies. In Niamey, low-input gardens showed annual gaseous carbon emissions of 20-25 t ha-1, predominantly CO2, and high-input gardens irrigated with wastewater had annual CO2-C emissions of 27 t ha-1, with N2O as a major nitrogen loss contributor. Animal manure stored in the open was subject to large carbon and nitrogen losses, indicating environmental tradeoffs. However, UPA gardens in Niamey maintained a large variety of fruit and vegetable species, with richness increasing with garden and household size and commercialization.
Environmental trade-offsOrganic cycleBiodiversityClimate changePeri-urban agricultureEconomicsA Study on the Synergy Relationship between Urban Agriculture and Eco-City
2009Qicheng Lu · Ecological Economy · Global
This paper studies the functions of urban agriculture on the evolution of eco-city as a self-organizational system, based on reviews of conceptions and meaning. It analyzes the synergy effects between developing urban agriculture and constructing eco-city from sharing effective, implementing effective, and synchronizing effective perspectives. The study concludes that a typical synergy relationship exists between developing urban agriculture and constructing eco-city.
Climate changePolicyCommunitySimple Living with Wanda Urbanska
2009Ernarosa Tominich · Educational Media Reviews Online · United States (Chicago)
"Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska" is a 2008 documentary exploring themes of land use, energy conservation, and urban "green earth" movements in major American cities. Host Wanda Urbanska conducts interviews and visits projects like green rooftop gardens and city farms on vacant lots. The documentary features a Chicago family demonstrating a "green" lifestyle, including communal gardening and local shopping.
DIYCommunityClimate changeFood miles & supply chainDesigning for Food and Agriculture: Recent Explorations at Ryerson University
2009June Komisar, Joe Nasr, Mark Gorgolewski · Open House International · Canada
This paper describes how Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, has explored agricultural and food issues as design challenges in various student projects. These projects, ranging from community investigations to thesis projects, integrated food-related strategies like community gardens and edible landscapes, demonstrating their utility in addressing broader design challenges such as social inclusion and sustainable building practices.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageClimate changeInterdisciplinary Aspects of Climate Change
2009· International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management · Global
This publication presents a table of contents for multiple papers addressing interdisciplinary aspects of climate change. Topics include the impacts of climate change on electricity generation and consumption, the role of cross-disciplinary models in the Irish housing sector, urban agriculture as a way to adapt modern cities, experiences in climate change policy-making, a climate stabilization fund, social learning on climate change among regional agents, costs and effectiveness of mitigation policies, campaign strategies by environmental NGOs, the role of sustainable buildings, quantifying vulnerability and adaptability of natural ecosystems, farming community concerns, local government risk assessment, approaches to resolving climate change, impacts on flood events, municipal solid waste management's impact on greenhouse gas emissions in Estonia, conducting interdisciplinary workshops, public opinion on climate change, and innovative multi-stakeholder approaches.
Climate changeUrban–rural linkagePolicy发展都市农业 改善城市生态——以青海省为例
2009许光中 · 北京科技大学学报：社会科学版 · China (Qinghai Province)
This study examines urban agriculture in Qinghai Province, China, as a solution to urban ecological crises exacerbated by rapid urbanization. Urban agriculture, defined as modern agriculture integrating production, services, and consumption based on modern technology and diversified operations, can expand urban green spaces, improve urban ecology, and strengthen urban functions.
Climate changeEconomicsCommunityBiodiversityOpportunities and Challenges of Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture in Niamey, Niger
2008Sophie Graefe, Eva Schlecht, Andreas Buerkert · Outlook on Agriculture · Niger (Niamey)
Semi-structured interviews with 130 households in Niamey, Niger, characterized urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) and assessed resource use. The study found high use of livestock manure and indiscriminate use of nutrient-loaded wastewater for irrigation, leading to significant nutrient surpluses in UPA gardens. Initial calculations suggested large gaseous emissions of nitrogenous compounds and and leaching of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to groundwater.
Contamination & food safetyPeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceHealthClimate changeEconomicsSustainability and resilience of the urban agricultural phenomenon in Africa
2008Pay Drechsel, Olufunke Cofie, Seydou Niang, Drechsel, Pay, Cofie, Olufunke, Niang, Seydou · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Africa
This record is a reference to a book chapter on the sustainability and resilience of the urban agricultural phenomenon in Africa, and it does not contain specific research content or findings.
Climate changePolicyCommunityThe benefits of rooftop garden on living conditions construction
2008WU Yun-fe · Shanxi Architecture · Global
This paper demonstrates the benefits of rooftop gardens for improving living conditions in response to urban environmental problems, detailing nine aspects. These benefits include mitigating the heat island effect, increasing urban green spaces, and purifying city air. The paper also offers recommendations for the development of rooftop gardens.
Climate changeBiodiversityCase study IV: Intensive rooftop gardens
2008Nyuk Hien Wong, Yu Chen · · Singapore
In Singapore, there was a need to demonstrate the thermal benefits of rooftop gardens with tangible data as a potential measure to mitigate the urban heat island effect. This study conducted local measurements and calculations to demonstrate the thermal benefits of rooftop gardens in the tropics.
Climate changeThe world food crisis: a push for urban farming
2008Pay Drechsel · CGSPace A Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) · Global
This paper discusses the global food crisis, which has caused skyrocketing food prices and riots in some countries. Underlying the food crisis is the deeper issue of the looming water crisis.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsClimate changeHIERARCHICAL BAYESIAN SCALING OF SOIL PROPERTIES ACROSS URBAN, AGRICULTURAL, AND DESERT ECOSYSTEMS
2008Jason P. Kaye, Anandamayee Majumdar, Corinna Gries, Alexander Buyantuyev, Nancy B. Grimm, D. Hope, G. Darrel Jenerette, Weixing Zhu, Lawrence A. Baker · Ecological Applications · United States (Phoenix)
A study in a 7962-km2 area around Phoenix, Arizona, USA, used a hierarchical Bayesian model to predict soil organic carbon (oC), inorganic carbon (iC), total nitrogen (N), and available phosphorus (avP) storage. Both Bayesian and traditional approaches indicated that oC, N, and avP were higher in mesic residential and agricultural areas than in deserts or xeric residential areas. Cultural variables like impervious surface cover, tree cover, and turfgrass cover were significant predictors, and an estimated 1140 Gg of oC and 130 Gg of N had accumulated in human-dominated soils.
Organic cycleClimate changeFaecal bacterial indicators removal in various wastewater treatment plants located in Almendares River watershed (Cuba)
2008Tamara García–Armisen, Josué Prats, Yociel Marrero, Pierre Servais · Water Science & Technology · Cuba (Havana)
The Almendares River in Havana, Cuba, receives wastewater from over 200,000 inhabitants, resulting in very poor microbiological water quality downstream due to high faecal bacterial indicators (FBIs). This water is used for urban agriculture and recreation, despite not meeting microbiological standards. This study compared FBI removal in three wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs): a conventional facility, a constructed wetland (CW), and a solar aquatic system (SAS). Natural systems (CW and SAS) showed approximately two log units higher FBI removal efficiency than the conventional plant. The large conventional WWTP was found to have a negative impact on the river's microbiological quality.
Contamination & food safetyHealthCommunityClimate change석유에너지 위기와 대안식량체계
2008김종덕 · 환경사회학연구 ECO · South Korea
This paper points out that the current global food system, which has heavily relied on low-cost oil energy, faces problems in food production, processing, and transportation due to surging crude oil prices, leading to food export controls and riots, and escalating global food conflicts and instability. The global food system is vulnerable to oil energy crises and negatively impacts food safety, security, environment, local economies, and food culture. Therefore, the paper emphasizes the need for alternative food systems like organic farming, urban agriculture, and community-supported agriculture that reduce reliance on oil energy.
Food sovereignty & justiceClimate changeEconomicsCSA & TeikeiUrban–rural linkage