Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
161 results(6 / 7)
When Allotment Gardens Become Urban Green Spaces like Others, Providing Cultural Ecosystem Services
2017Amélie Robert, Jean Louis Yengué · Environment and Ecology Research · France
This case study investigated the Bergeonnerie allotments in Tours, France, through in situ observations, user surveys, and interviews with municipal stakeholders. It found that these allotments provide not only provisioning services like food but also cultural ecosystem services, serving as a source of well-being for gardeners and a place for walking, sociability, and education for other people. Municipal stakeholders confirmed these broader benefits, indicating allotments offer more than just vegetable cultivation.
CommunityFood educationHealthBiodiversityExploring urban agriculture as a component of multifunctional green infrastructure: Application of figure-ground plans as a spatial analysis tool
2017Attila Tóth, Axel Timpe · Moravian Geographical Reports · Europe
This paper presents and discusses the application of figure-ground plans combined with complex land-use maps as a tool for spatial analysis of urban agriculture in European cities and their multifunctional green infrastructure, using 'Urban Atlas' data. Urban fabric, agriculture, and non-agricultural open spaces were analyzed and compared in selected cities and metropolitan areas, including Dublin, Ruhr Metropolis, Geneva, and Sofia. The results reveal the scale and land-use diversity of metropolitan regions and different spatial patterns of urban agriculture at both regional and central urban levels.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyBiodiversityOrtiAlti as urban regeneration devices: An action-research study on rooftop farming in Turin
2017Emanuela Saporito · Kobra (Universitätsbibliothek Kassel) · Italy (Turin)
This action-research study in Turin, Italy, examines the OrtiAlti project, which revitalizes abandoned urban buildings through rooftop community gardens. The research aims to understand how rooftop farming, framed as a social innovation practice, contributes to urban regeneration, place-making, and urban resilience. It discusses rooftop food gardens as urban regeneration devices that combine environmental and social benefits through food production.
CommunityPolicyBiodiversityLes jardins partagés franciliens
2017Kaduna‐Ève Demailly · Géographie et cultures · France
This article examines shared gardens in the Île-de-France region of France as territories of environmental transition. Based on a study of 48 shared gardens in the Parisian metropolitan area, the analysis of user and political actor discourses and practices highlights their role in improving living environments and raising awareness of environmentally friendly practices that promote urban biodiversity.
CommunityPolicyBiodiversityOrganic cycleSpecificities 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 educationPolicyNodes of a peri-urban agricultural landscape at local level: an interpretation of their contribution to the eco-structure
2017Rocío Pérez-Campaña, Luis Miguel Valenzuela Montes · Journal of Environmental Planning and Management · Spain
This paper presents a method for assessing and visualizing existing nodes in the field pattern of a peri-urban agricultural landscape. The method was applied in the Vega del Guadalfeo in southern Spain, and the results showed an innovative map of the Vega, which can be interpreted as its eco-structure, a node-based model representing the ecological value of the peri-urban agricultural landscape.
Peri-urban agricultureBiodiversityUrban–rural linkageUse of human-made nesting structures by wild bees in an urban environment
2016Fortel L., Henry M., Guilbaud L., Mouret H., Vaissiere B. E. · Journal of Insect Conservation · Lyon, France
Surveys use of human-made nesting structures (trap nests / bee hotels) by cavity-nesting wild bees in an urban setting, examining how artificial nesting aids may supplement scarce urban nesting resources.
PollinatorsBiodiversityThe position of urban allotment gardens within the urban fabric
2016Sandra María Fonseca da Costa, Runrid Fox-Kämper, Russell Good, Ivana Sentić, S. Treija, Jasminka Rizovska Atanasovska, Hervé Bonnavaud · · Europe
This chapter provides an understanding of the position of allotment and community gardens within the urban fabric across Europe. It offers insights into their diverse locations, relationships to other green spaces, reciprocal impact on the urban landscape and people, and their role in green infrastructure, including functions, connectivity, and accessibility for residents.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageBiodiversityUrban green infrastructure and urban forests: a case study of the Metropolitan Area of Milan
2016Giovanni Sanesi, Giuseppe Colangelo, Raffaele Lafortezza, Enrico Calvo, Clive Davies · Landscape Research · Italy (Milan)
This study assessed land use changes and policy impacts on urban green infrastructure (UGI) in the Metropolitan Area of Milan, Italy. Since the 1970s, policies have led to the creation of 10,000 hectares of new forests and green systems, such as Boscoincittà and Parco Nord Milano, to address green space loss. The research, part of the Emonfur project, aims to identify effective measures for increasing UGI quality and quantity.
PolicyCommunityBiodiversityUrban–rural linkageJardin partagé des Piedalloues Auxerre
2016Petites ruches · · France (Auxerre)
The shared garden of the Maison de Quartier des Piedalloues in Auxerre, France, features lawns intentionally left high to attract butterflies such as the 'demi-deuil', which pollinate knautia flowers. Residents have also participated in creating palisades or 'branch walls' using split acacia stakes within the garden.
CommunityBiodiversityPollinatorsExplorando la relación ser humano-naturaleza: agricultura urbana, ciencias de la conservación y ciudad
2016Ana Cristina Torres, Anne Caroline Prévot, Sophie Nadot · Letras Verdes Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios Socioambientales · France (Paris)
A study of 9 Parisian community gardens revealed the limitations of the dominant approach in conservation sciences and urban planning, which seeks to halt environmental deterioration by establishing an ethical basis of attitudes deemed appropriate for conserving a particular nature, by limiting human-nature interaction. Considering citizen subjectivities, the study offers perspectives to nourish conservation sciences and rethink cities.
Governance failureCommunityBiodiversityPolicyBiodiversidad y agricultura urbana
2016Nicolás Cuvi · Americanae (AECID Library) · France (Paris)
The journal "Letras Verdes" called for reflections on biodiversity and urban agriculture, but many proposals were not published due to their technical report nature and lack of reflection on the meaning of these spaces. However, the article by Ana Cristina Torres et al., "Exploring the human-nature relationship: urban agriculture, conservation sciences, and the city," analyzes community gardens in Paris. In these spaces, dedicated to urban agriculture, the meaning of "nature" is redefined while new meanings about the city are constructed.
BiodiversityCommunityUrban–rural linkageReading Ecosystem Services at the Local Scale through a Territorial Approach: the Case of Peri-Urban Agriculture in the Thau Lagoon, Southern France
2015Laure‐Elise Ruoso, R. Plant, Pierre Maurel, C. Dupaquier, Philip Roche, Muriel Bonin · Ecology and Society · France (Thau Lagoon)
This record is a citation for a study on reading ecosystem services at the local scale through a territorial approach, focusing on peri-urban agriculture in the Thau Lagoon, Southern France. The abstract provides only the citation information and no further details about the study's methods or findings.
Peri-urban agricultureBiodiversitySowing 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 educationCivil Society Actors as Drivers of Socio-ecological Transition? Green Spaces in European Cities as Laboratories of Social Innovation. WWWforEurope Working Paper No. 102
2015Judith Schicklinski · WIFO Studies · Europe
Across Europe, self-organized civil society movements are emerging to address local challenges, particularly in maintaining and developing green spaces where local governments face budget constraints. Initiatives like urban gardening demonstrate people's ability to cooperate, organize, and take responsibility for green spaces, introducing practices that support socio-ecological transition. These activities contribute to urban sustainability by providing ecological benefits and recreational opportunities.
CommunityPolicyBiodiversityClimate changeMonitoring the Urban Tree Cover for Urban Ecosystem Services - The Case of Leipzig, Germany
2015Ellen Banzhaf, Helen Kollai · The international archives of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences/International archives of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences · Germany (Leipzig)
This study monitored urban tree cover in Leipzig, Germany, over a decade to understand its distribution and changes for sustainable urban development. Using digital orthophotos, a digital elevation model, and a digital surface model, an object-based image analysis scheme was employed for detailed tree mapping. The results demonstrated high accuracy in tree detection and effective avoidance of misclassification caused by shadows.
CommunityBiodiversityClimate changePolicyApplication 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 changeThe Agricultural District of Milan (Dam) and the peri-urban agriculture at ‘Parco delle Risaie'
2015Gioia Gibelli · TERRITORIO · Italy (Milan)
Agriculture has long been an important resource for Milan and its surroundings, with its significance increasing in recent years. Agricultural areas near the city can enhance urban metabolism and citizens' quality of life through ecosystem and landscape services, providing cultural and environmental services, and improving urban resilience. In this context, two important initiatives, the Agricultural District of Milan (DAM) and 'Parco delle Risaie', have been underway in Milan since 2008.
Peri-urban agricultureCommunityPolicyBiodiversityClimate changeVegetation composition of old extensive green roofs (from 1980s Germany)
2014· Ecological Processes · Germany
Surveys the vegetation composition of extensive green roofs built in 1980s Germany, examining how plant communities develop on green roofs over multiple decades.
BiodiversityPeri-urban agriculture, social inclusion of migrant population and Right to the City
2013Yves Cabannes, Isabel María Raposo · City · Europe
This paper conducted a comparative analysis of peri-urban agriculture in Lisbon and London to assess its contribution to migrant social inclusion and urban biodiversity. The study found that social inclusion patterns are city-specific; for example, Cape Verdean urban farming communities in Lisbon strengthen community bonds but do not necessarily lead to better integration into wider Portuguese society. Migrant urban farmers contribute to broadening biodiversity, primarily in Lisbon and to a lesser extent in London.
Limited or null effectPeri-urban agricultureCommunityBiodiversityWelfareÉtude de cas sur l'action collective : Italie
2013OECD · OECD eBooks · Italy
This chapter presents three case studies on collective action in Italy. The "Land Conservation" project in Tuscany involves a local public body and farmers co-producing environmental services to enhance flood resilience and landscape maintenance. The shared garden in Campania describes the concerted management of a green area on a degraded site transformed into an eco-archaeological park. The collective management of mountain meadows and pastures in the Aosta Valley coordinates multiple stakeholders with regional support to maintain the landscape and preserve biodiversity.
CommunityBiodiversityPolicyItaly case study
2013OECD · OECD eBooks · Italy
This chapter presents three Italian case studies: "Custody of the Territory" in Tuscany, a community garden in Campania, and mountain pastures in Aosta Valley. These cases discuss agri-environmental public goods provided by collective action, factors affecting outcomes in collective action, and policy measures supporting collective action, through environmental services by local government agencies and farmers' agreements, collaborative green spaces converted from degraded sites, and collective management of mountain pastures with regional support.
CommunityPolicyBiodiversityAliseda 18. Un huerto comunitario procedente de la recuperación vecinal del espacio urbano
2013María Antonia Fernández Nieto, Jorge Gallego Sánchez-Torija · Hábitat y Sociedad · Spain (Madrid)
An academic research group and a neighborhood association initiated a citizen participation process to recover a degraded urban space in the peripheral neighborhood of Puerta Bonita in Carabanchel, Madrid. This initiative aimed to convert the space into an urban community garden. The project seeks to reincorporate agriculture into the city with environmental sustainability criteria, influence local economies, regenerate neighborhood relations, and develop environmental education.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceFood educationBiodiversityCHARACTERIZATION OF HEAVY METALS ATMOSPHERIC DEPOSITION FOR ASSESSMENT OF URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IN THE BOLOGNA CITY (ITALY)
2013Vittori Antisari, Livia; Dipartimento Di Scienze E Tecnologie Agroambientali, University Of Bologna, Bologna, Serena Carbone, Ferronato, Chiara; Dipartimento Di Scienze E Tecnologie Agroambientali, University Of Bologna, Bologna, Simoni, Andrea; Dipartimento Di Scienze E Tecnologie Agroambientali, University Of Bologna, Bologna, Vianello, Gilmo; Dipartimento Di Scienze E Tecnologie Agroambientali, University Of Bologna, Bologna · Archivio istituzionale della ricerca (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna) · Italy (Bologna)
Concentrations of heavy metals (Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, V, Zn) were determined in topsoil, plants, and moss tissues in the suburban area of Bologna, Italy, due to an urban waste incinerator and other atmospheric emission sources. No correlation was found between metal content and the incinerator plant's distance. The pollution load index (PLI) for soil and moss indicated low environmental pollution, but the highest values in sites downwind of the incinerator and in a craft area indicated moderate pollution.
Contamination & food safetyHealthBiodiversityUrban Agricultures: Spatial, Social and Environmental Transformations in Rome
2013Giovanni Attili · IRIS Research product catalog (Sapienza University of Rome) · Italy (Rome)
This study focused on community gardens in Rome, Italy, which largely result from informal appropriation practices. While these gardens can enhance environmental and social quality of life, they require institutional support and present a crucial challenge for urban planning. The study highlights the need to explore tensions between social practices and institutional powers, and questions how public policy can legitimize these self-guiding societal expressions.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyBiodiversityHealth