Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
1626 results(63 / 66)
Expanding Our Understanding of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA): An Examination of Member Satisfaction
2005K. Brandon Lang · Journal of Sustainable Agriculture · United States
This study tested eleven hypotheses on member satisfaction in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) using survey data from 204 members of 5 mid-Atlantic CSAs during the 2000 growing season. Results indicated that satisfaction positively correlated with supporting alternative agricultural practices, frequency of CSA visits, years of membership, and the likelihood of shares meeting produce needs. Being vegetarian, female, older, or a working member were additional predictors of satisfaction.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsTending Cultural Landscapes and Food Citizenship in Toronto's Community Gardens
2004Lauren Baker · Geographical Review · Canada (Toronto)
Toronto's community gardens, numbering over 100, are sites of place-based politics linked to the community food-security movement. These gardens reflect the city's cultural landscape and serve as a strategy to regenerate the local food system and provide access to healthy, affordable food. Three case studies illustrate the complexities of "food citizenship" and the role gardeners play in transforming urban spaces.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyLeisure Spaces as Potential Sites for Interracial Interaction: Community Gardens in Urban Areas
2004Kimberly J. Shinew, Troy D. Glover, Diana C. Parry · Journal of Leisure Research · United States (St. Louis)
A study focusing on African American and White gardeners in St. Louis, United States, examined whether urban community gardens are perceived as spaces where people of different races can successfully integrate. The study also sought to examine race and its relationship to perceptions, motivations, and benefits of community gardening.
CommunityHealthFood educationThe Planner in the Garden: A Historical View into the Relationship between Planning and Community Gardens
2004Laura Lawson · Journal of Planning History · United States
This historical review of US community garden programs since the 1890s reveals an ambivalent relationship between community gardens and the planning profession. While praised for serving environmental, social, and individual objectives, community gardens are largely ignored in long-range planning due to being perceived as opportunistic and temporary. This highlights unresolved tensions between professional planning and civic concerns, and between comprehensive planning and local interventions.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsOASIS: Organic Vegetable Production Teaching Endeavor and Community Supported Agriculture Venture
2004Constance L. Falk, Pauline Pao, Christopher S. Cramer · HortScience · United States (New Mexico)
In January 2002, the OASIS organic vegetable garden was initiated on the New Mexico State University campus as a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) venture. The project aims to provide students with experiential education in organic production and business management, investigate the feasibility of small-scale organic drip irrigation in the Chihuahuan desert, and demonstrate the CSA model. In its first two years, the 2/3-acre project grew about 230 varieties and generated $32,000 in revenue, with 32 members in the first year and 69 in 2003.
Food educationCommunityCSA & TeikeiOrganic cycleViolência Escolar e Horta Comunitária: A Educação Ambiental Enquanto Agente de Socialização
2004Juliana Munaretti de Oliveira, Janaína F. F. Cintrão · Revista Brasileira Multidisciplinar · Brazil (Araraquara)
This research in Araraquara, Brazil, investigated behavioral problems among high school students at a state school in Vila Xavier. A questionnaire was used to understand behaviors conflicting with social norms. The study observed changes in student behavior related to food, specifically increased appreciation for the cafeteria and respect for lunch staff. These observations led to the creation of a community garden, which contributed to students' socialization, offered possibilities for new skills, and generated value for citizenship, in addition to supplementing family nutrition.
CommunityFood educationHealthBox 2.3 Air pollution and urban and peri-urban agriculture in South Asia
2004Kenny Lynch · · United States
A 1992 survey by Bryant and Johnston in the US examined farming in the 'city's countryside'. The survey found that key concerns among farmers included changes in the local community, excessive traffic, issues of trespassing and vandalism, and complaints from non-farm neighbors. These findings indicate challenges in governance and community relations for peri-urban farmers.
Governance failurePeri-urban agricultureCommunityPolicyGrowing Healthy Children: Can Gardening Improve Fruit and Vegetable Attitudes in Minority Children?
2004Geralyn Nolan, Jayne M. Zajicek · HortScience · United States
This research investigated whether gardening supplemented with nutritional curriculum could improve fruit and vegetable attitudes in minority children in Texas elementary schools. Children completed pre- and post-tests evaluating attitudes, snack preferences, and nutritional knowledge. Statistically significant positive differences were found in all three variables after the gardening and nutritional instruction.
Food educationHealthCommunityDesigning a Children's Garden for Experiential Learning in the South Carolina Botanical Garden
2004Robert F. Polomski, Carri Carver Wallace, Mary Haque, Lisa K. Wagner, James E. Arnold, Amy D. Craddock, Christian Maloney Cicimurri, Lisa D. Chancellor · HortScience · United States (South Carolina)
An interdisciplinary team designed a 2.5-acre Children's Garden for experiential learning at the South Carolina Botanical Garden. The plans include 13 outdoor theme gardens, such as a "Dinosaur Dig" and a "Food for Thought Garden." A design class of 15 students contributed 2,000 hours to the project, producing 30 drawing boards of research, analysis, and design proposals presented in Fall 2003.
Food educationCommunityAgricultura urbana e segurança alimentar em Belo Horizonte: cultivando uma cidade sustentável
2004Daniela Adil Oliveira de Almeida · Organic Eprints (International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems, and Research Institute of Organic Agriculture) · Brazil (Belo Horizonte)
This article focuses on the "Project for Training Local Development Agents in Food and Nutritional Security and Urban Agriculture," which began in 2003 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Food educationFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityThe Community Household: The Foundation of Everyday Resistance
2004Roberta M. Feldman, Susan Stall · Cambridge University Press eBooks · United States
This paper explores the concept of the community household through the case of Mrs. Mary Rias, a resident activist at Wentworth Gardens. Mrs. Rias, who coordinated and worked in a community garden for over a decade, is depicted as extending her caretaking and nurturing roles from her home into the community, often meeting neighbors' needs within her residence. This case illustrates mutual support and family-like relationships within the community.
CommunityWelfareWhat's for dinner?Organizing around food access issues in Los Angeles.
2004Prebus, Olivia · Occidental College Scholar (Occidental College) · United States (Los Angeles)
This work addresses the gross inequity of food access in low-income neighborhoods of Los Angeles, such as MacArthur Park, where grocery stores are scarce. The author's internship at the Center for Food and Justice involved projects like a Community Food Assessment and organizing a community garden, all focused on empowering communities to tackle complex food access issues. The abstract highlights the severe problem of limited healthy food options leading to simultaneous obesity and malnutrition.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood educationHealthWelfareAgricultura urbana: uma alternativa contra a fome em Corumbá e Ladário (MS).
2004J. S. [UNESP] Gonçalves, S. A. A. dos [UNESP] Santos, F. F. CURADO · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Corumbá)
This work, part of the "Food Security and Citizenship" project coordinated by Embrapa Pantanal in Corumbá and Ladário, Brazil, aims to promote healthy food production. It seeks to improve the food quality of the urban population by creating alternatives for better food and nutritional security and income generation in these areas.
Food sovereignty & justiceWelfareHealthEconomicsCommunityCommunity Gardens: Lessons Learned From California Healthy Cities and Communities
2003Joan M. Twiss, Joy Dickinson, Shirley Duma, Tanya Kleinman, Heather Paulsen, Liz Rilveria · American Journal of Public Health · United States (California)
Community gardens enhance nutrition, physical activity, and social capital, promoting public health and quality of life. The California Healthy Cities and Communities (CHCC) program funded successful community gardens in several cities, which incorporated local leadership, volunteers, and skill-building. These initiatives led to policies for land and water use, improved produce access, and strengthened community building skills.
CommunityHealthFood educationPolicyCommunity Gardens and Politics of Scale in New York City
2003Christopher M. Smith, Hilda E. Kurtz · Geographical Review · United States (New York City)
New York City community gardens have faced political contestation for thirty years, notably in 1999 when 114 gardens were slated for public auction and redevelopment. This article examines the controversy as a politics of scale, where garden advocates expanded the dispute beyond individual gardens and the city. The analysis highlights the significance of scale politics for grassroots organizations within a market-centric, neoliberal economic framework.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCommunity Supported Agriculture on the Central Coast: The CSA Grower Experience
2003Jan Perez · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · United States (California)
This 2003 research brief investigated the experiences of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) growers on the central coast of California. The study examined their motivations, economic viability, challenges, and issues related to equal access to their products. The research brief indicates that challenges and issues of equal access are present in CSA projects.
Equity & displacementCSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityThe Story of the Queen Anne Memorial Garden: Resisting a Dominant Cultural Narrative
2003Troy D. Glover · Journal of Leisure Research · United States
This narrative inquiry explored how 14 participants in the Queen Anne Memorial Garden, a community garden built to combat urban decline, collectively reconfigured events into a “success story.” The aggregated community narrative illustrates how a collective leisure pursuit can be a grassroots effort to address urban decline and reshape collective identity.
CommunityPolicyHealthLesson study : the school garden as an integrating context for science and language learning
2003Karen L. Nordstrom · Digital Commons - CSUMB (California State University, Monterey Bay) · United States
This research investigated the impact of collaborative, reflective teaching practice on teacher professional development in science education. The MBSP/LASERS Summer School Academy implemented lesson study, integrating hands-on, inquiry-based learning and English language acquisition within the context of a school garden. Qualitative data analyses identified emergent themes from teacher and student interviews, focus groups, and written reflection, measuring the effectiveness of lesson study on teacher professional development and student perceptions of garden-based learning.
Food educationCommunity"Community Interested" Individuals
2003Kluthe, Ryan · Occidental College Scholar (Occidental College) · United States
This paper presents observations of 13 teens in the Youth Leadership Council of Highland Park, United States, who dedicated hundreds of hours to community projects without individual incentive. These observations contradict Mancur Olsen's theory that groups only organize under coercion or special devices, suggesting the existence of "community interested" individuals.
CommunityWelfareNew York's Community Gardens: Follow-Up
2003Cindy Rosenthal · TDR/The Drama Review · United States (New York City)
This abstract provides publication details for an article titled "New York's Community Gardens: Follow-Up" by Cindy Rosenthal, published in TDR/The Drama Review in 2003. The content of the article itself is not provided in the abstract, only its bibliographic information.
CommunityContemporary streamkeepers : a comparison of two urban horticultural restoration programs
2003Charles Rowley · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · United States (California)
This paper compared the successes and failures of two urban creek restoration programs in California: Temescal Creek (initiated nearly 30 years ago) and White Oak Creek (completed about four years ago). Based on the author's success criteria, the more recent White Oak Creek program achieved significant success, while the earlier Temescal Creek restoration did not reach generally acceptable success levels. This difference is attributed to changes in management and scientific practice over 30 years, including substantial changes in the legal basis for restoration, improved monitoring requirements, and the critical role of properly engineered low flow distribution structures.
Limited or null effectCommunityBiodiversityPolicyBuilding Houses, Building Lives
2003Lorie Hammond · Mind Culture and Activity · United States (California)
This article uses a narrative format to describe situations in which Mienh immigrant families from a Southeast Asian hill tribe adapt to technological and cultural change within a California elementary school sponsoring a family literacy, school-community garden, and house building project. It argues that adjustments can be creative and empowering if schools incorporate community "funds of knowledge" into their instructional plan. Projects such as gardening and house building provide rich contexts for intercultural dialogues.
CommunityFood educationWelfareCommunity Supported…Anything: Applying Concepts and Practices of Community Supported Agriculture to a Variety of Products in Vermont
2003Gregory Hellmann Flatt · School for International Training Digital Collections (School for International Training) · United States (Vermont)
This thesis examines the diversification of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement in Vermont, expanding beyond vegetables to include other products. The author, a CSA coordinator, documented several local businesses applying CSA concepts and practices in novel ways through participant observation, formal and informal interviews conducted at farmers' markets and agricultural conferences. The author concludes that CSA concepts and principles can be widely applied and represent a viable economic model for small- to medium-sized businesses that produce high-demand goods and services with local support.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceConflicting Rights to the City in New York's Community Gardens
2002Lynn A. Staeheli, Don Mitchell, Kristina Gibson · GeoJournal · USA (New York City)
Analyzes the Giuliani administration's 1998–1999 policy of transferring community gardens to housing development and auctioning 100+ gardens, exposing how a city 'greening then privatizing' policy reversed itself and treated public gardens as disposable exchange-value assets.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsIncommensurability, Land Use, and the Right to Space: Community Gardens in New York City1
2002Karen Schmelzkopf · Urban Geography · United States (New York City)
This study examined the conflict over community gardens in New York City, arguing that it was a struggle concerning the right to space. The city, operating from an entrepreneurial governance perspective, claimed that the gardens represented a loss of exchange value and potential housing. The city used market economy rhetoric to dismiss incommensurable use values, thereby restricting rights to the city within a demonstration of power and "reason."
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justice