Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
2056 results(64 / 83)
Heartside’s Glean Ride: Bringing Fresh Food and Ideas to the Heart of Grand Rapids
2015Selina Dorking, Paige Eisen, Joseph J. Godfrey, Regina López, Steven A. Smith · ScholarWorks - GVSU (Grand Valley State University) · United States
In the Heartside neighborhood of Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, the non-profit Heartside Gleaning Initiative (HGI) has been addressing food insecurity since 2014. During the winter semester of 2015, the "Food Fighters," a team of Grand Valley State University students, collaborated with HGI to tackle the challenges of food waste, food insecurity, and community sustainability. Their efforts resulted in the Heartside Glean Ride mobile food cart plan and a brochure for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes, designed to increase food distribution.
Food lossWelfareCommunityFood educationHealthExploring Urban Agriculture: A Study of Sustainable Urban Agriculture Along with the Beltline in Atlanta, Georgia
2015Pai Liu · TigerPrints (Clemson University) · United States (Atlanta)
This study explored how urban agriculture can be effective in cities by comparing and evaluating eight U.S. case studies against six criteria: locality, experience, economy, health, community engagement, and resources. The research aimed to develop a new model for sustainable urban agriculture to improve urban living environments. Results indicated how these six criteria interact to form an integrated framework for a "perma-urban farm," with a design application along Atlanta's Beltline as an example.
HealthEconomicsClimate changeDoes the Royal Horticultural Society Campaign for School Gardening increase intake of fruit and vegetables in children? Results from two randomised controlled trials
2014Christian M., Evans C., Cade J. · Public Health Research, Vol. 2, No. 4 (NIHR Journals Library) · United Kingdom
Two randomised controlled trials in London primary schools evaluating the RHS Campaign for School Gardening. They found gardening alone had very little impact on children's fruit and vegetable intake, suggesting it must be combined with nutrition education to change diet.
Food educationHealthPolicyIncreasing homogeneity in global food supplies and the implications for food security
2014Khoury C.K., Bjorkman A.D., Dempewolf H., Ramirez-Villegas J., Guarino L., Struik P.C. · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) · Global
Shows national diets grew about 36% more similar over five decades, increasingly reliant on a few major crops, with implications for food security, nutrition, and the value of conserving crop diversity.
Heirloom & landraceBiodiversityHealthFood education「まちなか菜園」を事例とした都市型農園の現状と利用者ニーズの特性に関する研究
2014河野 誠, 藤田 直子 · ランドスケープ研究 77巻5号 pp.433-436 · Japan
Analyzing user needs at corporate-run rooftop and over-track rental farms such as Toho Leo's 'Machinaka Saen', this paper characterizes high fees, convenient locations, and rich services as hallmarks of pioneering private-sector urban farm models.
CommunityEconomicsHealthMotivations for Investing in Allotment Gardening in Dublin: A Sociological Analysis
2014Kettle P. · Irish Journal of Sociology · Ireland (Dublin)
This sociological study examines why Dublin residents invest in allotment gardening, finding a significant demographic shift away from traditional older male participants toward younger, middle-class, and female growers. It contextualises Dublin's growing allotment movement within broader urban agriculture trends.
CommunityHealthEconomicsBuilding Urban Resilience: Assessing Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture in Dakar
2014Padgham J., Jabbour J. · United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) · Senegal (Dakar)
This UNEP report presents findings from a 2012 knowledge assessment of urban and peri-urban agriculture in Dakar, identifying key sustainability threats including urban encroachment, degraded water and soil quality, fragmented policy, and farmers' limited credit access.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityHealthEvaluation of the impact of a school gardening intervention on children's fruit and vegetable intake: a randomised controlled trial
2014Christian M.S., Evans C.E.L., Nykjaer C., Hancock N., Cade J.E. · International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity · UK
A randomized controlled trial across 23 schools comparing an RHS-led gardening intervention with a teacher-led one; 641 children completed it, finding little evidence that school gardening alone improves children's fruit and vegetable intake.
Food educationHealthUrban green space, public health, and environmental justice: The challenge of making cities 'just green enough'
2014Jennifer R. Wolch, Jason Byrne, Joshua P. Newell · Landscape and Urban Planning · USA / China (comparative)
Reviews greening efforts in US and Chinese cities and documents the 'urban green space paradox': public greening policy meant to improve health disproportionately benefits affluent white communities and can displace the intended beneficiaries via rising property values.
PolicyHealthWelfareCost-effectiveness of community vegetable gardens for people living with HIV in Zimbabwe
2014Chloe Puett, Cécile Salpéteur, Elisabeth Lacroix, Simbarashe Dennis Zimunya, Anne-Dominique Israël, Myriam Aït-Aïssa · Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation · Zimbabwe (Chipinge)
A 2014 societal-perspective cost-effectiveness analysis of a low-input community vegetable garden (LIG) programme for households affected by HIV in five wards of Chipinge District, eastern Zimbabwe. Activity-based costing drew on accounting data, 15 focus groups with participants and 5 with comparators, and 33 key-informant interviews; effects were measured with the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) and Food Consumption Score (FCS) for 1,330 participant and 1,330 comparator households. Total societal cost was €1,525 per beneficiary household (€1,415 incremental), giving €12,456 per household reaching the top HDDS tertile and €8,299 per household reaching an acceptable FCS (>35) — 20–30 times Zimbabwe's GDP per capita. The authors conclude the gardens are neither cost-effective nor affordable relative to other interventions. Stated limitations include no baseline data, self-selection among participants, recall bias (data collected more than a year after the programme) and an inability to measure full garden yields. Note that the setting is a rural district, not a city, so the figures cannot be transferred directly to urban gardens.
EconomicsHealthWelfareCommunity Gardens to Fight Urban Youth Crime and Stabilize Neighborhoods
2014Art McCabe · International journal of child health and human development · Global
This paper discusses how reclaiming abandoned properties and vacant lots in inner-city areas and converting them into community gardens or pocket parks can address urban health challenges and youth crime. It suggests that these conversions can reduce health disparities, eliminate blight, stabilize neighborhoods, and foster community engagement. The paper highlights that community gardens can serve as a cost-effective, multi-purpose urban asset, meeting the demand for such spaces, especially among immigrant populations.
CommunityHealthWelfareFood educationFarmers perception on excreta reuse for peri-urban agriculture in southern Ghana
2014Nimoh Fred, Ohene-Yankyera Kwasi, Poku Kofi, Konradsen Flemming, Claude-François Robert · Journal of Development and Agricultural Economics · Ghana
A study in Ghana's Shai-Osudoku district investigated farmers' attitudes toward excreta reuse for peri-urban agriculture, surveying 400 randomly selected respondents. A majority of respondents disagreed that excreta are waste and were willing to use them as fertilizer. However, a majority also agreed that excreta can pose health risks, and perceptions on reuse differed among households.
Contamination & food safetyPeri-urban agricultureOrganic cycleHealthUrban Community Gardeners' Knowledge and Perceptions of Soil Contaminant Risks
2014Brent F. Kim, Melissa N. Poulsen, Jared D. Margulies, Katie L. Dix, Anne Palmer, Keeve E. Nachman · PLoS ONE · United States (Baltimore, Maryland)
This study characterized urban community gardeners' knowledge and perceptions of soil contaminant risks in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, through surveys with 70 gardeners from 15 gardens and interviews with 18 key informants. It found low levels of concern and inconsistent knowledge regarding heavy metal and organic chemical contaminants among gardeners. Furthermore, barriers to investigating garden site history and conducting soil tests, along with limited knowledge of best practices for reducing exposure, were identified.
Contamination & food safetyCommunityHealthPolicyStudy protocol: effects of school gardens on children’s physical activity
2014Nancy M. Wells, Beth M. Myers, Charles Henderson · Archives of Public Health · United States (New York State)
This study is a protocol for a randomized controlled trial involving 12 schools in New York State. It aims to examine the effect of school gardens on children's overall physical activity, sedentary behavior, and physical activity during the school day. Data will be collected at baseline and at three post-intervention follow-up waves at 6, 12, and 18 months using surveys and accelerometry.
Food educationHealthCommunityMethodology for Assessing the Association between Urban Market Vegetable Contamination and Consumer Biomarker Exposure in Kinshasa, 2014
2014Aminata Koné, Kouamé M. Adou · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Congo (Kinshasa)
This article details a methodology developed in 2014 to assess the association between heavy metal contamination in market-sold vegetables and consumer biomarker exposure in Kinshasa, Congo. The cross-sectional design includes stratified random sampling of vendors, laboratory analysis of leafy vegetables for lead, cadmium, and mercury, recruitment of regular consumers for interviews and blood/urine sample collection, and statistical analysis using multiple regression. The described protocol was successfully piloted, demonstrating feasibility with a high participant recruitment rate.
Contamination & food safetyHealthPolicyResearch on development strategy of urban agriculture based on customer value
2014Long Cheng-zh · Guangdong nongye kexue · Global
This article, based on comprehensive literature research, proposes a framework for an urban agriculture strategic development plan. The framework is rooted in customer value theory, focusing on modern industry competition and strategic theory. It suggests that the strategic approach for urban agriculture should fully activate the entrepreneurial spirit of market participants while maintaining its quasi-public product attributes.
EconomicsPolicyHealthCommunityClimate change미국 학교정원운동(School Garden Movement)의 발전과정
2014금혜진 · · United States
This study examined the philosophical background and historical development of the school garden movement in the USA to derive implications for Korean school gardening programs. The movement emerged from late 19th-century educational ideas, showing a process of formation (1891-1914), decline (post-WWI, 1950s), and revival (from 1990s). The revival was driven by efforts to address childhood obesity, nature-deficit, and improve academic achievements.
Food educationHealthCommunityKnowing “Good Food”: Immigrant Knowledge and the Racial Politics of Farmworker Food Insecurity
2014Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern · Antipode · United States
Research on farmworker food insecurity in the USA points out that food assistance providers often treat farmworkers' inability to afford healthy food as a lack of knowledge, reinforcing racialized assumptions that people of color do not know "good" food. This study argues that food security and healthy eating are not a matter of consumers making healthy "choices," but rather a matter of class-based and racial differences within the food system.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthWelfareOrganophosphate Pesticide Residues in Okra and Brinjal Grown in Peri-Urban Environment of Big Cities of Punjab
2014Muhammad Zaman, Faqir Muhammad Anjum, Ali Asghar, Muhammad Sajid · · Pakistan
This study estimated organophosphate pesticide exposure from okra and brinjal consumption in urban populations of Punjab, Pakistan. 90 samples each of okra and brinjal were collected from peri-urban areas of Faisalabad, Multan, and Gujranwala and analyzed for chlorpyrifos, profenophos, and triazophos residues. Findings showed that 85 (47.22%) of the 180 samples were contaminated, and 15 (8.33%) samples had residue values higher than Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs).
Contamination & food safetyHealthPeri-urban agricultureTaste in the Anthropocene: The Emergence of “Thing-power” in Food Gardens
2014Bethaney Turner · M/C Journal · Global
This paper examines the role of taste in relation to food produced in backyard or community gardens. As outlined by Bourdieu, taste is constructed by factors primarily driven by economic position and cultural influences, with the rise of international agribusiness significantly impacting the social shaping of tastes. Food is primarily conceptualized as an economic and symbolic good controlled by humans, and literature on food provisioning choices in food sociology and human geography tends to focus on understanding food purchasing decisions and eating habits.
CommunityEconomicsHealthQuel(s) rôle(s) pour l'agriculture urbaine à Montréal-Nord : perceptions et vision des résidents.
2014Marie-Ève Voghel Robert · · Canada (Montréal)
This research internship, conducted in Montreal-Nord, Canada, during winter and spring 2013, aimed to understand the potential of urban agriculture from the perspective of both gardeners and non-gardeners. Through five group interviews, participants emphasized the essential role of human and social relationships in collective gardening projects, beyond just food production. They also proposed integrating collective gardening with other projects to create a comprehensive food system in Montreal-Nord, enhancing project longevity and food accessibility.
CommunityFood educationHealthExploring the key factors to the success of the organic gardening for primary schools project and potential obstacles that may reduce the efficacy of such initiatives
2014Aoife McCormack · eSource (Dublin Business School) · Ireland (Dublin)
This qualitative study used in-depth interviews with professionals to identify key success factors and potential obstacles for organic gardening projects in primary schools. Findings highlighted the benefits of school gardens, including their observable impact on children's social, food, and environmental development, and their integration with the curriculum. The study also indicated that funding and resource limitations are areas requiring further research to improve the efficacy of such initiatives.
Food educationCommunityHealthBiodiversityWastewater usage in urban and peri-urban agricultural production systems: scenarios from India
2014Prem José Vazhacharickal, Sumita Gupta Gangopadhyay · Kobra (Universitätsbibliothek Kassel) · India
This paper examines urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in India, focusing on wastewater irrigation and its associated human health risks. The study identifies potential health hazards for farmers, laborers, and consumers, including microbial pathogens and helminth (intestinal parasites). While UPA is presented as an option to address urban food demand, the paper emphasizes that "good practice UPA" requires integrated approaches and suitable risk reduction mechanisms to improve safety.
Contamination & food safetyPeri-urban agricultureHealthEconomicsUrban Environmental Quality and Sustainable Food Sourcing: A Spatial Approach Using Italian Provincial Data
2014Massimiliano Agovino, Antonio Garofalo, Angela Mariani · RIVISTA DI STUDI SULLA SOSTENIBILITA · Italy
This paper assessed and compared the urban environmental quality performance of Italian provinces using the Legambiente Index and the Local Moran Transition Probability Matrix. The results revealed a persistent dualism between Northern and Southern Italy and a lack of positive environmental spillover among neighboring provinces. The study suggests that Southern Italy should prioritize improving sustainable food sourcing for urban development.
HealthPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeImproving Participation of Non-Traditional Extension Audiences: The Empower Ocala Garden Project
2014Austen Moore, Norma Samuel, Glenn D. Israel · Journal of Extension · United States
The Empower Ocala Garden project in Marion County aimed to increase participation among low-income minority populations and address food desert conditions. It created a community garden for 12 households and provided bi-weekly trainings. Evaluation using pre- and post-project questionnaires showed participants attended 53.4% of sessions, attitudes improved by 9.82% across four indicators, and knowledge increased by 19.57% across eight indicators.
CommunityFood educationWelfareHealth