Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
2066 results(65 / 83)
Imported from Detroit: An Examination of a City in Crisis
2013Freda G. Sampson, Thomas G. Costello, Stacey Stevens, Desiree Squire · Journal of Law and Society · United States (Detroit)
This paper examines Detroit, United States, as a city in crisis, analyzing redevelopment conflicts between gentrification and revitalization. It applies a "Litmus Test for Equity and Opportunity" to current redevelopment efforts, including the Detroit Future City Plan and projects by Michael Ilitch & Company and Dan Gilbert. The analysis suggests that despite efforts, the complexities of this post-industrial city, particularly regarding its predominantly African-American population, are only superficially addressed, indicating ongoing equity challenges.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicyPre-Service Practicality in Urban Agricultural Education
2013Kassey Steele · The Agricultural education magazine · United States
This paper discusses the increasing relevance of urban agriculture in the United States, where the urban population was almost 80% in 2010 and continues to grow. It argues that as urban dwellers increasingly influence food consumption decisions, understanding agriculture becomes crucial. The paper suggests that university agricultural education programs should prepare pre-service teachers to address the needs of a predominantly urban population, making urban agriculture a less contradictory concept.
Food educationUrban–rural linkageThe Influence of Habitat Management and Landscape on Spider Assemblages within Urban Greenspaces of Cleveland, Ohio
2013Caitlin E. Burkman · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network) · United States (Cleveland)
A two-year study investigated the influence of habitat management and landscape on spider assemblages within urban greenspaces in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. This research was set against the backdrop of thousands of acres of vacant land resulting from economic decline and population loss, which are being reutilized for strategies like urban agriculture and small native planting parks. Spiders were used as a model throughout this process, but the abstract does not state specific research findings.
BiodiversityCommunityEvaluation of Development Projects: a Process-Centered Approach in the Outskirts of Lima,Peru
2013José Luis Yagüe Blanco, Agustín Montes, Francisco J. Morales · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Peru (Lima)
This article examines the evaluation of an urban agriculture project in Lima, Peru, using a process-centered approach. The approach combines different evaluation tools to identify and analyze processes with involved members. Results indicate that this method provides a better understanding of the real sustainability of project outcomes.
CommunityPolicyGarden based education : the importance of agriculture in elementary schools of the Salinas Valley
2013Maritza Bautista · Digital Commons - CSUMB (California State University, Monterey Bay) · United States (California)
This research highlighted the lack of agricultural education in elementary schools in California's Salinas Valley and implemented an action project to build a garden at Alisal Community Elementary School. The project presented students with concepts related to agriculture, food production, and nutrition, linking them to science. These efforts helped students make conscious decisions about their diet, how they treat the earth, and potential future agricultural careers.
Food educationCommunityExternships in Sustainability Program as an Outreach Tool for Extension
2013Mark Apel, Ayman Mostafa, Bill Brandau, Gregg M. Garfin · Journal of Extension · United States (Arizona)
In 2011, Arizona Cooperative Extension implemented the Externships in Sustainability program, where undergraduate students conducted community-based sustainability projects. This program, distinct from internships, allowed students to apply skills to community outreach, benefiting agents, students, and communities through improved university-community relationships and projects like community gardens. Other states' Extension programs could adopt this model.
CommunityFood educationClimate changeThe Big Watermelon: A Cultural History of Florida's Brooksville Ridge
2013Douglas E. Ponticos · Digital Commons - University of South Florida (University of South Florida) · United States (Florida)
A thesis on the cultural history of Florida's Brooksville Ridge in the United States traced the changing cultural landscapes of west-central Florida, from pre-Columbian and Seminole landscapes to the rise of the Ridge. Using primary and secondary documents, including local primary sources such as photographs of locals replanting forests and accounts of community gardens and canning, the study traced how a uniquely settled Floridian culture emerged from unsettled landscapes during the early 20th century, amidst war and depression.
CommunityHeirloom & landraceTo Detroiters and Outsiders
2013Leah A. Walker · · United States (Detroit)
This comment discusses the history, benefits, and laws relevant to urban farming in the United States, with a specific focus on Detroit. It highlights the essential role of urban agriculture for Detroit's survival and potential revival. The comment also examines the laws with the most immediate impact on urban farming in Detroit and the significance of timing due to impending changes in zoning ordinances.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsVideo - Gael Blackhall: Partnership roles, community gardens & the City of Calgary
2013Gael Blackhall · · Canada (Calgary)
This video features an interview with Gael Blackhall of the Calgary Horticultural Society. The interview discusses how different organizations interact in community gardening issues.
CommunityPolicyRooted in Place: Growing and Learning from Cultural Tradition in an Urban Food Desert
2013Kevin J. Holohan · Language arts journal of Michigan · United States
This paper is based on an empirical study conducted at a charter high school in a Midwestern US metropolitan area. The study investigated how social ecology, with urban agriculture as a hands-on practice, fosters an ideal of citizenship through a program where students collect traditional Puerto Rican recipes from elders and grow the necessary produce within their community.
Food educationCommunityHeirloom & landraceFood sovereignty & justiceCommunity Garden Policy Participation Proposal
2013Jenna Campbell, Phyllis Hejl, Caroline Miller, William Risse · University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy (University of Minnesota) · United States
This record is a report and poster titled "Community Garden Policy Participation Proposal." It was completed by students enrolled in PA 5253: Planning Participation Processes, taught by Dr. Carissa Schively Slotterback in fall 2013 at the University of Minnesota.
CommunityPolicyHarvesting More Than Vegetables: The Potential Weight Control Benefits of Community Gardening
2013Cathleen D. Zick, Ken R. Smith, Lori Kowaleski‐Jones, Claire Uno, Brittany J. Merrill · American Journal of Public Health · United States
This study in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, examined the association between community gardening and healthy body weight, comparing BMI data from 198 gardeners to control groups of neighbors, siblings, and spouses. Both women and men community gardeners had significantly lower BMIs than their neighbors, with estimated reductions of -1.84 for women and -2.36 for men. Gardeners also showed lower odds of being overweight or obese compared to their neighbors.
CommunityHealthScholar garden: Educational strategy for life
2013Benito Rodríguez Haros, Enriqueta Tello García, Salvador Aguilar Californias · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Mexico
This paper describes "Un pasito en grande," an agroenvironmental vegetable garden established five years ago at Colegio Ateneo nursery school in Tezoyuca, Mexico, where agrochemicals are forbidden. The garden, involving children and parents, aims to address the erosion of knowledge related to food production and safety. It has become a space for ecological and environmental awareness, spreading to other educational settings and operating on principles of ethics and permaculture.
Food educationCommunityOrganic cycleFresh Squeezed: The Dilemma of Local Food Production Along Colorado's Front Range Urban Corridor
2013Amanda Jessie Weaver · Digital Commons - DU (University of Denver) · United States (Colorado)
This project combined U.S. Agricultural Census data with a survey of local producers in Colorado's Front Range Urban Corridor to examine the competition between urban development and food production. The study found that urban development is increasingly encroaching on rich agricultural lands, which are also desirable for housing. Consequently, Colorado faces increasing competition for land, potentially driving local food prices up and displacing producers to peripheral areas or out of food production entirely.
Governance failureUrban–rural linkageEconomicsPolicyClimate change`On the Wrong Side of the Track? East London and the Post Olympics` by P. Cohen
2013Ben Kochan, Marie Howland · Journal of urban regeneration and renewal · United States (New York City)
This record compiles book reviews for "On the Wrong Side of the Track? East London and the Post Olympics" by P. Cohen, "London 2012: How was it for us?" edited by Mark Perryman, and "From the Ground Up, Community Gardens in New York and the Politics of Spatial Transformation" by Efrat Eizenberg. Each book is reviewed by either Ben Kochan or Marie Howland.
CommunityPolicyThe Raw and the Processed
2013Shelly Errington · Gastronomica The Journal of Food and Culture · United States (California)
This research article is by Shelly Errington, focusing on visible and audible aspects of culture. The author is in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California at Santa Cruz and uses her kitchen garden and edible landscape to imagine being part of the farm-to-table crowd.
DIYPromoting Environmental Stewardship through gardens: A case study of children’s views of an urban school garden
2013Рена Упитис, Scott Hughes, Anna C. Peterson · Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies · Canada
An 8-month qualitative study was conducted at a school garden program in one public elementary school in southeastern Ontario, Canada. Data collected from eight students through observations, semi-structured interviews, and student photographs identified five themes enhancing environmental stewardship (including connecting with nature, caretaking, and harvesting) and three themes explaining the program's long-term success (including parental involvement and community connections). The study highlighted benefits of the school garden program, as well as some difficulties associated with the program and limitations of the study.
Governance failureFood educationCommunityBiodiversityShould It Really Matter
2013Marshall A. Baker · The Agricultural education magazine · United States (New Mexico)
This article describes two agricultural education programs in New Mexico, USA: one established in 1935 in a rural community connected to the dairy industry and the Ogallala Aquifer, and another established in 2009 in an urban area focused on sustainability and environmental issues. Both programs are successful in advancing agricultural education by connecting to local community issues. The article suggests that a program's connection to its local community and its concerns is more important than the size of the city.
Food educationCommunityClimate changeLa agricultura urbana como proceso de desarrollo a escala humana. Los huertos urbanos en zonas degradadas de São Paulo
2013Glenda Dimuro, Esteban de Manuel Jeréz · POLI-RED (Revistas Digitales Politécnicas) (La Universidad Politécnica de Madrid) · Brazil (São Paulo)
This paper presents the 'Cidades sem fome' project, a citizen initiative in São Paulo's degraded areas. Through urban agriculture, this project enables residents to satisfy basic needs, regain control over their lives, and challenge market-driven growth processes. It aims to reduce hunger and unemployment, foster social mobilization, and rehabilitate degraded urban areas, offering an alternative to current urban production and management models.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareEconomicsEffect of Experience-based School Learning Gardens Professional Development Program Workshop on Teachers' Attitudes towards Sustainability Education
2013Jan Ray, Koh Ming Wei, Diane M. Barrett · · United States (Hawaiʻi Island)
This study examined the effect of a week-long teacher training workshop, part of a year-long School Learning Gardens Professional Development Program, on 29 classroom and school learning garden teachers in Hawaiʻi. Teachers' attitudes toward sustainability education were measured before and after the workshop. Findings showed a statistically significant increase in teachers' overall attitudes toward sustainability education, including aspects related to productivity and comfort.
Food educationClimate changeCommunityHerd Management: Labor Strategies in Local Food Production
2013Brandi Janssen · Anthropology of Work Review · United States
This paper explores labor strategies for producers in the growing local food sector, where increased demand creates challenges for scaling operations. A major obstacle to growth is access to reliable, affordable labor. The paper discusses typical options for obtaining and retaining labor, including paid employees, volunteers, and interns, noting that each strategy has social and economic advantages and disadvantages for producers and the community.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityRoots, Tendrils, Sprouts and Shoots: A Case Study of Parkallen’s Community Garden, a permaculture project
2013Marlene Wurfel · Earth Common Journal · Canada (Edmonton)
This article presents a case study of the Parkallen Community Garden in Edmonton, Canada, which began its first growing season in Spring 2012. The garden transformed an unused strip of lawn into a communal "edible food forest" and won the City of Edmonton's top community gardening award in its first year. The study details how the permaculture design was implemented and interpreted within the gardening community.
CommunityDIYFood educationOrganic cycleWest End Community Gardens
2013Stephanie Larson · Open Scholarship Institutional Repository (Washington University in St. Louis) · United States
This project located West End community gardens in relation to select social determinants, including income level, occupier's ownership status, ethnic diversity, and population density.
CommunityWelfarePrairie to Prairie: Ungrowth in American Cities
2013Catalina Freixas, Pablo Moyano Fernandez · Suburban Sustainability · United States (St. Louis)
This paper examines the role of eco-urbanism in St. Louis, a shrinking city experiencing population loss and economic decline since the 1950s. It reviews the implementation and benefits of three eco-urbanism strategies: community gardens, greenways, and urban forests. The study identifies social, ecological, and economic benefits, and suggests further adoption of eco-urbanism ideology and improved implementation strategies by the municipal government.
CommunityHealthFood sovereignty & justiceBiodiversityGardening for Grades Workshops in Duval County
2013Terry B DelValle, Lisa B Gaskalla, Joan B Kyle · · United States (Duval County)
Duval County Extension, in collaboration with partners, offered "Gardening for Grades" workshops to 71 teachers and school volunteers in Duval County, USA, to support school garden initiatives. Participants engaged in activities linking science, math, and literature to gardening, and received materials to start school gardens. Follow-up surveys indicated 12,214 sq ft of garden area was added, benefiting 2,292 students, with 92.9% of students exposed to new foods and 64.3% showing improved eating habits and increased physical activity.
Food educationCommunityHealth