Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
1966 results(69 / 79)
Community Gardens and Urban Food Security in Dakar Housing Projects: An Action Research Study
2012Djola Diop, Wally Ndiaye, Cheick Mbaye · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Senegal (Dakar)
Urban food security is a critical issue in Dakar's housing projects, where limited access to fresh produce exacerbates poverty and malnutrition. This action research study conducted qualitative interviews with 50 participants from four housing projects in Dakar to understand their gardening practices and perceptions of food security. Residents reported a significant 34% increase in fresh produce consumption due to community gardens, leading to improved health outcomes. Community gardens have successfully contributed to urban food security by fostering local nutrition and improving residents' well-being.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthPolicyPromoción de una alimentación saludable: experiencia en Tunja, colombia Promoção duma alimentação saudável: experiência em Tunja, Colombia Healthy food promotion: experience in Tunja, Colombia
2012Sandra Lorena Herrera Giraldo, Adriana Panader Torres, Luz Mery Cárdenas Cárdenas, Nancy Aurora Agudelo Cely · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Colombia (Bogotá)
In Tunja, Colombia, an intervention strategy to increase vegetable availability in a community was implemented through a qualitative study applying five principles of community-based research. The strategy included educational and urban agriculture components, involving seven participatory educational sessions and the implementation of eight home gardens and one community garden. The intervention increased vegetable availability, empowered the community, created social networks, and highlighted the role of nursing professionals in leading community actions for healthy lifestyles. The consumption of five portions of fruit/vegetables daily was insufficient in Tunja's 15-44 age group.
HealthFood educationCommunityCommunity gardens for social capital: a site suitability analysis in Akron, Ohio
2012Allison Oulton · · United States
This study tested social capital as a measurable indicator for community garden planning in Akron, Ohio, by identifying vacant parcels in areas with fewer civic engagement hubs. Using an adapted methodology that introduced spatial components to social capital at the neighborhood scale, it identified sites with a greater need for social capital. A limitation was that the principal hubs of civic engagement identified were churches, suggesting further fieldwork is needed to identify site-specific social hubs.
CommunityHealthPolicyEconomicsTime and Self-Valorization Freedom from Work Thr ough Work, an EJ Perspective on Work, Capital, and the Environment
2012Sjsu ScholarWorks, Gabriel R. Valle · · United States
This paper explores the self-valorization of work in community gardens as a path to environmental justice, arguing that community gardens disrupt capital's system by removing food as a commodity and revaluing time outside market-driven speed. The Chicano community, being susceptible to workplace inequalities, has a particular stake in this self-valorization, as these inequalities are reflected in unhealthy communities, economies, and environments. The study suggests that self-valorization through work creates natural wealth, reconstructing time, oppression, and communities.
Equity & displacementCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceHealthImpact of the Use of Produce Grown in an Elementary School Garden on Consumption of Vegetables at School Lunch
2012Nancy Cotugna, Carolyn K. Manning, James DiDomenico · Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition · United States
This study investigated the impact of offering produce grown in an elementary school garden at school lunch on children's vegetable consumption, using a quasi-experimental design and cafeteria observations. The results showed that providing garden produce at school lunch had a small positive impact on children's food choices.
Food educationHealthA STUDY ON USER CHARACTERISTIC AND EFFECT OF ALLOTMENT GARDEN
2012Akira Yuzawa · Journal of Architecture and Planning (Transactions of AIJ) · Japan
This study examined user characteristics and effects of allotment gardens, focusing on "the community farm YUI" in Japan. It found that the main applicants were men aged 50 or older, and key factors in choosing an allotment garden were use charge, distance from home, and agricultural guidance. The identified effects of allotment gardens included providing a purpose for living, fostering agricultural understanding, and promoting exchange among participants.
CommunityFood educationHealthEconomicsAgricultura urbana e periurbana em Dom Pedrito: Associação Pedritense dos Produtores de Hortifrutigranjeiros (APPH)
2012Luciano Deiques Minozzo · · Brazil
This study characterized urban and peri-urban agriculture practiced by nine producers belonging to the Associação Pedritense dos Produtores de Hortifrutigranjeiros (APPH) in Dom Pedrito/RS, Brazil, between September 2011 and March 2012. Findings showed that 67% of producers practiced peri-urban agriculture (10-26 km from the city), while three practiced urban agriculture. Producers had low schooling (78% incomplete elementary education) and 55% earned 2.5 to 4 minimum wages. Family labor accounted for 88% of the workforce, and personal satisfaction was the main motivation. Water availability and quality were identified as limiting factors for production.
EconomicsHealthFood sovereignty & justicePeri-urban agricultureCommunityAssessing and managing soil quality for urban agriculture in Ohio
2012Josh Beniston · The Knowledge Bank (The Ohio State University) · United States (Ohio)
An experiment on assessing and managing soil quality for urban agriculture was conducted during the 2011 and 2012 growing seasons on demolished vacant urban lots in Youngstown, Ohio. Soil compaction was identified as a primary constraint, with high bulk density values of 1.79 g cm⁻³ for in-ground plots and 1.55 g cm⁻³ for raised beds. Crop yield data from 2011 showed that both compost-amended and compost + biochar-amended plots had significantly greater crop yields than control plots, with compost + biochar plots achieving the highest harvest index values.
Contamination & food safetyOrganic cycleCompostHealthCharacterization of Urban Agricultural Practices and Gardeners' Perspective in Bronx Community Gardens, New York City.
2012Michelle Melissa Althaus Ottmann, Juliana Maantay, Kristen Grady, Nilce Nazareno da Fonte · Cities and the Environment · United States (New York City)
This study investigated urban agricultural practices and gardeners' perceptions in community gardens in the Bronx, New York City, United States, using semi-structured interviews, garden observations, and GIS spatial analysis of socio-demographic characteristics. GIS analysis revealed a significantly higher rate of poverty and Hispanic population in block groups within a quarter mile of the community gardens. The gardens were characterized as places for socialization, fresh produce, neighborhood beautification, and education, and gardeners valued family/community time, nature, and therapeutic benefits, but expressed fears of losing the gardens due to lack of city protection and developer take-over.
CommunityFood educationHealthWelfarePromoción de una alimentación saludable: experiencia en Tunja, colombia
2012Sandra Lorena Herrera Giraldo, Adriana Panader Torres, Luz Mery Cárdenas Cárdenas, Nancy Aurora Agudelo Cely · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Colombia
A qualitative study in Tunja, Colombia, designed, implemented, and evaluated an intervention strategy to increase vegetable availability in a community. Applying five principles of community-based research, the strategy included educational and urban agriculture components. Seven participatory educational sessions were conducted, and eight home gardens and one community garden were implemented. The intervention strategy successfully increased vegetable availability, fostered community empowerment, built social networks, and highlighted the role of nursing professionals in community actions.
Food educationCommunityHealthWelfareHortas em escolas urbanas, Complexidade e Transdisciplinaridade: Contribuições para a Educação Ambiental e para a Educação em Saúde
2012Elizabete Cristina Ribeiro Silva, Alexandre Brasil Carvalho da Fonseca · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)
This study discusses the multidimensionality of agriculture and its interfaces with environmental and health education, based on perceptions from social actors in a school and an extension unit belonging to the Municipal Network of Rio de Janeiro. Agricultural activities are suggested as a pedagogical tool to facilitate complex thinking and transdisciplinarity, and to perceive food and environment as interconnected transversal themes. School gardens are re-qualified for urban spaces based on agroecological urban agriculture principles.
Food educationHealthCommunityRealizing a Holistic Approach to Food through School Gardens and Growing Activities
2012Mat Jones, Emma Weitkamp, Richard Kimberlee, Debra Salmon, Judy Orme · Children Youth and Environments · Global
This mixed-methods study analyzed the development of school garden initiatives by tracking the progress of 55 primary schools participating in the "Food for Life Partnership" program. Findings showed considerable expansion of food growing facilities, outputs, and supporting infrastructure. Participating students, parents, and community volunteers created new links to food-related activities in the dining hall, classroom, and home environment. The effectiveness of these changes was connected to the strategic redevelopment of growing spaces and conceptually integrated messages on food sustainability.
Food educationCommunityHealthWelfareHorticulture Project from the Taiwan Technical Mission in the Marshall Islands Promoting School Gardens
2012WU Yi · · Marshall Islands
This record describes a horticulture project by the Taiwan Technical Mission promoting school gardens. It is situated in the Marshall Islands, a country heavily reliant on imports, where food security and self-sufficiency are essential to agricultural development. Additionally, a significant number of Marshallese citizens suffer from nutritional deficiencies and chronic diseases.
Food educationFood sovereignty & justiceHealth以“垂直农场”景观为依托的都市托老所营建
2012王丽蓉, Rui YANG · 南京林业大学学报：人文社会科学版 · China
This article discusses the construction of urban elderly care centers based on "vertical farm" landscapes in China, addressing rapid urbanization and an aging society. It proposes integrating vertical farms into elderly care facilities to offer recreational activities and physical labor, aiming to improve the mental and physical well-being of the elderly. The article explores new community-based elderly care models, drawing on practices in Nanjing's Nanhu community, by introducing a public participation system and green ecological landscape techniques.
ElderlyCommunityHealthUrban agriculture in Senegal: effect of wastewater on the agronomical performance and hygienic quality of tomato and lettuce
2012Y. Niang, S. Niang, Saliou Niassy, Y Dieng, Mohamed Gaye, K. Diarra · International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences · Senegal
This study assessed the effect of wastewater on the agronomical performance and hygienic quality of tomato and lettuce in Senegal, comparing it to tap water, irrigation modes, and fertilizers. While tomato showed no pathogenic germs with wastewater, lettuce watered with wastewater via aspersion contained significantly more pathogenic germs than those watered in draining mode. Significant differences in yield and fruit size were observed between lettuce treated with tap water and wastewater.
Contamination & food safetyHealthOrganic cycleIntroducing a Longitudinal Study of Community Gardeners and Gardens in New York City
2012Erika S. Svendsen, Lindsay K. Campbell, Nancy Falxa-Raymound, Jessica Northridge, Edie Stone, Carolin Mees · Cities and the Environment · United States (New York City)
This study introduces a longitudinal examination of community gardens in New York City, building on data collected since 2003 by the GreenThumb program. In summer 2011, structured phone interviews were conducted with representatives from a sample of 102 community gardens to examine membership, programming, partnerships, and motivations for gardening from 2003-2011. The research aims to understand the evolving role of community gardens and how they have changed over time.
CommunityPolicyHealthEconomicsSustainable School Gardens and Green Education: Familiar Lessons through a New Lens
2012Arvazena E. Clardy, Brian R. Copeland · The Agricultural education magazine · United States (Nashville)
This article advocates for implementing sustainable school gardens in agriscience education programs, drawing on the author's experience as a former educator and current work with middle and secondary schools in Nashville, Tennessee. It suggests that school gardens can cement learning for students and address issues like food deserts and childhood obesity in inner-city areas.
Food educationCommunityHealthWelfareA green oasis in a food desert : increasing the accessibility of affordable healthy foods in an urban neighborhood in Hartford, CT
2012Katherine Johns-Galvin · · United States
This research examined the cycle of poor nutrition in the Frog Hollow neighborhood, Hartford, Connecticut, an urban food desert characterized by limited access to affordable, healthy foods. It argues that the growth of farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture, and community gardens has reintroduced affordable, attainable healthy foods to the neighborhood. This introduction of locally grown produce at affordable prices has enabled the Frog Hollow neighborhood to begin addressing food insecurity.
CommunityCSA & TeikeiHealthFood sovereignty & justiceConcentrations of Heavy Metals and Pesticide Residues in Leafy Vegetables and Implications for Peri-urban Farming in Nairobi, Kenya
2012Nancy Karanja, Mary Njenga, G.K. Mutua, Carl Johan Lagerkvist, E. Kutto, JJ Okello · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Kenya (Nairobi)
A study in three peri-urban sites in Nairobi, Kenya, assessed heavy metal, nitrate, and pesticide residue levels in wastewater-irrigated kale. Elevated levels of boron, cobalt, chromium, copper, lead, zinc, and nickel were found in vegetables at two sites, with high soil loadings of nickel, arsenic, lead, chromium, copper, and zinc attributed to chicken manure. Pesticide residues of diazinon, cypermethrin, biternol, and profenofos exceeded permissible limits in kale at one site, suggesting consumers may ingest significant amounts of contaminants.
Contamination & food safetyHealthPeri-urban agricultureLos diseños verticales y la agricultura unidos para la producción de alimentos en los Módulos para Huertas Urbanas Verticales
2012Fritz Hammerling Navas Navarro, Luz Mila Peña Torres · Revista de Investigación Agraria y Ambiental · Global
Urban Vertical Garden Modules (MHUV) are introduced as a hybrid of vertical gardens and urban agriculture. This study presents a "culinary and medicinal module" that can be placed in kitchens, rooftops, or patios, proposing the cultivation of species like thyme, mint, and parsley. The module consists of three recyclable plastic baskets, each with four rows and a capacity for fourteen seedlings, supported vertically by a recycled wooden structure.
DIYUrban–rural linkageHealthAre We Really Worrying About the Right Issues?
2012&NA; · Nurse Educator · Global
This paper describes the development and integration of a multidisciplinary community garden as a service project for a baccalaureate nursing cohort at an urban university. It discusses the application of professional ethics, service, nutritional theory, and community health nursing competencies within this project.
CommunityFood educationHealthCommunity Gardens Involving Young Children as a Potential Obesity-Prevention Strategy: A Systematic Review to Inform Future Research and Practice
2012Teri Burgess‐Champoux · SOPHIA (St. Catherine University) · United States
This systematic review aims to summarize scientific literature on community gardens as a means to increase fruit and vegetable intake in preschool-aged children (2-5 years) in childcare settings in the United States. The review, limited to peer-reviewed journals published within the past five years, seeks to identify research gaps. Data analysis is ongoing, and future research is needed to address the benefits, effectiveness, sustainability, and policy impacts of community gardens.
CommunityFood educationHealthHealth impact assessment in the island of Ireland
2012Owen Metcalfe, Claire Higgins, T. Lavin · Oxford University Press eBooks · Ireland
This chapter considers the development of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) on the island of Ireland over a 10-year period. While not a statutory requirement, HIA has received some support from national and local government as a decision-support tool to enhance healthy public policy. New public health frameworks in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in 2012 have the potential to embed HIA more systematically. The Institute of Public Health in Ireland has played a key role in building capacity for HIA and supporting its practice, with a case study examining how HIA was used to add a health and health inequalities lens to a cross-border community garden development program.
HealthPolicyCommunitySuitability of urban wastes for crop production in Zaria, northern Nigeria: bioavailability and geochemical fractions of potentially toxic elements
2012Sebastian U. Ugbaje, John O. Agbenin · International Journal of Environmental Studies · Nigeria
A pot experiment in Zaria, northern Nigeria, evaluated the chemical forms and phytoavailability of Cr, Ni, and Pb in savannah soil amended with two urban wastes and planted with sorghum. While urban waste application increased total metal concentrations in the soil, only Pb uptake by sorghum increased, with no corresponding increases for Cr and Ni. A single application of urban wastes significantly increased Pb uptake by sorghum, raising concerns about the long-term consequences of such applications in urban and peri-urban agriculture, especially regarding children's exposure to Pb.
Contamination & food safetyOrganic cycleHealthViolence prevention, health promotion coming together: Projects creating healthier neighborhoods
2012Teddi Dineley Johnson · The Nation's health · United States (Denver)
This abstract describes various projects aimed at creating healthier neighborhoods in the United States. Examples include liquor retailers in Louisville, Kentucky, removing alcohol ads, utility boxes in Chula Vista, California, being transformed into art, and youths at risk for gang violence in a Denver neighborhood participating in a community garden. These initiatives focus on violence prevention and health promotion.
CommunityWelfareHealthFood education