Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
3402 results(69 / 137)
Pelo direito à cidade: Políticas públicas e hortas urbanas em Florianópolis
2019Giovana Callado Ferreira · História Unicap · Brazil (Florianópolis)
This article analyzes movements surrounding urban agriculture practices and public policies in Florianópolis, Brazil, as ways to construct diversified and democratic urban land uses. Political articulations led to the creation of the Rede Semear urban agriculture network, the election of a councilman advocating agroecology, and the establishment of municipal urban agriculture programs. Community and institutional gardens, such as the Pacuca Community and Pedagogical Garden, were highlighted in this movement.
PolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageMaking “The Garden City of the South”: Beautification, Preservation, and Downtown Planning in Augusta, Georgia
2019J. Mark Souther · Journal of Planning History · United States
This article examines how civic leaders, particularly women, in Augusta, Georgia, collaborated with municipal administrations from the 1900s to the 1950s to beautify the city, known for its wide streets and urban horticulture tradition. These efforts led to a convergence of urban beautification, historic preservation, and downtown revitalization in the 1960s. This activity reshaped Augusta's cityscape, exacerbated racial tensions, and embedded principles of the City Beautiful, Garden City, and parks movements, influencing later planning work.
PolicyCommunityUrban–rural linkageThe challenges of deploying urban agriculture
2019Mathilde Martin-Moreau, David Ménascé · OpenEdition (OpenEdition) · Global
The deployment of urban agriculture relies on initiatives from companies, startups, and non-profit organizations, alongside support from public authorities, especially local governments. Challenges include the need to raise consumer awareness of new production methods and to train urban farmers for quality supply chains. The abstract indicates that commitment from local stakeholders is crucial for scaling up urban agriculture projects.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsCommunityFood educationSocio-political dynamics of alternative food networks: a hybrid governance approach
2019Alessandra Manganelli, Pieter Van den Broeck, Frank Moulaert · Territory Politics Governance · Global
This theoretical paper points out that Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) encounter governance challenges stemming from organizational growth pains, the search for cultivable land, and confrontation with urban planning policy and state structures that have a low affinity with urban agriculture. As AFNs develop, various governance tensions arise both within their organization and in their institutionalization processes. The paper redefines hybrid governance to elucidate these dynamics, suggesting that existing agro-food literature insufficiently addresses the complexity of AFNs' governance.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justicePAESAGGIO E URBAN FOOD PLANNING
2019Giacomo Pettenati · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Global
This paper explores the concept of landscape in food systems and urban food planning. It presents three main perspectives on food landscapes: food systems as producers of landscape, foodscapes as frameworks for any food-related action, and food landscapes as heritage. Urban food landscapes are explored, focusing on landscapes of urban agriculture, the role of consumers as co-producers of landscape, and urban foodscapes as resources for new urban images strategies of urban development. The paper investigates the underrepresentation of landscape as a field of action in existing Urban Food Strategies/Policies. Conclusions discuss the potential role of landscape in urban food policies both as the object of specific strategies or actions and as a useful conceptual framework, able to connect the actors of the food system, in sharing a vision for its future evolution.
PolicyCommunityUrban–rural linkageKent Hakkı ve Katılımcılık Bağlamında Kendin Yap Kentleşme: Roma Bostanı Örneği
2019gökçe öcal · Journal of Planning · Turkey (Istanbul)
This study focuses on the Roma Garden, one of Istanbul's last remaining urban gardens, within the context of "DIY urbanism." In Istanbul, historical gardens are threatened by municipal policies favoring urban development, leading to the formation of "DIY" urban gardens on public land since 2013. These gardens operate without legal ties to the local state, and the destruction of urban public space over the last decade is noted as having paved the way for DIY public gardens as spaces of solidarity and shared knowledge.
Governance failureDIYCommunityPolicyBiodiversityUrban family agriculture
2019Annelise Caetano Fraga Fernandez, Almir Cezar Baptista Filho · Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) · Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)
This article describes the obstacles to implementing public policy for family agriculture in urban areas of Brazil. Representations associated with rural-agricultural concepts have shaped the classification criteria of rural technical assistance technicians, limiting the policy's application in urban settings. Social movements in Rio de Janeiro highlighted the lack of access for urban family farmers to agrarian policies, leading to the recognition of urban family agriculture as a public problem.
Governance failurePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityUrban–rural linkageA review of urban farming research: taxonomy, challenges and future research direction
2019Siti Aisyah Salim, Zawiyah Mohammad Yusof, Laili Farhana Md Ibharim, Siti Hajar · Scientific Repository (Petra Christian University) · Southeast Asia
This study conducts a structured literature review on urban farming activities in Southeast Asia, presenting its taxonomy and future research directions. Analyzing 88 articles from ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Scopus, it focused on urban farming activities, technology applications, and smallholder farming. The review identified benefits of urban farming in Southeast Asia, challenges hindering its utilization, and recommendations to improve the acceptance and use of urban farming applications.
Digital agriculturePolicyEconomicsTOURISM DIVERSIFICATION THROUGH URBAN FARMING AS A CONSTITUENT OF CONTEMPORARY CULTURE AND EDUCATION
2019Ivan Obreshkov · Knowledge International Journal · Global
This study examined urban farming in Almere, Netherlands, as a means of tourism diversification and an integral part of modern culture and education. Based on interviews with local food producers and an entrepreneur, it highlighted efforts by local governments and academia to shorten the food chain and enhance urban farming's appeal. The urban farming initiative in Almere provides food for consumption and sale, alongside educational activities.
Food educationPolicyEconomicsEl aporte de la permacultura en el desarrollo de la agricultura urbana
2019Rafael Bújanos Muñíz · · Global
This essay explores the intersection of permaculture principles and their potential application in urban agriculture. Permaculture, originating from the work of Bill Mollison, David Holmgren, and Masanobu Fukuoka in the 1970s, is a system for designing and implementing general principles for organic food production in urban settings. It is based on natural ecosystem patterns and ethical principles, including soil, forest, and water conservation, self-care, and equitable distribution of goods with reasonable consumption limits.
Organic cycleCommunityPolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceHow Can Innovation in Urban Agriculture Contribute to Sustainability? A Characterization and Evaluation Study from Five Western European Cities
2019Esther Sanyé‐Mengual, Kathrin Specht, Erofili Grapsa, Francesco Orsini, Giorgio Gianquinto · Sustainability · Europe
This study evaluated 11 urban agriculture case studies across Italy, Germany, France, and Spain to identify innovation triggers, characterize novelties, assess their innovativeness, and link them to sustainability. Researchers found 147 novelties, with more in environmental and social dimensions than economic, often originating from specific problems. The analysis suggests that innovativeness enhances overall sustainability in urban agriculture projects.
EconomicsPolicyCommunityClimate changeMaterial and social relations in a coastal community garden assemblage
2019Lindsay K. Campbell, Erika S. Svendsen, Renae Reynolds, Victoria Marshall · Social & Cultural Geography · United States (Rockaway, NY)
This study used Actor Network Theory to explore the material and social dynamics of a coastal community garden on public housing grounds in Rockaway, NY, after Hurricane Sandy. Three assemblages with different governance arrangements—tidal shore, garden plots, and treed lawn—were identified. However, "unruly" actors and actants, including people, saltwater, poison ivy, dogs, and trash, were found to spark controversy and resist governing.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyBiodiversityClimate changeUrban soil management of marginalized lands: recognizant of history
2019Nicolette Tamara Jonkman, Boris Jansen · Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability · Sub-Saharan Africa
This literature review on urban agriculture (UA) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) identifies a significant constraint: conflicting stakeholder perceptions of UA, which hinders its development into a sustainable business. Some view UA as illegal and unsustainable, while others see it as a means to food security and employment. The review highlights a knowledge gap regarding land-use history and its effect on UA soil composition and nutrient status, proposing that UA sustainability requires understanding this historical context to build inclusive business models.
Governance failureEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changePolicyPengendalian Alih Fungsi Lahan Sawah sebagai Upaya Pemenuhan Ruang Terbuka Hijau Kota (RTHK) di Kota Denpasar
2019I Gusti Agung Adi Wiraguna, Ngakan Putu Sueca, I Made Adhika · RUANG-SPACE Jurnal Lingkungan Binaan (Space Journal of the Built Environment) · Indonesia (Denpasar)
This mixed-method study in Denpasar, Indonesia, investigated factors driving the conversion of urban agricultural land, primarily rice paddy fields. Despite a local government requirement for 30% urban open space, statistical data showed an average annual decrease of 31.86 hectares of farming land, from 2,632 hectares in 2010 to 2,409 hectares in 2017. The study revealed that various parties, including the government, community, private sector, and social institutions, play important roles in directing this land conversion.
Governance failurePolicyUrban–rural linkageEconomicsCommunityProducing urban agroecology in the East Bay: from soil health to community empowerment
2019Alana Bowen Siegner, Charisma Acey, Jennifer Sowerwine · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · United States (California)
This paper analyzed survey responses from 35 East Bay urban farms through an agroecology lens. The analysis documented how these diverse farms form part of a fragile system that produces important spaces of food, community, health, and culture. It is noted that public investment for urban agriculture in U.S. cities remains both inequitable and inadequate, resulting in uneven and ad hoc outcomes for urban agriculture initiatives.
CommunityPolicyHealthEconomicsLa agricultura en los periurbanos de Buenos Aires (Argentina) y Santiago (Chile): Territorios en transición
2019María Carolina Feito, Sofía Boza, Santiago Peredo · Repositorio Digital Institucional de la Universidad de Buenos Aires (Universidad de Buenos Aires) · Argentina
This study focused on the reality of Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (AUPU) in Latin America, comparing cases in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area and the Santiago Metropolitan Region. Both cities form complex territories strongly related to their periphery, but the debate regarding AUPU's future development model remains open, reflected in contradictions even in public policies. The strong link between family farming and AUPU further complicates the situation due to the intrinsic limitations of family farming.
Governance failurePeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsA feminist political ecology of food justice in Iowa
2019Carrie Chennault · Iowa State University Digital Repository (Iowa State University) · United States
This three-year feminist ethnographic study examined the Growing Together Iowa community donation gardening and food rescue program, focusing on its institutional and community partners. The research aimed to understand how solutions to food insecurity emerge from social relations and socio-historical contexts. Findings demonstrated that uneven power relations permeate even well-intended efforts to address food insecurity within such initiatives.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfarePolicyEconomicsSTUDY ON THE STATUS OF ROOF TOP GARDENING IN SELECTED RESIDENTIAL AREAS OF DHAKA CITY, BANGLADESH
2019Mahmuda Islam, Abdullah Al Nayeem, Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder, Khandokar Tanjim Elahi · Malaysian Journal of Sustainable Agricultural · Bangladesh (Dhaka)
A study investigated the present status of rooftop gardening in four selected residential areas of Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Plot-to-plot interviews using questionnaires were conducted across 1376 buildings in Dhanmondi, 391 in Lalmatia, 272 in Mohakhali DOHS, and 697 in Uttara 13 no. Sector. The study found that 39.1%, 59.2%, 36.6%, and 22.2% of buildings in these locations, respectively, had rooftop gardening, with nearly one-third (36.4%) of buildings overall containing rooftop gardening.
DIYCommunityPolicyNature, Technology, & the Pursuit of Justice: Urban Agriculture Networks in San Diego County
2019Blaire O’Neal · · United States (San Diego County)
This research investigates the significance of soil in distinguishing urban agriculture forms in San Diego County and examines how soil-based and soilless growing methods relate to justice. The results illustrate that while the way food is grown is important for urban agriculture organizations' identity and practices, it is only one of many factors influencing justice, such as socio-spatial context. Justice is an ongoing process that evolves as urban agriculture commodities travel through their circuits and interact with placed networks filled with intentions, actions, discourses, objects, actors, and forces.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceDigital agriculture地域景観としての生活景の発見と評価方法に関する研究
2019ハジメ イシカワ, Hajime Ishikawa, 初 石川 · KeiO Associated Repository of Academic Resources (Keio University) · Japan (Tokamachi, Uji, Kamiyama)
This research aimed to establish a method for discovering, verbalizing, visualizing, and evaluating the "living scene" created by residents as a base for local identity and a local resource, and to clarify its sharing method. In 2020, in collaboration with local residents in Tokamachi City, Niigata Prefecture, and Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture, the study practiced verbalizing and sharing regional landscape elements through the production of landscape field guides. In Tokamachi City, private house gardens were measured and field guides created, while in Uji City, open spaces, green areas, and waterways were mapped, and community garden designs were proposed. In Kamiyama Town, fieldwork was abandoned due to COVID-19 countermeasures, and interview surveys were conducted using media such as telephone and email.
CommunityPolicyBiodiversityGrowth and Sustaining Strategies of Urban Agriculture Based on Interaction with Urban Residents: The Case of Kodaira City, Tokyo Metropolis
2019Ryo Iizuka, Kei Ota, Toshio Kikuchi · Journal of Geography (Chigaku Zasshi) · Japan (Kodaira City)
This study explored the growth and sustaining strategies of urban agriculture based on diversified agricultural management and interactions with urban residents, using Kodaira City, Tokyo Metropolis, as a case study. Analysis of previous literature, public survey data on the spatial distribution and classification of agricultural management patterns, and interviews with farmers revealed interactions between farmers and urban residents. In Kodaira City, interactions exist between farms and urban residents based on agricultural management, with distinct patterns influenced by local characteristics. These interaction styles prevent excessive competition, attract stable customers, and enable sustainable management.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageSTANARSKE BAŠTE U PROCESU REVITALIZACIJE SLOBODNIH PROSTORA STAMBENIH SUSEDSTAVA
2019Ivana Bogdanović Protić, Milica Ljubenović, Milica Igić, Miomir Vasov, Mihailo Mitković · Zbornik radova Građevinskog fakulteta · Serbia (Nis)
This paper aims to explore the potential implementation of community gardens in the revitalization process of open spaces in residential neighborhoods in the city of Nis, Serbia. It examines the concept of community gardens and analyzes an example of best practice, stating that the research results can serve as a basis for promoting the application of community gardens in urban theory and practice.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageTowards integrated urban agriculture systems: economic and valuation aspects
2019Saverio Miccoli, Fabrizio Finucci, Rocco Murro · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Global
This paper defines an integrated urban agriculture system (A-URBIS), outlining the complications associated with its launching and implementation. It proposes methodological guidelines for the valuation of an A-URBIS, taking into account the inclusive and qualitative impacts on the community. Finally, the paper suggests a Direct Deliberative Monetary Valuation procedure, which combines a participatory deliberative process necessary for developing direct democracy instruments with Stated Preference Techniques essential for capturing inclusive use value.
EconomicsCommunityPolicyPolish Urban Allotment Gardens as ‘Slow City’ Enclaves
2019Robert Bartłomiejski, Maciej Kowalewski · Sustainability · Poland
This article discusses Polish urban allotment gardens (UAGs) as an alternative urban development framework, "Slow City." It notes that increasing problems of soil pollution, abandoned gardens, informal housing, and limitation of access to UAG green areas for other inhabitants reinforce the pressure to reduce the number of UAGs.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyClimate changeO Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar como promotor de ações de Educação Alimentar e Nutricional nas escolas do Brasil: DOI: 10.15343/0104-7809.20194302374389
2019Isabela Cicaroni Ottoni, Bruno Miguel Paz Mendes de Oliveira, Daniel Henrique Bandoni · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil
This cross-sectional observational study, using 2010 data from 749 Brazilian municipalities, evaluated Food and Nutrition Education (FNE) actions within the National School Feeding Program (NSFP). Binary logistic regression showed that the presence of FNE in school curricula was the most significant predictor of running school gardens (OR=2.406), followed by using food from family farms (OR=2.049) and culinary workshops (OR=2.032). The study concluded that FNE in the school curriculum is positively associated with growing vegetable gardens.
Food educationPolicyCommunity