Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
1540 results(7 / 62)
Urban Gardening in Latin America and Panama: A New Strategy for Conservation
2025Belma Soto-Fernández, Lurys Bourdett-Stanziola · Asian Journal of Agricultural and Horticultural Research · Latin America
A documentary review on the importance of urban gardening in Latin America revealed that urban gardening, when approached through the lens of agrobiodiversity, has become a key strategy for safe food production and environmental sustainability. However, it was found that several Latin American countries lack clear and established laws to regulate this activity. Preliminary evidence of rotavirus was detected in fresh vegetables from an urban garden in Panama, indicating that urban gardens can become infection foci capable of causing diseases of public health and veterinary importance.
Governance failureCommunityBiodiversityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthEconomicsPolicy338 Feasibility of building a community-based gardening initiative
2025Sawsan Salah, Lori A. Francis · Journal of Clinical and Translational Science · United States
This project developed a community garden at a childcare center in Harrisburg, PA, serving a low-income community where 74.6% of residents identified as Black or Hispanic/Latino. A listening session with six community members provided positive feedback and ideas for the garden, which was then installed with four beds. Weekly gardening activities engaged 20-50 children (n=50 total in summer program) for nine weeks, resulting in positive responses from children and staff, demonstrating the feasibility of such an initiative.
CommunityFood educationHealthWelfarePara além do rural: Hortas Urbanas e Periurbanas como políticas públicas de garantia de segurança alimentar no meio urbano
2025Garcia, Pedro Henrique Lundquist de Souza, Carvalho, Joelson Gonçalves de · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Brazil (São Paulo)
This research, presented at the 10th Conference on Studies of Rural Settlements in July 2025, analyzes the socioeconomic impacts and challenges of urban and peri-urban gardens in Brazil, focusing on a 35-year municipal program in Penápolis, São Paulo. Based on field research and secondary data, preliminary results suggest that production for self-consumption and collective labor strengthen community bonds and reduce food insecurity. The study aims to propose improvements for local public policies.
PolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityEconomicsEnhancing urban waste sustainability through community-driven composting in São Paulo megacity
2024Amato-Lourenço L.F., Franca G.C., Seckler M.M., Mauad T. · Environmental Challenges, 14:100864 · Brazil
An analysis of a resident-led, decentralized community composting initiative begun in 2018 in São Paulo, using thermophilic decomposition (the UFSC method) in public squares. It presents a civil-society-driven waste-management model with positive environmental and social outcomes.
CompostOrganic cycleCommunityPolicyFrom access toward sovereignty: A scoping review of municipal land access policies for urban agriculture in the United States
2024Raychel E. Santo, Sara N. Lupolt, Katherine M. Uhde, Robert C. Bennaton, Keeve E. Nachman · Elem Sci Anth · United States
This scoping review compares land access mechanisms for urban agriculture across the 40 most populous US cities. It finds 75% of cities used at least one mechanism but only 20% offered multiple options; temporary-use mechanisms (e.g., Adopt-A-Lot programs, city-run farms and gardens) were more common than secure-tenure options like long-term leases and land trusts; 45% of cities designed mechanisms with an equity focus; and fewer than a quarter offered complementary support such as subsidized water, liability insurance, soil testing, or funding.
PolicyCommunityTrace Metal Contamination in Community Garden Soils across the United States
2024Maeve Malone, Kabindra M. Shakya · Sustainability · United States
This paper reviews the state of heavy metal contamination (such as lead, arsenic, and cadmium) in community garden soils across the United States, noting that gardeners are exposed through pathways such as inhalation and ingestion. It states that contamination hot spots are higher in city areas with greater minority populations and lower incomes. The review outlines mitigation approaches including applying biochar and compost, using raised beds, and maintaining a natural pH.
HealthCommunityCompostRacial equity and the USDA's Office of Urban Agriculture granting program and urban offices
2024Kristin Reynolds, Cédric Gottfried, Tamarra Thomas · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · United States
This policy brief reports findings from a study examining, through a racial-equity lens, the rollout of the USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production established by the 2018 farm bill. Drawing on national surveys, interviews in New York City and Atlanta, GIS mapping, and policy review, it situates the provisions within the USDA's history of discrimination and offers policy recommendations for engaging socially disadvantaged urban farmers.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsUrban agriculture in Baltimore, Maryland: Documenting current irrigation practices and rainwater harvesting
2024Abriana Segal, Niya Khanjar, Julie Yang, Kelsey Brooks, Marcus Williams, Neith Little, Andrew Lazar, Rachel E. Rosenberg Goldstein · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (Baltimore)
This study surveyed urban farms and community gardens in Baltimore, Maryland, to document irrigation practices, water sources, and interest in rainwater harvesting. Most sites were concerned about water availability yet all had access to city water; 27% were already harvesting rainwater and 54% were interested, and the authors suggest rainwater harvesting, food safety, and education programs could increase safe use of this water source.
CommunityDIYFood educationScalability of Urban Agriculture
2024Kristin Jones · Enquiry The ARCC Journal for Architectural Research · United States (Chicago)
Taking Alfred Caldwell's mid-century vision of small-scale farming as social empowerment as its starting point, this study examines three distinct urban farming approaches in Chicago—spanning raised-bed farming, aquaponics, hydroponics, and permaculture across a nonprofit, a community group, and a private entrepreneur—to assess their scalability and broader societal and environmental impact. It identifies numerous opportunities for scaling up and concludes that a multi-faceted, multi-scalar framework is needed to grow urban agriculture within resilient cities.
EconomicsCommunityPolicyContending food sovereignty with cultivating kinship through community gardens
2024Max Sano · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · United States (Santa Clara Valley)
This is a book review of Gabriel R. Valle's "Gardening on the Margins," which draws on anthropological, community-based research in California's Santa Clara Valley. It highlights the La Mesa Verde community, whose gardeners engage in community gardening not only out of necessity but through an "ethic of care."
CommunityPolicySoils information for urban customers: A perspective
2024Hannah M. Ohm, Thomas M. DeSutter, Christina L. Hargiss, Keith A. Anderson, Nathan E. Derby, Beverly Alvarez‐Torres · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States
This perspective article argues that, although urban agriculture is gaining popularity across the United States and national-level soil information exists, urban residents often have limited detail about the soils in their communities. It suggests that agencies such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service could expand existing soil survey programs (e.g., WebSoilSurvey) and that trace-element testing and interpretation would improve knowledge of the risks urban soils pose to food quality. The authors emphasize opportunities for local, state and federal entities to support the soil-science needs of urban growers.
PolicyHealthCommunityGarden access and barriers for low-income community members
2024Cherish Duerst, Robert Williams, Jose Lopez, Douglas LaVergne · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · United States (Minnesota)
This study surveyed food-pantry customers in the Bemidji area of rural northern Minnesota about access and barriers to gardening in its many forms—residential, container, and community. Although 91% of respondents wanted to garden and 85% had gardened before, only 31% were active gardeners, and the study identifies specific barriers preventing otherwise motivated low-income individuals from gardening, along with participant-suggested solutions within reach of local policymakers.
WelfareCommunityPolicyShifts in host–parasitoid networks across community garden management and urban landscape gradients
2024Azucena Lucatero, Noah R. Smith, Peter Bichier, Heidi Liere, Stacy M. Philpott · Ecosphere · United States (California)
Using ecological networks, this study quantified interactions between herbivorous insects and their parasitoids across 22 urban community gardens on the Central Coast of California, relating host abundance, parasitism rates, and network structure to local garden management and surrounding landscape composition. It found that both local management and landscape composition influenced parasitism, while only local factors affected host abundance and network structure, suggesting local garden management decisions may shift host–parasitoid network structure with variable outcomes for biological pest control.
BiodiversityCommunityReframing Urban Agriculture: Open Land for the Public Good
2024Melody Ng · Critical Planning · United States (California)
This essay uses historical-structural analysis to examine how the history of US municipal land-use policies and urban agriculture informed the design of California's Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones (UAIZs) and their failure to increase land access and security for community food producers. It argues that UAIZs sit at the end of a long history of lot-conversion programs used for urban crisis management, and calls for reframing urban agriculture around land equity—the right not only to occupy but to manage land in service of one's community.
PolicyCommunityCan Aquaponics Be Utilized to Reach Zero Hunger at a Local Level?
2024Flores-Aguilar P.S., Sánchez-Velázquez J., Aguirre-Becerra H., Peña-Herrejón G.A., Zamora-Castro S.A., Soto-Zarazúa G.M. · Sustainability · Mexico
The paper examines, in light of SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), how aquaponics can contribute to food security through the production of high-quality protein and decentralized local production.
DIYCommunityPolicy"Not everyone has the privilege to have good food": promoting positive youth development and social justice values in school gardens
2024· Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences · USA
A study examining how school gardens can promote positive youth development and social justice values among participating youth.
Food educationCommunityWelfareRole of Gardening in Mental Health, Food Security, and Economic Well-Being in Resettled Refugees: A Mixed Methods Study
2024Gangamma R., Walia B., Minkoff-Zern L., Tor S. · Journal of Patient Experience · United States
A mixed-methods study examining the role of gardening in the mental health, food security, and economic well-being of resettled refugees.
WelfareHealthCommunityExperiences from a land-based learning project focused on local food interventions
2024Abbey Palmer, Phillip Warsaw, Aaron J. McKim, R. Bud McKendree, Marion Nettleton, Tiffany Marzolino, Haley Brasier · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States
This study evaluated a land-based learning program in northern Michigan, involving two schools, two teachers, their students, food-service directors, local farmers, and a university extension educator. The program delivered farm-to-school content through 20 instructional sessions, leading students to identify and implement interventions to increase local food in school lunches. Findings indicate that this framework offers similar benefits to traditional farm-to-school programs, with added flexibility and educational advantages.
Food educationCommunityCSA & TeikeiRevisão de literatura: ecoformação, transdisciplinaridade e as produções acadêmicas sobre educação
2024Evandro dos Santos Taborda, Vera Lúcia Simão, Joel Cezar Bonin · Cadernos Cajuína · Brazil
This descriptive and qualitative literature review, conducted from April 8 to May 10, 2023, analyzed 20 theses and dissertations from databases like Periódicos Capes, Google Scholar, and Scielo Brasil. It is part of a master's research investigating transdisciplinary and eco-formative pedagogical practices with high school students using a community garden in Santa Catarina, Brazil. The study suggests that continuing such practices in high school can strengthen the connection between education and society, offering integrated learning opportunities.
Food educationCommunityStructural equations modelling applied to the study of Communities Supported Agriculture (CSAs) located in the Southeastern region of Brazil
2024Gustavo Alves de Melo, Luiz Gonzaga de Castro Júnior, Eduardo Gomes Carvalho, Maria Gabriela Mendonça Peixoto, Samuel Borges Barbosa, Patrícia Guarnieri dos Santos, André Luiz Marques Serrano, Lucas Oliveira Gomes Ferreira, José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra · DYNA · Brazil
This descriptive, quantitative study used structural equation modeling to investigate the relationship between various Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) variables in Southeastern Brazil. The study confirmed that socioeconomic characteristics positively influence CSA performance. Limitations included data collection methods and difficulties from the Covid-19 pandemic.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityCONTABILIDADE AMBIENTAL. A RELEVÂNCIA DA CONTABILIDADE AMBIENTAL COMO INSTRUMENTO DE EDUCAÇÃO NA ESCOLA DE ENSINO MÉDIO PEDRO AGUIRRE EM MANICORÉ-AM
2024Eduardo Torres, Orientadora: MSc, Ana Maria Ferreira de Gomes, Efraim Lagos · Revista fisio&terapia. · Brazil
This research implemented Environmental Accounting as an educational tool at Pedro Aguirre high school in Manicoré, Brazil, to raise awareness about ecological issues and promote sustainable practices. Sustainable practices introduced included selective waste collection, educational signs, and the creation of a community garden. The methodology included exploratory and descriptive research with qualitative and quantitative analysis of students’ environmental education knowledge and the effectiveness of implemented practices.
Food educationCommunityOrganic cycleCidades e suas agriculturas: avaliação de benefícios da agricultura urbana e periurbana para as pessoas: sumário executivo de Manaus (AM)
2024Adriana de Paula Cavalcante Fraga, Ana Moraes Coelho, Jéssica Castro Chryssafidis, José Geraldo Barreto Monteiro de Andrade, Maíra Bombachini Silva, Maria Luiza Sevilha Seraphico de Assis Carvalho, Mariana Nicolletti, Nathan Debortoli, Samuel Santos de Souza Pinto · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Manaus)
A case study of urban and peri-urban agriculture in Manaus, Brazil, aimed to identify and characterize the benefits these agricultural initiatives provide to the territory. Using a hybrid methodology that combined biophysical modeling with listening to the voices of experienced protagonists, the study identified the significant potential of urban and peri-urban agriculture to contribute to city development. This research revealed the potential for urban agriculture to mitigate or solve typical urban problems.
Peri-urban agricultureCommunityClimate changeBiodiversityExploring Community Garden Coordinators’ Perceptions of Climate-Smart Adaptations to Support Local Food Systems
2024Olivia M. Erskine, Alexa J. Lamm, Catherine E. Sanders, Kevan W. Lamm · Horticulturae · United States
This study investigated community garden coordinators' perceptions of the need for climate change adaptation, its attributes, and their position in the innovation-decision process in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, United States. Participants valued relative advantage and low complexity when adopting and implementing climate-smart practices. Community gardens were found to be implementing some form of climate-smart adaptations, even if not for climate-related reasons, but the largest barrier to adopting new practices was a lack of extra money.
CommunityClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceMulheres e Agroecologia no Município de São Paulo. Um estudo sobre agricultura em territórios periféricos
2024Clara Camargo · Revista Latino-americana de Geografia e Genero · Brazil (São Paulo)
This study investigates the socioeconomic profile and agroecological production strategies of female urban farmers in São Paulo's peripheral territories, using Feminist Economy Theory and Ecofeminism perspectives. It highlights that while these women are crucial for food security and green spaces, they remain largely invisible in economic theories and have limited access to public policies due to their non-generation of direct monetary income. The methodology included participant observation in RAPPA meetings, semi-structured interviews, and guided tours of women-led production units.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsRénover Cleveland : démolition, racisme et agriculture urbaine dans l’Amérique abandonnée
2024Pierric Calenge, Maie Gérardot · Métropolitiques · United States (Cleveland)
The work by Max Rousseau and Vincent Béal illuminates the ambiguities of a policy that organizes urban decline and racial segregation in Cleveland. This policy promotes urban degrowth and racial segregation, balancing algorithmic management and urban greening. The study focuses on the Rust Belt region, which experiences de-urbanization marked by the subprime crisis, racism, and segregation.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceHealthWelfareClimate changeBiodiversityFood educationElderlyFood lossOrganic cyclePollinatorsHeirloom & landraceFood miles & supply chainCSA & TeikeiPeri-urban agricultureDigital agricultureDIYCompostFood educationWelfareElderlyFood lossOrganic cycleCommunityBiodiversityPollinatorsPolicyHealthEconomicsHeirloom & landraceUrban–rural linkageFood miles & supply chainCSA & TeikeiPeri-urban agricultureClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceDigital agriculture