Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
562 results(7 / 23)
Seeds and the city: a review of municipal home food gardening programs in Canada in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
2022Janet Music, Lisa Mullins, Sylvain Charlebois, Charlotte Large, Kydra Mayhew · Humanities and Social Sciences Communications · Canada
This study compared 19 municipal urban home food gardening programs in Canada in 2020, which provided free gardening supplies and instructions. It found a complicated relationship between municipalities, gardening programs, and food security, and determined that gardening somewhat alleviated social and emotional challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, municipalities are limited in their policy capacities to adequately address food insecurity in Canada.
Governance failurePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityHealthHow community capacity building in urban agriculture can improve food access in predominantly Black communities
2022Saria Lofton, Marjorie Kersten, Nanyombi Lubimbi, Angela Odoms‐Young · Journal of Community Practice · United States
This study used Chaskin’s relational framework to describe community capacity-building efforts to enhance urban agriculture in predominantly Black communities. Strategies identified for community capacity building in urban agriculture included building on existing resources, community engagement, expanding organizational capacity, identifying threats, and identifying ideal solutions. These strategies were identified by urban farmers, gardeners, and advocates to strengthen local control of the food environment through sustainable urban agriculture.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthGreening the Virtual Smart City: Accelerating Peer-to-Peer Learning in Urban Agriculture With Virtual Reality Environments
2022Tapan S. Parikh, Sara Perl Egendorf, Isaiah Murray, Ali Jamali, Bryan Yee, Sammi Lin, Kendra Cooper-Smith, Brendan Parker, Koron Smiley, Jenny Kao‐Kniffin · Frontiers in Sustainable Cities · United States
This study described the development of virtual reality (VR) platforms to support farmer knowledge transfer and innovation in urban agriculture in the U.S. The platform features a VR model of an organic farm in New York City, detailing farm operations and offering opportunities to integrate educational materials and personal narratives. VR has the potential to accelerate innovations in food justice by transcending the physical constraints of traditional agricultural extension.
Food educationCommunityDigital agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceEdible Landscapes and Landscaping
2022Avi Friedman · · Canada (Montreal)
This chapter explores how food production can initiate change at the neighborhood level and how using native flora in landscaping decreases water consumption and benefits local biodiversity. The Benny Farm Project in Montreal, Canada, is presented as an example of a highly productive urban agriculture undertaking.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceBiodiversityUrban–rural linkageIs a vegetable garden essential? Toronto gardens as culinary infrastructure
2022Sarah Elton, Donald C. Cole · Food Culture & Society · Canada (Toronto)
This paper analyzes mixed methods data from Toronto, Canada, generated pre-pandemic, to understand the role of urban agriculture in gardeners' lives. It found that gardening supported health and wellbeing and provided an important, often culturally significant, food source for participants. The study argues that gardens are essential and should be viewed as part of culinary infrastructure, prompting policy decisions that support nonmarket food sources during crises.
CommunityHealthPolicyFood sovereignty & justice“Connecting With Good People and Good Plants”: Community Gardener Experiences in New York State During the COVID-19 Pandemic
2022Tomasz B. Falkowski, Bethany Jorgensen, Donald A. Rakow, Ashmita Das, Stewart A.W. Diemont, Theresa Selfa, Austin B. Arrington · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · United States
A study in four New York cities analyzed the benefits and challenges of community gardens during the COVID-19 pandemic through surveys and semi-structured interviews with community gardeners. Gardeners experienced benefits such as connection, mental and physical well-being, and a safe refuge, but the biggest challenge was limited socializing due to personal behavioral changes and garden rules. This research suggests that while community gardens can be resilient sites of reprieve during crises, the pandemic also exposed their vulnerabilities.
Governance failureCommunityHealthWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceCIDADES PEQUENAS E AGRICULTURA URBANA NO CONTEXTO DA PANDEMIA COVID-19
2022Ana Maria Girotti Sperandio, Bárbara Bonetto, Tailana Fraga Lima, Jussara Conceição Guarnieri · PIXO - Revista de Arquitetura Cidade e Contemporaneidade · Brazil
This descriptive, qualitative, and exploratory study examines urban farming initiatives in small cities during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on Conchal/SP, Brazil, as an example of healthy city practices. The research aims to identify convergences between urban farming and healthy city premises to address the pandemic's consequences and contribute to urban planning in small cities. It suggests that urban farming and the recovery of urban vacant spaces in community projects can be considered for addressing food insecurity exacerbated by the pandemic within urban planning.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityHealthPolicyA agricultura urbana e os circuitos curtos de comercialização de alimentos: estudo da Cidade de Álvares Machado - SP
2022Rosangela Hespanhol, Antônio Nivaldo Hespanhol · Revista de Tecnologia & Gestão Sustentável · Brazil
A case study of urban agriculture in Álvares Machado, Brazil, identified challenges including difficulties in accessing land and water for irrigation, the absence of official technical assistance services, and a lack of public policies at national, state, and municipal levels. Despite these difficulties, urban farmers are responsible for a significant portion of leafy greens and legumes production, establishing direct relationships between producers and consumers through markets and street stalls.
Governance failureCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justicePeri-urban agricultureA garden's place in critical food systems education
2022K. Michelle Glowa · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States (California)
This paper reflects on the engagement between Mexican and Salvadorian farmers at the Beach Flats Garden in Santa Cruz, California, and local educational institutions. It discusses the garden's role in critical food system education, highlighting its function as a space of resistance to gentrification in a competitive land market. The garden provides examples of noncapitalist exchanges and decolonial foodways, emphasizing traditional agroecological knowledge.
Equity & displacementFood educationCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomics"What we raise ourselves": Growing food sovereignty in the Mississippi Delta
2022Emily A. Holmes, Mary F. Campbell, Ryan Betz · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States
This study used the concept of food sovereignty to assess the level of local control over food production, distribution, and consumption in the Mississippi Delta. Research involved site visits, participant observation, focus groups, and surveys of communities affiliated with the Delta EATS public school garden program. Findings demonstrated low levels of food sovereignty, though high levels of agency and ingenuity in accessing desired foods were observed.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityFood educationPolicyUrban Agriculture in Latin America: A Green Culture Beyond Growing and Feeding
2022Fabiana Castellarini · Frontiers in Sustainable Cities · Latin America
Urban agriculture (UA) in Latin American countries was analyzed using an ecosystem services framework. From plant production, 17 ecosystem services, 6 benefits, 6 assets, and 6 indirect drivers were recognized. Strengths of UA were related to ecosystem services, benefits, and beneficiaries; weaknesses were related to the misuse of inputs, and human and environmental health; and threats were related to regulation, governance, and land tenure issues.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justicePolicyHortas urbanas na promoção da Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional e desenvolvimento sustentável em Salvador, Brasil
2022Manuela Alves da Cunha, Ryzia de Cássia Vieira Cardoso · Ambiente & sociedade · Brazil (Salvador)
A descriptive study collected data from urban garden farmers in Salvador, Brazil, to assess the contribution of urban gardens to food and nutritional security and sustainable development. Urban gardens were shown to provide work and income for families, contributing to food supply and security. Beyond producing fresh vegetables for the local population, the activity also contributes to ecosystem balance and sustainability.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicyCommunityClimate changePolitical engagement in urban agriculture: power to act in community gardens of São Paulo
2022André Ruoppolo Biazoti, Marcos Sorrentino · Ambiente & sociedade · Brazil (São Paulo)
This ethnographic study investigated political engagement in community gardens in São Paulo, Brazil, through semi-structured interviews and participant observation. The research found that community gardens foster affections that empower individuals to engage in territorial management, leading to the formation of expanded collectives that establish unique management forms challenging institutional powers.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceFood Producers in The Peri-Urban Area of Mexico City. A Study on the Linkages between Social Capital and Food Sustainability
2022Miriam Bertrán-Vilà, Ayari G. Pasquier Merino, Jéssica Geraldine Villatoro-Hernández · Sustainability · Mexico (Mexico City)
This study described the conditions of 60 peri-urban farmers in Mexico City working with agroecological schemes, analyzing the role of social and cultural capital in consolidating their projects and consumer links. Based on field visits and interviews, the research argued that the social and cultural capital of production units are key elements in determining the viability of the agroecological transition.
Peri-urban agricultureCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceBarriers of Local Organizations for Providing Free Food Support in the Priority Neighborhood, Toronto: What We Need Further
2022Qazi Shafayetul Islam, Nasima Akter · European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety · Canada (Toronto)
This qualitative study, involving nine community organization representatives and 15 volunteers in Toronto's priority neighborhoods, identified significant barriers to providing and receiving free food support during COVID-19. Community members faced a lack of information, language barriers, social stigma, and fear of COVID-19. Organizations struggled with insufficient information on needs, limited transportation, storage space, committed volunteers, and funding, highlighting systemic and financial challenges in effective food support programs.
Governance failureWelfareCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceCommunity solutions to food apartheid: A spatial analysis of community food-growing spaces and neighborhood demographics in Philadelphia
2022Ashley Gripper, Rachel C. Nethery, Tori L. Cowger, Monica M. White, Ichiro Kawachi, Gary Adamkiewicz · Social Science & Medicine · United States (Philadelphia)
This descriptive epidemiologic study in Philadelphia used spatial regression to analyze associations between Black neighborhoods, poverty, food access, and urban agriculture. Fully adjusted spatial models showed significant associations between Black neighborhoods and urban agriculture (RR: 1.28) and between poverty and urban agriculture (RR: 1.27). Neighborhoods with higher proportions of Black residents and lower incomes tended to have more community gardens and urban farms, with the association between low food access and urban agriculture generally increased in Black neighborhoods.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthCan a shift in the purchase of local foods by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients impact the local economy?
2022R.A. Seguin, J. Garner, Stephanie Jilcott Pitts, M. Sitaker, E.H. Morgan, J.M. Kolodinsky, W. Wang, A. Ammerman, F.A. Becot · Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) · United States
This research used a customized input-output model to simulate the economic impacts of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients shifting food purchases from traditional retailers to direct-to-consumer venues in four US states. Both scenarios, increased outreach and financial support for SNAP use at direct-to-consumer channels, showed a positive, albeit modest, economic impact at the state level. Most increased economic activity was in the produce farming sector.
EconomicsWelfareCSA & TeikeiFood sovereignty & justiceMobility and short food circuits : inclusion and opportunities in the soutrhern regiuon of Curitiba, PR
2022Valéria Borges Yonegura, Jennifer Domeneghini, Júlio Celso Borello Vargas, André Luiz Lopes da Silveira · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Curitiba)
This paper focuses on mobility issues in the southern region of Curitiba, Brazil. It points out that the benefits of urban agriculture, particularly the ecological advantages of short food circuits, are hindered by the isolation of its growers. The lack of accessibility in peripheral areas, due to distance or insufficient infrastructure investment, suggests a loss of opportunities in utilizing the transport system.
Equity & displacementEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityUrban–rural linkageFeminism and the Urban Practice: Three Lines of Analysis
2022Larissa Siqueira Chaves, Giovanna Simokado Magalhães, Soraya Nór · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil
This article reflected on the potential of feminism in urban development as a practice of counter-hegemonic architectures. Through a cartography of central Florianópolis, it was shown that only ten streets in the city center were named after women, revealing that patriarchal patterns are fixed in the territory. Women in urban agriculture are presented as individual and collective body-territories that construct a counter-hegemonic praxis in urban spaces and social movements, politically building alternatives that foster care, reproduction of life, reconnection with nature, protection of popular traditions, as well as gender issues and the right to the city.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyWelfareIdentifying Urban Agriculture Needs and Challenges for the Implementation of Green Labeling in Xochimilco, Mexico
2022Denise Arroyo-Lambaer, Luís Zambrano, Miguel Rivas, Diana Laura Vázquez-Mendoza, Fernanda Figueroa, Martha B. Puente-Uribe, Ana Cecilia Espinosa‐García, Marco A. Tapia-Palacios, Marisa Mazari-Hiríart, Daniel A. Revollo-Fernández, Alaíde Jiménez-Serna, Marco Covarrubias, Carlos Sumano · Frontiers in Sustainable Cities · Mexico (Mexico City)
This study investigated the needs and commercialization challenges of chinampa producers in Xochimilco, Mexico City, to assess the potential of a green label. The analysis, based on a literature review and producers' mental model analysis, found that unresolved issues like commercialization problems, consumers' unwillingness to pay fair prices, soil degradation, and poor irrigation water quality persist. These issues make it difficult for most producers to bear certification costs, indicating that implementing a green label would likely fail to deliver its intended benefits.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicyClimate changeAlmost there: On the importance of a comprehensive entrepreneurial ecosystem for developing sustainable urban food forest enterprises
2022Arnim Wiek, Stefanie Albrecht · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (Phoenix)
A multiyear transdisciplinary project in Phoenix, United States, analyzed the development of a sustainable urban food forest enterprise. The project built a coalition of supporters, secured a suitable site, codeveloped a vision and action plan, and fundraised a major start-up donation. However, research findings indicate that despite achieving success factors to some extent, an underdeveloped sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem jeopardizes long-term success and multiplication efforts.
Governance failureCommunityEconomicsClimate changeFood sovereignty & justicePROGRAMA PLANTA RORAIMA: PRODUÇÃO DE ALIMENTOS E SUSTENTABILIDADE NO MEIO URBANO
2022Antônio Carlos Ribeiro Araújo Júnior, Roberto Xavier da Costa, Mirian Pereira dos Reis Oliveira · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil
The "Programa Planta Roraima" project, initiated by the civil society organization Movimento ID, proposes establishing a Reference Center for Food and Nutritional Security in the Cidadão Housing Complex. This center will create an urban community garden to promote sustainable integration among immigrants, refugees, and socially/economically vulnerable nationals. The project aims to understand access to knowledge for food production, transformation, distribution, and consumption in small urban spaces, and to analyze access to income-generating technologies for vulnerable populations. Based on an analysis of the "PROJETO PLANTA RORAIMA: Minha Horta Comunitária Cidadã" developed by SETRABES, the project is relevant as it provides basic technical training in food production, fostering autonomy and integrating vulnerable populations as productive citizens, and demonstrates that idle urban spaces can be valuable for collective uses like community gardens.
CommunityFood educationWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND FOOD INSECURITY: THE URBAN GARDENS AS RESPONSE OF BLACK COMMUNITIES IN URBAN AREAS
2022DANDARA TEIXEIRA MALVINO · DIGNIDADE RE-VISTA · United States (Champaign)
This article aims to analyze the strategies created by low-income Black communities in Champaign, Illinois, to confront food deserts through the creation of urban community gardens, as a form of resistance to food insecurity.
CommunityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceHealthUniversidad de la tercera edad: saberes tradicionales sobre agricultura urbana en Cuenca
2022David Calderón, Fredi Portilla · · South America
This abstract discusses the isolation faced by older adults in modern society and the lack of recognition for their traditional knowledge, particularly concerning urban agriculture. It notes that the contributions of older adults are overlooked in a technology-driven contemporary society.
ElderlyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceBlack Bones Matter: Notes Toward a Radical Humanism in Anthropology
2022Kamari Maxine Clarke · Anthropologica · United States (Philadelphia)
This paper discusses the MOVE organization, founded by Vincent Leaphart (John Africa) in West Philadelphia in the early 1970s. MOVE combined philosophies of Black nationalism, raw foods, urban farming, and opposition to modern science and capitalism. This community formation came to an end on May 13, 1985.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justice