Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
260 results(7 / 11)
H29年度 都市と農・緑が共生するまちづくりに関する調査 都市部未利用地のコミュニティ農園活用方策検討調査 報告書
2018特定非営利活動法人 Co.to.hana, 金田 康孝 · 国土交通省 都市と農・緑が共生するまちづくりに関する調査（平成29年度） · Japan (Osaka)
Co.to.hana's second-year MLIT study codifying how to reproduce Minna-no-uen's effects — activity data analysis since 2011, international comparables, intermediary-organisation needs, trial social-impact metrics, published as this report and at minnanouen.jp/research.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsDIYBiodiversityAssessing urban agriculture potential: a comparative study of Osaka, Japan and New York City, United States
2018Hara Y., McPhearson T., Sampei Y., McGrath B. · Sustainability Science (Springer) · Japan (Osaka)
Compares the urban-agriculture production potential of Osaka and New York City using high-resolution land-use data, quantifying the expansion potential onto vacant and underused land and the population that locally grown vegetables could support.
Urban Agriculture as a Sustainability Transition Strategy for Shrinking Cities? Land Use Change Trajectory as an Obstacle in Kyoto City, Japan
2018Kimisato Oda, Christoph Rupprecht, Kazuaki Tsuchiya, Steven R. McGreevy · Sustainability · Japan (Kyoto)
A study in Kyoto City, Japan, examined agricultural land use from 2007–2017 to assess urban agriculture as a sustainability strategy for shrinking cities. Analysis revealed a 10% decline (209 ha) in agricultural land use over ten years, with main post-agricultural uses being residential (40%) and vacant land (28%). The findings indicate that Kyoto City is not currently positioned to benefit from population decline through localized food production.
Limited or null effectUrban–rural linkagePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeThe Role and Significance of Coordinators for Community-Supported Agriculture
2018Kota OGUCHI · The Annals of Japan Association for Urban Sociology · Japan (Saitama City)
This article studies the impact of coordinators for Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, using the Kome Mame project in Saitama City, Japan, as a case study. The Kome Mame project is a collaborative effort involving organic farms, a for-profit company, and an NPO, where the NPO coordinates matchmaking between farmers and companies, builds mechanisms for distribution channel development, and facilitates human-resource exchanges and stakeholder relationships. The study suggests that the coordinator's role as a manager of the relationship between food and agriculture will become increasingly important, and the challenge is whether this role can be established as a socially recognized profession.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityUrban–rural linkage都府県が策定した都市農業振興基本計画の比較
2018肇 石原, Hajime Ishihara · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan
This paper compared urban agriculture promotion basic plans formulated by six prefectures, including Tokyo, Osaka, and Aichi, as of October 2017. The analysis revealed policy challenges concerning the scope of inheritance tax deferment, the lending and borrowing of agricultural land in urbanization promotion areas, and the participation of non-farmers in agriculture. It concluded that the national government urgently needs to address these issues, and local governments should propose systems tailored to local conditions.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsDevelopment of the food processing utilizing local vegetable-Commercializing dressing using the carrot of Niiza-
2018マリコ ソヤ, ミチコ コバヤシ, Mariko Soya, Michiko KOBAYASHI · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan (Niiza)
In Niiza City, the development of processed local vegetables is not advanced. This research matched the needs of Niiza City with the seeds of a university, leading to the industry-government-academia collaboration for the development of a "carrot dressing" using Niiza City's certified autumn-winter carrots. Students from the Department of Food and Nutrition were involved from cultivation to prototyping and design, resulting in manufacturing in March 2017 and sales in April through collaboration with local companies.
Food educationEconomicsUrban–rural linkage都市農業地域の6次産業化におけるソーシャル・キャピタルの重要性 : 愛知県長久手町（現長久手市）の取り組みを事例として
2018Ryo Kawabe, Hiroshi Sakazume · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan (Nagakute City)
This paper analyzes the importance of social capital in the sixth industrialization of urban agricultural areas, using a case study from Nagakute-cho (now Nagakute City), Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The study found that the sixth industry is an efficient strategy for managing and demonstrating the multiple functions of urban agriculture, farm villages, and agriculture itself, with social capital being a crucial driving force. Nagakute City's initiatives, based on the "Countryside Valley Initiative," were successful, leading to the emergence of an integrated form of social capital combining government-led bonding with bridging among various local residents.
EconomicsCommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageABITARE NISHI-TOKYO. SCENARIO PROGETTUALEPER UN QUARTIERE AGRICOLO.
2018Mattia Scarpellino · · Japan (Tokyo)
This architectural design thesis proposes a redesign of a peripheral area of Tokyo, specifically Nishi-Tokyo, which exhibits both urban and rural characteristics. The study explored how to integrate agri-food production activities in a large metropolitan suburb, its potential social role, and the dynamics generated in relation to contemporary living. Through literature review on living, urbanization, functional nomadism, and digitalization, analysis of urban agriculture aspects focusing on community gardens, and participation in a Tokyo workshop, design scenarios were simulated.
Urban–rural linkageCommunityPolicy東京における改修による菜園付きオープンスペースで経験される都市空間の質
2018グエン トラン イェン カン, 涼 村田 · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan (Tokyo)
This study clarifies users' roles in urban space creation by examining two renovated open spaces with urban gardening (OSUG) in Tokyo. Through a mixed survey, the spatial settings and user experiences were analyzed, revealing quality parameters such as "usage," "space affordance," and "image of identity." These factors illustrate seven OSUG scenarios, from private resting spots to public playgrounds and community gardens.
CommunityDIYHealthHealth Benefits of Urban Allotment Gardening: Improved Physical and Psychological Well-Being and Social Integration
2017Soga M., Cox D.T.C., Yamaura Y., Gaston K.J., Kurisu K., Hanaki K. · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(1):71 · Japan
A questionnaire survey of 332 allotment gardeners and non-gardeners in Tokyo compared five self-reported outcomes: perceived general health, physical complaints, BMI, mental health and social cohesion. Allotment gardeners reported better general health, fewer complaints, better mental health and greater social cohesion, indicating that urban allotment gardening can improve residents' physical and mental health and community ties.
HealthCommunityWelfare食都神戸とは（Gastropolis Kobe コンセプト解説）
2017食都神戸推進チーム（神戸市） · 食都神戸・Gastropolis Kobe（公式サイト） · Japan
An official document explaining the basic concept of the Gastropolis Kobe 2020 vision that Kobe City announced in 2015. It frames how Kobe—a city of 1.5 million with farmland in its Kita and Nishi wards and fishing grounds along its coast—rebuilds its urban brand around food, advancing local consumption, urban agriculture and rural exchange.
PolicyCommunityEconomics生産緑地制度・特定生産緑地制度（2022年問題対応）
2017· 国土交通省都市局 · Japan
National materials on the Special Productive Greenland system created by the 2017 Productive Greenland Law amendment to address the '2022 problem,' extending buy-out timing and tax benefits by ten-year renewable periods; about 89% (8,282 ha) had been designated as of end-2022.
PolicyEconomicsBiodiversity都市農地の保全と有効利用―都市農地の貸借に関する制度と課題―
2017· 参議院常任委員会調査室『立法と調査』No.394 · Japan
Legislative analysis by the House of Councillors research office, organizing the regulatory framework for urban farmland (productive greenland, taxation, leasing) and examining the rationale and issues behind the 2018 lease law in light of the 2022 problem.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityBiodiversityTradition and Japanese vegetables: history, locality, geography, and discursive ambiguity
2017Uchiyama Y., Fujihira Y., Matsuoka H., Kohsaka R. · Journal of Ethnic Foods · Japan
Analyzes definitions, history, and regional ties of traditional Japanese vegetables (e.g., Kyo, Kaga), using Kaga and Noto cases to show how ambiguous quality standards shape branding and brand management.
Heirloom & landraceEconomicsFood educationPolicyPublic recognition of traditional vegetables at the municipal level: Implications for transgenerational knowledge transmission
2017Uchiyama Y., Matsuoka H., Kohsaka R. · Journal of Ethnic Foods · Japan
Questionnaire survey in Komatsu City, Ishikawa, on public recognition of Kaga and Noto traditional vegetables, showing gender/age differences in awareness and information sources, with implications for transgenerational transmission and branding.
Heirloom & landraceCommunityFood educationEconomicsEverything but the Taste: Kyoto's Shishigatani Squash as Culinary Heritage
2017de St. Maurice G. · Food, Culture & Society 20(2) · Japan
Examines how Kyoto's Shishigatani heirloom squash, though considered not delicious, persists as culinary heritage through cultural embeddedness, temple rituals, and distinctive form, showing heritage value beyond flavor.
Heirloom & landraceCommunityFood educationBiodiversityH28年度 都市と農・緑が共生するまちづくりに関する調査 都市部未利用地のコミュニティ農園的活用方策検討調査 報告書
2017特定非営利活動法人 Co.to.hana, 金田 康孝, 西川 亮 · 国土交通省 都市と農・緑が共生するまちづくりに関する調査（平成28年度） · Japan (Osaka)
First-year MLIT-commissioned study by Co.to.hana validating usefulness and replicability of community farms on urban unused land, using Kitakagaya Minna-no-uen as the model — surveys, environmental monitoring, stakeholder interviews and an expert panel producing a start guide and dissemination roadmap.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsDIYFood education平成28年度 都市と農・緑が共生するまちづくりに関する調査（都市部未利用地のコミュニティ農園的活用方策検討調査）報告書
2017国土交通省都市局 · 国土交通省都市局 · Japan
A MLIT survey report on using vacant urban land as community gardens, taking Kitakagaya's 'Minna no Uen' in Osaka as a key case and analyzing its operation and effects through user surveys, stakeholder interviews and neighborhood research.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsFostering biocultural diversity in landscapes through place-based food networks: a 'solution scan' of European and Japanese models
2017Plieninger T., Kohsaka R., Bieling C., Hashimoto S., Kamiyama C., Kizos T., Penker M., Kieninger P., Shaw B.J., Sioen G.B., Yoshida Y., Saito O. · Sustainability Science (Springer) · Japan
A 'solution scan' comparing place-based food networks (teikei, direct sales, farmers' markets) in Europe and Japan, systematizing how urban-rural food connection contributes to maintaining biocultural diversity.
BiodiversityPost-Disaster Food and Nutrition from Urban Agriculture: A Self-Sufficiency Analysis of Nerima Ward, Tokyo
2017Sioen G., Sekiyama M., Terada T., Yokohari M. · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Tokyo, Japan
Quantifying vegetable output from urban farmland in Tokyo's Nerima Ward, the study finds a weight-based self-sufficiency rate of just 6.18% and an aggregate nutritional self-sufficiency of about 2.86%, showing urban agriculture covers only a tiny fraction of local food and nutrition needs.
PolicyWelfare体験農園運営における民間企業の補助実態
2017三橋友美, 寺田徹, 横張真 · ランドスケープ研究 · Japan
A 2017 study of 62 Japanese 'experience farms' (taiken nouen) classifying operating structures by how far private companies are involved (Landscape Research Japan 80(5), pp. 647–650). In 48 farms the company mainly manages the plot and assists participants; in 4 the company leads operations and directs participants' activities; in 10 the farmer leads and the company only provides support. Corporate assistance widens the set of farm households able to open an experience farm, but the intensity of involvement varies with each site's physical and social conditions. The authors highlight the farmer-led, company-supported type as previously undocumented and potentially valuable for developing self-directed operators. Profit and loss and survival rates are not covered.
EconomicsCommunityInformal Urban Green Space: Residents’ Perception, Use, and Management Preferences across Four Major Japanese Shrinking Cities
2017Christoph Rupprecht · Land · Japan
This study analyzed residents' perceptions, use, and management preferences for informal urban green spaces (IGS) in four major shrinking Japanese cities (Sapporo, Nagano, Kyoto, and Kitakyushu) using a large online survey of 1000 residents. Residents viewed IGS as a common element of the urban landscape, but their evaluation was mixed. Recreation and urban agriculture were preferred over redevelopment and non-management, and for participatory management, residents emphasized the need for city administration to mediate usage and liability, along with financial and non-financial support. Approximately 10% of residents expressed willingness to participate in management activities.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkage1990年以降の愛知県の都市における農業の変化 ―都市農業振興基本法の施行をふまえて―
2017肇 石原, Hajime ISHIHARA · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan
Since 1990, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, has seen a decrease in agricultural land area and the number of farm households, particularly in Nagoya City and its surrounding municipalities. While the reduction in productive green space and full-time farmers was moderate, engagement in agriculture-related businesses, excluding direct sales, was not extensive. A polarization was observed between municipalities active and inactive in designating productive green spaces, posing a challenge for future land use planning.
Governance failurePolicyUrban–rural linkageEconomics[Relationship between fruit and vegetable gardening and health-related factors: male community gardeners aged 50-74 years living in a suburban area of Japan].
2017Daisuke Machida, Tohru Yoshida · PubMed · Japan
A cross-sectional study in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, investigated the relationship between fruit and vegetable (FV) gardening and health-related factors among men aged 50-74. Community gardeners showed significant positive correlations between gardening frequency/time and perceived changes in FV intake and physical activity. Logistic regression models indicated that community gardeners had significantly greater physical activity, and other types of gardeners had greater FV intake, perceived neighborhood social cohesion, and less sitting time compared to non-gardeners.
CommunityHealthElderly1990年以降の兵庫県の都市における農業の変化 ―都市農業振興基本法の施行をふまえて―
2017肇 石原, Hajime ISHIHARA · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan
This study examined changes in urban agriculture in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, since 1990, finding a weakening of the agricultural management base. While the decline in productive green space and full-time farmers was limited, engagement in agriculture-related businesses, excluding direct sales, was not widespread. The preservation of productive green spaces in some cities remains a challenge for future land use planning.
Economic viabilityPolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkage