Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
1966 results(71 / 79)
Community Gardening, Motivation and Health Benefits.
2011Noelle Corrigan · Arrow - TU Dublin (Technological University Dublin) · Global
Community gardens are locally organized initiatives where land is used to produce food or flowers in urban environments, varying widely in size and offerings. In Britain, there are 59 city farms and nearly 1,000 community gardens, while an estimated 18,000 exist across the US and Canada. Dublin has seen relatively recent development, with initial projects appearing since 2007. Urban agriculture is stated to provide physical, mental, and emotional health benefits to individuals and communities.
CommunityHealthIntroduction : Innovations et agricultures urbaines durables
2011Christophe‐Toussaint Soulard, Christine Margétic, Élodie Valette · Norois · Global
This introduction discusses the concept of urban agriculture in the context of innovation and sustainability. It notes that some authors refer to a "new agrarian frontier" to describe the challenge of re-establishing close links between cities, nature, and agriculture for the food and health of urban populations. The concept of urban agriculture is presented as embodying this idea.
Food sovereignty & justiceHealthUrban–rural linkageViabilité des sociétés et agriculture urbaine
2011Éric Duchemin · · Global
This paper discusses how urban agriculture improves the economic situation and health of poor and vulnerable families in both industrialized and developing countries. It suggests that policies reconciling urbanity and rurality can reduce food insecurity and better integrate the most vulnerable populations, contributing to sustainable development.
Climate changeEconomicsHealthWelfareUrban–rural linkageCommunity Gardening: A Parsimonious Path to Individual, Community, and Environmental Resilience
2011Heather A. Okvat, Alex Zautra · American Journal of Community Psychology · Global
This paper introduces community gardening as a method to enhance well-being and resilience at individual, social, and environmental levels. It examines empirical evidence for gardening's benefits and advocates for developing and testing social ecological models of community resilience by studying the impact of urban community gardens. The paper also discusses the potential of community garden networks to address the global climate change crisis.
CommunityHealthClimate changePolicyCommunity Perspectives on Barriers and Strategies for Promoting Locally Grown Produce From an Urban Agriculture Farm
2011Alice Hu, Ángela Acosta, Abigail McDaniel, Joel Gittelsohn · Health Promotion Practice · United States
This qualitative study identified strategies to promote locally grown produce from an urban agriculture project, Produce From the Park (PFP), among low-income neighborhood residents and community organization representatives (20 interviews, 2 focus groups, 3 participant observations) in a mid-Atlantic city in the United States. Informants identified structural and cultural barriers to purchasing healthy food, including price, location, food culture, and lack of interest, and proposed strategies such as distribution via mobile food carts and farm stands, marketing new foods through taste tests and cooking demonstrations, and youth mentorship. These strategies were inexpensive and incorporated cultural norms and local assets.
CommunityFood educationHealthEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceAn assessment of the barriers to accessing food among food-insecure people in Cobourg, Ontario
2011Siny Tsang, AM Holt, Eduardo Bessa Azevedo · Chronic diseases and injuries in Canada · Canada (Cobourg, Ontario)
This needs assessment in Cobourg, Ontario, interviewed food program clients to identify barriers to food access. Clients reported lack of transportation, insufficient food quantities, and inconvenient operating hours as barriers to using food programs. They also cited lack of available vegetables and fruit at home and income as barriers to consuming more produce.
Equity & displacementWelfareCommunityHealthEconomicsRealising ecological sustainability in community gardens: a capability approach
2011Alma Clavin · Local Environment · Europe
This paper reports on the multiple impacts that community garden design may have on the subjective well-being of site users, using the capability approach as a normative framework. Qualitative research conducted in five community garden sites in the UK and Ireland in early 2011 yielded new explanations for both sustainable design and well-being. Two key design aspects, agency and dynamic balance, were found to enhance both the sustainability of the community garden sites and the well-being of site users.
CommunityHealthBiodiversityOrganic cycleAn analysis of the impacts of health insurance rebate initiatives on community supported agriculture in Southern Wisconsin
2011Greg Jackson, Amanda L. Raster, Will Shattuck · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States (Southern Wisconsin)
Since 2005, four insurance providers in southern Wisconsin have offered rebates to policyholders who subscribe to a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation, reducing costs by up to 40%. This program, managed by MACSAC, led to increased fruit and vegetable consumption among CSA members and reduced advertising time for growers. Both the number of MACSAC member farms and the total shares offered by these farms have substantially increased, indicating the program's success in reducing grower risk and expanding production.
CSA & TeikeiHealthEconomicsPolicy수도권 도시민의 도시농업 참여실태
2011박은하, 오충현 · · South Korea (Seoul)
A 2011 study conducted in the Seoul metropolitan area of South Korea analyzed the participation status and demands regarding urban agriculture. The research involved interviews with urban agriculture site operators and participants from June to July 2011, and a survey of 153 general citizens who participated in a pocket garden event on September 3, 2011. The survey covered urban agriculture awareness, participation status, attitudes towards eco-friendly agriculture, produce safety, and activation measures.
CommunityHealthEconomicsElderlyAllotment Gardening and Other Leisure Activities for Stress Reduction and Healthy Aging
2011Jemma Hawkins, Katie Thirlaway, Karianne Backx, Deborah A. Clayton · HortTechnology · Global
This study investigated the benefits of allotment gardening for healthy aging among 94 individuals aged 50 to 88 years from various activity groups. Participants completed physiological measures and psychometric scales. Allotment gardeners reported significantly less perceived stress compared to participants in indoor exercise classes (P < 0.05). No significant differences were found in social support or physical activity levels, suggesting engagement with nature and psychological restoration may contribute to lower stress.
HealthElderlyCommunityCaption for Cover of Volume 2 Issue 1
2011A Christian · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · United States (Des Moines)
This abstract provides captions for photos related to urban planning and food systems. It describes a meeting in Des Moines, Washington, on healthy food access, a rapid market survey at a Mississippi Gulf Coast farmers' market, and individuals involved in food system policy drafting in Waterloo Region, Ontario, and urban planning academia.
PolicyHealthCommunityProperties and Heavy Metal Contents of Urban Agricultural Soils in Seoul
2011Hyuck-Soo Kim, Young‐Nam Kim, Jin‐Won Kim, Kye-Hoon Kim · 한국토양비료학회지 · South Korea (Seoul)
This study investigated the properties and total and phytoavailable contents of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn) in 21 urban agricultural soils in Seoul, South Korea. The total heavy metal concentrations in the examined urban agricultural soils were found to be lower than the warning levels for area 1 according to the Soil Environmental Conservation Act of Korea. Phytoavailable-Cu, -Pb, and -Zn concentrations were also reported as 0.02-0.28, N.D-0.09, and 0.01-0.43 mg/kg, respectively.
Contamination & food safetyHealthOrganic cycleEvaluación estructural y funcional de los sistemas productivos urbanos en Quibdó, Chocó, Colombia
2011Teofilo Cuesta Borja, Ditter Horacio Mosquera Andrade · · Colombia (Quibdó)
This article presents the results of a structural and functional characterization of urban productive systems in Quibdó, Colombia. The study analyzed vegetation by growth habit and conducted a Rapid Rural Appraisal on species utilization. Residents use mixed home gardens, rooftops, and potted plants for urban agriculture, along with animal husbandry. 58 species across 51 genera and 41 botanical families were found, distributed in three strata. These species are important for food and traditional medicine, indicating that urban productive systems in Quibdó are oriented to supply food and medicinal needs.
DIYCommunityHealthThe Integration of School Garden Programs into Educational Curriculum
2011Annie Lowry · Digital Commons - Olivet Distinctive Heritage, Scholarship, & Creativity (Olivet Nazarene University) · United States (Illinois)
This project aimed to evaluate how gardening is integrated into classroom curriculum in several schools in Illinois and the factors leading to this integration. Qualitative data was collected from interviews with educational professionals from seven different sites, confirming previous research on the benefits of gardening and providing new insights into current and future integration of gardens into the classroom.
Food educationHealthCommunityUSING SCHOOL GARDENS AS A VEHICLE FOR HEALTH PROMOTION FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL YOUTH: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
2011Hillary Anne Doerfler · D-Scholarship@Pitt (University of Pittsburgh) · Global
A literature review examined the use of school garden programs for health promotion among elementary school youth. The review found that school gardens successfully improved academic achievement, increased fruit and vegetable consumption, and enhanced social skills. However, significant barriers to implementation were identified, particularly in low socioeconomic status schools, including a lack of funding, insufficient gardening knowledge among teachers, and limited community and parent involvement.
Governance failureFood educationHealthCommunityWelfareContact with Nature
2011Howard Frumkin, Jared Fox · Island Press/Center for Resource Economics eBooks · Global
Contact with nature may benefit health, a relationship supported by both theoretical and empirical considerations. Nature contact can take many forms in the built environment, including plantings in buildings, views from windows, biophilic building design, community gardens, and parks. Evidence supports various benefits of such nature contact, ranging from stress reduction to improved recovery from illness and surgery.
HealthCommunityRaising Elijah: Protecting Our Children in an Age of Environmental Crisis
2011Victoria Derr · Children Youth and Environments · Global
This book review examines Sandra Steingraber's "Raising Elijah," which addresses parental concerns about environmental crises and children's protection. The book details environmental hazards and advocates for engagement in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms. It criticizes the inadequacy of policies that force parents to act as "their own regulatory agencies" and suggests that collaborative, multi-agency approaches are necessary for effective environmental protection, beyond individual actions like buying local and organic.
CSA & TeikeiHealthClimate changeGrowing Greener Cities
2010FAO · Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) · Global
FAO's programme on urban and peri-urban agriculture, presenting a framework to support city food production for food security, jobs, environment and nutrition.
PolicyCommunityHealthEconomics利用実態から捉えた団地屋外空間の活用による団地再生に関する研究
2010· ランドスケープ研究（日本造園学会誌）73巻5号 pp.469- · Japan
A field study of how danchi outdoor (open) spaces are actually used, examining directions for regeneration through stock utilization; it found demand was highest for children's play, followed by walking and resting, pointing to the need for regeneration plans that promote diverse outdoor uses, including gardens.
CommunityPolicyHealthAllotment gardening and health: a comparative survey among allotment gardeners and their neighbors without an allotment
2010Van den Berg A. E., Van Winsum-Westra M., De Vries S., Van Dillen S. M. E. · Environmental Health · Netherlands
Comparative survey of Dutch allotment gardeners and non-gardening neighbors finding gardeners, especially older adults, scored better on health, wellbeing, physical activity, and social contacts, evidencing welfare benefits of shared urban gardening.
HealthWelfareCommunityDisparities and access to healthy food in the United States: A review of food deserts literature
2010Walker R. E., Keane C. R., Burke J. G. · Health & Place 16(5):876-884 · United States
Systematic review of 31 US food access and food desert studies using nine distinct measures, documenting disparities in access to healthy food across low-income and minority neighborhoods.
WelfareHealthPolicyThe impact of nutrition education with and without a school garden on knowledge, vegetable intake and preferences and quality of school life among primary-school students
2010Morgan · Public Health Nutrition · Australia
Among primary-school students, the study compared nutrition education with and without a school garden, examining effects on knowledge, vegetable intake and preferences, and quality of school life.
Food educationHealthSpatial dispersion and characterisation of mosquito breeding habitats in urban vegetable-production areas of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
2010Barbara Matthys, Benjamin G. Koudou, Eliézer K. N’Goran, Penelope Vounatsou, Laura Gosoniu, Moussa Koné, G. Gissé, Jürg Utzinger · Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology · Côte d'Ivoire (Abidjan)
Two surveys were conducted in market gardens of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, during the rainy and dry seasons to identify mosquito breeding habitats. The study found that urban agriculture areas may lead to higher densities of mosquito breeding sites, with "agricultural trenches" between seedbeds being the most likely sites to be positive for Anopheles larvae and mosquito pupae.
Environmental trade-offsHealthUrban–rural linkageEdible landscaping - integration of vegetable garden in the landscape of a private property.
2010Rodica Sima, Ioana Micu, Dănuţ Maniutiu, N. Sima, Vasile Lazăr · Bulletin of University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca Horticulture · Global
Edible landscaping integrates food-producing plants into ornamental settings, enhancing gardens with unique decorative components and offering health, aesthetic, and economic benefits. This approach considers both the aesthetic value and food production benefits of edible plants. Integrating vegetables into private property landscapes can provide a source of healthy fresh food and add aesthetic value through the cultivation of unusually colored or shaped varieties.
DIYHealthEconomicsUrban Agriculture Community Gardens and Elderly Food Security in Nairobi, Kenya: Health Outcomes and Social Support Analysis
2010Wycliffe Cherono Nyaga · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Kenya (Nairobi)
This study in Nairobi, Kenya, investigated the impact of urban agriculture community gardens on elderly food security, health outcomes, and social support. Surveys and interviews with participants in four gardens revealed a significant improvement in dietary variety (p < 0.05) among elderly residents, with a 25% average increase in vegetable intake. Social support networks within and outside the gardens were also crucial for health maintenance.
CommunityElderlyFood sovereignty & justiceHealth