Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
2530 results(74 / 102)
Disentangling Participation in ‘Local Organic‘ Food Activism in London. On the Intersecting Dynamics of Whiteness, Coloniality and Methodologies that Constitute Ecological Identities
2016Katharina Nowak · Freiburger Geschlechterstudien/Freiburger Zeitschrift für Geschlechterstudien · United Kingdom (London)
This paper explores participation in London's local organic food network, Organiclea, examining how whiteness and coloniality influence engagement in food activism. Using inductive interviews and intersectionality, the study found disproportionate participation of diaspora subjects in the design and operation of local organic food practices. This highlights racialized ecological identity formation within such networks.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Community as a Contested Practice
2016Jae-Youl Lee · 대한지리학회지 · South Korea (Seoul)
This article examines the concept of 'community' in Seoul's community garden program, comparing how ordinary citizens and civil society activists interpret and practice it. Empirical findings suggest a contestation over community, with ordinary citizens prioritizing place-based experiences and activists viewing community gardens as a governmental technology. A gap between ordinary practical achievements and civic activism poses a potential danger to urban community policy.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceUnderstanding Markets and Marketing Strategies, and Challenges in Locally Grown Fresh Produce Industry
2016J. Dominique Gumirakiza, Laura J. Hopper, Gumirakiza, J. Dominique, Hopper, Laura · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Global
An exploratory study of existing literature on locally grown food systems identified common findings, recommendations, and proposed priorities, key variables, and relationships for future research. Findings indicate that local food marketing through farmers' markets and Community Supported Agriculture, along with the benefits of local food systems to local economies (an ongoing debate), heavily dominate the literature. Prior studies commonly reported enthusiasm for locally grown fresh produce but presented diverging results regarding significant consumer characteristics.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceFood miles & supply chainGreater than the Sum of the Parts? Unpacking Ethics of Care within a Community Supported Agriculture Scheme
2016Rosie Cox, Moya Kneafsey, Lewis Holloway, Elizabeth Dowler, Laura Venn · · United Kingdom
This chapter introduces the concept of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and positions it within the literature on local food, moral economies, and ethics of care. Using the case of EarthShare, the longest-running CSA in Britain, founded in Forres, Scotland in 1994, it argues that by exposing differences in members' priorities, local food systems can be seen as sites of political potential despite not being perfect or free from conflict. CSAs are presented as offering opportunities to strengthen place-based community relationships between growers and eaters, characterized as a form of caring practice in food production and consumption.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Agriculture, Commons and Urban Policies: Scaling up Local Innovation
2016François Mancebo · Challenges in Sustainability · Global
This article explores whether urban agriculture can be a cornerstone for reconfiguring more sustainable cities, and under what conditions and types. It proposes counteracting urban sprawl by fostering "rural sprawl" through introducing nature and rural characteristics like farming into interstitial urban areas and wastelands. From this perspective, urban agriculture becomes a common good that brings people together and reshapes the urban fabric, making it particularly suitable for long-lasting urban policies that transform environmental "bads" into "goods" and urban amenities.
PolicyCommunityUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceEspinhaço Journal interviews Dickson D. Despommier (Columbia University)
2016Alyssa Fico, Douglas Sathler · Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) · United States (New York City)
Dr. Dickson D. Despommier, a Columbia University professor and urban agriculture expert, was interviewed by Revista Espinhaço in New York on November 19-20, 2015. The informal interview, conducted during the "Geography 2050" event, featured his reflections on the field of urban agriculture.
Food sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageBalance Del Programa De Agricultura Urbana Liderado Por El Jardín Botánico De Bogotá José Celestino Mutis
2016Salamanca Córdoba, Néstor Leonardo · · Colombia (Bogotá)
This internship report evaluates the urban agriculture program led by the Bogotá Botanical Garden (JBB) in Colombia. It describes 25 urban gardens that received technical advice, social support, adaptation, and equipment from the JBB. Using a case study methodology, technical diagnostic and harvest forms, along with perceptions from project leaders and participants, were used to describe the gardens. The JBB continuously monitors these gardens to improve urban agriculture practices and gather data for evaluating the effectiveness, impact, strengths, and weaknesses of urban agriculture among the study population.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceBuilding Urban Agricultural Commons: A Utopia or a Reality?
2016Pierre Donadieu · Challenges in Sustainability · Global
This paper distinguishes categories of urban agriculture to efficiently feed urban inhabitants and leverage ecological and social functions. It explores methods to regulate unbuilt urban land and discusses possibilities for creating urban agricultural commons, defined as tangible and intangible resources produced by farmers and gardeners for local consumption and environmental quality. The concept of commons is applied to urban agriculture and landscape, drawing on works by E. Ostrom, P. Dardot, and C. Laval.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceChallenge brings communities together to improve health: Fifty cities, counties receive funding
2016Natalie McGill · The Nation's health · United States
In 2016, in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States, where some residents lived in areas with limited access to grocery stores offering fresh produce, staff at DeKalb County Community Gardens initiated an effort to bring food directly to the people. This initiative aimed to improve residents' health.
CommunityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceGrowing hungry: The politics of food distribution and the shifting boundaries between urban and rural in Dar es Salaam
2016Emily Brownell · Global Environment · Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)
This case study in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, examines the politics of food distribution and shifting urban-rural boundaries during the socialist era. The Tanzanian government pursued an anti-urban policy, viewing urbanites as slothful and discouraging migration to cities. However, by the early 1980s, as state food distribution channels failed, the government shifted to transforming as much of Dar es Salaam into agricultural space as possible, with urban agriculture and family networks becoming key bulwarks against hunger in the city.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyWelfareFood sovereignty & justicePlaces of prosumption: Community gardens putting the ‘we’ into neighbourhoods
2016Deirdre Shaw, John Crossan, Andrew Cumbers, Robert McMaster, Katherine Trebeck, Iain Black · Families Relationships and Societies · Global
This article explores the possibilities of prosumption, encompassing production and consumption, for creating new "we" identities based on nature and community. It focuses on community gardens as places that generate progressive social relations. These relations critique mainstream mass production and environmentally destructive food systems.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceCIUDAD AGRÍCOLA: ANÁLISIS SOCIAL DE LOS PROCESOS DE AGRICULTURA URBANA CASO LOCALIDAD BOSA - BOGOTÁ.
2016Vargas Sandoval, Norma Constanza · · Colombia (Bogotá)
This descriptive qualitative research project analyzes how urban agriculture processes in Bosa, Bogotá, contribute to social construction through community development. It characterizes the social structure used by participants, identifying dimensions of community organization, systems supporting social dynamics, and relationships articulating actors for network building. The documentation of these urban agriculture experiences serves as a tool for local and district program planning and execution.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Agriculture: Passing Fad or New Prospects for Agriculture and Cities?
2016Heidrun Moschitz, Christoph Kueffer · GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society · Global
This paper argues that while urban agriculture might be considered a passing fad, it is a vehicle to deal with many urgent topics of societal transformation towards a sustainable future. It discusses the potential of urban agriculture to change agriculture and urban life.
Climate changeFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageANALYSIS OF FACTORS AFFECTING FOOD SECURITY IN RURAL AND URBAN FARMING HOUSEHOLDS OF BENUE STATE, NIGERIA
2016G. A. Abu, A. Soom, Abu, Godwin Anjeinu, Soom, Aondonenge · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Nigeria
This study examined factors affecting food security in 180 rural and urban farming households in Benue State, Nigeria, using structured questionnaires. It found that 53.3% of rural and 62.2% of urban households were food secure based on calorie intake. Key constraints to food security included lack of access to credit, inadequate land, poverty, soil infertility, and storage/processing problems.
Economic viabilityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsUrban–rural linkageResiliencia y organización comunitaria: el caso de la red de huertas en los Altos de la Estancia, en la localidad de Ciudad Bolívar en Bogotá / Resilience and community organization: the case of the network of orchards in the “Altos de la Estancia”, in “C
2016Diana Paola Vargas Huertas, Juan–Carlos Ruiz · Ciudad Paz-ando · Colombia (Bogotá)
This case study analyzed the creation process of an agricultural-based socio-economic network (orchards) in the Altos de la Estancia sector of Ciudad Bolívar in Bogotá, from the perspective of social resilience. Using participatory design accompaniment methodologies, the study examined resilience variables, vulnerability, and alternative economies within urban agriculture, and analyzed the social actors involved in the network's formation. The research revealed diverse capacities to face environmental adversity within risk management and community building processes, supported by district institutions, academia, and popular collectives.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceIdentifying opportunities and hurdles for food security: a critical examination of the City of Edmonton's food and agriculture strategy
2016Lorelei L. Hanson, Deborah Schrader · Interdisciplinary Environmental Review · Canada (Edmonton)
This case study critically examined the development of a food and urban agriculture strategy in Edmonton, Canada, using survey data and semi-structured interviews with citizens and stakeholders. It explored the transformative potential of local urban food initiatives and identified hurdles in moving beyond maintaining the status quo. The study aimed to identify leverage points for long-term local food system transformation within conceptualizations of sustainability.
Governance failurePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityA Story of Urban Farming and the Cultivation of Community and the Human Spirit
2016Matthew M. Mars · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Canada (Vancouver)
Michael Ableman's book "Street Farm" tells the story of how an urban farm transformed vacant lots in Vancouver, Canada's Low Tracks neighborhood into sites for food production, partial community restoration, and nurturing the human spirit. The narrative reveals a tenuous balance between the promises of urban farming and the harsh realities of addiction, hunger, homelessness, and violence often characterizing inner-city conditions. Urban agriculture is presented as a means to sustainably produce food for a city while also feeding the souls of disenfranchised individuals and communities.
Equity & displacementCommunityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceDon’t Panic, It’s Organic*: Supporting Sustainable Agriculture and Hunger Relief Efforts at McQuade Library
2016Catherine Wong, Kathryn Geoffrion Scannell · University of New Hampshire Scholars Repository (University of New Hampshire at Manchester) · United States
McQuade Library partnered with a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation to become a distributor of local foods, providing fresh produce to Merrimack College and the surrounding community. The library collaborated with Farmer Dave’s CSA, recruiting over fifty members to facilitate weekly food drop-offs for twenty weeks. Unclaimed food shares were distributed to a nearby food pantry, senior center, and an emergency shelter, supporting sustainable agriculture and hunger relief efforts.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceFood Justice and Sustainability: A New Revolution
2016Patrizia Longo · Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia · United States (Lafayette, California)
This paper documents the history of Urban Farmers, a grassroots organization in Lafayette, California, that addresses poverty and sustainability through a community-development approach to food security. The organization's project focuses on localizing the food system and fostering community development.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityWelfareEconomics‘Alternative’ This, ‘Alternative’ That ... : Interrogating Alterity and Diversity
2016Andrew E. G. Jonas · · United Kingdom
This chapter explores the notion of "the alternative" as relatively unexamined. Empirical work over three years involved six food businesses and initiatives facilitating direct contact between producers and consumers. Earth Share Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Nairn, North East Scotland, provides vegetables to approximately 200 households weekly. The chapter suggests that diversity within the "alternative" food sector is not necessarily problematic, and consumers' contingent, accidental, and partial commitment has not undermined the success of these schemes.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceUrban farming in the North American metropolis: Rethinking work and distance in alternative food networks
2016Diana Mincytė, Karin Dobernig · Environment and Planning A Economy and Space · North America
This article examines manual work in urban farming within alternative food networks in the Northeastern United States, based on ethnographic fieldwork and 40 interviews. The analysis reveals that while manual work counters alienation, it also reproduces consumer society institutions and reinforces neoliberal values like productivity and self-improvement. Urban farms function as "experiential production" sites, where the farming experience is continuously commodified despite re-embedding in community and environment.
Economic viabilityCommunityEconomicsUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceAgricultura urbana como crítica e alternativa: Práticas comunicativas em torno da alimentação no contexto de crises socioambientais || Urban Agriculture as Criticism and Alternative: Communication Practices around Food in the Context of Social and Environmental Crises
2016Thaís Cristina Schneider, Paulo André Niederle, Myrian Regina Del Vecchio-de Lima · Razón y Palabra · Brazil
This article analyzes urban agriculture from a communication perspective, focusing on how practitioners and non-practitioners understand its critical and alternative role regarding the modern food system. The study of Quinta da Videira in southern Brazil found that while urban agriculture is used to counter conventional food production and associated lifestyles, there are also resistances to integrating agricultural practices into the urban environment.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityClimate changeUrban–rural linkageEl desafío de la alimentación en un mundo cada vez más urbano
2016A. Sempere · Americanae (AECID Library) · Global
This paper argues that the concentration of people in urban areas poses significant ecological and social challenges, such as how to supply food to large population centers that grow at the expense of surrounding agricultural land. According to the United Nations, over half of the world's population currently lives in cities, projected to reach 66% by 2050. Current cities rely on food imported from increasingly distant places rather than food produced in their geographical environment, resulting in cities and citizens disconnected from their ecological and sociocultural context.
Urban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsGender, resilience and resistance: South Africa’s Hleketani Community Garden
2016Elizabeth Vibert · Journal of Contemporary African Studies · South Africa
This article examines the Hleketani Community Garden in Limpopo Province, South Africa, highlighting the successes of women farmers in reducing poverty and improving health outcomes. Despite these benefits, the research identifies significant structural barriers, including lack of access to resources, unfavorable policy frameworks for small-scale agriculture, and worsening climate change, that hinder small-scale farmers, particularly women.
Equity & displacementCommunityWelfareHealthPolicyClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceHORTAS URBANAS DE MARINGÁ (PR): ESTUDO SOCIOECONÔMICO DOS PRODUTORES E PERCEPTIVO DOS TRANSEUNTES
2016Ricardo Massulo Albertín, Daniel Augusto, Boaventura Almeida Mubai, Bruno Luiz Domingos De Angelis, Márcia da Silva, Frederico Fonseca da Silva, Fábio Angeoletto · Boletim de Geografia · Brazil (Maringá)
This study aimed to diagnose the socioeconomic aspects of vegetable producers and identify the perception of passersby around urban gardens (community gardens) in Maringá (PR), as a means to mitigate negative social impacts like food insecurity caused by urbanization. A case study was conducted in five community gardens in the northern zone of Maringá, Paraná State. Results showed that the activities within these gardens and public sector involvement characterized them as public policies for promoting quality of life, rather than mere government policies. Questionnaire responses from passersby evidenced that the public policy for creating and consolidating urban gardens in Maringá promoted quality of life. The community garden project was found to have significant socioeconomic, landscape, and sentimental value for both producers and passersby, with producers opting for diverse production, self-consumption, and vegetable sales.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justice