Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
3402 results(74 / 137)
Exploring a Big Data Approach to Building a List Frame for Urban Agriculture: A Pilot Study in the City of Baltimore
2018Linda J. Young, Michael Hyman, Barbara R. Rater · Journal of Official Statistics · United States (Baltimore)
This pilot study explored a big-data approach to building a list frame for enumerating urban agriculture, which is challenging because urban agricultural holdings tend to be small, diverse, dispersed and transient. Conducted by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service in the City of Baltimore, it identified areas of potential agricultural activity by gathering web-based information (permits, Facebook and Twitter feeds, interest groups) and then verified a sample via in-person survey. The paper presents the pilot results and discusses lessons learned and next steps.
PolicyEconomicsDiversification in peri-urban agriculture: a case study in the Ruhr metropolitan region
2018· Journal of Land Use Science · Germany (Ruhr)
A case study of diversification strategies among peri-urban farms in Germany's Ruhr metropolitan region, documenting how urban proximity shapes multifunctional adaptation.
EconomicsPolicyA Differentiated Spatial Assessment of Urban Ecosystem Services Based on Land Use Data in Halle, Germany
2018· Land · Germany (Halle)
A spatially explicit assessment of urban ecosystem services in Halle (Saale), Germany, combining biotope and land-use data with hemeroby and accessibility to map local provisioning capacity.
BiodiversityPolicyReducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers
2018Poore J., Nemecek T. · Science · Global
A meta-analysis of about 38,000 farms shows food's environmental impacts are dominated by production while transport contributes only a small share, weakening the food-miles rationale and casting doubt on transport-reduction as urban agriculture's climate justification.
PolicyEconomicsCultivating (a) Sustainability Capital: Urban Agriculture, Ecogentrification, and the Uneven Valorization of Social Reproduction
2018McClintock N. · Annals of the American Association of Geographers · USA
Demonstrates how urban agriculture becomes entangled in eco-gentrification, arguing that eco-gentrification is not merely a side effect of an urban sustainability fix but is central to how racial capitalism operates through green urbanization.
EconomicsCommunityPolicyGated gardens: Effects of urbanization on community formation and commons management in community gardens
2018Egerer M., Fairbairn M. · Geoforum · California, USA
Under rapid urbanization on California's central coast, social tensions permeate garden boundaries and shape internal relations. Conflicts over membership rules, resource management, and theft of produce erode community cohesion within the gardens.
CommunityPolicyEvaluating Food Policy Councils Using Structural Equation Modeling
2018Calancie Larissa, Allen Nicole E., Ng Shu Wen, Weiner Bryan J., Ward Dianne S., Ware William B., Ammerman Alice S. · American Journal of Community Psychology · USA
Quantitatively evaluates US food policy councils, modelling links between council characteristics and policy activity. Reveals many councils have limited capacity and achieve modest policy engagement, identifying structural weaknesses that constrain their effectiveness as governance bodies.
Policy"We're not in the business of housing:" Environmental gentrification and the nonprofitization of green infrastructure projects
2018Jeremy Németh, Alessandro Rigolon · Cities · USA (Chicago, The 606)
Case study of Chicago's publicly-backed 606 greenway showing how reliance on park nonprofits to deliver large green-infrastructure projects accelerates environmental gentrification: the governance model disclaims responsibility for the displacement it causes.
PolicyEconomicsWelfareAssessing green gentrification in historically disenfranchised neighborhoods: a longitudinal and spatial analysis of Barcelona
2018Isabelle Anguelovski, James J. T. Connolly, Laia Masip, Hamil Pearsall · Urban Geography · Spain (Barcelona)
Longitudinal spatial analysis linking Barcelona's municipal greening interventions (parks/green corridors) to gentrification in disenfranchised neighborhoods, providing quantitative evidence that public greening policy is associated with exclusionary neighborhood change.
PolicyWelfareCommunity gardening in Stockholm: participation, driving forces and the role of the municipality
2018Madeleine Bonow, Maria Normark · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · Sweden
Research on Stockholm community gardens. Analyzes participation mechanisms, driving forces, and municipal support role. Examines implementation mechanisms for sustainability improvement.
CommunityPolicyFood educationUrban and Peri-Urban Agriculture as A Pathway to Food Security: A Review Mapping the Use of Food Sovereignty
2018Michelle Tendai. Chihambakwe, Paramu Mafongoya, Obert Jiri · Challenges · Zimbabwe
This review maps the use of food sovereignty principles in urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in Zimbabwe, addressing its potential for food security. Despite UPA being ingrained in urban households' livelihoods, institutional arrangements governing the practice remain ambivalent. The review underscores that the failure to involve all stakeholders undermines UPA, leading to heightened food insecurity and unsustainable practices.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justicePeri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomicsThe politics of urban agriculture
2018Nathan McClintock, Christiana Miewald, Eugene McCann · · North America
This chapter explores urban agriculture (UA) as fundamentally political practices, examining its role in neoliberal governance and sustainability policy-making, and as an object of contestation. It relates UA motivations and practices to processes of urbanization and political economic restructuring. The chapter highlights that UA is a site of political contestation, arising from broader political economic shifts.
Governance failurePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityEconomicsBrownfields to Greenfields: Environmental Justice Versus Environmental Gentrification
2018Juliana Maantay, Andrew Maroko · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · United States (New York City)
This study examined whether proximity to community gardens in less affluent neighborhoods is associated with an increased likelihood of gentrification, using Brooklyn, New York as a case study. Employing GIS and spatial analysis, the results suggest that proximity to community gardens is associated with significant increases in per capita income over a five-year period. This indicates that environmental improvements, such as community gardens, may paradoxically spur gentrification and the displacement of existing lower-income residents, raising concerns for environmental justice.
Equity & displacementCommunityEconomicsPolicyWelfarePeri-urban agriculture in Australia
2018Rachel Carey, Sarah James · · Australia (Sydney, Melbourne)
This chapter examines peri-urban agriculture in Australia, focusing on case studies in Sydney and Melbourne. It explores the pressures on peri-urban fringes, noting that while food needs are increasing due to population growth, the capacity of these areas to meet them is decreasing due to urban sprawl. The research highlights policy and planning options to protect these regions, emphasizing their potential contribution to urban sustainability and resilience amidst climate change and water scarcity.
Peri-urban agriculturePolicyClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceUrban 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 changeAn Analysis of the Changes in the Structure of Allotment Gardens in Poland and of the Process of Regulating Legal Status
2018Anna Trembecka, Anita Kwartnik-Pruc · Sustainability · Poland
This study analyzed data on the number and area of allotment gardens, their distribution across Poland, and the process of regulating the legal status of land occupied by allotment gardens. The research identified the number and area of family allotment gardens in Poland, along with the range and types of claims against them. The study found that land occupied by family allotment gardens requires protection and legal status regulation, which is difficult due to various entities submitting claims to these areas because of their attractive urban locations.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultural land vulnerability due to urban sprawl – a multi-criteria spatially-explicit scenario analysis
2018Suranga Wadduwage · Journal of Land Use Science · Australia (Adelaide)
A multi-criteria spatially-explicit study in the Adelaide metropolitan area, Australia, investigated agricultural land vulnerability to urban sprawl under opposing policy directions. The study showed higher agricultural land vulnerabilities in “Business-As-Usual” and “Accelerated Economic Development” scenarios, extending into rural areas with a leap-frog effect. This confirms the need to sacrifice farmland uses to maintain land supply for urban development under these conditions.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyUrban–rural linkageUna aproximación a la agricultura urbana en el estado Falcón, Venezuela
2018Ángela Castillo, Sandra Leonela López Álvarez · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Venezuela (Falcón)
A study characterized the urban agriculture project in Falcón state, Venezuela, finding it was organized by the CIARA Foundation under the Simón Bolívar National Project. The program is prevalent in 100% of implementing municipalities, with activity ranging from 0.71% to 100%, and 44.44% of the total municipalities showing potential for resuscitation. The Miranda municipality, the state capital, has the most Agricultural Production Units but only 15% activity.
PolicyCommunityCounter crimes and food democracy: Suspects and citizens remaking the food system
2018Sue Booth, John Coveney, Dominique Paturel · Policy Press eBooks · Global
This chapter examines the concept of food crime within the global industrialized food system and explores citizen resistance, termed 'counter crimes,' which use food for public statements. Counter crimes encompass both oppositional activities, focusing on the current food system, and constructivist activities, which foster new food systems like farmer's markets and community gardens. These democratically-driven actions form a participatory movement, known as food democracy, enabling citizens to exert control over their food system.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityPolicyMunicipal Policy Enabling Regional Food Systems in British Columbia, Canada: Assessing Focal Areas and Gaps
2018Naomi Robert, Kent Mullinix · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Canada
This study assessed Official Community Plans (OCPs) from 61 municipalities in British Columbia, Canada, to identify focal points and gaps in local government food system planning. It found that policies addressing food access and urban agriculture were most prevalent, but recognition of Indigenous foodways was scarce. Gaps were identified in post-production capacity, waste management, and environmental stewardship, suggesting a need for coordinated policy efforts beyond urban agriculture.
PolicyFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkage서울시 옥상텃밭 운영 현황에 관한 조사
2018박상희, 우은희, 황경미, 제의숙 · 인간식물환경학회 학술대회 · South Korea (Seoul)
This study investigated the current operational status of rooftop gardens in Seoul, South Korea. It aimed to present the situation of rooftop gardens across the 25 districts of Seoul, as the city expands various urban agriculture projects.
CommunityPolicyFood educationCompeting Discourses of Household Food Insecurity in Canada
2018Zsofia Mendly‐Zambo, Dennis Raphael · Social Policy and Society · Canada
Household food insecurity (HFI) affects over 1.7 million Canadian households, yet government action to address it has been remarkably limited. Non-governmental efforts like food banks and community gardens have depoliticized HFI, complicating solutions. The study argues that the critical materialist political economy discourse, which is least considered, best explains HFI in Canada and offers the most effective response.
Limited or null effectWelfareCommunityPolicyEconomicsFactors for Effectiveness of Social Innovations in Urban Agriculture
2018Dona Pickard · International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food · Bulgaria (Plovdiv)
This paper analyzes an urban agriculture case in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, where the municipality cleared over 2 hectares of long-tolerated allotments without involving users, despite NGOs promoting urban agriculture as a social innovation. The case exemplifies barriers hindering social innovation, particularly regarding governance, as the eviction occurred without discussion about the future of urban agriculture. This suggests a lack of civic participation and access to resources for deprived groups.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyIntegrating social preferences analysis for multifunctional peri-urban farming in planning. An application by multi-criteria analysis techniques and stakeholders
2018Inmaculada Marques-Pérez, Baldomero Segura García del Río · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Spain (Valencia)
This study focuses on "Huerta de Valencia," a peri-urban agricultural system around Valencia, Spain, analyzing the debate between urban growth strategies and farmland preservation. It uses multifunctionality approaches and multi-criteria analysis techniques to examine territorial planning processes by stakeholders. Differences in perceptions among stakeholder groups result in varying future visions for this agricultural system, impacting the design of rural development and agro-environmental measures.
Peri-urban agriculturePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageFrom Cascade to Bottom-Up Ecosystem Services Model: How Does Social Cohesion Emerge from Urban Agriculture?
2018Anna Petit‐Boix, Defne Apul · Sustainability · Global
This study addresses the lack of a framework for the emergence of social cohesion in urban agriculture (UA) by modifying the cascade ecosystem services model. It transforms this into a bottom-up causal framework for UA, where biophysical and social structures lead to human activities fostering attitudes and feelings like trust. These aggregated attitudes generate social cohesion, supporting the development of causality pathways in social life cycle assessment and understanding UA's social impacts.
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