Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
7626 results(75 / 306)
Crop–pollinator interactions in urban and peri-urban farms in the United Kingdom
2023Nicholls E., Griffiths-Lee J., Basu P., Chatterjee S., Goulson D. · Plants, People, Planet · United Kingdom
Study of crop-pollinator interactions in UK urban and peri-urban farms, quantifying ecosystem services provided by pollinators in city farming systems.
PollinatorsBiodiversityCommunityUrban agriculture and its biodiversity: What is it and what lives in it?
2023Royer H., Yengue J., Bech N. · ScienceDirect · Global
Systematic review of biodiversity impacts of urban agriculture globally, comprehensively analyzing agriculture's role in urban ecosystems.
BiodiversityCommunityOrganic cycleSMART GROW – Low-cost automated hydroponic system for urban farming
2023Kueh Yung Shin K., Tan P.P., Goh Boon Ling M., Chong C.J., Bolhassan N.A. · HardwareX, 16:e00498 · Malaysia
An open-hardware study designing and publishing SMART GROW, a low-cost automated IoT hydroponic system paired with an Android app for small-scale urban farming. It monitors and controls basic parameters such as pH, EC and water level and can be readily replicated, self-built and customised at home. It exemplifies DIY and maker culture in which citizens tackle urban food production with self-built equipment.
DIYCommunityEconomicsSurveying and localized screening of soil contamination with the growth of urban community agriculture in Northern Utah
2023Frank Oliver, Melanie N. Stock, Paul Grossl, Grant Cardon · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (Salt Lake County)
This study conducted an initial screening survey of soil contaminants (lead, arsenic, and benzo(a)pyrene) in community gardens and urban farms in Salt Lake County, Utah, where urban agriculture is expanding. Lead ranged from 14.8 to 516 mg/kg (mean 91.8) and arsenic from 2.83 to 39.3 mg/kg (mean 11.8), with all arsenic values exceeding the US EPA regional screening level of 0.68 mg/kg. The baseline data were used to develop local screening levels and soil management plans for producers.
CommunityHealthCommunity‐Engaged Assessment of Soil Lead Contamination in Atlanta Urban Growing Spaces
2023Samuel J. W. Peters, Sydney M. Warner, Eri Saikawa, P. Barry Ryan, Parinya Panuwet, Dana B. Barr, Priya E. D'Souza, Gil Frank, Rosario Hernandez, Taranji Alvarado, Arthur Hines, Chris Theal · GeoHealth · United States (Atlanta)
Using community-engaged research, researchers and community gardeners co-designed a study measuring soil lead concentrations via XRF and ICP-MS at 19 urban agricultural and residential sites in west Atlanta and three rural Georgia sites. Most sites were below the EPA residential screening levels but above the University of Georgia's low-risk agricultural levels, and some sites containing metal-refining waste or slag reached three times the EPA level. The findings led local and federal agencies to initiate cleanup of the slag residue.
CommunityHealthPolicyChemically Catalyzed Phytoextraction for Sustainable Cleanup of Soil Lead Contamination in a Community Garden in Jersey City, New Jersey
2023Zhiming Zhang, Dibyendu Sarkar, Frances Levy, Rupali Datta · Sustainability · United States (Jersey City)
This field study demonstrated the effectiveness of a chemically catalyzed phytoextraction model, using the biodegradable chelating agent EDDS with vetiver grass, in a lead-contaminated community garden in Jersey City, New Jersey. Despite ongoing lead input from a nearby construction site, soil lead fell from 1144 to 359 mg/kg over three years. EDDS converted non-plant-available lead forms into plant-available forms, and vetiver roots accumulated more lead than in plots without EDDS.
CommunityHealthDigging in: Toward a more just urban garden land policy
2023Hannah Ramer, Kristen Nelson · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · United States (Minneapolis)
Using a contextualized case comparison of the City of Minneapolis and the independently elected Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, this study examines how urban garden land policies granting access to publicly owned land can either reduce or exacerbate racial inequities. It argues that seemingly minor policy details systematically shape who benefits, and that the Park Board went substantially further on racial equity—aided by more intensive public participation in developing the policy details.
PolicyCommunityLand tenure security and luxury support plant species and trait diversity in urban community gardens
2023Stacy M. Philpott, Peter Bichier, Genesis Perez, Shalene Jha, Heidi Liere, Brenda B. Lin · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · United States (California)
This study examined how garden physical features, garden "luxury," and land-tenure security influence plant species richness, functional diversity, and composition in community gardens on the California central coast. It found that land-tenure-secure gardens had higher plant and crop richness, while luxury-associated variables raised ornamental richness and flower abundance but lowered crop richness.
CommunityBiodiversityPolicyCollaborative survival in the city: Envisioning alternative urban futures through Black agrarian praxis
2023Justine Lindemann · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · United States (Cleveland)
This article explores the potential for "collaborative survival" in deindustrialized urban spaces, arguing that abundant so-called vacant parcels offer a pathway toward more self-determined food systems. Using the work of Black gardeners and farmers in Cleveland, Ohio as a case, it frames urban food production as a praxis of liberation that contests structural racism and reimagines alternative urban futures.
CommunityPolicyAdapting to urban gardening in China: how will policymaking help migrant and native gardeners?
2023· Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · China
A study discussing how policymaking can support both migrant and native gardeners engaged in urban gardening in China.
PolicyCommunityThe Promoting Effect of Mass Media on Participatory Landscape Revitalization—An Analysis from Newspaper Coverages of Participatory Urban Gardening in China
2023· Land · China
Analyzes newspaper coverage of participatory urban gardening in China to examine how mass media promotes participatory landscape revitalization.
CommunityPolicyGreen Spaces and the Spontaneous Renewal of Historic Neighborhoods: A Case Study of Beijing's Dashilar Community
2023· Sustainability · China (Beijing)
Case study of Beijing's Dashilar historic neighborhood analyzing resident-driven small-scale gardening as spontaneous green renewal, an alternative to government-led redevelopment.
CommunityDIYA Review of Chinese and Western Research on Community Garden Design: A Visualized Analysis Based on CiteSpace
2023· Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering · China
CiteSpace-based visualized review comparing Chinese and Western research on community garden design, mapping research trends and differences between the two contexts.
CommunityCommunity-supported agriculture as food democratic experimentalism: Insights from Germany
2023· Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Germany
Analyzes Community-Supported Agriculture (Solidarische Landwirtschaft) in Germany as a form of food-democratic experimentalism, in which producers and consumers share the costs, risks and governance of production.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsA large share of Berlin's vegetable consumption can be produced within the city
2023De Simone M., Pradhan P., Kropp J. P., Rybski D. · Sustainable Cities and Society · Germany (Berlin)
Evaluates five urban space types (residential areas, allotments, rooftops, supermarket parking lots, cemeteries) and estimates the potential to produce a large share of Berlin's vegetable consumption locally.
EconomicsCommunityPolicyAllotment Garden Products as Contribution to Sustainable and Resilient Cities: An Analysis in Leipzig, Germany
2023Schäfer, Kleemann, Spyra · Sustainability · Germany (Leipzig)
Analyzes allotment garden products in Leipzig and their contribution to sustainable and resilient cities.
CommunityBiodiversityEconomicsAllotments for all? Social–environmental values of urban gardens for gardeners and the public in cities: The example of Berlin, Germany
2023Haase · People and Nature · Germany (Berlin)
Assesses the social–environmental values of urban gardens for both gardeners and the wider public, using Berlin as an example.
CommunityBiodiversityWelfareLife cycle assessment of source separation of biowaste, pay as you throw systems and autonomous composting units in the Municipality of Katerini, Greece
2023· Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management · Greece
Life cycle assessment comparing source separation of biowaste, pay-as-you-throw systems and autonomous (decentralized) composting units in the Municipality of Katerini, Greece.
DIYCommunityCompostAssessing the Feasibility of Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting for Food Production in Northwestern Arizona on the Hualapai Indian Reservation
2023· Sustainability · Arizona, USA
Assesses the feasibility of rooftop rainwater harvesting for food production on the Hualapai Indian Reservation, discussing its potential to alleviate community water stress.
DIYCommunityEnhancing Food Literacy and Food Security through School Gardening in Rural and Regional Communities
2023· International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Australia
A study on enhancing children's food literacy and food security through school gardening in rural and regional communities, identifying dedicated garden/kitchen spaces and committed teachers as basic requirements.
Food educationCommunityCommunity garden developed by refugees from Syria—A sanctuary and a space for learning and empowerment
2023· Wellbeing, Space and Society · Denmark
A participatory action research project in which Syrian refugee families in Denmark jointly developed a community garden; gardening and cooking together built community, social capital, and a sense of belonging.
WelfareCommunityHealthAgrotourism and fast urbanisation: The double pressure of development on peri‐urban agriculture in Hôi An, a small city of central Vietnam
2023Pham · Asia Pacific Viewpoint · Vietnam (Hôi An)
Case study of peri-urban agriculture in Hôi An, Vietnam, analyzing how agrotourism development and rapid urbanisation jointly pressure farming.
EconomicsPolicyCommunityUnexpected effects of urban food activism on community and human wellbeing
2023· Local Environment · United Kingdom (Aberdeen)
Based on interviews with food-growing project participants in Aberdeen, UK, finds unexpected wellbeing effects of urban food activism, notably heavy burdens on volunteer coordinators of community gardens.
CommunityWelfareHealthHow does community food growing build community bonds? Insights from grassroots visual storytelling
2023· Local Environment · United Kingdom
Uses grassroots visual storytelling to explore how community food-growing activities build community bonds through emotional attachment and placemaking.
CommunityWelfareFood educationPush and pull motivations of international voluntary workers on organic farms (the WWOOFers)
2023· Current Issues in Tourism · International
Analyzes the push and pull motivations of international volunteer workers (WWOOFers) who participate in labour and exchange on organic farms.
EconomicsCommunityOrganic cycle