Research & reports

Alice 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.

Siny 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.

Juliya Litichevskaya · Rutgers computer & technology law journal · United States (Chicago)

This note discusses the renewed interest in rooftop gardens due to environmental and economic concerns about energy use in buildings and cities. It highlights Chicago's initiatives, which include over 600 public and private green roofs covering two million square feet by 2011, representing 19% of US projects. The public sector, through tax incentives, grants, and regulations, has been the main stimulant for green roof development in cities like Chicago, Washington D.C., and New York City. International cities such as Toronto, Berlin, and Tokyo have also implemented mandatory green roof laws.

Juliana Duz Ricarte, José Maria Gusman Ferraz, Janice Rodrigues Placeres Borges · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Brazil (Porto Ferreira/SP)

This study identified and characterized 91 urban agriculture (UA) units in two low-income communities in Porto Ferreira/SP, Brazil, applying a structured questionnaire to 20% of the sample. It found that UA primarily involves low-income residents, with 83.0% of producers having rural origins and practicing agriculture mainly for subsistence. UA ensured access to fruits and vegetables for 77.8% of participants and reduced food expenses for most.

Jennifer Marie Vazquez · · United States

In 2010, the ISU Student Organic Farm (SOF) completed its fifth season at the ISU Horticulture Research Station and began selling Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares for the first time. This initiative aimed to address the challenges of voluntarily managing an acre of organic vegetables. The effort led to increased participant involvement, greater food production and distribution, and improvements in infrastructure and soil fertility, including the purchase and installation of drip irrigation and the planting of a winter cover crop.

Dale Maharidge · · United States (Kansas City)

This chapter introduces the success story of Sherri Harvel, who was active in a community garden in Kansas City. Having joined the garden in the early 1990s, she quit her banking job in 2003 to become an urban farmer. She named her new business Root Deep Urban Farm.

John Friedmann · · United States

This paper discusses the evolving role of planners in the American metropolis, noting a shift from a vague "public interest" to engagement with diverse causes such as urban agriculture, food security, and community development. It highlights that many planners now work in non-profits on specific issues, and professional organizations have recognized the need for a more compelling expression of professional values to guide professionals.

A 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.

Kendall Gilbert · ScholarWorks - GVSU (Grand Valley State University) · United States

This project aims to utilize the Grand Valley State University (GVSU) Community Garden for agricultural studies, research, education, and outreach. It seeks to expand opportunities for GVSU students, the campus community, and the greater Grand Rapids area to engage in gardening fieldwork. The project intends to promote GVSU as a new field site for agricultural education and production, bridging the gap between students and food systems.

· · United States (New Hampshire)

The South Sudan Community garden project in Manchester, New Hampshire, is a seven-month program for South Sudanese refugees aged 24-44. Implemented in partnership with the International Institute of New Hampshire and the South Sudanese Community Center, its purpose is to provide gardening skills and resources to empower refugees towards self-employment, better economic opportunities, and increased household income, fostering their participation in American life.

Ricardo Vásquez Ochoa, Emilio José García Bidegorry · · Mexico

The "Eutropia" project, which won second prize in the Holcim America 2008 Next Generation category, proposes sustainable housing for 36 families in the Los Reyes neighborhood, Mexico. It addresses precarious living conditions by compressing housing areas to create public spaces and integrating sustainable infrastructure. The design includes a block with a green roof for food production and recycling, a clearing house, and a street market for trading self-produced food.

Marcos Antonio de Castro Marques Teixeira · Aleph UCLA Undergraduate Research Journal for the Humanities and Social Sciences · Brazil

This study surveyed urban gardens in Santa Maria da Codipi and Dirceu Arcoverde, Teresina, Brazil, to assess their economic viability for gardeners. The study found that urban gardens in both areas do not provide income security for those who work them. Problems identified include petty theft, low education levels, lack of technical assistance hindering investment in new crops, and pesticide use creating a competitive disadvantage.

Kathleen L. Cappellano · Nutrition Today · United States

This article outlines farmers markets, community-supported agriculture, school- and community-based gardening, and collaborative programs that provide access to fresh produce, in response to American consumers' growing interest in learning about how and where their food is produced. It highlights online resources that describe these programs and organizations, which inform people about the many benefits of local agriculture.

Shane J. Ralston · PhilPapers (PhilPapers Foundation) · United States

This paper presents a Deweyan argument that school gardening prepares students for community gardening, a political activity aimed at food security, education, and community development. School gardening can also prepare children for environmental political activism, particularly involvement in gardening movements, which is presented as an interpretation of John Dewey's "civic turn" to school gardening.

Matheus Sehn Korting, Marlo do Nascimento, Lúcia Nobre, Adriana Mattos de Carvalho, E. Costa · Americanae (AECID Library) · Brazil

This study aimed to present the experience of the Social and Economic Development Center (NUDESE/FURG) as a protagonist in an Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture extension project linked to Brazil's Ministry of Social Development and Fight Against Hunger (MDS). The project directly contributed to institutions such as CAIC, CCMAR, Assis Brasil School, Rio Grande State Penitentiary, therapeutic communities, family farmers in São José do Norte and Rio Grande, and the Ecological Producers Group, through training, awareness, technical production support, and sales strengthening.

Annie 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.

Louise Chawla · Children Youth and Environments · United States (New York City)

This article reviews the 2010 film "Truck Farm," directed by Ian Cheney, which explores urban gardening in New York City. The film follows Cheney as he cultivates a vegetable garden in his grandfather's pickup truck and visits other urban farmers and food experts across the city. "Truck Farm" combines serious exposition with humor, prompting viewers to consider the future of urban farming and the role of whimsy in sustainability. The reviewer suggests the film is a valuable resource for youth community gardening programs or food systems classes.

Michael Raleigh · eCommons (Cornell University) · United States (Buffalo)

The City of Buffalo has made progress in accepting urban farming on vacant land, but remains unwilling to take risks in this area. Policies restrict farmers' access to land, long-term security, food diversity (including animals), and sales. To foster urban farming, the City should amend these policies to grant farmers more freedom and could promote farming through a city-wide composting program and a demolition policy requiring vacant lots to be seeded with clover.

Sarah Krones, Shari Edelson · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States (Baltimore)

Baltimore's Community Greening Resource Network (CGRN), established in 2008, provides gardening resources and materials to low-income residents to convert vacant urban spaces into community gardens. CGRN aims to empower residents to revitalize their communities by removing barriers to reclaiming open spaces. The program has served an increasing membership and expanding community of urban gardeners, but faces challenges with funding and staff retention.

Lester Scott Lakey · BearWorks (Missouri State University) · United States (Missouri)

An ethnographic study of two farms in the Springfield Plateau region of the Missouri Ozarks was conducted to assess the effects of "local food" movements on farmers. The study found that local farms share qualities with traditional family farms. It also revealed significant variability in farmers' motivations and attitudes, ranging from farming as a means to earn family income to farming as a way to build networks connecting farmers and consumers within the community.

Kathryn A. Peters · Journal of Food Law & Policy · United States

Urban agriculture in the United States takes various forms, including individual gardens on private land, public property, and church and school grounds. Key factors for success include land acquisition, zoning ordinances, access to affordable water, infrastructure, and support services like education and outreach. Major U.S. cities, such as Seattle (declared 2010 the Year of Urban Agriculture) and Cleveland (declared 2012 the Year of Local Food), recognize urban agriculture's important role in sustainable cities and local food supply systems.

Sarah Mead-Willis · The Deakin Review of Children s Literature · United States (Brooklyn)

"The Honeybee Man" by L. Nargi is a 2011 picture book about Fred, a Brooklyn resident who keeps three honeybee colonies on his townhouse roof. The book illustrates Fred's urban beekeeping, showing how his bees collect nectar across the borough and how he harvests and distributes honey to neighbors. It aims to educate young families about local ecology and human community, explaining bee behavior and the processes of beekeeping and honeymaking.

J. Caulfield · Maine policy review · United States

This case study describes how Maine's Micmac tribe is developing "Micmac Farms" from a community garden into a four-season agricultural business.

Marina de Fátima Brandão Carneiro, Antônio Maurílio Alencar Feitosa, Dulce Pereira dos Santos, Gabriel Alves Veloso, Igor Martins de Oliveira · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Brazil (Montes Claros)

This study investigated the role and importance of urban agriculture in Montes Claros, MG, Brazil, as a dynamic activity creating a specific rural-urban interaction space. Using bibliographic and documentary analysis, semi-structured interviews with farmers, iconographic production, and geotechnologies for mapping, the research found that urban agriculture is a reality in intra-urban spaces. It occupies vacant lots and backyards with diverse activities, generating work, employment, income, food security, and products for local commerce.

Julian S. Yates, Jutta Gutberlet · Environment and Planning A Economy and Space · Brazil (Diadema)

This paper analyzes food waste flows in Diadema, Brazil, through an urban political ecology lens, focusing on integrated organic waste management for composting and urban food production. While presented as a means for positive socioecological change, the process is characterized by conflict and potential exploitation. Broader structural conditions also constrain the system's ability to offer an alternative to existing waste-management models.