Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
3275 results(83 / 131)
Urban agriculture and the reassembly of the city: lessons from Wuhan, China.
2017S. S. Horowitz, Liu JuanJuan Liu JuanJuan · CABI eBooks · China (Wuhan)
This chapter, focusing on a case study of intra-urban agriculture in Wuhan, China, mapped the dynamic relations between actors, institutions, processes, and spaces. Theoretical and practical challenges to growing food within Chinese cities were identified, and ways for state and non-state actors to collaborate in reassembling intra-urban agriculture to maximize its social, ecological, and economic contributions were suggested.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsBiodiversityOrdering urban agriculture: farmers, experts, the state and the collective management of resources in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
2017Gabin Korbéogo · Environment and Urbanization · Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou)
This article explores how land tenure, water flows, and water quality are legally, politically, and socially framed in urban agriculture in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Urban agriculture serves as a revenue source and a socio-political arena involving state representatives, experts, and farmers. Public authorities monitor legal standards for water use and hygiene, while farmers strive for efficient resource use, sometimes challenging official norms. These competing interests lead to conflicts over resource use or rule legitimacy, which are negotiated through institutional or informal bargaining.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsCommunityHealthFood sovereignty & justiceUnderstanding the complexity of agriculturalurban relationships through a systemic approach. The case of BoboDioulasso, West Africa
2017Ophélie Robineau, Christophe‐Toussaint Soulard · Natures Sciences Sociétés · Africa
This article highlights the agri-urban system concept for understanding the complexity of city-agriculture relationships, using a West African city as a case study. It aims to develop a framework for analyzing these relationships at the territorial scale of the city and its region. Three groups of city-agriculture interactions are distinguished: spatio-historical interactions, interactions between the current urban system and agriculture, and interactions within the urban agrarian system.
Urban–rural linkageEconomicsPolicySpecificities of French community gardens as environmental stewardships
2017Ana Cristina Torres, Sophie Nadot, Anne‐Caroline Prévot · Ecology and Society · France
This study used participant observation and semi-structured interviews to explore motivations, practices, and processes in French community gardens, relating them to environmental stewardship. It found that environmental, social, and self-motivations drive gardener participation, fulfilling needs through processes like nature contemplation, environmental education, and renewing social-ecological relationships. French community gardens provide new experiences of nature and foster environmental stewardship by cultivating relational values, offering opportunities for creative conservation.
CommunityBiodiversityFood educationPolicyTecnología y resolución de conflictos socio-espaciales: la agricultura urbana como alternativa al desarrollismo
2017Elżbieta Ura, J Guerra Pedroza, M Torrealba Febres-Cordero, G Buenaño Alviarez · Revista Educación Superior y Sociedad (ESS) · Venezuela (Region de los Valles del Tuy)
This research in Venezuela's Valles del Tuy region addresses socio-spatial conflicts arising from unplanned territorial occupation, despite the region's historical agricultural use. It proposes urban agriculture as an alternative to developmentalism. An action plan was designed using urban agriculture as the primary alternative to developmentalism in the Valles del Tuy region, aiming to establish foundations for socio-ecological system balance guided by the philosophy of 'buen vivir'.
PolicyCommunityUrban–rural linkageDinâmicas e potencialidades
2017Delgado, Cecília · Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) · Europe
This study analyzed a set of gardens in Vienna and Lisbon, plus 29 relevant experiences in Portugal, to verify the argument that women are protagonists in urban agriculture. The results demonstrate a favorable evolution towards a greater presence of women in gardens, women's hegemony as process managers and facilitators, and their emergence in social entrepreneurship projects.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsUrban Agriculture Spaces in Built Environment
2017Rawaa Fawzi Naom, Fatima fouad Yaseen · Iraqi Journal of Architecture and Planning · Global
This research explores the concept of urban agriculture within sustainable urban trends, driven by limited green areas, population growth, and neglect of urban landscapes. Through a literature review and analytical study of urban agriculture projects, the study identified contextual linking as a main characteristic and social and cultural uses as the most important functions of urban agriculture spaces. The findings led to the development of a theoretical model for urban agriculture in city landscapes.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageApplication of Agricultural Extension Principles to Information Dissemination among Extension Workers in Delta State, Nigeria: Implications for Urban Agriculture
2017D. U. Okoedo-Okojie, C.O. Edeoghon · Journals & Books Hosting (International Knowledge Sharing Platform) · Nigeria
This study in Delta State, Nigeria, surveyed 120 extension workers from two research institutes. It found that only farm visits were regularly used for information dissemination, and extension principles focused on farmer needs and problem-solving were commonly practiced. Age, education, and rank significantly influenced the frequency of applying these principles.
Food educationCommunityPolicyThe Ellstorp Lot: An Undefined Urban Landscape
2017Maria Finn · · Sweden (Malmö)
Malmö’s Lot 30:40, a former allotment garden area, has been in a state of decay since the 1990s, largely unmanaged by its owner, Jernhusen AB. This site is used by city residents for recreation, though temporary encampments by homeless people are not permitted. The area is described as an undefined urban space, existing in a fluid state that defies conventional descriptions and offers a disordered yet resilient environment.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageA systemic methodology to characterize peri-urban agriculture for a better integration of agricultural stakes in urban planning
2017Esther Sanz Sanz, Claude Napoléone, Bernard Hubert, Aruna Popuri · · Global
Existing urban planning documents inadequately consider the specificities of peri-urban agriculture as an economic activity requiring arrangements not always adapted to an urban vision of agricultural spaces. This paper proposes a systemic methodology to characterize peri-urban agricultural spatial units, aiming to provide an inventory of peri-urban agricultural areas tailored to urban planning practitioners' constraints. The approach seeks to focus public action on areas where it is most likely to be efficient within a territorial project.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomicsLeadership, partnerships, and civic engagement
2017Helena C. Lyson · · United States (California)
This qualitative fieldwork in a large, urban school district in Northern California explored school food reform efforts addressing childhood obesity. Reforms transpired through three processes: sustained involvement of parent-activists, leadership by the school food service director in championing farm-to-school efforts and facilitating partnerships, and widespread community support for funding and implementation. These findings indicate how local social change transformed public school food programs to benefit youth health.
Food educationCommunityHealthPolicyMoving dirt: soil, lead, and the dynamic spatial politics of urban gardening
2017Bethany B. Cutts, Jonathan London, Shaina Meiners, Kirsten Schwarz, Mary L. Cadenasso · Local Environment · Global
This paper applies a dynamic spatial politics framework to interpret a 30-year conflict over an urban garden in Sacramento, California. It examines how urban gardens, often idealized, are also sites of conflict due to competing visions of "soil" versus "dirt." The study highlights that contaminants like lead in the soil contribute to this instability, reframing fertile soil as dangerous dirt, and influencing the garden's transformation from a countercultural space to a gentrified amenity.
Contamination & food safetyCommunityHealthPolicyAgriculture urbaine et souveraineté alimentaire à Genève (Suisse), machines à consentement ou moteurs d’hybridation du référentiel agricole dominant ?
2017Rémi Schweizer, Cyril Mumenthaler · VertigO · Switzerland (Genève)
This case study in Geneva, Switzerland, examined the integration of urban agriculture and food sovereignty into public policy, focusing on the regional brand Genève Région - Terre Avenir (GRTA). The analysis, based on a cognitive approach, highlighted compromises and imbalances among actor communities with divergent value systems. Ultimately, the study demonstrated the difficulty in challenging the dominant agricultural framework.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justicePolicyCommunityAssessing the sustainability of vegetable production practices in northern Ghana
2017Eileen Bogweh Nchanji, Imogen Bellwood‐Howard, Nikolaus Schareika, Takemore Chagomoka, Johannes Schlesinger, D. Rodríguez Torres Axel, Glaser Rüdiger · International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability · Ghana (Tamale)
An ethnographic study in Tamale, Northern Ghana, assessed the sustainability of urban vegetable production between 2008 and 2014. While urbanization increased cultivation of profitable vegetables like cabbage, the practice involved irrigation with grey and wastewater and high pesticide use, posing health and environmental hazards. Industrial growth reduced open space urban agriculture by 8.7%, leading farmers to use interstitial spaces and peri-urban fringes, indicating a dynamic but not yet sustainable production system.
Contamination & food safetyHealthEconomicsClimate changePolicyOrganic cycleDrought, water access, and urban agriculture: a case study from Silicon Valley
2017Lucy Diekmann, Leslie Gray, Gregory A. Baker · Local Environment · United States (California)
This case study in Santa Clara County, California, used interviews and surveys to explore the implications of historic drought for urban agriculture (UA). It found that metropolitan California's decentralized water supply and diverse institutional arrangements create an uneven landscape of water access for UA. This results in geographically and socially differentiated pressures on UA water users to change water-consuming practices, with responses varying due to site-specific sociotechnical arrangements and UA purposes.
Governance failureClimate changePolicyUrban–rural linkageThe ‘Hungry Gap’: Twitter, local press reporting and urban agriculture activism
2017Matthew Reed, Daniel Keech · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · United Kingdom (Bristol)
This study investigated how urban food activists related to the media, represented themselves, and how others represented their agenda during 2015 when Bristol was the European Green Capital. The research found that mass media primarily focused on topics other than food, and urban food was not a salient issue in their coverage. The self-representation of urban food networks revealed a narrow focus of interest, which may have contributed to a lack of connection between potential allies within the city, indicating limited connections of urban food networks to circuits of power and influence.
Limited or null effectCommunityPolicyEnvironmental and Economic Perception of Urban Farming in Aba, Nigeria
2017Okoro Enyinnaya Okoro, Iwueke Nyainbau Tarinabo, Agunanna Henry Ibe, Ndulaka Chigozie Martin · International Journal of Environmental Chemistry · Nigeria (Aba)
This study investigated the economic and environmental contributions of urban farming in Aba, Abia State, Nigeria, using Landsat 8 satellite imagery and data from 100 urban farmers. Most respondents were self-employed females aged 41-50, primarily engaged in cassava and maize farming to supplement income. The findings indicate a significant environmental contribution of urban farming in Aba.
EconomicsClimate changePolicyDefining and theorizing global urban agriculture.
2017Antoinette WinklerPrins · CABI eBooks · Global
This chapter provides definitions and theoretical framing for urban agriculture (UA). Research on UA has evolved beyond describing food production systems to its role in creating spaces of community, resistance, and empowerment. UA serves as a means for those not central to the city's function to claim a right to the city, and it is a rich field for interdisciplinary inquiry into urban sustainability.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyClimate changeFarming in the City: Investigating the Policy Implications for Urban Farming in Regina
2017Osazuwa Osayomwanbor · Open MIND · Canada
This study discusses the concept of urban agriculture in Regina, Canada, its growth, and the implications of municipal bylaws and policies on urban agricultural activities. It uses policy frameworks from other cities to suggest changes needed to improve Regina's urban agriculture landscape and presents practical actions required for urban agriculture to thrive in Regina.
PolicyCommunity我が国の都市型農園と農的活動の変遷に関する研究
2016Shimpo N. · 博士論文 (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Tokyo) · Japan
Doctoral dissertation systematically analysing the historical development of urban-type gardens and agricultural activities in Japan. Traces the emergence and evolution of diverse urban agricultural spaces—allotment gardens, community gardens and the like—forming the basis of Shimpo's later books and papers.
CommunityPolicyOrganic cycleFood education都市農業振興基本計画
2016農林水産省, 国土交通省 · 農林水産省（都市農業振興基本法に基づく政府の基本計画・閣議決定） · Japan
The government's basic plan under the Urban Agriculture Promotion Act (2015). It places 'realising the diverse functions of urban agriculture' at the centre and sets three new policy directions: securing urban farmers, securing land for farming, and full-scale agricultural-promotion measures. It is the core plan underpinning municipalities' citizen farms, experience farms and farmland conservation nationwide.
PolicyCommunityBiodiversityFood educationEconomics都心の屋上を利用した稲作体験。森ビルが取り組む“街育”とは？
2016HILLS LIFE（森ビル） · HILLS LIFE（森ビル運営メディア） · Japan
An article explaining Mori Building's rooftop rice-growing at Roppongi Hills and Ark Hills through its 'machi-iku' (town-based learning) philosophy. From a developer's viewpoint it discusses the meaning of resident- and worker-participation in rice planting and harvesting, and the link between rooftop greening / green infrastructure and community building.
CommunityFood educationPolicyEcosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction in Japan: A handbook for practitioners
2016Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan · Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan · Japan
A practitioner handbook compiled by Japan's Ministry of the Environment on Eco-DRR (Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction). It systematizes the use of ecosystems and traditional land use—forests preventing soil erosion, coastal forests attenuating tsunamis, wetlands and paddy fields providing temporary flood storage—to achieve disaster risk reduction and biodiversity conservation simultaneously, providing a policy basis for treating urban and rural farmland and greenery as protective green infrastructure.
PolicyBiodiversityCommunity都市郊外部における制度に基づく空閑地の暫定利用の成立要件に関する研究（カシニワ制度）
2016· 都市計画報告集（日本都市計画学会）, No.15 · Japan
A study of Kashiwa's 'Kashiniwa' scheme analysing the conditions for interim use of vacant land where the city brokers between owners and citizen groups — empirical research on matching-type interim-use schemes.
PolicyCommunityGlobal conservation priorities for crop wild relatives
2016Castaneda-Alvarez N.P., Khoury C.K., Achicanoy H.A., Jarvis D.I., Maxted N., Toll J. · Nature Plants · Global
Models the distribution of 1,076 taxa related to 81 crops, finding over 70% are high priority for further collection because they are poorly represented in genebanks relative to their native ranges.
Heirloom & landraceBiodiversityPolicy