Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
3701 results(85 / 149)
Horta no ambiente escolar: promoção de saúde por meio de práticas alimentares
2019Anelise Pillon Ortiz, Lilian Regina Lengler Abentroth, Polliana Radtke dos Santos, Edna Linhares Garcia, Suzane Beatriz Frantz Krug · RBONE - Revista Brasileira de Obesidade, Nutrição e Emagrecimento · Global
This narrative literature review aimed to identify the results of implementing vegetable gardens in school environments and analyze their impact on children, adolescents, and family life. Out of 28 analyzed articles, 13 answered the research question. The study concludes that school gardens have positive repercussions on the lives of children and adolescents, directly influencing food behavior, fostering environmental awareness, improving school performance, and enhancing social interaction and quality of life for those involved.
Food educationHealthCommunityO ensino de ecologia em uma horta escolar / Teaching ecology in a school garden
2019Andréia Quinto dos Santos, Ricardo Jucá‐Chagas, Regileno da Silva Santana, Evton Farias Quinto Santos, ALISSON SANTOS DA SILVA · Brazilian Journal of Development · Global
This research evaluated the limits and possibilities of learning ecological interactions in elementary school using a school garden, involving a supervising teacher, a classroom teacher, and 30 students. While students demonstrated understanding of ecological interactions through oral communication, the study identified significant limitations including difficulties in reading and writing, a lack of volunteers, and insufficient technical and administrative support from the school.
Governance failureFood educationBiodiversityCreativity within urban gardening at times of emergency
2019Nina Gren · Lund University Publications (Lund University) · Sweden
This presentation, based on ethnographic research from 2017-2018 in the Malmö-Lund area, Sweden, examines creativity in urban gardening projects as a response to ecological crisis. Urban gardeners, particularly project coordinators, expressed concerns about ecological emergency and sought to promote sustainable living. They developed creative events and workshops for children, including storytelling, planting, harvesting, and making 'bee hotels', to educate them on ecological issues and inspire aspirations for a different future.
CommunityFood educationClimate changeBiodiversityPostdevelopment alternatives in the North
2019Daniel Bendix, Franziska Müller, Aram Ziai · · Global
This study examines alternatives to 'development' in the Global North, focusing on community-supported agriculture (CSA), a tenement trust, and the anti-coal movement. It investigates how these cases align with postdevelopment ideas such as non-capitalist practices, new commons, local knowledge, and a break with colonialism. The research questions the universalization of Western development models and their historical hegemony.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceGlobal urbanization and food production in direct competition for land: Leverage places to mitigate impacts on SDG2 and on the Earth System
2019Stephan Barthel, Christian Isendahl, Benjamin N. Vis, Axel Drescher, Daniel Evans, Arjan van Timmeren · The Anthropocene Review · Global
Global urbanization and food production are in direct competition for land. Displacing crop production from urban and peri-urban land due to soil quality issues will demand a substantially larger proportion of the Earth’s terrestrial land surface than the area lost to urban encroachment. This risks triggering distancing effects, unfair social-ecological teleconnections, and amplifying effects within the Earth System, potentially leading to food riots in cities of the Global South. The paper identifies multi-level leverage points, specifically an advisory global policy aligned with regional policies enabling robust common property rights for bottom-up actors in urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA), to navigate urban expansion away from fertile croplands.
Governance failurePolicyUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceCampesinos de Sonsón-Colombia frente al programa de fortalecimiento de la capacidad productiva
2019Edgar Ortiz-Mena, Jairo Ricardo Mora-Delgado · Revista de Ciencias Sociales · Colombia (Sonsón)
This hermeneutic study analyzed the Urban Agriculture Program in Sonsón, Colombia, which aims to improve the living conditions of violence victims. Through in-depth interviews and participant observation with 40 elderly beneficiaries over two months, it was found that while 40% improved their diet through broiler chicken training, beneficiaries perceived that the taught production techniques were time-consuming and did not lead to short-term cost reduction or income increase. The study concludes by recognizing the perceptions and adaptation strategies of families facing change.
Economic viabilityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsFood educationUrban agriculture in the Global North & South: a perspective from FAO
2019Makiko Taguchi, Guido Santini · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Global
The FAO supports urban agriculture globally, providing technical expertise and advice to governments and working with the private sector. Its approach strengthens linkages between urban, peri-urban, and rural agriculture to enhance food security and resilience, adapting programs to local needs. Increased attention to food systems, driven by societal demands against food waste and climate change, has fostered interest in FAO's activities.
Food sovereignty & justicePolicyClimate changeLa ville en puzzle: Centralité et « subalternité » des espaces urbains à Bruxelles au Moyen Âge
2019Paulo Charruadas, Bram Vannieuwenhuyze · Studies in European urban history · Belgium (Brussels)
While conventional historical literature distinguishes urban territory inside and outside city walls, recent research points to the greater complexity of urban reality. This research reveals the existence of urban agriculture and the emergence of more or less urban or rural "third-party" spaces that do not fit the classic urban-rural dichotomy. In the case of Brussels, the fragmented representation of space transcending the city wall and documented attempts at centrifugal extension are re-evaluated using "Spatial Turn" models and concepts to better understand these essential spaces.
Urban–rural linkageEnvironmental Impact of Exceptional Quality Biosolids Use in Urban Agriculture
2019Odiney Alvarez‐Campos, Gregory K. Evanylo · Journal of Environmental Quality · Global
The impacts of exceptional quality (EQ) biosolids and inorganic fertilizer applied for rehabilitating anthropogenic soils on potential nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) water quality impairment risk were compared. After two years, reclamation rates of biosolids resulted in soil P saturation ratios greater than the recommended 30% but lower than the 65% limit. While nitrate N (NO3–N) posed the greatest nutrient leaching risk, lysimeter-collected mass loading of NO3–N from reclamation rates was not greater than for the inorganic fertilizer.
Environmental trade-offsOrganic cycleHealthClimate changeBiodiversitySustainability: through cross-cultural community garden activities
2019Ranjan Datta · Local Environment · Global
This study explored the concept of sustainability among First Nations, visible minorities, and non-visible minorities through cross-cultural activities in a community garden setting, using a relational participatory action research (PAR) process. It argues that cross-cultural activities, such as dance, music, children’s art, anti-racist workshops, traditional story-sharing, land-based learning, and cross-cultural food sharing, can create positive change in an urban environment by empowering communities through cross-cultural bridging.
CommunityWelfareFood educationHealthDemystifying Science Teachers’ Epistemic Belief on Chemical Concepts: Students’ Engagement in the School Garden
2019Kamal Prasad Acharya · Pedagogical Research · Nepal
This study in Nepal aimed to transform chemistry learning from textbooks to school gardens through activity-based learning, involving students and science teachers. In-depth interviews and participant observations revealed that science teachers' positivist congestions, rooted in a dogmatic approach to chemistry teaching, hindered students' eloquent engagement in school gardening activities. The study concluded that positivist epistemology and related traditions superficially forced activity-based chemistry learning in community schools.
Limited or null effectFood educationWould a sustainable city be self-sufficient in food production?
2019Gaston E. Small, Robert McDougall, Geneviève S. Metson · International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics · Global
This study analyzes the potential benefits and costs of urban agriculture, comparing tradeoffs in different sustainability metrics. It assesses how optimal urban agriculture varies by context, such as maximizing production in dense areas versus filling vacant land in post-industrial cities. The research also examines urban agriculture's role in making food systems resilient and includes a case study comparing resource use and pollution for lettuce production via outdoor urban agriculture, indoor urban agriculture, conventional methods, and cross-continental transport for one U.S. metropolitan area.
Climate changeEconomicsOrganic cycleFood sovereignty & justiceCreating connections
2019Simon Woodward · · Global
This chapter contextualizes environmental arts therapy within the urban clientele’s relationship to nature, exploring how it facilitates connections through myth, metaphor, and art-making. It synthesizes theoretical models of Environmental Arts Therapy and Five Ways to Wellbeing, which underpin the Community Outdoor Art Therapy Service (COATS). Three COATS therapeutic workshops, including monthly sessions in a community garden, are explored as illustrations of deepening participants' connection with nature.
CommunityHealthSoil Constraints to Urban Agriculture in Valley Beds of Yaoundé (Cameroon)
2019Ibrahima Saidou · Journal of Environmental Science and Allied Research · Cameroon (Yaoundé)
A 2014 study in Yaoundé, Cameroon, surveyed 40 farmers and analyzed soil in two valley bed suburbs, Nkolodom and Nkolbisson, to identify soil constraints on urban agriculture. While nitrogen and phosphorus levels were adequate, soil salinity at Nkolodom was brackish to moderate (810 mS/m), potentially constraining crop growth. Soil fertility was also found to decrease with distance from farmers' houses.
Environmental trade-offsEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceLocal and Landscape Effects to Biological Controls in Urban Agriculture—A Review
2019Joshua Arnold, Monika Egerer, Kent M. Daane · Insects · Global
This review assessed urban conservation biological control (CBC) research and provided a synthesis for urban agriculture practitioners. Findings indicated that local and landscape factors differentially affect insect pests and beneficial arthropods across the reviewed studies. Several on-farm practices that can be implemented to increase biological control in urban agriculture were also identified.
BiodiversityCommunityCropping Practices and Their Drivers in Various Cropping Systems in Peri-urban Areas of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
2019Delphine Bernadette Ouédraogo, Delwendé Innocent Kiba, Zacharia Gnankambary, Sheick K. Sangaré, Diakouba Sirima, Hassan Bismarck Nacro, Michel Papaoba Sédogo · Journal of Agricultural Science · Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou)
This study investigated cropping practices and their drivers in 133 peri-urban farms near Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Soil sample analysis revealed that monoculture led to low soil organic carbon, while polyculture led to low soil available potassium. The socio-economic conditions of the farms explained up to 60% of the variability in cropping practices.
Environmental trade-offsPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsOrganic cycleFood sovereignty & justiceEffect of infaq and takmil wal istikmal in sustaining community vegetable farming in Malaysia
2019Suhaimi Mhd. Sarif · The International Islamic University Malaysia Repository (The International Islamic University Malaysia) · Malaysia
This study investigated the effect of infaq (charitable contribution) and takmil wal istikmal (complementarity) on sustaining community vegetable farming in Malaysia. Personal interviews with selected farmers, CSA administrators, and agricultural regulators revealed that the effect of infaq and takmil wal istikmal is limited to small-scale community farming.
CommunityOrganic cycleEconomicsEmergence and diffusion of social innovation through practice fields
2019Maria Rabadjieva, Anna Butzin · European Planning Studies · Global
This paper analyzes how social innovations diffuse, proposing that they spread through "travelling elements" of material, competence, and meaning, rather than solely social interaction. This perspective explains the global emergence of similar social innovations, such as urban gardening initiatives, without direct interaction between actors. The research argues that "practice fields," defined as bundles of similar social innovation initiatives, facilitate this diffusion.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageSOCIAL CAPITAL AMONG URBAN AGRICULTURE PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS IN KLANG PERDANA SELANGOR, MALAYSIA
2019Nur Shuhamin Nazuri, Nobaya Ahmad · International Journal of Modern Trends in Social Sciences · Malaysia
This quantitative study measured the level of social capital among 30 urban agriculture program participants in Klang Perdana, Selangor, using a survey method. The preliminary study's findings indicated that the community participating in the urban agriculture program had a high level of social capital. Analysis revealed that age and gender variables significantly affected their social capital, and social capital was found to be important in increasing community participation in urban agriculture programs.
CommunityFood Policy Councils, Lessons on inclusiveness
2019Jess Halliday, D.M.R. van Veenhuizen · CGSPace A Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) · Global
UA Magazine 36 focuses on Food Policy Councils. Urban Agriculture Magazine (UA Magazine) is produced by the RUAF Global Partnership on Sustainable Urban Agriculture and Food Systems. It facilitates information sharing, promotes analysis and debate on critical issues, and publishes good practices and impact stories related to urban agriculture and urban food systems.
PolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityDiversity of arboreal species in scenarios of urban agriculture in the municipality of Pinar del Río
2019Lisandra Hernández Guanche, Yoerlandy Santana Baños, Armando Acosta Hernández, Armando del Busto Concepción · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cuba (Pinar del Río)
This research determined the diversity of arboreal species associated with the "Vial Colón" organoponics system in Pinar del Río municipality, Cuba. Inventories identified 37 arboreal species from 26 botanical families. Fabaceae was the most represented family, with Persea americana Mill. and Moringa oleifera Lam. showing the highest abundance.
BiodiversityCommunityOrganic cycleRestorying Garden Relations
2019Fikile Nxumalo · · Global
In this chapter, the author explores the practices, sociomaterialities, and colonial histories and relations that contribute to the creation of a community garden visited with children and early childhood educators in child care centers where her research is situated. School gardens were widely introduced as tools to teach desired moral and social attributes, such as pride in community and individual responsibility for public property.
CommunityFood educationA snapshot of Community Supported Agriculture in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand 2018
2019Bronwyn Wilkes · ANU Open Research (Australian National University) · Australia, New Zealand
This report presents preliminary descriptive results from a survey of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand in 2018. The survey aimed to gather characteristics of CSA farms operating in the region to capture a point-in-time snapshot. The survey was not intended to provide detailed qualitative information regarding the CSA experience in the region, which is anticipated to be explored in a future series of interviews.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsSite attributes for PLOS ONE article
2019Sarah Taylor Lovell · · Global
This data describes the landscape attributes of nineteen sites as supplemental information for an article by Bennett, A.B., and Lovell, S.T., accepted for publication in PLOS ONE, which discusses how landscape and local site variables differentially influence pollinators and pollination services in urban agricultural sites.
BiodiversityPollinatorsCollective action and social contagion: Community gardens as a case study
2019Michal Shur‐Ofry, Ofer Malcai · Regulation & Governance · Israel
This study investigated whether Institutions for Collective Action (ICAs), using community gardens as a case study, exhibit dynamics of social contagion and diffuse in accordance with patterns prevalent in self-organized complex systems. Quantitative methods derived from the field of complexity were applied to measure the temporal, spatial, and spatiotemporal diffusion of community gardens in the city of Jerusalem. The results suggest that the spread of community gardens in the urban space displays patterns of self-organization and social contagion.
CommunityPolicyHealth