Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
3275 results(86 / 131)
Grow your own:space, planning, practice and everyday futures of domestic food production
2016Enrico Marcore, Nicola Spurling · Lancaster EPrints (Lancaster University) · Italy, United Kingdom
This essay explores the relationship between space, planning, and everyday practices, focusing on the futures of domestic food growing spaces and practices in Italy and the UK. It examines the recent inclusion of community gardens in an eco-urban housing model in L'Aquila, Italy, and the historical trajectory of allotments in the UK. Through these examples, the essay considers how various "experiments" in policy, planning, and practice should be conceptualized.
CommunityPolicyDIYGrowing urban food as an emerging social practice
2016Karin Dobernig, E.J. Veen, Peter Oosterveer · · Global
This chapter examines urban food growing as a social practice, addressing how it relates to practice theory and social change. It explores what "urban food growing" means as a social practice and how it interacts with other existing social practices in urban contexts. The text notes that while urban food growing is often framed as an emerging movement, it has historical precedents like victory gardens and allotment gardens.
CommunityPolicyTinjauan Filosofi, Konsep, dan Prinsip Perencanaan Kawasan Sungai Manzanares di Kota Madrid, Spanyol
2016Monika Larasati P E, M.Eng. Ir. Sudaryono · · Spain (Madrid)
This study describes the planning of the Manzanares River area in Madrid, Spain, focusing on its philosophy, concepts, and principles. It notes that the river, once overlooked due to the M-30 highway, is now part of efforts to restore urban ecological elements. The research used a deductive qualitative method with content analysis of relevant literature and texts.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageClimate changeL’agriculture métropolitaine à Santiago du chili : une agriculture urbaine qui prend la clé des champs
2016Cécile Faliès · Problèmes d Amérique latine · Chile (Santiago)
This article provides an overview of agriculture around Santiago, Chile, based on fieldwork conducted since 2005. Despite the presence of agriculture linked to Santiago and Valparaiso, and the emergence of some forms like organic farming, it is difficult to classify this as urban agriculture due to the peripheral location and limited number of plots. The study indicates that urban agriculture, as commonly defined, has a limited presence in the Santiago metropolitan area.
Limited or null effectPeri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkageEconomicsPolicyPatrimonialización local del paisaje agrario periurbano. La experiencia del parque agrario de Fuenlabrada (Comunidad de Madrid)
2016Rafael Mata Olmo, Carolina Yacamán Ochoa · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Spain (Madrid)
This study, based on a case study in the Community of Madrid, addresses the treatment of agricultural landscapes in metropolitan contexts from a heritage perspective, emphasizing the role of this approach in territorial development and the revitalization of peri-urban agriculture. It synthesizes the concept of heritage and the agrarian park figure, then proposes a methodology for activating patrimonialization processes of peri-urban agricultural areas, supported by public participation and the activation of their identity elements.
Peri-urban agriculturePolicyCommunityCampus Albano, Stockholm - Creating a social-ecological ‘best practices’ campus area in the Baltic region for supporting learning, innovation, and sense of community : In Live Baltic Campus: Inventory Reports
2016Stephan Barthel, Johan Colding, Erik Andersson, Maria Schewenius · Diva portal (Dalarna University Library) · Sweden (Stockholm)
Campus Albano, the newest addition to Stockholm University, began production on November 30, 2015, following a five-year planning and design process. This project is notable for its participatory planning and strong focus on integrating ecosystem services, such as wetlands and allotment gardens, into the final campus design. Student and researcher accommodations are expected by 2018, and university buildings by 2019.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageFrom the ground up: Community gardens in New York City and the politics of spatial transformation, by Efrat Eizenberg
2016Roger Mark Selya · Journal of Urban Affairs · United States (New York City)
Efrat Eizenberg's study on community gardens in New York City and the politics of spatial transformation explores how groups of poor, ethnic, and racial minorities managed to obtain land for community gardens. This abstract only presents the research questions and does not detail the methodology or findings.
CommunityPolicyRemembering participation in planning: the case of the Princes Hill Community Garden*
2016Elanna Nolan, Alan March · Australian Planner · Australia (Melbourne)
This paper examined why a proposed community garden project at Hardy Gallagher Reserve in Princes Hill, initiated by Yarra City Council in Melbourne, failed by April 2010 after its launch in October 2008. Using communicative planning theory, it argued that the planning process for the community garden was doomed to fail from the beginning, demonstrating a lack of consideration for appropriate participation.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyCommunity gardening: cultivating subjectivities, space, and justice
2016Jennifer L. Barron · Local Environment · Global
This paper explored how neoliberal processes of privatization, state entrepreneurialism, and devolution intersect with community gardens. It argued that certain characteristics and orientations of gardens are more conducive to resisting neoliberalism. These include cultivating producer, citizen, and activist subjectivities, elevating the use value of shared lived space, advancing spatial justice through community access to non-privatized space, and promoting food justice through non-commodified means of obtaining food.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicyPeran Pertanian Pinggiran Perkotaan dalam Penyediaan Kesempatan Kerja dan Pendapatan Keluarga
2016A. Husni Malian, Masdjidin Siregar · Forum penelitian Agro Ekonomi · Indonesia
This paper discusses the dwindling role of peri-urban agriculture in Indonesia due to urban development policies favoring manufacturing and service sectors. The economic crisis and policy changes had different effects on farmers of leafy vegetables, orchids, and ornamental plants. Increased fertilizer prices and wage rates, coupled with decreased demand for orchids and ornamental plants in 1999, reduced farmers' income. Conversely, increased demand for leafy vegetables led to more intensive land use, neglecting health and environmental concerns.
Economic viabilityPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsPolicyUrban crop production in southeast Nigeria: Potentials and constraints
2016Asadu Anthonia, Enwelu Innocent, Ifejika Philip, Igbokwe Edwin · African Journal of Agricultural Research · Nigeria
A survey and interviews with 210 urban farmers in southeast Nigeria explored the benefits and constraints of urban farming. Farmers reported benefits such as food and income sources, but also faced significant constraints including land insecurity, lack of access to credit, theft, and crop destruction by stray animals. The study concludes that urban farming needs to be legalized and integrated into urban policy to realize its full potential.
Governance failureCommunityEconomicsPolicyFood sovereignty & justice" But Our Hands Are Tied ": Assessing School Gardening Efforts at Title I Elementary Schools in Pinellas County, Florida
2016Alexandra Grace Lancey · · United States (Florida)
This ethnographic study in Pinellas County, Florida, investigated school gardening efforts at Title I elementary schools, focusing on an organization that installs gardens in "failing" schools. The research found that strict public school standards and neoliberal education reform paradoxically prevent teachers and administrators from fully utilizing school gardens for nutrition education. This limits their effectiveness in discussing nutrition, healthy eating, and local food, as the focus shifts to state-regulated education standards, revealing significant infrastructural challenges.
Governance failureFood educationHealthPolicyCommunityReuse water and urban horticulture: alliance towards more sustainable cities
2016Douglas Roberto Bizari, Jean Carlos Cardoso · Horticultura Brasileira · Global
This article discusses the potential of using recycled water from treated domestic sewage in urban horticulture as a solution to escalating clean water shortages. While cultural and sanitary impediments exist for large-scale use, and knowledge of treatments is limited, a safe alternative is irrigation for non-edible species like those in floriculture and landscaping. This approach can combine environmental protection with agricultural productivity, support local development, create jobs, and aid environmental protection.
Organic cycleClimate changePolicyPublic Space Design. Three Couples and a Trio
2016Annalisa Metta · Iris (Roma Tre University) · Global
This publication compiles insights from 50 architects, landscape architects, designers, and environmental leaders on sustainability, sustainable design, urbanism, and architecture. Through articles, interviews, and project presentations, they promote good practices and share visions on projects like gardens and community gardens from a sustainability perspective. The work advocates for a complementary convergence of bottom-up practices and traditional design, suggesting design should involve negotiation with places, elements, and people.
CommunityPolicyFood educationFood and Fuel Administration
2016David J. Bettez · · United States (Kentucky)
During World War I, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Herbert Hoover as head of the US Food Administration to promote food conservation and increase production. In Kentucky, Fred Sackett served as federal food administrator, implementing programs like “meatless” and “wheatless” days, encouraging housewives to use substitutes and children to grow school gardens. The federal government also established a Fuel Administration, headed in Kentucky by Wiley Bryan, who encouraged fuel conservation and increased production, and attempted to ensure equitable coal distribution during the 1917-1918 winter shortage.
Food educationCommunityPolicy强投入 促转型 提高现代农业园区建设水平
2016丁少华 · 杭州农业与科技 · China (Hangzhou)
In recent years, the input structure of agricultural production factors has significantly changed due to market conditions and agricultural labor shifts. Yuhang District has focused on modern agricultural park construction as a key platform for developing modern urban agriculture, continuously strengthening intensive investment in capital and land. Currently, the district has successfully established one provincial-level modern agricultural comprehensive zone and five leading industry demonstration zones.
PolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkage도시농업의 미적 가치 평가를 위한 기본원칙에 관한 연구 - 쿠바, 홍콩, 미국의 도시농업 사례분석을 중심으로 ?
2016Martin Palacios, Minkyu Park · · Global
This work aimed to identify key factors determining the spatial and physical appearance of urban agriculture. It also discussed ways to encourage the acceptance of urban agriculture in public open spaces and the broader urban landscape.
CommunityPolicyLand Use Management of the Urbanization Control Area by the Community-Based Allotment Gardens
2016Kento Takano, Noriko Akita · Journal of The Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture · Japan
This study clarified requirements for community-based allotment gardens as a land use management strategy in urbanization control areas in Japan. A questionnaire survey of metropolitan area municipalities revealed over 60% established allotment gardens in these areas to utilize farmland. An interview study of "Genki Nouen" in Ushiku City, Ibaraki Prefecture, found it was proactively managed by neighborhood associations, promoting effective use of abandoned cultivated land and bamboo forest management. The study concluded that creating an environment for social capital formation is necessary for land use management by community-based allotment gardens.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageThe idea of allotment gardens and the role of spatial and urban planning
2016Matthias Drilling, Renata Giedych, Lidia Poniży, Mary Benson, Mária Bihuňová, Duarte d’Araújo Mata, Sophia Meeres, Patrick Oehler, Roberta Štěpánková, Nicola Thomas, Malou Weirich · · Europe
This chapter explores how urban allotment gardens are or could be integrated into spatial development visions and concepts in Europe. Following 1989, allotment gardens gained attention as a land-use category in spatial and urban planning. The planning of allotment gardens in the contemporary European landscape faces a contradictory situation, with urban development planning largely responsible for future scenarios.
PolicyCommunityEffects of community gardens on local society
2016Csaba Bende, Gyula Nagy · Belvedere Meridionale · Hungary
This study investigated the organizational and operational schematics of two community gardens, Megálló and Makkosház, in Szeged, Hungary, comparing them to Western practices. Empirical data was collected through interviews with gardeners and coordinators in October 2014, and January and March 2015. Results indicated that Szeged's community gardens differ considerably from average American community gardens but share common features with European ones. Both gardens were found to be top-down directed and controlled, which contrasts with American and European practices.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyWater: Connecting the Cycle
2016Gundula Proksch · · Global
This chapter discusses the potential of urban agriculture to mitigate water management challenges. While industrial agriculture consumes 70% of accessible water, cities struggle with water security and fail to utilize on-site sources like rainfall. Urban agriculture is presented as a solution to these water challenges by integrating water-efficient strategies with existing urban infrastructure, building systems, and management approaches.
Climate changeOrganic cyclePolicyEconomicsThe Narrators
2016Starecheski, Amy · · United States (New York City)
This chapter examines the contested nature of value, urban citizenship, and property claims through the study of squatting, urban homesteading, and community garden activism in the South Bronx, New York City. It highlights how squatters' initiatives, while challenging neoliberal privatization, could also be coopted into a discourse of individual responsibility in a neoliberalizing city. The research explores how squatters claimed a right to the city based on their labor and citizenship, and used history and property rights to redefine their urban presence amidst renegotiated meanings of debt and homeownership.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceThe landscape of urban agriculture in California’s capital
2016N. Claire Napawan, Stacie A. Townsend · Landscape Research · United States (California)
This study investigated the landscape of urban agricultural practice in Sacramento, California, examining past and present urban agricultural projects, advocacy, and city and state policies. The research found that community interest in urban agriculture is outpacing local policies in Sacramento. The authors concluded that city-wide initiatives might improve efforts at increasing opportunities for new urban agriculture projects.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceTransplanting, plotting, fencing: relational property practices in community gardens
2016Ellen van Holstein · Environment and Planning A Economy and Space · Australia (Sydney)
Empirical research at three community gardens in Sydney, Australia, examined property practices such as transplanting, plotting, and fencing. The study found that community gardeners create overlapping understandings of common and private property, driven by contradictory motivations for community inclusion and personal interest protection. Feelings of ownership, while contributing to belonging, also legitimize defensive and exclusive spatial claims within these gardens.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyThe Tragedy of the Uncommon
2016Piers H.G. Stephens · Oxford University Press eBooks · Global
This chapter applies the author's work on property rights justification to community gardens, criticizing the Lockean private property justification. It argues that legitimate property ownership derives from "belonging," a felt bond of lived experience, which can conflict with Lockean "possession." The chapter concludes that the Lockean orientation combined with technocratic politics reduces contemporary life, making connection to nature uncommon, and that community garden practices offer practical alternatives.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justice