Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
2406 results(88 / 97)
Urban Agriculture Community Gardens and Elderly Food Security in Nairobi, Kenya: Health Outcomes and Social Support Analysis
2010Wycliffe Cherono Nyaga · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Kenya (Nairobi)
This study in Nairobi, Kenya, investigated the impact of urban agriculture community gardens on elderly food security, health outcomes, and social support. Surveys and interviews with participants in four gardens revealed a significant improvement in dietary variety (p < 0.05) among elderly residents, with a 25% average increase in vegetable intake. Social support networks within and outside the gardens were also crucial for health maintenance.
CommunityElderlyFood sovereignty & justiceHealthHavana’s changing urban agriculture landscape: A shift to the right?
2010Charles French, Mimi Larsen Becker, Bruce E. Lindsay · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Cuba (Havana)
This study examined urban agriculture in Havana, Cuba, using secondary data and interviews with 11 urban gardeners. It found that while agrarian reforms after 1991 led to the growth of private urban gardens and cooperatives, Cuba's integration with the global economy and adoption of free-market principles have since forced dramatic adjustments in the urban agriculture sector. This shift presents challenges to the sector's original role in food security.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsCommunityPainting the Town Green: Realities, Challenges, and Possibilities in Mexico City’s Budding Urban Agriculture Movement
2010Molly Alexandra Croog · School for International Training Digital Collections (School for International Training) · Mexico
This paper explores the urban agriculture movement in Mexico City, investigating who practices it, how, and why. It examines the benefits of urban agriculture and its role in a future food system, discussing food security and sovereignty. Three projects—a traditional farm, a government-funded community project, and a household-level organization—are explored, with conclusions on their impact on economics, community, and environment.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCommunityPolicyTo Build Up Partnership between Agriculture and Food
2010Sumiko Abe · Journal for the Integrated Study of Dietary Habits · Global
This report examines the weakening relationship between agriculture and food, leading to market failures, reduced competitiveness, and information deficiencies, with processed foods and supermarket purchases dominating. It focuses on direct sales and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) as methods to realize "eating habits of volitional selection." These regional markets foster trust and traceability, contributing to food safety, and the study introduces examples from 12,000 direct sales stores, female farmer enterprises, and the Pal System Consumers Cooperative Union.
CSA & TeikeiFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsFood miles & supply chainAnalisis Faktor Penyebab dan Dampak Perubahan Penggunaan Lahan Pertanian Pinggiran Kota Yogyakarta
2010Senthot Sudirman, Irham Irham, Slamet Hartono, Azwar Maas · · Indonesia (Yogyakarta)
This study analyzed agricultural land use changes in peri-urban Yogyakarta from 1996-2007, covering 922.17 ha in Sleman, 1,888.60 ha in Bantul, and 1,082.79 ha across 47 villages. Factors like agricultural production exchange value, irrigated land, built area percentage, population density, education, and land price significantly influenced land change rates, which negatively correlated with distance from the city. However, agricultural land percentage to village area, land tax, and dummy variables for Bantul and Kulon Progo did not significantly influence these rates, and the changes negatively impacted regional food loss, availability, and farming sustainability prospects.
Limited or null effectPeri-urban agricultureFood lossFood sovereignty & justiceAgronomic considerations for urban agriculture in southern cities
2010Nikita S. Eriksen‐Hamel, George Danso · International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability · Global
Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UA) significantly contributes to the total food requirements of cities, especially in southern cities of the developing world. This review describes agronomic issues unique to UA and identifies possible interventions to address them. Growth-limiting and growth-reducing factors in UA include water availability, nutrient supply, soil degradation, pests, and soil pollution. Addressing these constraints requires action at both field and municipal or regional levels.
Food sovereignty & justiceWelfareClimate changePolicyOrganic cycleCommunity gardening and food security
2010Claire Nettle · Chain reaction · Global
This paper discusses how community gardening can contribute to food security. However, it finds that the potential contribution of community gardens to food security is limited by their insecurity of tenure.
Governance failureCommunityFood sovereignty & justicePaul Glowaski: Garden Director, Homeless Garden Project
2010Irene H. Reti · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · United States (Santa Cruz, California)
This interview is about Paul Glowaski, Garden Director for the Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz, California. Glowaski, interested in urban agriculture for its self-sufficiency and food security for low-income communities, pursued organic farming training, leading to his current position at the Homeless Garden Project. The project operates a two-acre market farm that trains low-income and homeless community members in sustainable agriculture.
CommunityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceAn analysis of markets in Rosario, Argentina.
2010Mariana Ponce, R. Terrile, Marielle Dubbeling, Femke Hoekstra, R. van Veenhuizen · Urban Agriculture Magazine · Argentina (Rosario)
This article describes the Urban Agriculture Programme in Rosario, Argentina, which has been in place since 2002. Implemented by the Municipality of Rosario's Secretary of Social Outreach in cooperation with NGO CEPAR and Pro-Huerta INTA, the program aims to create an economy that integrates people and generates inclusive spaces for production, commercialization, organization, participation, and political advocacy alongside urban farmers. The program is currently in the process of consolidation as public policy.
EconomicsCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceIntegrated Urban Micro Farming Strategy Mitigation against Food Crises in Odeda Local Government Area, Ogun State, Nigeria
2010P.B. Abdulsalam-Saghir, A.O Oshijo · Journal of Agricultural Extension · Nigeria
This study evaluated integrated urban micro farming in Odeda Local Government Area, Ogun State, Nigeria, using data from 80 randomly selected urban and peri-urban farmers. Findings showed that 62% engaged in integrated farming, 60% experienced food crises, and major causes included rapid rural/urban migration (37%), inadequate credit facilities (26%), and high land lease rates for city development (11%). The study concluded that urban micro farming serves as a buffer for providing food to urban populations.
Food sovereignty & justiceWelfareEconomicsPeri-urban agricultureOutpost Gardening in Interior Alaska: Food System Innovation and the Alaska Native Gardens of the 1930s Through the 1970s
2010Philip A. Loring, S. Craig Gerlach · Ethnohistory · United States (Alaska)
This paper describes the history of crop cultivation in Athabascan communities of Alaska's Tanana and Yukon Flats regions, revealing a distinct agricultural tradition dating back to the late 1800s. These gardening activities are not widely considered customary or traditional for Alaska Native communities, nor are they incorporated into historical and ethnographic literature on Alaska or high-latitude agriculture. This lack of recognition has consequences for communities experimenting with new community gardens, as land use is heavily regulated by a legal framework based on definitions of "customary and traditional."
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceFood educationZoning Considerations for Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture
2010John Ikerd · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States
According to the American Farmland Trust, approximately 1.2 million acres of U.S. farmland are converted to residential and other commercial uses annually. This farmland conversion is noted to be putting the long-run sustainability of U.S. food production at risk.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceRestoring Urban Fringe Landscapes through Urban Agriculture: The Japanese Experience
2010Makoto Yokohari, Marco Amati, Jay Bolthouse, Hideharu KURITA · disP - The Planning Review · Japan (Tokyo)
This paper advocates for re-establishing mixed land-use garden zones in and around cities, conceptualized as spaces for urban residents to develop local food cultures. It outlines post-war planning policies that separated urban and agricultural uses, investigates demographic shifts threatening domestic agricultural production, and examines Edo's urban agricultural heritage for a new planning paradigm. The paper demonstrates the need for multifunctional green spaces with examples from the greater Tokyo area and concludes by discussing the need for hybrid garden zones that encourage mixed urban and agricultural uses.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHow to Visit a Socialist Country
2010Richard Levins · Monthly Review · Cuba
This article discusses the ideological biases travelers from the United States carry when visiting Cuba and the progress Cuba demonstrates in areas like urban agriculture, healthcare, and education. It notes that while delegations visit areas Cuba is proud to show, this represents only part of the full story. The author's experience suggests that committed revolutionaries offer more serious criticisms, while counterrevolutionaries tend to complain about personal hardships.
Urban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justicePolicyFood For Thought: The Social Impact of Community Gardens in the Greater Cleveland Area
2010Andrew Flachs · Electronic Green Journal · United States (Cleveland)
This paper explored the social and cultural effects of urban gardening in the greater Cleveland area. Fieldwork indicated that gardeners combine economic, environmental, political, social, and nutritional motivations, challenging the presumption that utilitarian function and environmentalist ideology are mutually exclusive. The study aimed to convey the complexity of use, function, and intent in communal gardening spaces.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareSemillas y la Ciudad: La Agricultura Urbana en Oaxaca de Juárez Como un Aporte a la Soberanía Alimentaria
2010Katie Oberwager · Archives of Oral Biology · Mexico (Oaxaca de Juárez)
This project examined the urban agriculture movement in Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico, as a potential local contribution to food sovereignty. Through interviews, observations, and participation, the research found that urban agriculture can be a form of local political expression against governmental and large agricultural company control over food production and consumption. It concluded that while urban agriculture can make a small contribution to food sovereignty, as a local movement, it cannot resolve global agricultural and food issues.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCommunityUrban–rural linkageUrban agriculture and sanitation services in Accra, Ghana: the overlooked contribution
2010Mary Lydecker, Pay Drechsel · International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability · Ghana (Accra)
This study examines the contributions of urban agriculture to municipal sanitation and health services in Accra, Ghana. It estimates that Accra generates 80,000,000L of wastewater daily, with urban vegetable farms using up to 11,250,000L. By mitigating health risks from wastewater irrigation, urban farms can significantly contribute to the city's sanitation needs and support buffer zone management, reducing solid waste dumping and improving flood control.
HealthFood sovereignty & justiceOrganic cyclePolicyVegetable box scheme in Cape Town, South Africa.
2010Femke Hoekstra, Rob Small · Urban Agriculture Magazine · South Africa
Abalimi Bezekhaya, a civil society organization in Cape Town, South Africa, has worked for 28 years with small-scale producers, primarily unemployed women, in Khayelitsha, Nyanga, and surrounding townships. These micro-farmers engage in home and community gardening to supplement their diet, improve household food and nutritional security, and generate sustainable income. The initiative also fosters community building, personal growth, and self-esteem among participants.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareEconomicsEating Right Now: Tasting Alternative Food Systems
2010Noah Zerbe · · Global
Failures in the mainstream industrialized food system have increased interest in alternative food systems. These alternatives include urban agriculture, community supported farms, school and community gardens, and fair trade. Despite their diversity, these emergent systems share a common vision for food provision based on social and environmental justice.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceCSA & TeikeiFood educationMeals in Metropolis: mapping the urban foodscape in Melbourne, Australia
2010Ferne Edwards, Dave Mercer · Local Environment · Australia (Melbourne)
This paper discusses the use of food mapping in the "Meals in Metropolis" undergraduate course at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. The course introduced Industrial Design and Landscape Architecture students to critical issues of food security and sustainability in urban design. Students produced food chain maps, neighborhood food maps, and redesign posters, which are concluded to reveal an emerging landscape of innovative food production in Melbourne, potentially leading to a more resilient, distributed urban food system.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsFood educationUrban–rural linkageUrban agriculture as a part of a sustainable metropolitan development program: A case study in Mexico City
2010Pablo Torres Lima, Alfonso Chávez-Muñoz, Gerardo Ávila-Jiménez, Sergio Contreras-Prado · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Mexico (Mexico City)
This article analyzes the principal components of a planning process that promotes the development of agricultural production zones in Xochimilco-Tlahuac, Mexico City. The experience was conceptualized in 2008 with the integration of data obtained through fieldwork, interviews, ethnographic techniques, and geomatics. The study highlights the critical need for district or metropolitan authorities to support urban agriculture to address various city development issues and concludes that re-assessing socio-territorial organization in the study region is also necessary to achieve an integrated, habitable, and sustainable city.
PolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeGrowing What You Eat: Developing Community Gardens and Improving Food Security
2010Michelle P. Corrigan · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network) · United States (Baltimore, Athens)
Food insecurity and food-related health concerns are growing in the United States, leading to increased engagement with food systems through community food security approaches like community gardening. In-depth interviews and field observations in Baltimore, Maryland, and Athens, Ohio, examined the challenges of community gardening and the extent of people's involvement in the food system. While community gardens contribute to engagement, additional assistance such as education, policy, and funding is needed to enhance food security.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthPolicyEconomicsPopulation-dynamics focussed rapid rural mapping and characterisation of the peri-urban interface of Kampala, Uganda
2010Kohei Makita, Eric M. Fèvre, Charles Waiswa, Mark Bronsvoort, Mark C. Eisler, Susan C. Welburn · Land Use Policy · Uganda
This paper describes a spatial representation of the peri-urban interface (PUI) of Kampala, Uganda, and identifies socio-economic factors related to peri-urbanicity using rapid rural mapping. It notes that urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in rapidly expanding cities carries public health risks, such as zoonotic disease transmission. The study provides a methodology for describing the PUI in developing countries.
Contamination & food safetyPeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceHealthPolicy종설 : 음식사슬과 환경, 건강문제 -마이클 폴란의 『잡식동물의 딜레마』를 중심으로-
2010서향숙 · 의철학연구 · Global
This paper discusses the environmental and health issues arising from modern food culture, focusing on industrial and pastoral food chains as explored by Michael Pollan. It examines environmental pollution and GMO food issues within industrial food chains, and problems with semi-organic corporate food systems in pastoral chains. The study proposes urban agriculture, including school gardens, as a solution for a healthy food chain for future generations, integrating the concept of "food justice."
Food educationFood sovereignty & justiceHealthOrganic cycleAgriculture urbaine : un outil multidimensionnel pour le développement des quartiers
2010Éric Duchemin, Fabien Wegmuller, Anne-Marie Legault · VertigO · Canada (Montreal)
A 2010 study on urban agriculture (AU) in Montreal, Canada, examined the city-managed community garden program and six collective gardens managed by community organizations. These AU initiatives, aimed at food security, socialization, and education, were found to serve as significant vegetable production sites and venues for socialization and education, fostering individual and collective social development in neighborhoods with a strong presence of economically disadvantaged populations.
CommunityFood educationFood sovereignty & justiceWelfare