Research & reports

· Journal of Urban Affairs · USA

Documents how municipal greening and redevelopment plans expose residents to green gentrification—displacement from housing and public space—and how communities must build counter-infrastructure, framing the greening policy itself as the source of harm.

Tainá Ferreira da ROCHA, Hélder dos Anjos Augusto · Editora Científica Digital eBooks · Brazil (Montes Claros)

This study explored urban agriculture in Montes Claros, Brazil, identifying its contributions, challenges, and potentials through document analysis, geographic information, farmer testimonies, and field visits. Urban agriculture is widely practiced in the municipality, both collectively and individually, with collective practices showing grassroots organization through neighborhood associations, while spontaneous practices lack external influence. Most urban gardens are developed on public land and vacant private lots, serving multiple uses such as green spaces, food production, economic activity, and occupational therapy.

Angela Oulton, Susan Jagger · · North America

A discourse analysis of historical school garden texts in North America reveals that school gardens have not been welcoming or accessible to all children, despite persuasive research on the positive effects of nature-based learning. Historically, school gardens were used to serve adult agendas, including containing urban children, assimilating marginalized groups, and creating laborers, thereby reinforcing patriarchal, colonial, white supremacist, and eugenic aspirations. This study explores how these discourses culturally constructed childhoods and influenced children.

Keile Aparecida Beraldo, Rayele Moraes Silva, Rose Mary Gondim Mendonça, Maria Emília Mendonça Pedroza Jaber · Seven Editora eBooks · Brazil

This paper publicizes public policies and urban agriculture initiatives in the municipality of Palmas, Brazil. It identifies twelve public areas with families engaged in urban agriculture and proposes inclusive actions to strengthen the agroecological transition in family urban agriculture. The proposed actions aim to foster new sustainable practices based on environmental education and food and nutritional security.

M. Kühn, Geisa Zanini Rorato, Bruno César Euphrasio de Mello, Carolina Cristófoli Falcão · Ambiente & sociedade · Brazil

This research surveyed federal and state urban agriculture (UA) laws in Brazil to analyze their implications for urban planning (UP). Findings indicate that despite an increase in approved laws, there is no articulated national policy, laws vaguely address UA's interfaces with UP, and they do not objectively tackle territorial challenges faced by UA.

M. Kühn, Geisa Zanini Rorato, Bruno César Euphrasio de Mello, Carolina Cristófoli Falcão · Ambiente & sociedade · Brazil

This study cataloged and analyzed federal and state urban agriculture (UA) laws in Brazil to understand their profile and association with urban planning. The findings indicate that Brazil lacks a coordinated national policy for urban agriculture. Furthermore, existing laws vaguely mention their interfaces with urban-policy legal frameworks and do not clearly address territorial challenges for UA implementation.

Paige Robillard, Fatih Şekercioğlu, Sara Edge, Ian Young · British Food Journal · Canada

This exploratory qualitative study investigated the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on urban community gardens (UCGs) in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, through semi-structured interviews with seven managers and eight members of nine gardens. The findings suggest that UCGs helped participants build resilience to pandemic-related stressors by providing cultural ecosystem services. Although participants did not experience food insecurity, they expressed concern about community food security.

Jessica Quinton, Lorien Nesbitt, James J. Connolly, Elvin Wyly · Urban Geography · Canada

This descriptive analysis identified gentrifying areas in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto, Canada, from 1996–2006 and 2006–2016, to determine the prevalence of greening interventions. The study found that greening, including parks, cycle lanes, and community gardens, frequently occurred before, during, and after gentrification. These results indicate that greening is common in gentrifying areas throughout the gentrification process, suggesting a need for a broader understanding of the relationship between urban greening and gentrification.

Martine El Ouardi, Françoise Montambeault · International Journal of Urban and Regional Research · Mexico (Mexico City)

This study of citizen-led gardens in Mexico City reveals that informal urban gardening becomes a practice disconnected from the state. Despite the Mexico City government's interest in regulating urban agriculture, gardeners are increasingly formalizing their practices independently. This disconnection is attributed to a weak institutional context, characterized by top-down policymaking and the city government's incapacity and unwillingness to effectively implement policies, leading to mistrust among gardeners.

Maria Cecília Barreto Amorim Pilla, Cilene da Silva Gomes Ribeiro, Taciane Eloisa de Camargo · Ágora · Brazil

This research aims to analyze the historical, economic, and sociocultural processes that create the gender dimension within sustainable development and the emancipation of vulnerable women. It highlights that urban agriculture initiatives, such as community gardens, mobilize communities to transform degraded spaces into healthy ones, providing vegetables and fostering social interaction. The study emphasizes the need for women's inclusion in public policy to achieve legal, political, and social equality, thereby empowering them and reducing vulnerability.

E-Mag, Josh , Sophia , Star · Universitätsbibliothek der LMU · United States (New York City)

This document is the July 1, 2007, issue of "Earth First!," an e-magazine republished by the Environment & Society Portal. It features articles on various environmental and social activism topics, including the defense of New York City’s community gardens, legal issues faced by activists, and critiques of unsustainable activism. The publication includes an editorial by Dr. Hyena and notes that views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Rachel Carson Center.

Austin Thompson‐Spain, Kyle S. Bunds, Lincoln R. Larson, Bethany B. Cutts, J. Aaron Hipp · Sustainable Development · United States

This scoping review examines funding and financing mechanisms for nature-based solutions and their impact on social equity in the United States. It finds that market-driven nature-based solutions can contribute to an inequitable distribution of urban ecosystem services. The distribution of benefits is influenced by local contexts, decision-making inclusion, and payment mechanisms, suggesting disparities in access for diverse and marginalized populations.

Rudra Dahal, Kamala Adhikari, Karen Tang · Journal of Community Medicine & Public Health · Canada

This paper discusses how record-high inflation rates and skyrocketing food prices in Canada exacerbate food insecurity, defined as inadequate food access due to financial constraints. Food insecurity is identified as a strong predictor of poor physical and mental health, higher mortality rates for those with chronic conditions, and increased healthcare utilization and costs. The paper suggests a comprehensive approach combining short-term solutions like community gardens and long-term policy interventions to address the root cause of inadequate income.

Catherine Campbell · EDIS · United States (Florida)

This publication provides an overview of commercial urban agriculture in Florida, detailing the size, production methods, and market channels used by urban farms. It also discusses urban farmers’ perceptions regarding the barriers, opportunities, and needs for their operations. The publication was written by Catherine G. Campbell and published in May 2023.

R Verissimo, Silvana Aparecida Alves, Adalberto da Silva, Ana Maria Lombardi Daibem · Risco Revista de Pesquisa em Arquitetura e Urbanismo (Online) · Brazil (Bauru)

This research investigates green and gray infrastructure in Bauru/SP, Brazil, comparing controlled access allotments (Pq. Residencial Paineiras and Jardim Shangri-Lá) with favelas (Ferradura Mirim and Jardim Nicéia). It aims to study green infrastructure as an expression of sociospatial inequalities perpetuated by urban planning. Through analyses and cartographies, the study evaluates the current urban panorama and challenges for mitigating social, environmental, and urbanistic inequalities.

Angele Proust, Maura Neves Coutinho · Confins · Brazil

Public policies for urban agriculture and food in São Paulo and Belo Horizonte face the challenge of considering a perpetually changing territory due to metropolization. Urban agriculture is presented as a political practice that renews the vision of the metropolis and encourages new resistance practices. It is argued that urban agriculture holds a political position in the city, fostering alliances between metropolitan, municipal, and local scales.

Aldira Guimarães Duarte Domínguez, Diogo Isao Santos Sakai, Alba Evangelista Ramos, Camila Dias de Aragão, Erivan de Jesus Santos, Gleice Kelly Campelo Barbosa, Hisa Dutra Alves, Julia Maria de Oliveira Compan, Plácido Lima Ferreira Sobrinho, Satyam Bömer Dienstmann, Vinicius Araujo Gonçalves · LaSUS FAU eBooks · Brazil

This book presents the fundamentals of a multi-professional course in CTS (Science, Technology, and Society) developed within a graduate program at the University of Brasília. The course socially integrates four interdisciplinary themes: Habitat, Agroecology, Health, and Associated Work, aiming to form a transdisciplinary epistemological base in Solidarity Technoscience.

Perci Coelho de Souza, Letícia Miguel Teixeira, Cinthia Mariane Nolaço de Oliveira, Clarissa Sapori Avelar, Gabriel Ribeiro Couto, Geraldo Fábio Alves de Souza, Juliana Leal Santana, Kamila Dos Santos Pita, Sarah Lima Cirino · LaSUS FAU eBooks · Brazil

This book presents the fundamentals of a multidisciplinary CTS (Science, Technology, and Society) course developed within a graduate program at the University of Brasília, Brazil. The course socially and territorially integrates four interdisciplinary themes: Habitat, Agroecology, Health, and Associated Work. Offered in 2021, it integrated 15 master's and doctoral students with over 50 individuals from social movements, professionals, government technicians, researchers, and undergraduate students, forming a transdisciplinary epistemological base in Solidarity Technoscience.

Zaydeé Jahel González García · Revista Alfa · Peru (Ate)

This descriptive cross-sectional documentary study identified existing environmental policies within the Ate District Municipality in Peru, focusing on guidelines for the 2022 Work Plan of the EDUCCA Municipal Program. The study found that the municipality promotes a pilot project for sustainable urban agriculture, identifying the urban agriculture initiative as a pioneering plan among discussed programs.

Gabriela Rigote, Alessandra Xavier Bueno, Marco Akerman · Saúde e Sociedade · Brazil (São Paulo)

This study analyzed the everyday elements of cooking and its relationship with the food system, based on the experiences of seven female urban farmers in eastern São Paulo, Brazil. Using body-map storytelling, visual and oral data were collected on the meanings of cooking. The findings indicate that cooking connects the field to the table, strengthens urban and peri-urban farming practices, and promotes health and sustainability.

Ana Paula Pedrosa, Romana Xerez · Global Social Policy · Brazil

This article discusses the implications of Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) for social policy in Brazil, based on qualitative methods, namely, semi-structured interviews with subscribers from six administrative regions who participated through digital platforms. The results indicate that the factors determining consumer participation in CSA are health impact, strengthening local production, environmental concerns, and eating as a human right and political act. This article also demonstrates the need to promote participation among low-income and socially vulnerable families in CSA and to firmly connect food and nutrition security policy with health and environment aimed at poverty alleviation.

Sinan Kordon, Patrick Miller · ArtGRID - Journal of Architecture Engineering and Fine Arts · United States (Roanoke)

A survey in five disadvantaged neighborhoods of Roanoke, Virginia, identified primary reasons for non-participation in community gardening. Using descriptive statistics, T-test, and factor analysis, the study found that "theft and damage," "difficult access," "too much effort," and "no personal interest" were the main deterrents. These findings highlight specific barriers to public involvement in community garden projects.

Bezamat de Souza Neto, Anderson Luiz Duarte · OBSERVATÓRIO DE LA ECONOMÍA LATINOAMERICANA · Brazil (São João del-Rei)

This article aims to examine the intervention potential of urban agriculture in the physical and symbolic construction of city space. It is based on the premise that urban community gardens constitute an educommunicative ecosystem that, through collective cooperation, promotes transformations in urban space. To this end, theoretical discussions on urbanity, especially in a postmodern context, and urban agriculture are compared with the specificities of the Vida Verde community garden, located in the Senhor dos Montes neighborhood on the periphery of São João del-Rei (MG).

Alexandre Túlio Amaral Nascimento, Tais Silva Lomba, Elvira Peruhype de Aguilar, Ana Flávia Ribeiro Evangelista, Henrique Lua Santos Ferreira · REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE AGROECOLOGIA · Brazil (Belo Horizonte)

This study investigated how agroecological urban agriculture production in Belo Horizonte and its metropolitan region utilizes available legal instruments and public policies. The research involved a literature review, identification and contact with local institutions, and an electronic questionnaire that received 34 responses. Findings highlighted the vitality of associations, the importance of national policies (PNAE, PRONAF) and territorial strategies (SPG, CSA), and the relevance of local instruments like Trilha da Agroecologia and Rede Sisal.

Seohyun Kim, Carlos Almeida Peña · Journal of Student Research · United States

This study critically evaluated existing initiatives like SNAP, HFFI, and urban agriculture for addressing food deserts in the United States, which affect approximately 19 million individuals. Through a literature review and interviews, the research found that these programs, while offering some positive impact on food insecurity, largely fail to directly address the fundamental issue of distance and systemic accessibility to supermarkets. The study proposes enhancing public transit and online delivery platforms as comprehensive solutions.