Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
266 results(9 / 11)
Metropolitan foodscapes with multifunctional land use
2016Malin Gustafsson, Matilda Olsson · · Netherlands (Schiedam)
This thesis focuses on a design proposal for a multifunctional foodscape in a peri-urban area on the city edge of Schiedam, in the Metropolitan Region of Rotterdam-The Hague, Netherlands. The proposal includes food production, education, and recreation, aiming to transform peri-urban areas into multifunctional zones and exemplify their role as transition zones between urban and rural landscapes. An empirical pre-study was conducted, focusing on urban farming in Rotterdam, dairy farming in Midden-Delfland, and greenhouse horticulture in Westland.
Peri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkageFood miles & supply chainPolicyEconomicsFood educationA history of urban gardens in Europe
2016Nazila Keshavarz, Simon Bell, Andis Zīlāns, Andrew Hursthouse, Annette Voigt, Ans Hobbelink, Antoine Zammit, Ari Jokinen, Bent Egberg Mikkelsen, Bruno Notteboom, Byron Ioannou, Chiara Certomà, Eva Schwab, Ivana Sentić, Johan Barstad, Krista Willman, Laura Calvet‐Mir, Ligita Baležentienė, Malou Weirich, Maria Partalidou, Martin Sondermann, M. Latkowska, Nerea Morán, Ole Pihl, Sara Uršić, Simone Tappert, Sophia Meeres, Susan Noori, Theodosia Anthopoulou, Tim Delshammar, Werner Heidemann, Zuzana Gogová · · Europe
This article outlined the diverse history of urban gardens, including allotments and community gardens, in Europe. History shows many similarities and differences in the reasons for their formation, with urban gardens gaining renewed recognition during the two world wars as a reliable way of producing food. Changes in urban demography, environmental and social movements, and people's attitudes in recent decades have also shaped the history of urban gardens.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsVulnerability Analysis of Urban Agriculture Projects: A Case Study of Community and Entrepreneurial Gardens in the Netherlands and Switzerland
2016Ladina Knapp, E.J. Veen, H. Renting, J.S.C. Wiskerke, J.C.J. Groot · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · Europe
This study assessed criteria for the successful establishment and continuity of 29 small-scale, bottom-up urban agriculture (UA) initiatives in the Netherlands and Switzerland, using a vulnerability analysis framework. Biophysical and socio-institutional criteria were analyzed through interviews with project leaders. Findings revealed that the vulnerability of UA systems strongly depends on local circumstances, with the main perturbations and causes of vulnerability originating from social-institutional and human conditions, such as the institutional sphere, local authority assistance, and project leaders' determination.
Governance failureCommunityEconomicsPolicyHealthPeri-urban agriculture, Agricultural Natural Parks and local markets for farm produce and livestock: a productive territorial response to the subordination of the countryside to the city
2016José Antônio Segrelles Serrano · Revistes Científiques de la University of Barcelona (University of Barcelona) · Spain
This study discusses peri-urban agriculture, Agricultural Natural Parks, and local markets in Spain as a response to the subordination of rural areas to urban expansion. Peri-urban areas suffer negative impacts from urban functions, marginalizing family farming, yet peri-urban agriculture generates valuable environmental and cultural heritage. Agricultural Natural Parks are presented as a means to ensure sustainable agricultural activity and promote efficient, profitable farming with high added value in these areas, supporting local and seasonal food consumption and increased food security.
Peri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsUrban Gardeners’ Motivations in a Metropolitan City: The Case of Milan
2016Giordano Ruggeri, Chiara Mazzocchi, Stefano Corsi · Sustainability · Italy (Milan)
This study investigated the motivations of urban gardeners in Milan, Italy, using multiple correspondence analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis. While urban gardening's multifunctionality is well-documented, individual motivations are less explored. The analysis revealed the significant importance of the social component in urban gardening and identified several distinct gardener profiles.
CommunityHealthEconomics‘A New Season for Planning’: Urban Gardening as Informal Planning in Rome
2016Chiara Certomà · Geografiska Annaler Series B Human Geography · Italy (Rome)
This article investigates the relationship between urban gardening and planning, based on field research on gardening initiatives in Rome, Italy. It suggests that urban gardening exhibits characteristics of "informal planning," intentionally advanced by local dwellers to plan urban space and organize public life in the absence of legal definition, guidance, and funds. Cases in Rome exemplify the emergence of informal planning and show how a new mode of interaction between citizens' agency and formal planning initiatives can lead to creative solutions for issues like decreased public space and its deterioration.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsMotivations behind urban gardening
2016Laura Calvet‐Mir, Hug March, Helena Nordh, Jeanne Pourias, Barbora Čakovská · · Europe
This chapter analyzes individual motivations of gardeners in various types of allotment gardens, noting growing waiting lists for plots. In Barcelona, urban gardens declined due to urban expansion but new economic situations in southern European countries have created new motivations. Societal changes, such as the transition to a market economy in Nitra in the 1990s, have linked access to private property through allotment plots as a major motivation for gardeners.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyUrban AgriCulture and Food Systems Dynamics in the German Bonn/Rhein-Sieg Region
2016Darya Hirsch, Christian H. Meyer, Johannes Klement, Martin Hamer, Wiltrud Terlau · International journal on food system dynamics · Germany (Bonn)
This study uses a broad approach to Urban AgriCulture (UAC), encompassing crop production in urban and peri-urban areas, and presents an empirical case study on UAC Initiatives in Germany's Bonn/Rhein-Sieg region. The work aims to fill a gap due to the current lack of comprehensive and comparative studies on urban agriculture, which makes it difficult for researchers to identify its benefits.
CommunityPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsParadoxical territorial management: the case of peri-urban agricultural areas
2016Solange Hernandez · International Review of Administrative Sciences · France
This case study in the urban community of Pays d’Aubagne et de l’Etoile, France, over 25 years, aimed to understand paradoxical territorial management practices in peri-urban agriculture. Based on quantitative analyses of qualitative data, the study demonstrated the relevance of these management practices in action, but identified paradoxes as a recurring source of tension and deadlock in territorial public administration. The research proposes managerial tools applicable in the framework of public action in peri-urban agriculture.
Governance failurePolicyPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsEnvisioning Opportunities for Agriculture in Peri-Urban Areas
2016Elke Rogge, Eva Kerselaers, Charlotte Prové · · Europe
This study explores opportunities and challenges for peri-urban agriculture, examining envisioning processes in Ghent and Kortrijk, Belgium, initiated by local authorities. Results indicate that pressure on farmland is a key issue in both contexts. Multifunctionality is complex in practice and governance, and successful envisioning processes require clear objectives, defined study areas, policy support, strong leadership, and reliable data.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyUrban–rural linkageEconomicsSoilless Urban Temporary Agriculture as a Strategy for Brownfield Site Renewal
2016Leonardo Boganini, Chiara Casazza · · Italy
The ongoing Ur.C.A. research project in Italy's Tuscany region aims to identify the possibilities of integrating agriculture into urban settlements, especially brownfield sites and marginal areas, utilizing hydroponic technologies. The project analyzes the potential for requalification of these urban contexts through urban agriculture, focusing on legislative and technological feasibility. It seeks to develop an innovative hydroponic growth cell system suitable for urban unused areas, integrating renewable energy and rainwater collection.
Climate changeEconomicsPolicyAgricultura urbana y sistema agroalimentario . Análisis comparado en las áreas metropolitanas de Barcelona y Sevilla
2016Xavier Recasens Gracia, María José Prados Velasco, Óscar Alfranca · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Spain
This study comparatively analyzed the relationships between the economic activity of urban farms and agricultural protection systems in the metropolitan areas of Barcelona and Seville. It investigated the business management and commercial aspects of urban agriculture, and how it is conditioned by urban planning and Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) decisions. Based on the CANVAS Business Model and quantification of benefits, the results demonstrated that urban agriculture is multifunctional and can contribute to business profits.
EconomicsPolicyPeri-urban agriculture‘Alternative’ This, ‘Alternative’ That ... : Interrogating Alterity and Diversity
2016Andrew E. G. Jonas · · United Kingdom
This chapter explores the notion of "the alternative" as relatively unexamined. Empirical work over three years involved six food businesses and initiatives facilitating direct contact between producers and consumers. Earth Share Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Nairn, North East Scotland, provides vegetables to approximately 200 households weekly. The chapter suggests that diversity within the "alternative" food sector is not necessarily problematic, and consumers' contingent, accidental, and partial commitment has not undermined the success of these schemes.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceUrban AgriCulture and Food Systems Dynamics: Urban Gardening and Urban Farming of the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg region, Germany
2016Darya Hirsch, Christian H. Meyer, Johannes Klement, Martin Hamer, Wiltrud Terlau, Hirsch, Darya, Meyer, Christian, Klement, Johannes, Hamer, Martin, Terlau, Wiltrud · Publication Server of Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences (Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences) · Germany
This paper presents an empirical case study on Urban AgriCulture initiatives in the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg region of Germany. It states that Urban AgriCulture is a niche movement with the potential to contribute significantly to urban development and constitute a pillar of urban quality of life.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsHealthAn environmental and economic life cycle assessment of rooftop greenhouse (RTG) implementation in Barcelona, Spain
2015Sanyé-Mengual E., Oliver-Solà J., Montero J. I., Rieradevall J. · The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 20:350-366 · Spain
Applies life cycle assessment and life cycle costing to rooftop greenhouse implementation in Barcelona, analyzing from greenhouse structure to final product and comparing with conventional industrial greenhouses to evaluate this new form of urban agriculture.
EconomicsZero-Acreage Farming in the City of Berlin: An Aggregated Stakeholder Perspective on Potential Benefits and Challenges
2015· Sustainability · Germany (Berlin)
Analyzes benefits and challenges of Zero-Acreage Farming (building-integrated agriculture such as rooftop gardens and greenhouses) in Berlin from an aggregated multi-stakeholder perspective, identifying rooftop greenhouses as the most promising model.
EconomicsPolicyCommunityAllotment Garden Dwellings: Exploring Tradition and Legal Framework
2015Maja Lorbek, Milena Martinsen · Urbani izziv · Europe
This paper examines the evolution of allotments and allotment dwellings in Germany and Austria by comparing gardeners' actual practices with the development and changes in the legal framework. It found that legislation and zoning regulations, often established retrospectively, reveal an ongoing negotiation process between informal practices and planning authorities. Allotment gardens, which emerged in the late 19th century, originally served a subsistence economy, providing food and emergency accommodation.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsL'agriculture urbaine : de l'échelle territoriale à l'insertion architecturale
2015Amandine Joly · · France
This study characterized and strategically analyzed urban agriculture for the IETI external planning and environment consulting firm in Île-de-France, France. The analysis aimed to help IETI position itself commercially in urban agriculture, identifying both the benefits and the obstacles the firm might encounter. The study also briefly discussed the various scales of urban agriculture's integration into the territory and its advantages for the consulting firm.
Economic viabilityEconomicsPolicyPeri-urban agricultureAnálisis de gestión y valoración socio-cultural de los huertos urbanos comunitarios de la ciudad de Córdoba (España)
2015Elena Bertrán Arroyo · · Spain (Córdoba)
This study states that cities are socio-biological systems where social and natural aspects are interconnected through the provision and consumption of ecosystem services.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsPotential of community gardens for sustainable urban development in Izmir, Turkey
2015Hanife Vardi Topal · · Turkey (Izmir)
Community gardening was evaluated as a tool for sustainable urban development in the Izmir Metropolitan area, Turkey. The potential of existing community gardens was investigated at two case study sites in Bornova and Buca, focusing on the social, economic, and environmental qualities of the region. A mixed method approach, incorporating historical research, interviews, and diagramming, was used. After evaluating findings from site observations, open discussions, and interviews, the data was used to illustrate a conceptual community garden network in Izmir.
CommunityEconomicsClimate changeCities, Agriculture and Changing Landscapes in Urban Milieu: The case of Rome
2015Aurora Cavallo, Benedetta Di Donato, Rossella Guadagno, Davide Marino · RIVISTA DI STUDI SULLA SOSTENIBILITA · Italy (Rome)
This paper examines the characteristics and dynamics of urban agriculture in Rome, Italy, aiming to propose a taxonomy of urban agriculture types. It presents a preliminary analysis using criteria to classify the functional and relational features of agricultural activities within the urban phenomenon. The study attempts to reconstruct causal relationships between agricultural production models and their spatial and functional forms in the urban dimension.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyEconomicsFinding Spaces for Urban Food Production – Matching Spatial and Stakeholder Analysis with Urban Agriculture Approaches in the Urban Renewal Area of Dortmund-Hörde, Germany
2015Michael J. Roth, Miryam Frixen, Carlos Tobisch, Thomas Scholle · · Germany (Dortmund)
This study analyzed how urban agriculture can stimulate and support urban renewal in an economically declined neighborhood in Dortmund-Hörde, Germany, using a case study. A project path was developed using participatory action research to involve residents and stakeholder groups, fostering collective stewardship for urban agriculture forms. The research concluded that synchronously combining research, planning, design, and implementation with intense feedback loops can achieve synergies for academic knowledge on urban agriculture's potential performance in sustainable development, as well as benefits for the case-study area and individual urban gardeners.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageUrban Gardening Realities: The Example Case Study of Portsmouth, England
2015Alan Hallsworth, Alfred Wong · International journal on food system dynamics · United Kingdom (Portsmouth)
This empirical case study examined the potential for urban gardening to contribute to individual food security. Focusing on Portsmouth, England, the study found that prevailing economic and social structures hamper the likelihood that urban gardening can offer much greater food security. Realistically, contemporary urban gardening most closely resembles a middle-class pursuit for personal enjoyment, rather than a significant contributor to food security.
Limited or null effectEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityProductive Synergies in the City
2015Greg Keeffe · Research Portal (Queen's University Belfast) · United Kingdom
This chapter focuses on developing sustainable growing infrastructure at two scales: a large-scale city-wide fuel-productive landscape using algae arrays in Liverpool and a hyper-localized neighborhood food production system in Salford, UK, utilizing a closed-cycle aquaponic system. The author proposes a three-part model for urban agriculture implementation—hardware, software, and interface—concluding that urban agriculture should be viewed as a process rather than a static design, with benefits extending beyond physical outputs like energy and food.
Organic cycleCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changehttp://www.agdevjournal.com/volume-5-issue-2/510-products-urban-collective-gardens.html
2015Jeanne Pourias, Éric Duchemin, Christine Aubry · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Canada (Montreal); France (Paris)
This paper investigates the food function of collective gardens (CGs) in Paris, France, and Montreal, Canada, where their numbers have rapidly increased. Researchers conducted interviews, quantified production, and monitored plots to understand the quantities and types of fruits and vegetables produced, their destination, and space use. The results indicate a wide diversity of practices concerning CGs' food function, which should be considered alongside their multifunctionality.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomics