Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
3241 results(90 / 130)
Linking food and land systems for sustainable peri-urban agriculture in Bangkok Metropolitan Region
2015Kazuaki Tsuchiya, Yuji Hara, Danai Thaitakoo · Landscape and Urban Planning · Thailand (Bangkok)
This 2015 study in peri-urban Bangkok, Thailand, used field interviews and GIS analysis to examine food-related behaviors and land use changes. It found that traditional wet markets remained important hubs, but there was little connection between farmers and nearby wet markets in the same district. This lack of connection constricted positive feedback between producers and consumers in peri-urban areas.
Peri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsAllotment 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.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsThe contribution of urban agriculture to food security of individual urban farmers in Yeka Sub City, Addis Ababa
2015Firehiwot Mezgabu, Degefa Tolossa · Ethiopian journal of development research · Ethiopia (Addis Ababa)
A 2015 study in Yeka Sub City, Addis Ababa, assessed the contribution of urban agriculture to the food security of 86 households. Findings showed that 74.4% of the households were food-secure, while 24.4% and 1.2% were mildly and severely food-insecure, respectively. Urban agriculture contributed to one-third of household income and played a significant role in improving food security and income, but lack of farmland and water were identified as major challenges.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCommunityTowards an Expansion of the Salt City Harvest Farm: Exploring a Community Farm’s Impact, Challenges, and the Agricultural Ways and Aspirations of its New American Farmers
2015Rose Tardiff · Syracuse University Libraries (Syracuse University) · United States
The Salt City Harvest Farm (SCHF) in Kirkville, NY, is an all-volunteer project with limited capacity and concerns about long-term sustainability, despite providing benefits to New American participants. Research identified challenges and suggested organizational improvements, including clearly defining roles and integrating New Americans into decision-making. The study found that the SCHF would best suit participants' interests by remaining a place for growing their own food rather than transitioning to an incubator model.
Economic viabilityCommunityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsHorta Comunitária Agroecológica do Assentamento Patativa do Assaré, Exemplo de Trabalho em Parceria e do Intercâmbio de Conhecimentos.
2015Altair Luiz da Silva, Ester Pereira de Oliveira Gomes, Alfeu Ohlweiler, Flavio Renato da Silva · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil
The agroecological community garden in the Patativa do Assaré settlement, 54 km from Sao Gabriel do Oeste-MS, Brazil, operates through a partnership involving the Settlers' Association, Agrarian Development and Rural Extension Agency, and Municipal Government. From May to August 2014, ten settler families, mostly women, commercialized over 780 kg and 1770 bunches of 24 different vegetable items. Produce is sold at municipal open-air markets and through the National School Feeding Program (PNAE).
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justice赤峰市中心城区发展对策研究——“新赤峰”的创想与构建
2015赤峰市委党校课题组, 盖文学 · 松州学刊 · China (Chifeng)
This study examined the development of Chifeng city's central urban area in China, acknowledging significant achievements since 1995 but also identifying issues such as weak industrial support, water supply crises, and talent shortages. To address these, the study proposed seven specific strategies, including developing suburban urban agriculture by establishing industry-academia-research bases, aiming to build a regional central city with a million inhabitants.
PolicyPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsGrowing Food and Community: An Exploration of Local Food Initiatives in Cape Town, South Africa
2015Megan Bradley · Syracuse University Libraries (Syracuse University) · South Africa (Cape Town)
A study on local food initiatives in Cape Town, South Africa, explored their role in sustainable community development, focusing on food sovereignty, community capacity, and social capital. Through in-depth interviews, conversations with participants, and observations of community gardens and markets, findings suggested that these initiatives empower community development, both economically and socially, through principles of food sovereignty, social capital, and education.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsFood education目前我国都市农业空间格局上的“逆现代化”现象刍议
2015宋志军, 刘黎明 · Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Sunyatseni · China
Chinese urban agriculture has developed against a backdrop of multifunctionality, urbanization, industrialization, and non-agriculturalization. Since the reform and opening-up, the development of non-agricultural functions has complemented and advanced the broad modernization of urban agriculture, while simultaneously inhibiting, delaying, and destroying narrow modernization. This has led to a "reverse modernization" phenomenon in the spatial pattern of urban agriculture, characterized by changes spatially "opposite" to narrow agricultural modernization. China's current urban agriculture exhibits an overall spatial state of "reverse modernization" with various agricultural forms interspersed.
Governance failureUrban–rural linkageEconomicsPolicyL'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 agriculturePENYUSUNAN STRATEGI PEMASARAN BERDASARKAN PERILAKU KONSUMEN DALAM PEMBELIAN SAYURAN SEGAR (STUDI KASUS : PROYEK PENELITIAN ECO URBAN FARMING INSTITUT TEKNOLOGI SEPULUH NOPEMBER SURABAYA)
2015Hanifah Kurniasari · · Indonesia (Surabaya)
This study, using Voice of Customer and Quality Function Deployment methods, investigated consumer behavior in fresh vegetable purchases around the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) Campus in Surabaya, Indonesia, in relation to the ITS Eco Urban Farming Research Project. Findings indicated most consumers shop frequently at traditional markets, and organic vegetables are not a primary choice due to difficulty in finding them and high prices. The research identified 11 prioritized attributes for organic vegetable purchases and suggested several marketing concepts.
EconomicsCommunityClimate change and its impact on domestic water consumption in Sub-urban regions in the Gaza Strip
2015Mahdy S. Jarboo, Husam Al-Najar · International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management · Gaza Strip
This paper investigated the impact of climate change and illegal urban agriculture on domestic water consumption in suburban Rafah city, Gaza Strip. Using a linear model and hypothesized climate scenarios, a 20°C temperature increase was found to raise average domestic water consumption by 1.4%, while a 20% precipitation reduction had negligible impact. Critically, urban agriculture's use of municipal water significantly negatively influenced domestic water consumption, resulting in 33-45% unaccounted for water between 2010 and 2012.
Climate changePeri-urban agricultureEconomicsDeterminants of Micro and Small Enterprises Growth in Ethiopia: The Case of Nekemte Town of Oromia Region, Ethiopia
2015Fikadu Goshu Fufa · European Journal of Business and Management · Ethiopia
A study of 96 micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Nekemte town, Ethiopia, found that educational status of MSE operators negatively affects business profitability growth. Additionally, the study revealed that microfinance institution (MFI) loan terms are too short for business operations, and most MSEs rely on personal savings for finance.
Economic viabilityEconomicsUrban–rural linkageCSAs and the Battle for the Local Food Dollar
2015Timothy A. Woods, Debra Tropp, Woods, Timothy A., Tropp, Debra · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · USA
This paper explores the strategic positioning of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in a changing food market, where competition for the local food dollar has expanded. Drawing on observations from a survey of CSA managers, it documents specific trends in adaptations to the CSA business model. CSA managers generally perceive other CSAs and farm markets as their closest competition.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityTransdisciplinarity and Action Research to Address the Complex Issues of Urban Agriculture
2015Maria Gerster‐Bentaya, Crozet Natacha, M. Gerster-Bentaya, N. Crozet · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Global
The BMBF project "Urban Agriculture as integrative element of a climate-optimized urban development" was designed as a transdisciplinary research project on multifunctional open space systems in emerging megacities. This article links challenges of a transdisciplinary research approach, such as problem framing and actor engagement, to the nearly six-year research process. It describes the methods used during the two main phases of action research and the types of knowledge generated, also reflecting on limitations experienced by the project team.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyEconomicsFood gardening in Lavender Hill, Cape Town: using adoption rates to estimate the perceived benefit
2015Simon Hazell, Victoria Delbridge, Beatrice Conradie · UR UCT Undergraduate Research · South Africa
A study in Lavender Hill, Cape Town, South Africa, interviewed 50 participants in the Mothers Unite programme to assess the benefits and constraints of homestead-based urban agriculture. Despite the potential for food gardening to alleviate food insecurity and free up 11% of household income, two-thirds of the group had not tried it. Barriers to adoption included lack of space and limited cash flow, with respondents showing little concern for water or compost costs.
Limited or null effectFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCommunityFood (In)Security: Provisioning Strategies in a Northern Wisconsin Town
2015Margaret Ellen Kubek · UWM Digital Commons (University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee) · United States (Wisconsin)
This thesis explored the food provisioning strategies of year-round and seasonal residents of Phelps, WI. Ethnographic data gathered in the summer and fall of 2011 found that Phelps, WI, is classified as food insecure, leading residents to modify routines for lengthy drives to purchase food, while year-round residents utilized self-provisioning strategies. Newly initiated farmers' market and community supported agriculture projects increased overall food availability, but these efforts were mostly utilized by seasonal residents, with year-round residents finding these options unaffordable and inconveniently scheduled.
Equity & displacementFood sovereignty & justiceCSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsBrooklyn Farmer
2015Andrew Koval · Educational Media Reviews Online · United States (New York City)
The 27-minute documentary film "Brooklyn Farmer" (2014) covers organic urban rooftop farming as a business. The film offers perspectives on the cost of farm labor's exposure to pesticides versus the increased cost of organic vegetables, citing aesthetics, supply chain reduction, and human health as benefits of urban farming. While noted for its informative text and enhanced production value, a stated limitation is that it should have featured farmers in a more traditional vegetable production capacity to provide a diversity of opinion concerning the market.
DIYEconomicsHealthFood educationRaumgefühle – Gefühlsräume. Perspektiven auf die Verschränkung von emotionalen Praktiken und Topografien der Moderne
2015Benno Gammerl, Rainer Herrn · sub\urban zeitschrift für kritische stadtforschung · Global
This article outlines the theoretical, empirical, and political potential of the tension between affective disruptions of ordered structures and the emotional processing of power-infused spatial relations. It uses urban gardening practices and gentrification debates as examples to demonstrate how analyzing dynamic interactions between spaces and feelings can foster a critical perspective on urbanity, particularly regarding issues of equity. The study focuses on the ambivalent dynamics and effects of emotional-spatial processes.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyEconomicsTotal factor productivity of urban agriculture on the urban periphery of Cape Town
2015Martin Dyer, Richard M. Mills, Beatrice Conradie, Jenifer Piesse · Open University of Cape Town (University of Cape Town) · South Africa (Cape Town)
This paper investigates the efficiency relationships between inputs and outputs of urban micro-farms in two Cape Town townships, Nyanga and Khayelitsha. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) applied to 33 producers supplying a social enterprise box scheme revealed an average overall efficiency of 72.4%. Overall efficiency was negatively correlated with land holdings and the use of compost and seedlings, indicating efficiency losses with greater input quantities. Furthermore, it was not shown that mulching or operator experience increases profitability.
Economic viabilityEconomicsCommunityPeri-urban agricultureA study on REM Model of experiential tourism products development in allotment farm garden: a case study of Beijing Little Donkey Farm
2015LI Min-q · Zhongnan Linye Keji Daxue xuebao · China
This study explored the interactive relationship between tourists' experience, resource base, and market demand in allotment gardens in China, proposing the Resource-Market-Experience (RME) model for experiential tourism product development. Using Beijing Little Donkey Farm as a case study, the RME model was applied to develop experiential tourism products, offering proposals such as integrating superior resources and focusing on tourist needs.
CommunityUrban–rural linkageEconomicsFood educationGardeners, Locavores, Hipsters, and Residents: An Alternative Local Food Market's Potential for "Community" Building
2015Yuki Kato · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States (New Orleans)
This case study, based on ethnographic observation and interviews, examined an alternative food market in a New Orleans neighborhood to understand different views of "community." The study identified four distinct groups—community gardeners, locavores, hipsters, and local residents—each with different expectations for the organization. Findings did not demonstrate a unified community emerging around this organization, with no single group staking a claim on it.
Limited or null effectCommunityCSA & TeikeiEconomics立本求新,保民兴农促发展——乌鲁木齐市现代都市农业可持续发展之我见
2015欧阳炜, Liu Jie · 蔬菜 · China (Urumqi)
This study stated that urban agriculture is an emerging industry integrating primary, secondary, and tertiary industries, playing a promotional role in socio-economic development, agricultural modernization, increasing farmers' income, and healthy urban development. For the sustainable development of modern urban agriculture in Urumqi City, it was suggested that agriculture should be based as the foundation for social stability and economic development, drawing on domestic and international experiences to establish a practical, innovative, scientific, and reasonable operating model integrated with regional economic development plans.
EconomicsPolicyClimate changeCommunityThe Bottleneck and Countermeasure of Dalian Urban Modern Agriculture Development
2015Qing Guo · · China (Dalian)
This paper, based on the China urban agriculture development report 2013 and a SWOT analysis, studied the development of urban modern agriculture in Dalian. The study found that the agricultural industrial structure, shopping basket program, agricultural management system, land circulation, and agricultural information technology have restricted the development of Dalian's urban modern agriculture.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsDigital agricultureAgricultura urbana em Porto Alegre: dinâmicas socioeconômicas no espaço local
2015Elvis Albert Robe Wandscheer, Rosa Maria Vieria Medeiros · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Porto Alegre)
This study descriptively and qualitatively analyzed the socioeconomic dynamics of urban agriculture in Porto Alegre, Brazil. It highlighted issues in the demarcation of urban and rural spaces, showing that many areas designated as urban possess distinctly rural characteristics. The most significant impacting factors were markets and real estate speculation. The study concluded that while urban agriculture is relevant to the municipality, it faces difficulties arising from competition for space, which can lead to the extinction or displacement of production activities to other areas.
Economic viabilityEconomicsPolicyUrban–rural linkageManaging community gardens in the Czech Republic
2015Eliška Novotná · ACC Journal · Czech Republic
This research investigated the management of community gardens in the Czech Republic, focusing on their economic self-sufficiency and long-term sustainability. The study examined the equipment and operation of gardens, funding sources for investments and operations, and the disclosure of information about their management.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyClimate change