Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
3275 results(90 / 131)
'Quiet Food Sovereignty' as Food Sovereignty without a Movement? Insights from Post-socialist Russia
2015Visser O., Mamonova N., Spoor M., Nikulin A. · Globalizations · Russia
Introduces the concept of 'quiet food sovereignty' to describe how Russian smallholders practise dispersed, muted, bottom-up food autonomy in the absence of organised rural social movements.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsWelfareFood securitization and urban agriculture in Hanoi (Vietnam)
2015Pulliat G. · Articulo – Journal of Urban Research · Vietnam (Hanoi)
Based on qualitative fieldwork with underprivileged households in Hanoi, this paper argues that small-scale urban and peri-urban agriculture provides affordable, safe, and diverse food for low-income residents, while current urbanization policies generate spatial injustice by restricting access to agricultural land.
HealthPolicyEconomicsCommunityReframing urban controlled spaces: Community gardens in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv-Jaffa
2015Eizenberg E., Fenster T. · ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies · Israel (Jerusalem, Tel Aviv-Jaffa)
This critical geography study examines how community gardens in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv-Jaffa are framed by urban decision-makers and NGOs within neoliberal governance, documenting 50 gardens in Jerusalem and 26 in Tel Aviv-Jaffa established since 2000.
CommunityPolicyWhat Can Urban Gardening Really Do About Gentrification? A Case-Study of Three San Francisco Community Gardens
2015Guillaume Marche · European journal of American studies · United States (San Francisco)
This contribution examines three significantly different community garden projects in San Francisco to ask whether urban gardening leans toward empowering a neighborhood's current residents or toward their displacement amid the city's gentrification, housing shortage, and rising real-estate prices. It questions whether garden projects can have any impact on large-scale socioeconomic phenomena such as the city's changing demographics, and whether they are even intended to address gentrification.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsUrban Agriculture between Pioneer Use and Urban Land Grabbing: The Case of "Prinzessinnengarten" Berlin
2015Clausen M. · Cities and the Environment (CATE) · Germany (Berlin)
Case study of Berlin's Prinzessinnengarten, examining how a volunteer-run garden on a vacant Kreuzberg lot became a multifunctional semi-public space and how its community mobilized against privatization of the land.
CommunityPolicyZero-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.
EconomicsPolicyCommunityPerception and acceptance of agricultural production in and on urban buildings (ZFarming): a qualitative study from Berlin, Germany
2015· Agriculture and Human Values · Germany (Berlin)
A qualitative study from Berlin examining public perception and acceptance of agricultural production in and on urban buildings (ZFarming).
CommunityPolicyHealthUrban agriculture and food security: A critique based on an assessment of urban land constraints
2015Badami M., Ramankutty N. · Global Food Security · Global
Assessing the urban land needed to grow the urban poor's daily vegetables, the authors conclude urban agriculture can make only a limited contribution to food security in low-income countries where need is greatest, and argue its benefits are often overstated.
PolicyEconomicsInvestigating the association between urban agriculture and food security, dietary diversity, and nutritional status: A systematic literature review
2015Warren E., Hawkesworth S., Knai C. · Food Policy · Global
A systematic review of studies quantifying urban agriculture's link to food security, dietary diversity, and nutrition finds the evidence base weak and inconsistent, showing that empirical support for its effectiveness in easing food-security challenges remains limited.
HealthWelfarePolicyUrban vegetable for food security in cities. A review
2015Eigenbrod C., Gruda N. · Agronomy for Sustainable Development · Global
Reviewing urban vegetable production for food security, the authors note that high land prices and urban pollution constrain urban horticulture, indicating that despite opening new cultivation sites, such limits make it difficult for urban agriculture to fully meet cities' food demand.
EconomicsPolicyDisparity Despite Diversity: Social Injustice in New York City's Urban Agriculture System
2015Reynolds K. · Antipode · New York City, USA
A two-year study of New York City urban agriculture found race- and class-based disparities among practitioners: health-focused efforts were largely white-led while justice-focused efforts were BIPOC-led. Using critical race theory, it argues urban agriculture can perpetuate an inequitable system unless it explicitly confronts these structures.
CommunityPolicyThe Elusive Inclusive: Black Food Geographies and Racialized Food Spaces
2015Ramirez M. M. · Antipode · Seattle, USA
Drawing on two Seattle community food organizations, the article argues that well-meaning 'inclusive' food efforts fail to address underlying power asymmetries and can erase Black food geographies rooted in histories of slavery and dispossession.
CommunityPolicyConcerning the Unbearable Whiteness of Urban Farming
2015Roman-Alcala A. · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · USA
A commentary on the whiteness and privilege pervading urban farming and food justice activism, warning that well-intentioned white activists can re-inscribe white supremacy, and offering practical ways to avoid doing so.
CommunityPolicyEcosystem disservices research: A review of the state of the art with a focus on cities
2015von Döhren P., Haase D. · Ecological Indicators · Global
Reviewing 103 studies, the paper synthesizes ecosystem disservices, functions of urban green and agricultural spaces perceived as negative for human well-being, such as pests, allergens, pollution, and wildlife conflict, and argues that valuing only benefits while ignoring disservices is inadequate.
BiodiversityPolicyDissolved: Lessons Learned from the Portland Multnomah Food Policy Council
2015Coplen Amy K., Cuneo Megan · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · USA (Portland, Oregon)
Reflective case study of the Portland Multnomah Food Policy Council, established in 2002 and dissolved in 2012 after city agencies deemed it had lost relevance. Documents how weak institutional embedding, unclear mandate, and volunteer-reliance led a nationally celebrated council to fail.
PolicyCommunityThe Role of Partnerships in U.S. Food Policy Council Policy Activities
2015Clayton Megan L., Frattaroli Shannon, Palmer Anne, Pollack Keshia M. · PLOS ONE · USA
Analyses policy activities of US food policy councils and their dependence on partnerships. Shows that councils lacking strong government and stakeholder partnerships achieve little concrete policy change, indicating structural fragility in this widely promoted governance model.
PolicyContributing to food security in urban areas: differences between urban agriculture and peri-urban agriculture in the Global North
2015Ina Opitz, Regine Berges, Annette Piorr, Thomas Krikser · Agriculture and Human Values · Global
An extensive literature review systematically analyzed urban and peri-urban agriculture in the Global North, comparing their spatial, ecological, and socio-economic characteristics. The study found that urban and peri-urban agriculture differ in most characteristics and in their ability to meet urban food needs. Urban agriculture primarily meets household-level food needs, while peri-urban agriculture provides larger quantities and broader distribution pathways, indicating distinct roles in food security. Both forms of agriculture face similar threats from urbanization pressures.
Food sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageEconomicsPolicyBetween Boundaries: From Commoning and Guerrilla Gardening to Community Land Trust Development in Liverpool
2015Matthew Thompson · Antipode · United Kingdom (Liverpool)
This paper explores the community land trust (CLT) model as an institutional solution to urban decline, focusing on a case study in Granby, Liverpool, England. The Granby CLT campaign aims to collectively acquire empty homes, with guerrilla gardening playing a role in gaining political trust and financial support. The study discusses the CLT model's potential for democratic stewardship and the contradictions that may undermine its political legitimacy.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceUrban agriculture in the transition to low carbon cities through urban greening
2015Mary J. Thornbush · AIMS environmental science · Global
This review paper examines global trends in urban agriculture as a climate change mitigation and adaptation approach. It presents urban agriculture as a land-use solution that enhances food security, sequesters carbon, and offers rural services within cities. The review discusses physical and human factors influencing urban agriculture adoption, integrating a social-ecological perspective.
Climate changeFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityPolicyAllotment 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.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsAction research and reducing the vulnerability of peri‐urban agriculture: a case study from the Montreal Region
2015Christopher Bryant, Ghalia Chahine · Geographical Research · Canada (Montreal)
This 2015 case study from the Montreal Region, Canada, analyzed an action research project initiated in 2008 to reduce the vulnerability of peri-urban agriculture. Despite initiatives since the mid-1960s, significant pressures continue to increase the vulnerability of peri-urban farming, with farmland often removed from agricultural reserves. The project in Senneville involved farmers, non-farm actors, and municipal presentations over three years, aiming to integrate conservation and leisure activities.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyCommunityUrban–rural linkageVisions of Public Space: Reproducing and Resisting Social Hierarchies in a Community Garden
2015Sofya Aptekar · Sociological Forum · United States (New York City)
This 2015 ethnographic study, conducted between 2011 and 2013 in a diverse and gentrifying New York City neighborhood, analyzed conflicts within a community garden. It found that disputes among gardeners over aesthetics and conduct reproduced broader gentrification struggles, with privileged gardeners leveraging resources to impose their vision. However, less privileged gardeners, through cross-class and cross-racial relationships, were able to destabilize hierarchies and defend their alternative visions for the public space.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyCivil Society Actors as Drivers of Socio-ecological Transition? Green Spaces in European Cities as Laboratories of Social Innovation. WWWforEurope Working Paper No. 102
2015Judith Schicklinski · WIFO Studies · Europe
Across Europe, self-organized civil society movements are emerging to address local challenges, particularly in maintaining and developing green spaces where local governments face budget constraints. Initiatives like urban gardening demonstrate people's ability to cooperate, organize, and take responsibility for green spaces, introducing practices that support socio-ecological transition. These activities contribute to urban sustainability by providing ecological benefits and recreational opportunities.
CommunityPolicyBiodiversityClimate changeAgricultura urbana en el marc d'un urbanisme sostenible
2015Nadal, Ana, Cerón, Ileana, Cuerva Contreras, Eva, Gabarrell Durany, Xavier, Josa Garcia-Tornel, Alejandro, Pons Valladares, Oriol, Rieradevall Pons, Joan, Sanyé-Mengual, E. · UPCommons institutional repository (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya) · Global
This paper discusses the historical relationship between cities and agriculture, noting that agriculture was essential in ancient civilizations. However, in 20th-century modern urban planning, such as Le Corbusier's Chandigarh and Lucio Costa's Brasília, agriculture was largely excluded from major cities.
CommunityPolicyHeirloom & landrace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 agricultureEconomics