Research & reports

· · Global

A theoretical discussion grounded in structural-functionalist sociology (Fend, 1980; Parsons, 1959) addresses the two functions schools and universities serve for society and the individual: qualification and integration-enculturation. It engages the proposition that people learn for life rather than for school, but the abstract text itself contains no specific description of school gardens or technology-based learning environments.

R. Plant, Jeremy Walker, Scott Rayburg, J Gothe, Teresa Leung · Australian Geographer · Australia

A study of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River in Sydney, Australia, examines the effects of pesticide use by the small-scale horticulturalists supplying the city's fresh vegetable markets on aquatic biodiversity. Through interviews with actors across the institutions responsible for agriculture, water quality, and environmental protection, it assesses the effectiveness of pesticide governance in the Greater Sydney Basin. It finds that pesticide pollution is rarely measured or monitored and is not a priority for any particular agency, meaning the pollution remains effectively uncontrolled. The study concludes that although public health, the long-term viability of local farming, and the ecological health of the river are compatible goals, they currently exist under a system of "organised irresponsibility."

Koont S. · University Press of Florida (Contemporary Cuba series) · Cuba

This book provides a comprehensive account of Cuba's world-leading sustainable urban agriculture program, documenting a thousand-fold increase in urban agricultural output since 1994 and analyzing how government organizational infrastructure and human capital investment enabled this transformation.

Simon Mariwah, Jan-Olof Drangert · Waste Management & Research The Journal for a Sustainable Circular Economy · Ghana

A study in a peri-urban agricultural community in Ghana explored attitudes towards sanitized human excreta as fertilizer, collecting data from 154 households. It found a general negative attitude towards fresh excreta and its handling. While residents accepted excreta could be used as fertilizer, they were unwilling to use it on their own crops or consume such fertilized crops.

Bethaney Turner · Local Environment · Australia

Based on an ethnographic study of community gardeners in the Australian Capital Territory, this article argues that fostering an embodied form of sustainability, which accounts for individual embodied engagement in these collective spaces, is critical for achieving sustainable urban living outcomes. It suggests that individual embodied engagement in collective spaces like community gardens can contribute to reconnection to the socio-cultural importance of food. This process may offer pathways to developing broader engagement with the food system and a long-term commitment to sustainable living practices.

Chiara Certomà · Local Environment · Global

This paper investigated the emergence of the urban gardening movement as a form of post-environmentalist political practice. Despite the general acknowledgment of environmental issues, Post-Environmentalism suggests that environmental thinking is becoming increasingly "de-politicised." This study aimed to suggest that "re-politicisation" of environmental politics is possible by considering political practices emerging in urban space. Critical urban gardening, for instance, uses biological material as a form of political expression and activates material-semiotic networks in the urban environment.

Lesley Acton · Papers from the Institute of Archaeology · Global

This article examines the changing demand for allotment gardens and the motivations of plot holders, refuting the assumption that economic reasons are primary. It finds that while allotments have historically alleviated hunger, the social aspect primarily motivates most plot holders. Allotments are valued by individuals and collectives as part of history and cultural heritage.

Louiza M. Boukharaeva, Marcel Marloie · Espaces et sociétés · Russia

In Russia, the collective management of urban gardens provides places for relaxation and food production, attracting all population categories. These gardens are considered socially compensatory, stabilizing, and therapeutic, acting as shock absorbers for social, economic, and food crises.

Patricia E. Salkin, Amy Lavine · FLASH - Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship & History (Fordham University) · Global

This article examines how existing land use plans and regulations can promote healthier and more sustainable communities through the regional foodshed movement. It discusses specific land use strategies applicable in urban and suburban settings globally, focusing on facilitating local and regional food production and distribution. These strategies include supporting smaller-scale community gardens, residential agricultural uses, and farmers markets, moving beyond traditional farmland preservation.

A. J. Gilbert, Yael Raviv · Women & Performance a journal of feminist theory · Global

The abstract for this record is incomplete. It introduces "Sharecropper," a series of micro farming installations, as an artistic, practical, and philosophical exploration of growing, cooking, and eating food within a community.

Leonie J. Pearson, Linda Pearson, Craig J. Pearson · Urban agriculture · Global

This paper reviews research on urban agriculture in relation to its social, economic, and environmental sustainability dimensions. It proposes that urban agriculture comprises three elements: isolated practice, its interface with people and environment, and its contribution to built form design, considering micro, meso, and macro scales. The analysis highlights legal, social, and economic constraints and opportunities, suggesting future research priorities include identifying principles for resilient city design and trialing innovative institutional mechanisms.

Mihye Won, Bertram C. Bruce · Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) · Global

This discussion explores the integration of community action projects, such as urban agriculture, into science education from a Deweyan perspective. It raises questions about valuing students' experiences and identity development, integrating community needs into science classes, and the availability of appropriate curricular resources and teacher commitment. The paper emphasizes considering students' experiences from science activities for scientific literacy.

Marie-Christine Zélem, Zelem, Marie-Christine · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Senegal (Dakar)

This study identifies numerous constraints hindering the widespread adoption of organic waste utilization in agriculture in the peri-urban area of Dakar, Senegal. These constraints include the nature, availability, and accessibility of organic waste, poorly controlled urbanization, effects of seasonal variation, resistance to changes, and medical risks. The project, which combines agriculture with city waste management, faces these challenges.

Shane J. Ralston · Project Muse (Johns Hopkins University) · Global

This paper compared John Dewey's work on school gardening with Community Studies scholar Mary Beth Pudup's scholarship on the politics of gardening movements. The comparison is argued to be fruitful in exposing the political reasons for gardening education, relating school gardening to contemporary movements, and giving greater normative force to the call for creating more school garden projects.

David Tracey · · Global

This text outlines various ideas and designs for urban agriculture, ranging from small-scale indoor cultivation like windowsill herbs and sprouts to container gardening in tight spaces. It also covers integrating food-growing into backyards, utilizing front lawns for food movements, engaging in public and community gardening, establishing community orchards, and exploring future farm concepts for higher yields.

Noelle Corrigan · Arrow - TU Dublin (Technological University Dublin) · Global

Community gardens are locally organized initiatives where land is used to produce food or flowers in urban environments, varying widely in size and offerings. In Britain, there are 59 city farms and nearly 1,000 community gardens, while an estimated 18,000 exist across the US and Canada. Dublin has seen relatively recent development, with initial projects appearing since 2007. Urban agriculture is stated to provide physical, mental, and emotional health benefits to individuals and communities.

José Luis Galdeano Tostado · Creatividad y sociedad: revista de la Asociación para la Creatividad · Global

This paper observes an increasing awareness of environmental issues and neighborhood action in city centers, with concepts like urban gardens and self-managed spaces becoming more familiar. It suggests that vacant lands and unused building sites in cities offer significant potential for citizens' creative initiatives. The abstract does not present any specific findings on governance challenges or critical interventions.

John James Okiror, Biryabaho Matsiko, Joseph Oonyu · Journal of Agricultural Education · Uganda

This study, conducted in eight primary schools in Uganda, compared the learning achievement of pupils taught using supervised home gardens and those taught using school gardens. Data were collected over four school terms using questionnaires, focus group discussions, interviews, observations, and a posttest examination, and analyzed with a t-test. Findings showed no significant difference in knowledge achievement between the two groups of pupils.

Antonio Lattuca · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Argentina (Rosario)

This article describes the process of creating urban agriculture in Rosario, Argentina. It explains how urban agriculture originated from civil society and subsequently became established as a municipal public policy.

Allanda Williams, Gabriel Laverty, Christopher S. Krumm, Julie M. Fagan · Rutgers University Community Repository (Rutgers University) · Haiti

This study analyzes the problems associated with world hunger and a possible solution involving the construction of a series of community gardens in Haiti.

Heather A. Okvat, Alex Zautra · American Journal of Community Psychology · Global

This paper introduces community gardening as a method to enhance well-being and resilience at individual, social, and environmental levels. It examines empirical evidence for gardening's benefits and advocates for developing and testing social ecological models of community resilience by studying the impact of urban community gardens. The paper also discusses the potential of community garden networks to address the global climate change crisis.

Božidar Manić, Crnčević Tijana, Ana Niković · Arhitektura i urbanizam · Serbia (Bela Crkva)

This paper examines the possibilities of improving urban settlement structure by interpolating passive protection concepts against climate change, specifically applying green areas in urban fabric planning. The research applies analysis of existing legislation, planning documents, literature, foreign practice, and in situ scanning. A case study of block 23 in Bela Crkva emphasizes the role of green areas, noting its specific position with planned housing near existing industry, and analyzes the possibility of affirming existing, spontaneously developed agriculture through planning guidelines, based on comparative examples of urban agriculture in foreign countries.

Olufunke Cofie · · Ghana (Accra)

This study examined the gender dimensions of livelihood sustainability through urban agriculture among vegetable producers in and around Accra, Ghana. Responses from 92 male producers and 8 female producers were analyzed, revealing a mean age of 39.4 years for males and 49.8 years for females, indicating females were older. The mean years of schooling were 6.4 for males and 7.1 for females. Urban agriculture significantly contributed to livelihoods, with farm size and access to credit identified as important determinants of income from urban agriculture.

Sinan Koont · University Press of Florida eBooks · Cuba

This chapter describes the nature and organization of urban agriculture in Cuba, focusing on the National Group for Urban Agriculture (GNAU) within the Ministry of Agriculture. It covers land-tenure institutions and production modalities like organóponicos, huertas intensives, parcelas, and patios. GNAU oversees 28 subprograms, publishes a technical manual, conducts site visits, and performs inspection and evaluation functions, forming a system of "centralized decentralization."

Ari Jokinen, Ville Viljanen, Krista Willman · Alue ja Ympäristö · Finland (Tampere)

This article analyzes the social and ecological significance of the Pispala allotment area in Tampere, Finland, where nearly 300 plots are used for urban farming, despite city plans for building purposes. A mixed-method analysis, using field observation, planning documents, biological surveys, and questionnaires, found that farming practices make the place visible, foster social interaction, and link the site ecologically to rare plant species. However, these crucial features of urban diversity are frequently disregarded by local administrative bodies in planning.