Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
3275 results(93 / 131)
Coastal Environmental Policies and Water: Environmental Values in Ghana and Senegal
2015Molly R Loftus · Scholarship @ Claremont (The Claremont Colleges) · Africa
This thesis comparatively analyzes environmental values in Ghana's and Senegal's coastal regions and their implications for the environment. It assesses the countries' approaches to urban farming, mining, fishing, and waste management to understand environmental issues. By comparing environmental degradation and efforts towards sustainable development, the thesis draws examples from Senegal's coastal management successes to recommend environmental policy for Ghana's Greater Accra Region.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageClimate changeMonitoring the Urban Tree Cover for Urban Ecosystem Services - The Case of Leipzig, Germany
2015Ellen Banzhaf, Helen Kollai · The international archives of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences/International archives of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences · Germany (Leipzig)
This study monitored urban tree cover in Leipzig, Germany, over a decade to understand its distribution and changes for sustainable urban development. Using digital orthophotos, a digital elevation model, and a digital surface model, an object-based image analysis scheme was employed for detailed tree mapping. The results demonstrated high accuracy in tree detection and effective avoidance of misclassification caused by shadows.
CommunityBiodiversityClimate changePolicyCultivating the City: Infrastructures of abundance in urban Brazil
2015Jacques Abelman · Kobra (Universitätsbibliothek Kassel) · Brazil (Porto Alegre)
The "Cultivating the City" project attempts to apply landscape architectural thinking to integrate urban agriculture into the city. A proposed network of urban agriculture typologies, emphasizing agroforestry with native species, was developed for Porto Alegre, Brazil. These hypothetical designs aim to serve as a basis for dialogue among potential stakeholders and as catalysts for future projects.
CommunityBiodiversityPolicyUrban–rural linkageThe role of urban agriculture in Philadelphia: a sociological analysis from a city perspective: summary report: Philadelphia, USA 02/12/2015-03/10/2015
2015Charlotte Prové · Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) · United States (Philadelphia)
This project aimed to understand the dynamics of urban agriculture in Philadelphia and formulate how governance processes can address its developments. A literature study and interviews with diverse stakeholders, including farmers, project founders, public officers, and researchers, were conducted. The City of Philadelphia's Greenworks plan sets a goal to establish twelve commercial agriculture projects over the next eight years, developing necessary infrastructure such as distribution facilities and water sources.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityRadiomonitoring of the Opole industrial district
2015Piotr Godyń, Maria Zielińska, Agnieszka Dołhańczuk-Śródka, Zbigniew Ziembik · Geology Geophysics & Environment · Poland
Soil samples were collected from 19 sites around the Opole industrial zone in Poland to determine the influence of the local metallurgical industry on soil contamination with metals, using Pb-210 as a contamination tracer. Results indicated that the metallurgical industry is not a source of environmental pollution in the immediate vicinity. Excessive lead concentrations ranged from 1 Bq/kg d.m. to 100 Bq/kg d.m. but were not strongly correlated with distances from the presumed source of contamination.
Contamination & food safetyHealthPolicyFood production in the city: (re)negotiating land, food and property
2015Gerda R. Wekerle, Michael Classens · Local Environment · Canada (Toronto)
This paper examines approaches to urban agriculture in Toronto that renegotiate land access for food production between private property owners and landless growers. It documents three methods challenging current property relations: temporary use of development sites, redesignating suburban backyards for farmer training and production, and garden sharing of private backyards. These initiatives promote collaboration and a sharing economy to expand urban agriculture's land base.
PolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicies Fostering Multifunctional Urban Agriculture in the City of Zurich
2015Ingrid Jahrl, Otto Schmid · Organic Eprints (International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems, and Research Institute of Organic Agriculture) · Switzerland
In Zurich, Switzerland, urban agriculture policies have evolved towards fulfilling multiple functions. This multifunctional approach aims to provide diverse services for city dwellers, fostering biodiversity, offering attractive recreational landscapes, and creating educational opportunities, with food production being a part but not the main goal. The city administration has implemented various support mechanisms to ensure the concept's implementation and maintenance.
PolicyBiodiversityFood educationCommunityUrban farmers and urban agriculture in Johannesburg: Responding to the food resilience strategy
2015Naudé Malan · Agrekon · South Africa (Johannesburg)
This article examines urban farmers' perspectives on Johannesburg's urban agriculture policy, part of its "food resilience" strategy, using participatory and social science research methods. Through facilitated workshops, farmers identified key themes for organizational development and urban agriculture, including Land and Water, External Stakeholders, Training, Tools and Technology, Marketing, Organizational Development, Permaculture, and Security. The findings provide crucial insights for policy implementation in Johannesburg.
PolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsThe dynamics of an expanding community economy
2015Luke Drake · · United States
This study examined the role of networks in producing community gardens. Focusing on community gardening in New Jersey, USA, the research involved a survey of 445 community gardening organizations in the U.S. and Canada, discourse analysis of archival documents from the 1890s to 2010s, 48 semi-structured interviews in 19 municipalities, and two years of participant-observation. These methods revealed a complex web of resource flows and the mechanisms through which they are configured.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsPrivilege and Allyship in Nonprofit Food Justice Organizations
2015Danny Tarng · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States
This commentary discusses how nonprofit urban agriculture organizations, central to the U.S. food justice movement, can foster better allyship. It highlights that as the movement expands, the transformation of allies' privilege into empowerment at an organizational level is crucial for ongoing growth and success. The text provides insights into organizational policies and practices that can improve allyship.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceGreening and “un”greening Adelaide, South Australia
2015Guy M. Robinson, Zhiling Liu · AIMS environmental science · Australia
This paper examines the contradictions between greening and "ungreening" in Adelaide, South Australia, focusing on the city's Park Lands and urban sprawl. It argues that urban sprawl, including recent development on prime farmland, has been antithetical to biodiversity maintenance and greening principles, reducing sustainability capacity. The paper identifies problems such as conflict between biodiversity and protecting residents in bushfire risk areas, stemming from a relaxed attitude towards low-density expansion.
Environmental trade-offsUrban–rural linkagePolicyBiodiversityCultivating the Right to Food? The Contribution of Urban Community Food Gardens to Food Sovereignty in Johannesburg, South Africa
2015Brittany Kesselman · ScholarWorks -A service of University of Vermont Libraries (University of Vermont) · South Africa (Johannesburg)
This proposal outlines ongoing PhD research aimed at understanding if and how urban community gardens contribute to food sovereignty in Johannesburg, South Africa, and determining actions to enhance their contribution. The research examines the way urban community gardens contribute to six key elements of food sovereignty: access to adequate food, sustainable income/livelihoods, localization and democratization of the food system, environmental sustainability, empowerment of marginalized groups, and promotion of gender equity.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfarePolicyExtracting Urban Food Potential: design-based methods for digital and bodily cartography
2015Anna Maria Orrù · Chalmers Publication Library (Chalmers University of Technology) · Sweden (Stockholm)
This paper investigated whether engaging citizens as design agents through an alternate participation platform could bridge the gap between urban design processes and citizens. This approach was applied to Stockholm's urban agriculture movement, aiming to engage citizens in locating existing and potential food growing places and gathering information. Results showed that a combination of digital and bodily approaches was necessary for critical cartography to holistically engage citizens as spatial agents informing urban policy.
CommunityPolicyDigital agricultureWhat Are You Eating??
2015Fa-Tai Shieh · Gastronomica The Journal of Food and Culture · United States (New York City)
This article is by Fa-Tai Shieh, director of citywide food procurement for NYC and involved in urban farming projects in New York City. This content is only available via PDF.
CommunityPolicyMultifunctional Peri-Urban Agriculture and Local Food Access in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal: A Review
2015Shreema Rana · Journal of Natural Resources and Development · Nepal
This paper reviews existing literature on urban food supply chains and food security benefits of peri-urban agriculture in developing regions, focusing on the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. It highlights the significance of peri-urban areas for a sustainable food chain and points out existing but unrecognized features of peri-urban agriculture at local and policy-making levels. The review identifies gaps in local preferences and policy acknowledgment, suggesting further research is needed for sustainable peri-urban agriculture approaches.
Peri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsVegas and Deltas in the Vicinity of Medium-Sized Cities in Andalucia, Spain: Landscapes under Pressure but Scarcely Considered in Planning
2015Rocío Pérez-Campaña · European Planning Studies · Spain
This research analyzed land-use transformations of peri-urban agricultural deltas and vegas in Andalucía, Spain, focusing on medium-sized cities between 1956 and 2007. It also assessed their consideration in regional spatial planning. The findings indicate that these landscapes are changing land use and sometimes disappearing, receiving meagre attention and vague consideration in spatial planning.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyUrban–rural linkageLegal Risk Management Solutions for Community Supported Agriculture in Maryland
2015Mayhah Suri, Paul Goeringer · University Libraries (University of Maryland) · United States (Maryland)
This report highlights the results of a survey conducted in summer 2014 by the Maryland Department of Agriculture on contract use and risk management tools by Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operators in Maryland. It also details workshops and materials developed by the Department of Agricultural and Resource and the Ag Law Education Initiative in winter 2015. Additionally, the report mentions state programs that verify CSA operators in California.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsPolicyPrograma de desarrollo para una agricultura sostenible en áreas urbana y peri-urbana de la ciudad de Machala.
2015Delgado Pontón, Daniela María · · Ecuador (Machala)
This work aims to provide guidelines for implementing a municipal urban and peri-urban agriculture program in Machala, Ecuador, to improve environmental quality and food security for the population. The proposed program's guidelines are presented, supported by arguments for its importance in combating hunger, enhancing food and nutritional security, reducing urban habitat deterioration, and generating employment for participating families.
Food sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsCommunityIs landscape gardening
2015Udo Weilacher · · Global
Gardening, particularly in the context of 'urban gardening', is regaining focus in landscape architecture debates about city sustainability. This trend raises questions about whether it is a lasting direction or a temporary fad related to romantic notions of withdrawing from rationally designed cities. To understand why gardening's importance in landscape architecture diminished, a historical review of landscape architecture over the past century is necessary.
Urban–rural linkageClimate changePolicyUrban food policies and programmes: an overview
2015Lauren Baker and Henk de Zeeuw · · Global
This chapter analyzes the opportunities and limitations of urban agriculture for climate change mitigation and adaptation, providing information on city projects and policies. It identifies challenges for research and policy development concerning urban agriculture's potential as a city climate change and disaster risk-reduction strategy.
PolicyClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceО перспективах применения растительной земли на основе компостов из древесно-растительных остатков в городском озеленении
2015А А Золотаревский, И И Прокопович · Лесной вестник / Forestry bulletin · Russia (Moscow)
This article explores the potential of composts made from woody-plant waste (WPW) as an alternative to expensive organic additives for urban gardening in Moscow. It suggests that composting WPW can provide a cost-effective solution for preparing fertile soil, which is crucial for plant survival in urban environments. Modern composting technologies allow for the mechanization of WPW composting, producing vegetable earth suitable for planting trees.
CompostOrganic cyclePolicyEconomicsLa agricultura urbana en la ciudad de Cienfuegos: ejes estratégicos en pos de la sostenibilidad agrícola Urban agriculture in the city of Cienfuegos: strategic areas towards agricultural sustainability
2015Xiomara Asunción, Moreno Lorenzo, Reynier Rodríguez Rico, Eduardo San, Marful Orbis · · Cuba (Cienfuegos)
This study aimed to characterize urban agriculture in Cienfuegos city, Cuba, and identify strategic axes for the further implementation of its land use and urban plan. Through SWOT analysis and variable identification and spatial analysis using GIS, the positive and negative impacts of urban agriculture on the urban, environmental, economic, and social spheres were determined, leading to the enunciation of strategic priorities for urban planning. This article reports on this experience.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyClimate changeURBAN AGRICULTURE: A STRATEGY TO SUSTAIN URBAN ENVIRONMENT (CASE STUDY: QAZVIN CITY)
2015Marzieh Rezaei Qaleh, Hossein Medi, Mahdi Sheybani · Cumhuriyet Science Journal · Iran (Qazvin City)
This study investigated the role of urban agriculture in sustaining the urban environment, using Qazvin City, Iran, as a case study. Qazvin City, historically surrounded by traditional gardens that created a favorable urban environment, is now experiencing the destruction of these garden environments due to development processes, posing a risk of breaking the chain of environmental sustainability. The research, based on content analysis through observation and document study, proposed solutions considering environmental concerns, including preserving old irrigation methods, restoring native plant species, and focusing on existing water resources.
Environmental trade-offsUrban–rural linkageClimate changePolicyDiversity-Grown: Participatory Evaluation of a Community Gardening Initiative through Photovoice
2015P. Qasimah Boston, Ivette A López, Krista Harper · Practicing Anthropology · United States (Tallahassee)
This study used Photovoice to evaluate an urban agricultural food movement event in Tallahassee, Florida. Youth were trained to collect and interpret data, describing the event's value and highlighting cultural influences on the food environment, including diversity and inclusion. The evaluation method, termed Evaluation for Community Action (EFCA), linked improving the food environment with innovative assessment.
CommunityFood educationPolicyParticipation as if Things Mattered
2015Noortje Marres · Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks · Global
This text explores the concept of "material participation," where everyday material practices like gardening, washing, and cycling are proposed to facilitate engagement in social and public life. It suggests that material environments, such as kitchens and allotment gardens, have unique capacities to involve people and make broader social problems accessible for intervention. The text raises questions about the legitimacy, efficacy, and distinctiveness of these explicitly material forms of engagement.
CommunityHealthPolicy