Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
3274 results(94 / 131)
Gardens of Sabotage
2015Gabriel R. Valle · Aztlán A Journal of Chicano Studies · United States
This essay explores the self-valorization of work in community gardens to advance a grounded theory of time and value, which has been lacking in Chicana/o studies. Urban community gardens are pivotal to the environmental justice movement, with Chicana/os playing a central role. The essay proposes a revolutionary logic of labor through reframing time and value, aiming to reconnect community gardeners to the means of their own production and reproduction. By creating "gardens of sabotage," communities challenge capitalism by reclaiming the value of work and confronting orthodox notions of economy, work, citizenship, community, and time.
Economic viabilityCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicy快速城镇化地区“多规合一”的实践与思考——以武汉市黄陂区武湖街为例
2015徐晶, 吴聪 · 中国土地 · China (Wuhan)
This paper analyzes the practice and problems of "multi-plan integration" in Wuhu Street, Huangpi District, Wuhan City, a rapidly urbanizing area dominated by modern urban agriculture. Wuhu Street faces issues such as the disorderly sprawl of construction land and low land use efficiency. The study proposes targeted policy recommendations based on these findings.
Governance failurePolicyUrban–rural linkageClimate changeEconomicsUsing a Choice Experiment to Assess the Multiple Values of Land in Agricultural Uses in a Peri-urban Area: An Application to Edmonton, Canada
2015Haoluan Wang, Brent Swallow · 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California · Canada (Edmonton)
This research aims to assess the multiple values of agricultural land in the Alberta Capital Region, Canada, where significant agricultural land conversion has occurred. The study's objectives are to estimate residents' values for conserving land in different agricultural uses, explore links between these values and residents' affinity for ecosystem goods and services, and identify public interest areas for agricultural conservation. The methodology began with focus group discussions.
Peri-urban agricultureEconomicsPolicyUrban–rural linkageChapter^>10: Agroecology, Food Sovereignty, and Urban Agriculture in the United States
2015V. Ernesto Mendez, Christopher M. Bacon, Roseann Cohen, Stephen R. Gliessman · Agroecology · United States
This chapter discusses the rise of movements for just and sustainable food systems in the United States over the last 15 years, encompassing areas like urban agriculture and food sovereignty. It notes that while most practitioners in US alternative agrifood movements do not use the term "agroecology," they share similar principles. The chapter also describes the evolution of agroecology from a farm-scale focus to a systems-based, transdisciplinary approach for sustainable food systems.
Food sovereignty & justicePolicyCommunityUrban–rural linkage南昌唱响“休闲农业·秀美乡村”品牌
2015胡卿 · 江西农业 · China (Nanchang)
In recent years, Nanchang City, China, has actively promoted the transformation of conventional agriculture into modern urban agriculture, focusing on developing urban modern agriculture. In 2014, the city added one "Beautiful China Farmland," one national-level leisure agriculture demonstration site, nine national leisure agriculture star enterprises, and six provincial-level leisure agriculture demonstration sites.
PolicyUrban–rural linkageCoordinated development of urban agricultural multi-functionality of Xi'an metropolitan zone
2015Min Wang · · China (Xi'an)
This study analyzed the dynamic change and spatial difference of urban agricultural multi-functionality in Xi'an metropolitan zone, China, from 2000 to 2013. Using a comprehensive evaluation method and coupling coordinative degree model, it found that production, economic, and social functions generally rose, while ecological function declined. The overall multi-functional coupling coordination degree increased only slightly, and remained low across all regions, showing a core-periphery distribution.
EconomicsCommunityBiodiversityPolicyThe Agricultural District of Milan (Dam) and the peri-urban agriculture at ‘Parco delle Risaie'
2015Gioia Gibelli · TERRITORIO · Italy (Milan)
Agriculture has long been an important resource for Milan and its surroundings, with its significance increasing in recent years. Agricultural areas near the city can enhance urban metabolism and citizens' quality of life through ecosystem and landscape services, providing cultural and environmental services, and improving urban resilience. In this context, two important initiatives, the Agricultural District of Milan (DAM) and 'Parco delle Risaie', have been underway in Milan since 2008.
Peri-urban agricultureCommunityPolicyBiodiversityClimate changeIndonesian Urban Farming Communities and Food Sovereignty
2015Zulfadhli Nasution · · Indonesia (Jakarta)
A case study in Jakarta, Bandung, and Bogor, Indonesia, examined the engagement between urban farming communities and food sovereignty. Findings indicate that the food sovereignty discourse has not significantly exposed urban farming communities due to differing historical backgrounds and social/political views between urban farming and rural peasantry-based movements. The study suggests prerequisites for strengthening food sovereignty among urban food advocates, including building consumer consciousness and urban-rural solidarity.
Limited or null effectFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityPolicyTop down policies and bottom up practices in Urban and Periurban Agriculture: an Italian dilemma
2015Giuseppe Cinà, Francesco Di Iacovo · PORTO Publications Open Repository TOrino (Politecnico di Torino) · Italy
This paper examines urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in Italy, identifying challenges in its planning, including the traditional exclusion of agricultural areas from territorial planning and the lack of local agricultural policy. The study highlights a disconnect between top-down policies and bottom-up practices, noting that numerous autonomous initiatives have emerged due to insufficient regional and local planning solutions. The authors conclude that overcoming the limitations of the top-down planning system, particularly in governance and inclusiveness, is a primary challenge for Italy.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureTowards 'Mediterranean' Entropy? A Commentary on Urban Growth, Fringe Land, Demography and Economic Transition in Southern Europe 1
2015Valerio Moretti, Adele Sateriano, Marco Zitti, Luca Salvati · · Europe
This article discusses the relationship between landscape and peri-urban agriculture and its implications for rural area management in the northern Mediterranean basin. It proposes a framework to evaluate the links between agro-forest systems and expanding urban settlements. The study advocates for a sustainable land management perspective in policies to preserve fringe land from excessive settlement scattering and landscape fragmentation, contributing to systemic and multi-scale approaches for territorial policies and integrated management of peri-urban agricultural landscapes.
Peri-urban agriculturePolicyUrban–rural linkageClimate changeUrban Agriculture in the Framework of Sustainable Urbanism
2015Ana Lucrecia Nadal Fuentes · Temes de disseny · Global
This article discusses the historical relationship between cities and agriculture, noting that while agriculture was central to ancient civilizations, it was excluded from modern 20th-century urban plans. The study highlights that current and projected demographic growth in urban areas has increased the value of urban agriculture.
CommunityPolicyClimate changeDoes the Royal Horticultural Society Campaign for School Gardening increase intake of fruit and vegetables in children? Results from two randomised controlled trials
2014Christian M., Evans C., Cade J. · Public Health Research, Vol. 2, No. 4 (NIHR Journals Library) · United Kingdom
Two randomised controlled trials in London primary schools evaluating the RHS Campaign for School Gardening. They found gardening alone had very little impact on children's fruit and vegetable intake, suggesting it must be combined with nutrition education to change diet.
Food educationHealthPolicyカシニワ制度に基づくコミュニティガーデンにおける公共性の変化
2014Watanabe Y., Miyamoto M., Amemiya M., Terada T., Yokohari M. · ランドスケープ研究 77(5):713-718 · Japan
Taking the 'Jiyu Hiroba' community garden established under Kashiwa City's Kashiniwa program as a case study, the paper analyzes how the publicness of a community garden is generated and transformed, drawing on resident-drawn site plans, annual management reports, and interviews with neighborhood-association members.
CommunityWelfarePolicyA methodology for the sustainability assessment of agri-food systems: an application to the Slow Food Presidia project
2014Peano C., Migliorini P., Sottile F. · Ecology and Society · Global
Develops an indicator-based sustainability assessment tool translating Slow Food's 'good, clean, fair' principles into criteria spanning economic, ecological, social, cultural, and quality dimensions, applied to the Slow Food Presidia project.
Heirloom & landracePolicyEconomicsBiodiversityRe-purposing the master's tools: the open source seed initiative and the struggle for seed sovereignty
2014Kloppenburg J. · The Journal of Peasant Studies · Global
Argues that food sovereignty requires seed sovereignty, examining the Open Source Seed Initiative's attempt to apply open-source legal tools against corporate enclosure and intellectual property rights over plant genetic resources.
Heirloom & landracePolicyBiodiversityCommunityGenebank Standards for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
2014Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) · FAO, Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture · Global
FAO's revised international technical standards guiding genebank management of plant genetic resources, covering orthodox seed, field, in vitro, and cryopreservation collections to ensure secure long-term conservation.
Heirloom & landracePolicyBiodiversityThe Influence of Hannes Meyer and the Bauhaus Brigade on 1930s Soviet Architecture
2014Tomita H., Ishii M. · Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering · Germany
Analyzes the influence of Bauhaus's second director Hannes Meyer and his Bauhaus Brigade on Soviet urban and architectural planning, examining Meyer's socially-oriented functionalism and planning features including mass demonstration spaces and broad greenery, using unpublished sources.
PolicyCommunityReview: Susan R. Henderson, Building Culture: Ernst May and the New Frankfurt Initiative, 1926–1931
2014Bishop P. · Journal of European Studies (SAGE) · Germany
A scholarly review of Henderson's study of Ernst May and the New Frankfurt initiative, critically assessing Weimar modernist social housing, garden and green-space programs, and Existenzminimum dwelling within their historical significance and limitations.
PolicyCommunityWelfarePresent status and future outlook of plant factories in Japan
2014Nishizawa T. · Advances in Horticultural Science · Japan
Reviews the status and outlook of Japan's solar- and artificial-light plant factories, covering the post-disaster and policy-driven expansion of corporate entry and the profitability challenges of commercial operation in urban food production.
EconomicsPolicyCan community gardens and farmers' markets relieve food desert problems? A study of Edmonton, Canada
2014Wang H., Qiu F., Swallow B. · Applied Geography 55:127-137 · Canada
Analyzes whether community gardens and farmers' markets improve fresh food access in Edmonton. They relieve food desert problems somewhat, especially in mature inner-suburban neighborhoods, but several areas remain food deserts citywide.
WelfareEconomicsPolicyGrowing Out of Poverty: Does Urban Agriculture Contribute to Household Food Security in Southern African Cities?
2014Frayne B., McCordic C., Shilomboleni H. · Urban Forum 25(2):177-189 · Southern Africa
Using data from 11 Southern African cities, this study questions whether urban agriculture meaningfully contributes to household food security, finding its impact limited and often a last resort rather than a choice for poor households.
WelfarePolicyEconomics積極的な生産緑地の指定による農のあるまちづくりに関する調査報告書（東京都世田谷区）
2014国土交通省 都市局 · 国土交通省 委託調査報告書 · Japan
MLIT commissioned survey on Setagaya's productive-greenbelt designation, landscape-farmland districts, citizen farms and agricultural parks as models of urban farmland preservation and public-participation farming under public support.
PolicyCommunityBiodiversityFood educationEconomicsSustainable Food Systems: Building a New Paradigm
2014Marsden, T., Morley, A. (eds.) · Routledge / Earthscan (ISBN 9780415639545) · Global
A comprehensive theoretical volume on building sustainable food systems including the urban-rural nexus, with chapters on food practices, land access and agricultural entrepreneurship at the rural-urban interface.
PolicyEl Programa de Agricultura Urbana de la Municipalidad de Rosario en Argentina
2014Lattuca A.L., Terrile R.H., Sadagorsky C. · Hábitat y Sociedad · Argentina (Rosario)
Documents Rosario's municipal Urban Agriculture Programme (PAU), launched in 2002, which grew to over 800 community farming projects on vacant land to address food insecurity and generate income for marginalized residents, with 65% of participants being women.
CommunityPolicyFood educationWelfareBuilding Urban Resilience: Assessing Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture in Dakar
2014Padgham J., Jabbour J. · United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) · Senegal (Dakar)
This UNEP report presents findings from a 2012 knowledge assessment of urban and peri-urban agriculture in Dakar, identifying key sustainability threats including urban encroachment, degraded water and soil quality, fragmented policy, and farmers' limited credit access.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityHealth