Research & reports

Patricia M. Clay, Julia Olson · Anthropology News · Global

The available record for this Anthropology News piece consists only of a keyword list — sustainability, biological anthropology, fisheries management, food system, sustainable fishery, Community Supported Agriculture, food and nutrition, ecology and environment — with no abstract text describing a study, method or finding.

Arrate Corres Velasco · Soberanía alimentaria, biodiversidad y culturas · Argentina

The Urban Agriculture Program of Rosario, Argentina, has succeeded in changing part of the city's landscape by integrating a social-economy project into its neighbourhoods. Formerly unused vacant lots are now community gardens managed agroecologically. Mariana Ponce and Raul Terrile, members of the technical team coordinating the initiative, describe what the program involves.

Fang Wei-xun · Heilongjiang nongye kexue · Global

A brief theoretical piece reviews garden planning as a creative process of translating gardens into design plans guided by economic conditions and principles of art, examining the regularity, function and disadvantages of garden planning to provide a theoretical basis for community garden planning.

FAO · Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) · Global

FAO's programme on urban and peri-urban agriculture, presenting a framework to support city food production for food security, jobs, environment and nutrition.

Galluzzi G., Eyzaguirre P., Negri V. · Biodiversity and Conservation 19:3635-3654 · Global

Reviews home gardens worldwide as hotspots conserving high inter- and intra-specific genetic diversity, especially traditional crop varieties and landraces, linking agrobiodiversity conservation with cultural diversity and local knowledge.

Wittman, H., Desmarais, A.A., Wiebe, N. (eds.) · Fernwood / Food First Books (ISBN 9780935028379) · Global

A landmark work establishing the theoretical foundations of food sovereignty, systematizing cases of peasant movements (e.g. La Via Campesina) calling for democratization of the food system across the urban-rural divide, centered on reconnecting food, land and rights.

Leonie Pearson, Linda Pearson, Craig J. Pearson · International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability · Global

This paper reviews research on urban agriculture, focusing on its social, economic, and environmental sustainability dimensions. It proposes three elements and three scales for urban agriculture, highlighting legal, social, and economic constraints and opportunities. The analysis suggests future research priorities include identifying principles for resilient cities and trialling innovative institutional mechanisms.

M. Fantuz · · Cuba (Havana)

This study presents a systematic analysis of urban agriculture in Havana, Cuba. It proposes a lightweight infrastructure, shaped by the existing built environment, aiming to break the constrictions of rigid orthogonal city planning by offering a new layer of walkable and productive public space. The system materializes the socio-spatial characteristics of Havana and is potentially applicable to a large share of the city.

Charles French, Mimi Larsen Becker, Bruce E. Lindsay · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Cuba (Havana)

This study examined urban agriculture in Havana, Cuba, using secondary data and interviews with 11 urban gardeners. It found that while agrarian reforms after 1991 led to the growth of private urban gardens and cooperatives, Cuba's integration with the global economy and adoption of free-market principles have since forced dramatic adjustments in the urban agriculture sector. This shift presents challenges to the sector's original role in food security.

A.E. van den Berg, Mariëtte H.G. Custers · Journal of Health Psychology · Global

A field experiment with 30 allotment gardeners tested the stress-relieving effects of gardening. Participants performed a stressful Stroop task and were then randomly assigned to 30 minutes of outdoor gardening or indoor reading. Salivary cortisol levels and self-reported mood were repeatedly measured. Both gardening and reading led to decreases in cortisol during the recovery period, but the decreases were significantly stronger in the gardening group. Positive mood was fully restored after gardening, while it further deteriorated during reading.

Geoffrey Ross Owens · Africa · Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)

This article, using ethnographic and historical approaches, examines unplanned peri-urban settlements on Dar es Salaam's northern and western fringe, Tanzania, between 1975 and 2000. These districts were established by educated urban professionals who used urban farming as an economic diversification strategy. The study found that these settlements contributed to the reproduction of socio-economic inequality, attracting additional economically influential urban in-migrants after 1991.

Lesley Batten, Maureen Holdaway · Health Promotion International · Global

This article explores the multiple timelines (contract, evaluation, program phases, and seasons for a community garden project) in a health promotion program and their effects on implementation and community participation. Timelines, while assisting planning, can also constrain action or force prioritization. The study demonstrates the complexity of these timelines and highlights the importance of skilled facilitation in community development-based programs.

Claire Nettle · Chain reaction · Global

This paper discusses how community gardening can contribute to food security. However, it finds that the potential contribution of community gardens to food security is limited by their insecurity of tenure.

Mariana Ponce, R. Terrile, Marielle Dubbeling, Femke Hoekstra, R. van Veenhuizen · Urban Agriculture Magazine · Argentina (Rosario)

This article describes the Urban Agriculture Programme in Rosario, Argentina, which has been in place since 2002. Implemented by the Municipality of Rosario's Secretary of Social Outreach in cooperation with NGO CEPAR and Pro-Huerta INTA, the program aims to create an economy that integrates people and generates inclusive spaces for production, commercialization, organization, participation, and political advocacy alongside urban farmers. The program is currently in the process of consolidation as public policy.

Johanna Lööw · · Sweden (Malmo)

This thesis presents a case study of the Barn i Stan urban agriculture project in Seved, Malmo, Sweden. Using interviews, observation, and participant observation, the study found that residents perceived the cultivation project made Seved nicer, acting as a meeting place and fostering conversation. Urban cultivation contributed to people's well-being and sense of belonging, integrated different nationalities, and taught about nature and food production, increasing pride and liveliness in the district.

N. Hooton · Development in Practice · Uganda (Kampala)

This article discusses agricultural research and development projects aiming for pro-poor outcomes through policy change. It describes two case studies of actual policy change, one on dairy marketing in Kenya and another on urban agriculture in Kampala, analyzing their policy-change processes. The study highlights two key matters: the role of 'user voice' through links with civil society and user groups, and the value of strong links with 'formal' policy-process actors.

cdoyle · · Ireland

Celebrity Chef Richard Corrigan visited the Letterkenny Community Gardens in Donegal, Ireland, during the County Enterprise Board’s ‘Enterprise Week’. He emphasized the importance of community involvement in growing healthy food and cultivating native, indigenous varieties.

Noah Zerbe · · Global

Failures in the mainstream industrialized food system have increased interest in alternative food systems. These alternatives include urban agriculture, community supported farms, school and community gardens, and fair trade. Despite their diversity, these emergent systems share a common vision for food provision based on social and environmental justice.

Rami Zurayk · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Jordan (Amman)

This study describes instances of urban agriculture in Amman, the capital of Jordan. It illustrates the coexistence of agricultural activities alongside urban development, citing examples such as a wheat field replaced by a shopping mall, a cauliflower field in a posh neighborhood, and sheep grazing in a valley behind the U.S. Embassy.

Keith G. Tidball · Anthropology News · Global

This record is a commentary on green space and disaster resistance, recovery, and resilience. It lists keywords including community gardening, community gardens, development, ecology and environment, botany and plants, and urban anthropology.

Lyn Dart · Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition · Global

Dietetics students participated in a 6-week community-based gardening initiative to develop public health practice skills. Students received training in basic gardening and applied skills with Master Gardeners while working in a community garden. Post-training, students engaged in outreach as educators to local community agencies, learning to integrate nutrition and dietetics applications with gardening for food security and community sustainability.

Marion Harroff-Tavel · International Review of the Red Cross · Global

This article describes the vulnerability of the poorest and migrants in rapidly expanding urban areas, and the challenges faced by humanitarian organizations. Cities confront violence, such as hunger riots and gang clashes, making public service provision difficult. Innovative responses discussed include income-generating micro-projects, cash or voucher aid, urban agriculture, and violence-prevention or health-promotion programs.

Elisa Mascherini · · Global

This paper discusses the Guerrilla Gardening movement, a non-violent direct action practiced by environmentalists to reclaim degraded and abandoned urban areas. The increasing demand from citizens for improved living environments in cities is cited as a sign of change, evidenced by the growing number of guerrilla gardening groups, demand for urban gardens, and the emergence of shared gardens. Guerrilla gardeners advocate for new forms of ownership that rescue public lands from abandonment and degradation.

Ruth Hickey, Hilary Whitehouse · IGI Global eBooks · Australia

James Cook University's School of Education developed an online learning environment, BirdNet, for rural and regional schools in Far North Queensland, Australia. Pre-service teachers collaborated with practicing teachers and children to create learning activities, including those for building school gardens. The project demonstrated that innovation and place-based learning can enhance ICT and scientific literacy, despite challenges like technical issues and distance.

Hamid El Bilali, Biljana Panın, Siniša Berjan · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Serbia (Novi Sad)

This review paper presents the state-of-the-art on urban agriculture, specifically its benefits, constraints and risks, production sites, systems, techniques and strategies, and some socio-economic and gender aspects. Conducive land use and allocation policies that can be designed and implemented to promote urban agriculture in Novi Sad were discussed. Extension services should develop new advisory and communication approaches to meet urban producers' specific needs.