Research & reports

Alaimo K., Reischl T. M., Allen J. O. · Journal of Community Psychology 38(4):497-514 · United States

Cross-sectional random telephone survey (N=1916) in Flint, Michigan finds household involvement in community gardening/beautification and neighborhood meetings associated with perceptions of bonding and linking social capital and neighborhood norms.

Dubbeling M.C.E., Merzthal G., Soto N. · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · Peru (Lima)

Analyzes the multistakeholder policy formulation process for urban agriculture in Lima's Villa María del Triunfo district, demonstrating that inclusive stakeholder engagement produces more effective municipal policies addressing food security, land use, and economic development simultaneously.

Sarah Taylor Lovell · Sustainability · United States

This paper reviews literature on urban agriculture for land use planning in the United States, where interest in urban food production is growing due to economic and food security concerns. It discusses urban agriculture's potential for integrating multiple functions in densely populated areas, from community farms to rooftop gardens. The paper also addresses barriers and constraints, and identifies research opportunities for urban planners and landscape designers to integrate food-systems thinking into city plans.

Catherine J. LaCroix · Case Western Reserve University School of Law Scholarly Commons (Case Western Reserve University) · United States (Cleveland)

This paper explores legal challenges faced by shrinking cities, using Cleveland, Ohio as an example. It specifically examines issues related to downzoning urban property for urban agriculture and other green uses, focusing on takings law, fairness, and the limitations of current legal structures for Brownfield revitalization when traditional redevelopment is improbable. The study identifies significant legal constraints and challenges in implementing such land use changes.

K. Brandon Lang · Culture & Agriculture · United States

This paper investigates the evolution of "From the Ground Up," a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program in Maryland, and the reasons behind its changes. Based on survey and interview data, the study explores how this CSA, which connects producers and consumers through seasonal fees and weekly produce shares, has developed over time.

J. David Clark, Douglas B. Jackson‐Smith, Darla K. Munroe, Jeff S. Sharp, Shoshanah Inwood · Indian Journal of Experimental Biology · United States

This study characterized diverse trajectories of agricultural change in US peri-urban areas, where broader agri-food system changes are compounded by land use pressures. Utilizing farmer and landowner surveys from five distinct peri-urban farming regions across the United States, the research examined different theories of agricultural structural change. The results provide an empirical profile of the types and geography of US peri-urban agriculture and the most common adaptive strategies employed by farmers at the urban-rural interface.

Katharine Antonia Travaline, Christian Hunold · Local Environment · United States (Philadelphia)

This study explored urban agriculture's contribution to ecological citizenship in Philadelphia, United States. The analysis was based on participant-observation and open-ended interviews with leaders and community participants from seven urban agricultural organizations. The findings indicate that urban agriculture promotes public participation and social learning about environmental decisions.

Miranda Martinez · · United States (Lower East Side)

This work explores the dynamics of gentrification, community gardens, and their impact on the Puerto Rican community in the Lower East Side. It examines class cultures in conflict, neighborhood transformation, and the symbolic significance of the area.

David Baker Architects · · United States

Armstrong Place is an affordable family townhouse community in the United States, designed as a transit-oriented development. The complex features a large shared open public courtyard with allotment gardens for families to grow food and flowers, as well as a rain garden. It includes a total of 124 rental units and ten for-sale townhomes ranging from $175,000 to $345,000 for families earning 60-100% of the Area Median Income (2011 figures).

Evan Marcus Sawyer, Jason Terry Reynolds, Lee F Hermsdorf-Krasin, Robert Brian Grady · Digital WPI · United States (Worcester)

This project aimed to provide AIDS Project Worcester in Worcester, United States, with a visual prototype garden and construction-ready plans. The goal was to facilitate the design, building, and operation of a community garden for the organization.

Grady C Erickson · Lincoln (University of Nebraska) · United States (Lincoln, Nebraska)

This case study in three elementary schools in Lincoln, Nebraska, examined whether socio-economic background affects environmental awareness in children interacting with no-till, raised-bed school gardens. Surveys were used to measure environmental awareness. The hypothesis that lower socio-economic background would result in lower environmental awareness was inversely related to the findings. The school with the most impoverished background (Saratoga) showed the highest percentage of correct answers on environmental awareness surveys, while the school with the highest socio-economic scale (Norris) showed the lowest.

Molly Alexandra Croog · School for International Training Digital Collections (School for International Training) · Mexico

This paper explores the urban agriculture movement in Mexico City, investigating who practices it, how, and why. It examines the benefits of urban agriculture and its role in a future food system, discussing food security and sovereignty. Three projects—a traditional farm, a government-funded community project, and a household-level organization—are explored, with conclusions on their impact on economics, community, and environment.

Kent D. Kobayashi, Theodore Radovich, Brooke E. Moreno · HortTechnology · United States (Hawaii)

The Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa developed and modified curricula to educate students on environmental sustainability. New programs like Organic Food Crop Production and Sustainable and Organic Farm Training were introduced, and existing courses were updated. These curricula aimed to engage students and promote self-learning through theory, practicum, farm visits, and activities, covering topics such as urban agriculture and organic food production from a tropical perspective.

Irene H. Reti · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · United States (Santa Cruz, California)

This interview is about Paul Glowaski, Garden Director for the Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz, California. Glowaski, interested in urban agriculture for its self-sufficiency and food security for low-income communities, pursued organic farming training, leading to his current position at the Homeless Garden Project. The project operates a two-acre market farm that trains low-income and homeless community members in sustainable agriculture.

Sarah Rabkin · · United States

Amy Courtney, founder of Freewheelin’ Farm, a community supported agriculture (CSA) program, delivers shares by bicycle-drawn trailer. Courtney, a 1997 graduate of UCSC’s Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture, started the farm in 2002 with minimal motorized vehicles, utilizing used equipment and recycled materials. She and her partners continue to haul all CSA shares six miles into Santa Cruz by bicycle. Courtney's work is driven by a commitment to social justice, community health, and cultural vitality. The farm collaborates with "Food, What?!"—a youth empowerment program, and hosts cultural and educational initiatives.

Philip A. Loring, S. Craig Gerlach · Ethnohistory · United States (Alaska)

This paper describes the history of crop cultivation in Athabascan communities of Alaska's Tanana and Yukon Flats regions, revealing a distinct agricultural tradition dating back to the late 1800s. These gardening activities are not widely considered customary or traditional for Alaska Native communities, nor are they incorporated into historical and ethnographic literature on Alaska or high-latitude agriculture. This lack of recognition has consequences for communities experimenting with new community gardens, as land use is heavily regulated by a legal framework based on definitions of "customary and traditional."

John Ikerd · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States

According to the American Farmland Trust, approximately 1.2 million acres of U.S. farmland are converted to residential and other commercial uses annually. This farmland conversion is noted to be putting the long-run sustainability of U.S. food production at risk.

Andrew Flachs · Electronic Green Journal · United States (Cleveland)

This paper explored the social and cultural effects of urban gardening in the greater Cleveland area. Fieldwork indicated that gardeners combine economic, environmental, political, social, and nutritional motivations, challenging the presumption that utilitarian function and environmentalist ideology are mutually exclusive. The study aimed to convey the complexity of use, function, and intent in communal gardening spaces.

David Fenimore · ISLE Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment · United States (Philadelphia)

This work explores the hidden natural and historical layers beneath Philadelphia's urban landscape, focusing on buried waterways like Mill Creek and the traces of legendary 18th and 19th-century gardens. It describes how the author discerns the re-emergence of "fragile outlines of a large wild garden" in various urban settings, including abandoned areas where wildflowers bloom and community gardens are occasionally established.

Emma Schroeder, Robert M. House · · United States

In two interviews with Emma Schroeder, Robert House shares his memories of the Eagle Heights Community Garden during the 1960s, when he and his wife were graduate students at UW. House recalls advocating for new land grants for the gardens, cultivating various crops, irrigation, the relevance of community garden projects, canning vegetables, using fertilizers and pesticides, raising children in the Eagle Heights community, and relationships with other residents.

A. Morton, Betty Franky, Emily Fisher, Erin Doran, Heather Sites · Digital Commons at University of Maryland Carey Law (University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law) · United States (Baltimore)

The student film “Baltimore Urban Gardening” highlights the benefits of creating spaces for and using locally grown produce.

Kevin C. Matteson, Gail Langellotto · Urban Ecosystems · United States (New York City)

A study in community gardens in densely populated Bronx and East Harlem, New York City, evaluated local and landscape factors influencing bee and butterfly richness. Contrary to predictions, models showed that within-garden variables like floral area and sunlight availability were the most influential factors for both bee and butterfly richness. Marginal support was found for models of bee richness including the number of surrounding building units, which showed a negative association.

Katie Oberwager · Archives of Oral Biology · Mexico (Oaxaca de Juárez)

This project examined the urban agriculture movement in Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico, as a potential local contribution to food sovereignty. Through interviews, observations, and participation, the research found that urban agriculture can be a form of local political expression against governmental and large agricultural company control over food production and consumption. It concluded that while urban agriculture can make a small contribution to food sovereignty, as a local movement, it cannot resolve global agricultural and food issues.

Emma Schroeder, Almuth Koby · · United States

In a 2010 interview, Almuth Koby shared her memories of the Eagle Heights Community Garden, including her time as president of the Community Gardens Committee. She described challenges such as members failing to fulfill their duties and the issue of abandoned plots, indicating governance difficulties within the community garden. Koby also recounted her personal gardening journey, from being mentored to mentoring others and learning from diverse cultures.

Thomas W. Blaine, Parwinder S. Grewal, Ashley Dawes, Darrin Snider · Journal of Extension · United States

A profile of participants in an Extension urban community gardening program in the United States showed success in attracting diverse income and age groups. Community gardening contributed to dietary changes for three-quarters of both new and continuing gardeners. The time spent in the garden weekly was influenced by factors such as years in the program, income, diet, and charitable produce donations.