Within a highly complex and interconnected system of cities, community involvement tools that engage citizens in developing the urban context could move towards more sustainable solutions while bringing social change. Literature shows that urban agriculture conducted in the form of shared community gardens can be a significant component of sustainable community development strategies, particularly in disadvantaged neighbourhoods (Ohmer et al, 2009).  In the last decades, several socioeconomic challenges combined with the climate change has resulted in social and economic polarization within the cities. Greece, witnessed numerous transitions regarding the degradation of urban space (Latinopoulos, 2022). Severe lack of public green spaces, abandoned open spaces in neighbourhoods, limited access to natural settings, indifference of residents to participate to collective activities are some of the main characteristics of Greek cities highlighting the need to further explore the reasons behind it. Thessaloniki is selected as a representative paradigm of a contemporary city that deals with these challenges providing a limited number of urban agriculture and social entrepreneurship initiatives. The study aims to point out the significance of urban agriculture as a participatory tool that, when combined with the concept of social entrepreneurship can be the spark for social change within the city of Thessaloniki. Findings are supported by primary data given from interviewees who are users of seven urban gardens in the metropolitan area of Thessaloniki. Data also demonstrate that, in spite of acknowledging the positive impact of urban agriculture, participants show limited awareness on the concepts of sustainable development and social entrepreneurship. To conclude, identifying beliefs and behaviours of civilians can be the starting point towards a more sustainable future for our cities. As Brenner & Schmid attest (2015), the city is re-emerging as the key site in which pioneering solutions and responses to the global challenges will occur.

The 2014 Agricultural Act (Economic Research Division) (aka: The Farm Bill) was an important limelight shone on the issue of access to healthy foods, food education and the correlation between an increasingly unhealthy population and proximity to fresh, healthy food. Further legislation such as the Urban Agricultural Production Act of 2017 has been introduced to leverage the Farm Bill's financial incentives to promote urban agricultural programs and transform vacant land into agricultural use. Specifically, this has become increasingly common in many lower income and disadvantaged communities affected by a lack of access to fresh food stores. Additionally, in response many public schools have pro-actively sought funds to transform their schoolyards into gardens and teaching classrooms (Gamson) in order to provide food literacy and education however, this practice remains the exception. Many children still face a lack of healthy food options or the availability of any fresh food outside of their school environment. What if the standard education facility could be used as a tool to confront not only the architecture of the learning space, but a school-as-ecosystem, representing a neighborhood catalyst to teach through action – addressing comprehensive global issues brought on by food desert environments and a child's perspective about their own health? This thesis explores the possibility of casting the urban ecological net wide- envisioning a timescale for transforming public spaces and school grounds using green infrastructure practices, biological remediation, planning for changes in transportation technology and the expectations of a public education and child's perception about their environment. Emphasizing a broad focus on all of the potential sites for food production in the city (including the school, schoolyard and what they represent to the community), surfaces a multi-functioning methodology encompassing community identity, amenity, ecology, infrastructure and beauty envisions what could become of urban areas in the future. The primary goal is to educate future generations in the value of the food network and to give them the kind of direct hands-on experience that educators emphasize while concurrently nourishing urban communities through development of a project carried out in common, one that has health benefits for the population, that engenders a sense of long-term pride, and that empowers people to make change in their environment, even in modest or temporary ways. The idea that school design can encourage and facilitate, hinder and inhibit behaviors at school, and the architectural symbolism of schools can have a profoundly wider impact on children and their behaviors in and outside of school (Tucker). There is a significant psychological difference in learning about the environment, for the environment and in the environment (Malone). Creating public space focused on individual learning and the physical and mental health of the individual aims to balance the scales of social economic injustices. It is going to take every effort from the hyper-localized to city-wide and even regional scales to make significant urban changes to create a taxonomy of spaces to support the growth of our cities while simultaneously educating young minds on the value of understanding our ecological relationship to the city and surrounding environment. / Master of Science / The 2014 Agricultural Act (Economic Research Division) (aka: The Farm Bill) was an important limelight shone on the issue of access to healthy foods, food education and the correlation between an increasingly unhealthy population and proximity to fresh, healthy food. Further legislation such as the Urban Agricultural Production Act of 2017 has been introduced to leverage the Farm Bill’s financial incentives to promote urban agricultural programs and transform vacant land into agricultural use. Specifically, this has become increasingly common in many lower income and disadvantaged communities affected by a lack of access to fresh food stores. Additionally, in response many public schools have pro-actively sought funds to transform their schoolyards into gardens and teaching classrooms (Gamson) in order to provide food literacy and education however, this practice remains the exception. Many children still face a lack of healthy food options or the availability of any fresh food outside of their school environment. What if the standard education facility could be used as a tool to confront not only the architecture of the learning space, but a school-as-ecosystem, representing a neighborhood catalyst to teach through action – addressing comprehensive global issues brought on by food desert environments and a child’s perspective about their own health? This thesis explores the possibility of casting the urban ecological net wide- envisioning a timescale for transforming public spaces and school grounds using green infrastructure practices, biological remediation, planning for changes in transportation technology and the expectations of a public education and child’s perception about their environment. Emphasizing a broad focus on all of the potential sites for food production in the city (including the school, schoolyard and what they represent to the community), surfaces a multi-functioning methodology encompassing community identity, amenity, ecology, infrastructure and beauty envisions what could become of urban areas in the future. The primary goal is to educate future generations in the value of the food network and to give them the kind of direct hands-on experience that educators emphasize while concurrently nourishing urban communities through development of a project carried out in common, one that has health benefits for the population, that engenders a sense of long-term pride, and that empowers people to make change in their environment, even in modest or temporary ways. The idea that school design can encourage and facilitate, hinder and inhibit behaviors at school, and the architectural symbolism of schools can have a profoundly wider impact on children and their behaviors in and outside of school (Tucker). There is a significant psychological difference in learning about the environment, for the environment and in the environment (Malone). Creating public space focused on individual learning and the physical and mental health of the individual aims to balance the scales of social economic injustices. It is going to take every effort from the hyper-localized to city-wide and even regional scales to make significant urban changes to create a taxonomy of spaces to support the growth of our cities while simultaneously educating young minds on the value of understanding our ecological relationship to the city and surrounding environment.

Cities, particularly in developing countries, are faced .with the challenge of population increase aggravated by rural to urban migration. This has increased the level of unemployment since job creation does not keep up with the rate at which population influx to cities occurs. This leads to poverty that undermines the economy of the city. Urban agriculture (UA) has the potential to improve livelihoods of the urban poor people through contributing to food security and generating income. However, UA has generally not been practised successfully and in a sustainable manner, owing to the lack of resources (land and finance), farming skills, and inadequate support services from organizations. This study presupposes that the inadequacy of resources in support of UA strongly reflects the level of co-operation and co-ordination among those who are, or could support UA. It will also reflect the levels of commitment of a shared vision. It thus sets out to explore the prospects of organizational collaboration to support UAand uses the Greater Pietermaritzburg Area (PMB) as a focus for the study. The local organizations in PMB were found to have frameworks through which they supported UA and other development projects. They were however found not to have any strategic plan, clear definition of organizations' roles, no common understanding of UA, nor a shared mission or vision of UA. As a result there was poor coordination and commitment to collaboration. It appears that a successful collaboration requires most importantly, an acknowledgement of the complexity of collaboration and a clear understanding of its purpose among the collaborating partners. Also required is accepting the need for leadership, integration of ideas when planning and implementing, clarification of roles and accountability. To appreciate this, organizational and individual empowerment is needed. Empowerment could take three forms: objective (knowledge of collaborations' aim, objectives, and procedures), subjective (assertiveness to undertake work involved), and competency (acquisition of skills to enhance ability to perform). The study believes these .factors could help improve the performance of organizational frameworks in developing UA to a point that its full potential is realized. The findings emphasized the value of adopting a systems approach in organizing delivery of services in support of UA. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

Agriculture is a complex cultural institution. This is particularly the case when studying subsistence conditions in a tribal system, because aspects requiring investigation include social, religious, political and economic factors (Dalton, 1967). These factors represent an extremely broad sphere of inquiry and the large number of relevant aspects has been the cause of problems plaguing attempts to develop subsistence agriculture (Grigg, 1973). The purpose of this study is to outline an environmental perception approach to agriculture and explore the contribution that the approach could make to agricultural improvement. As such it represents a pilot study which attempts to introduce behavioural science research into agricultural development. Foster (et all (1965) outline three research foci in this respect; the socio-cultural-psychological system of the recipient people (farmers), the system of the innovating organization, and the interaction of the two. This study deals with the first focus outlined by Foster, and aims to make a statement about the image that two semi-subsistence communities have of their agricultural system. In other words, how their agricultural system appears to them.

Ethnic and religious conflict, and the deepening of capitalism have led to global diaspora at unprecedented levels. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported that as of 2015, 1 in every 122 persons worldwide were either a refugee, internally displaced, or seeking asylum. The U.S. currently admits the largest number of refugees worldwide. However, policies fail to reflect the multitude of elements that constitute successful resettlement. Moreover, many refugees come from farming backgrounds and are forced to migrate to a landless urban environment, where their skill sets may not be utilized and farm land is not available. I argue that existing resettlement processes are embedded in logics and practices that alienate humans from nature and from each other through competition, isolation, and placeless environments. Through an exploration in concepts of urban agriculture, place-making, identity, and otherness, and illuminating the experiences of resettled refugees involved in a community gardening project in Fort Worth, Texas, show how the urban refugee garden provides the individual a space to narrate an identity, and to resist industrial agriculture and labor outside their industry. Exploring best practices in resettlement should be a priority to governments, politicians, and communities involved in the process and highlight the reasons to advocate these types of resettlement alternatives.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, School of Computational and Applied Mathematics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. 10 November 2014. / This MSc thesis is aimed at assessing the food security of people actively participating in urban agriculture. In addition, it aims to assess the role of community projects that are involved in urban agricultural activities in Soweto. The fieldwork took place in five suburbs of Soweto; Meadowlands, Chiawelo, Mzimhlophe, Motswaledi and Nancefield Hostel. The findings suggest that there is a link between urban agriculture and food security in Soweto. Field based research revealed that the participants who engage in urban agricultural activities are doing so to supplement their households’ daily dietary needs. The community projects that mainly engage in food gardening are doing so for the same reasons as the individuals. However there is a greater potential for the community projects to grow into more sustainable micro-economical entities that can supply the community and local retailers with locally grown cheap vegetables. Hampering this potential is the need for continuous skills development and training in agriculture and financial management. In addition, there is a problem pertaining to access to resources and funding than could assist both the community projects and individuals to grow good quality food. There is however a need for more data to assess the spatial distribution of the urban cultivators, livestock keepers and community projects. Nonetheless, it is important to note that urban agriculture is quite significant in the lives of those involved as it has helped reduce food insecurity in their households and encourages social

The aim of this study is to explore the links which exist between community development and urban food gardens. South Africa has experienced a twenty five percent growth in the urban population from 2005-2010. It is further predicted that this will increase by a further thirty six percent to thirteen million inhabitants by 2015. The practice of urban agriculture is one of the strategies that can assist in addressing development challenges in an urban setting in South Africa and around the world. Urban agriculture has the potential to provide a survival strategy for the poor and thus contribute to poverty alleviation, employment, food security, social integration and skills transfer. This research explores the economic, social and ecological benefits of the activity, questioning the ways in which the Siyakhana food garden (and larger initiative) contributes to the Siyakhana community. For the purpose of the research the Siyakhana community refers to the Siyakhana group (eight women in the inner city of Johannesburg who run Early Childhood Development Centres (ECDCs)) and the gardeners who work in the food garden. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews, in-depth questionnaires, participant observation and informal conversation, as well as primary and secondary sources. The data was collected for a twelve month period from June 2010 to June 2011. In total the food garden was visited thirty times during the field work and the ECDCs twelve to fifteen times each. Because of the initiatives potential in community development, the focus of the research gives in-depth insights into the Siyakhana group, their history with the initiative, details about their ECDCs and their expectations and their perceived benefits of being involved with the Siyakhana initiative. The key findings of the study are that there are two primary ways in which the Siyakhana group benefit from being involved in the Siyakhana initiative. The benefits relate to the supplementary food which the Siyakhana group receive on a weekly basis and the practical learning environment of the Siyakhana food garden. This research shows that through their connection with the Siyakhana initiative the Siyakhana group act as a conduit for inner city community development. The healthy and nutritious food from the food garden and the knowledge obtained from being involved with the initiative is shared with a range of stakeholders within the inner city. The Siyakhana food garden is a unique example of a community project which embraces the concepts of ecological health promotion in a multiplicity of ways – through the distribution of food, training, conscientisation and mobilisation. Finally the study shows that when exploring the links between urban food gardens and community development it is not a pre-requisite for the community to physically engage in the production activities of the garden for empowerment and skills transfer to take place.

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Landscape Architecture

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 250-257). / vi, 257 leaves, bound 29 cm

[pt] A implementação de agricultura urbana, na forma de Quintais agroecológicos, pode ser considerada uma estratégia de adaptação às mudanças ambientais geradas a partir da urbanização. A prática da agricultura urbana traz benefícios sociais, econômicos e ambientais, já que diversas famílias a utilizam como fonte secundária de renda, de alimentação, como atividade de relaxamento, empoderamento social e cultural, regulação climática e manutenção da biodiversidade. Entretanto, essa atividade sofre com a falta de regulamentação legal e de incentivos, gerando insegurança e enfraquecimento da mesma e dos benefícios acimas citados. Nesse contexto, o fortalecimento da prática faz-se necessário através do reconhecimento e da legalização da mesma, a partir de leis que regulamentarizam a atividade, permitindo a retirada de créditos ou criação de projetos visando a maior produtividade dos quintais e engajando a população. Dessa maneira, o objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar o potencial da implementação da agricultura, na forma de Quintais Agroecológicos, servindo como estratégias de adaptação das cidades às mudanças ambientais e expansão urbana, tendo como área de estudo a colônia Juliano Moreira, Zona Oeste do Município do Rio de Janeiro, escolhida por estar inserida em um contexto de expansão urbana e apresentar a prática de agricultura urbana em sua organização. / [en] Urbanization can be considered as one of the essential processes of land-use change (Grimm et al., 2008). This process intensifies as the population grows globally, and the number of people living as cities increases. The process of urbanization of cities, besides altering the landscape, has an intense impact on the environment, as well as economic, social and environmental challenges, such as climate statistics, pollution, food and energy scarcity (Engel 2011; Cloutier et al.; 2014; IPPC 2014; Lin et al., 2015; FAO, 2016). In this sense, a change in the form of urban growth is necessary, reducing the negative impact of the urbanization process and increasing the resilience of urban systems (Newman; Jennings, 2008; Perks, 2011), which can be reached from themes such as sustainability. or sustainable development, much discussed over the last few years (Hassan; Lee, 2015). Sustainability is linked to a conscious and dynamic urban development process relating social, environmental and economic foundations, creating growth strategies and minimizing the negative impacts of urbanization, the appropriate use of resources, and the creation of resilient and sustainable environments efficient for future generations (Cloutier, et al, 2014). Urban planning and sustainability have been gaining ground in global discussions (Ziegler, 2009). They refer not only to a process of urban network management and the determination of land use functions but also territorial planning for the conservation and maintenance of resources, and the integration, articulation and cooperation among the various actors of society (Shmelev; Shemeleva, 2009; Ronconi, 2011; Stigt et al., 2013; Bento et al., 2018;).