IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v11y2022i5p622-d800387.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Socio-Cultural Benefits of Urban Agriculture: A Review of the Literature

Author

Listed:
  • Rositsa T. Ilieva

    (CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute, The City University of New York, New York, NY 10027, USA
    CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy, The City University of New York, New York, NY 10027, USA)

  • Nevin Cohen

    (CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute, The City University of New York, New York, NY 10027, USA
    CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy, The City University of New York, New York, NY 10027, USA)

  • Maggie Israel

    (CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute, The City University of New York, New York, NY 10027, USA)

  • Kathrin Specht

    (ILS Research Institute for Regional and Urban Development, 44135 Dortmund, Germany)

  • Runrid Fox-Kämper

    (ILS Research Institute for Regional and Urban Development, 44135 Dortmund, Germany)

  • Agnès Fargue-Lelièvre

    (AgroParisTech UMR SAD-APT, INRA–AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 75005 Paris, France)

  • Lidia Poniży

    (Department of Integrated Geography, Faculty of Human Geography and Planning, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61-680 Poznan, Poland)

  • Victoria Schoen

    (Centre for Agriculture, Food and Environmental Management (CAFEM) Research, School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield AL10 9AB, Hertfordshire, UK)

  • Silvio Caputo

    (Kent School of Architecture and Planning, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NR, UK)

  • Caitlin K. Kirby

    (College of Natural Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA)

  • Benjamin Goldstein

    (Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada)

  • Joshua P. Newell

    (School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA)

  • Chris Blythe

    (Birmingham Open Spaces Forum, Birmingham B14 7TQ, UK)

Abstract

Despite extensive literature on the socio-cultural services of urban open spaces, the role of food-producing spaces has not received sufficient attention. This hampers advocacy for preserving and growing urban agricultural activities, often dismissed on justifications that their contributions to overall food supply are negligible. To understand how the social benefits of urban agriculture have been measured, we conducted a systematic review of 272 peer-reviewed publications, which drew on insights from urban agriculture sites in 57 different countries. Through content analysis, we investigated socio-cultural benefits in four spheres: engaged and cohesive communities, health and well-being, economic opportunities, and education. The analysis revealed growth in research on the social impacts of gardens and farms, with most studies measuring the effects on community cohesion and engagement, followed by increased availability and consumption of fruits and vegetables associated with reduced food insecurity and better health. Fewer studies assessed the impact of urban farming on educational and economic outcomes. Quantifying the multiple ways in which urban agriculture provides benefits to people will empower planners and the private sector to justify future investments. These findings are also informative for research theorizing cities as socio-ecological systems and broader efforts to measure the benefits of urban agriculture, in its many forms.

Suggested Citation

  • Rositsa T. Ilieva & Nevin Cohen & Maggie Israel & Kathrin Specht & Runrid Fox-Kämper & Agnès Fargue-Lelièvre & Lidia Poniży & Victoria Schoen & Silvio Caputo & Caitlin K. Kirby & Benjamin Goldstein & , 2022. "The Socio-Cultural Benefits of Urban Agriculture: A Review of the Literature," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-21, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:5:p:622-:d:800387
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/5/622/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/5/622/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hale, James & Knapp, Corrine & Bardwell, Lisa & Buchenau, Michael & Marshall, Julie & Sancar, Fahriye & Litt, Jill S., 2011. "Connecting food environments and health through the relational nature of aesthetics: Gaining insight through the community gardening experience," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(11), pages 1853-1863, June.
    2. Scholte, Samantha S.K. & van Teeffelen, Astrid J.A. & Verburg, Peter H., 2015. "Integrating socio-cultural perspectives into ecosystem service valuation: A review of concepts and methods," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 67-78.
    3. Nicole Rogge & Insa Theesfeld & Carola Strassner, 2018. "Social Sustainability through Social Interaction—A National Survey on Community Gardens in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, April.
    4. Monika H. Egerer & Stacy M. Philpott & Peter Bichier & Shalene Jha & Heidi Liere & Brenda B. Lin, 2018. "Gardener Well-Being along Social and Biophysical Landscape Gradients," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, January.
    5. Sarah Taylor Lovell, 2010. "Multifunctional Urban Agriculture for Sustainable Land Use Planning in the United States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 2(8), pages 1-24, August.
    6. Victoria Schoen & Silvio Caputo & Chris Blythe, 2020. "Valuing Physical and Social Output: A Rapid Assessment of a London Community Garden," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-20, July.
    7. Megan Horst & Nathan McClintock & Lesli Hoey, 2017. "The Intersection of Planning, Urban Agriculture, and Food Justice: A Review of the Literature," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 83(3), pages 277-295, July.
    8. Litt, J.S. & Schmiege, S.J. & Hale, J.W. & Buchenau, M. & Sancar, F., 2015. "Exploring ecological, emotional and social levers of self-rated health for urban gardeners and non-gardeners: A path analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 1-8.
    9. Thomas Krikser & Ingo Zasada & Annette Piorr, 2019. "Socio-Economic Viability of Urban Agriculture—A Comparative Analysis of Success Factors in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-12, April.
    10. Taylor Harris Braswell, 2018. "Fresh food, new faces: community gardening as ecological gentrification in St. Louis, Missouri," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(4), pages 809-822, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tibesigwa, Byela & Ntuli, Herbert & Muta, Telvin, 2022. "We can incorporate agriculture ecosystems into urban green economy in Tanzania: Dar es Salaam households are willing to pay," EfD Discussion Paper 22-19, Environment for Development, University of Gothenburg.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Martina Artmann & Katharina Sartison, 2018. "The Role of Urban Agriculture as a Nature-Based Solution: A Review for Developing a Systemic Assessment Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-32, June.
    2. Chethika Gunasiri Wadumestrige Dona & Geetha Mohan & Kensuke Fukushi, 2021. "Promoting Urban Agriculture and Its Opportunities and Challenges—A Global Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-22, August.
    3. Shingo Yoshida & Hironori Yagi, 2021. "Long-Term Development of Urban Agriculture: Resilience and Sustainability of Farmers Facing the Covid-19 Pandemic in Japan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-23, April.
    4. Yuan Ma & Heng Liang & Han Li & Yaping Liao, 2020. "Towards the Healthy Community: Residents’ Perceptions of Integrating Urban Agriculture into the Old Community Micro-Transformation in Guangzhou, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-21, October.
    5. Kelsey Ryan-Simkins, 2021. "The intersection of food justice and religious values in secular spaces: insights from a nonprofit urban farm in Columbus, Ohio," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(3), pages 767-781, September.
    6. Leslie Gray & Laureen Elgert & Antoinette WinklerPrins, 2020. "Theorizing urban agriculture: north–south convergence," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(3), pages 869-883, September.
    7. Rolf, Werner & Diehl, Katharina & Zasada, Ingo & Wiggering, Hubert, 2020. "Integrating farmland in urban green infrastructure planning. An evidence synthesis for informed policymaking," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    8. Ehsan Daneshyar, 2024. "Residential Rooftop Urban Agriculture: Architectural Design Recommendations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-34, February.
    9. Shingo Yoshida & Hironori Yagi, 2023. "Effects of Sustainability Practices on Farm Continuity in Urban Agriculture: From the Creating Shared Value Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-20, October.
    10. Triguero-Mas, Margarita & Anguelovski, Isabelle & García-Lamarca, Melissa & Argüelles, Lucía & Perez-del-Pulgar, Carmen & Shokry, Galia & Connolly, James J.T. & Cole, Helen V.S., 2021. "Natural outdoor environments’ health effects in gentrifying neighborhoods: Disruptive green landscapes for underprivileged neighborhood residents," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    11. Kentaro Harada & Kimihiro Hino & Akiko Iida & Takahiro Yamazaki & Hiroyuki Usui & Yasushi Asami & Makoto Yokohari, 2021. "How Does Urban Farming Benefit Participants’ Health? A Case Study of Allotments and Experience Farms in Tokyo," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-13, January.
    12. Alana Siegner & Jennifer Sowerwine & Charisma Acey, 2018. "Does Urban Agriculture Improve Food Security? Examining the Nexus of Food Access and Distribution of Urban Produced Foods in the United States: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-27, August.
    13. Shingo Yoshida & Hironori Yagi & Akira Kiminami & Guy Garrod, 2019. "Farm Diversification and Sustainability of Multifunctional Peri-Urban Agriculture: Entrepreneurial Attributes of Advanced Diversification in Japan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-21, May.
    14. Shahin Keynoush & Ehsan Daneshyar, 2022. "Defining a Pedagogical Framework for Integrating Buildings and Landscapes in Conjunction with Social Sustainability Discourse in the Architecture Graduate Design Studio," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-27, April.
    15. Esther Sanyé-Mengual & Kathrin Specht & Jan Vávra & Martina Artmann & Francesco Orsini & Giorgio Gianquinto, 2020. "Ecosystem Services of Urban Agriculture: Perceptions of Project Leaders, Stakeholders and the General Public," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-23, December.
    16. Lissy Goralnik & Lucero Radonic & Vanessa Garcia Polanco & Angel Hammon, 2022. "Growing Community: Factors of Inclusion for Refugee and Immigrant Urban Gardeners," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-20, December.
    17. Lazaros Mavromatidis, 2019. "Constructal Macroscale Thermodynamic Model of Spherical Urban Greenhouse Form with Double Thermal Envelope within Heat Currents," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-24, July.
    18. Vieira, Thiago Almeida & Panagopoulos, Thomas, 2024. "Urban agriculture in Brazil: Possibilities and challenges for Santarém, eastern Amazonia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    19. Ayambire, Raphael Anammasiya & Amponsah, Owusu & Peprah, Charles & Takyi, Stephen Appiah, 2019. "A review of practices for sustaining urban and peri-urban agriculture: Implications for land use planning in rapidly urbanising Ghanaian cities," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 260-277.
    20. Rebecka Milestad & Annika Carlsson-Kanyama & Christina Schaffer, 2020. "The Högdalen urban farm: a real case assessment of sustainability attributes," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(6), pages 1461-1475, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:5:p:622-:d:800387. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.