scholarly journals Biogeochemical characterization of municipal compost to support urban agriculture and limit childhood lead exposure from resuspended urban soils

Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maia G. Fitzstevens ◽  
Rosalie M. Sharp ◽  
Daniel J. Brabander
Keyword(s):  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Lead Exposure ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Contaminated Soils ◽  
Urban Soils ◽  
Organic Waste ◽  
Interdisciplinary Teams ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Municipal Compost ◽  
Risk Assessment Models

Chronic low-level lead exposure among low-income minority children is an urgent environmental justice issue. Addressing this ubiquitous urban public health crisis requires a new transdisciplinary paradigm. The primary goals of this work are to inform best practices for urban gardeners working in lead contaminated soils and to reimagine urban organic waste management schemes to produce compost, which when covering or mixed with urban soil, could minimize lead exposure. We investigate bulk and bioaccessible lead from five types of compost used in urban gardens in Boston, MA. We categorized them by feedstock and measured bulk elemental concentrations and physical characteristics. Our results show that different feedstocks exhibit unique geochemical fingerprints. While bulk lead concentrations in compost are a fraction of what is typical for urban soils, the bioaccessible lead fraction in compost is greater than the default parameters for the Integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic (IEUBK) model. The lack of geochemical differences across feedstocks for lead sorption to carbon indicates a similar sorption mechanism for all compost. This suggests that municipal compost would be suitable for capping lead contaminated urban soils. Risk assessment models should consider lead bioaccessibility, to prevent the underprediction of exposure risk, and should include compost along with soils as urban matrices. Based on the observed bioaccessibility in our compost samples, 170 mg/kg total lead in compost will yield the same bioaccessible lead as the IEUBK model predicts for the 400 mg/kg EPA soil lead benchmark. Local logistical challenges remain for interdisciplinary teams of city planners, exposure scientists, and urban agricultural communities to design organic waste collection practices to produce compost that will support urban agriculture and primary lead exposure prevention.

When Vacant Lots Become Urban Gardens: Characterizing the Perceived and Actual Food Safety Concerns of Urban Agriculture in Ohio

2015 ◽  
Vol 78 (11) ◽  
pp. 2070-2080 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHELLE L. KAISER ◽  
MICHELE L. WILLIAMS ◽  
NICHOLAS BASTA ◽  
MICHELLE HAND ◽  
SARAH HUBER
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Soil Quality ◽  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Urban Soils ◽  
Fresh Produce ◽  
Urban Gardens ◽  
Soil Contaminants ◽  
Improve Access

This study was intended to characterize the perceived risks of urban agriculture by residents of four low-income neighborhoods in which the potential exists for further urban agriculture development and to provide data to support whether any chemical hazards and foodborne pathogens as potential food safety hazards were present. Sixty-seven residents participated in focus groups related to environmental health, food security, and urban gardening. In addition, soils from six locations were tested. Residents expressed interest in the development of urban gardens to improve access to healthy, fresh produce, but they had concerns about soil quality. Soils were contaminated with lead (Pb), zinc, cadmium (Cd), and copper, but not arsenic or chromium. Results from our study suggest paint was the main source of soil contamination. Detectable polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) levels in urban soils were well below levels of concern. These urban soils will require further management to reduce Pb and possibly Cd bioavailability to decrease the potential for uptake into food crops. Although the number of locations in this study is limited, results suggest lower levels of soil contaminants at well-established gardens. Soil tillage associated with long-term gardening could have diluted the soil metal contaminants by mixing the contaminants with clean soil. Also, lower PAH levels in long-term gardening could be due to enhanced microbial activity and PAH degradation, dilution, or both due to mixing, similar to metals. No foodborne pathogen targets were detected by PCR from any of the soils. Residents expressed the need for clearness regarding soil quality and gardening practices in their neighborhoods to consume food grown in these urban areas. Results from this study suggest long-term gardening has the potential to reduce soil contaminants and their potential threat to food quality and human health and to improve access to fresh produce in low-income urban communities.

scholarly journals ASSESSING PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF URBAN AGRICULTURE IN CEBU CITY, PHILIPPINES: TOWARDS DEVELOPING ACTION PLANS

2022 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 264-291
Author(s):  
Sylvester T. Cortes ◽  
Valerie H. Bugtai ◽  
Eddalin Q. Lampawog ◽  
Cecile B. Sadili ◽  
Alma D. Agero ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Action Plans ◽  
Planning Stage ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Perceived Values

Background and Purpose: Urban agriculture (UA) has become an even more attractive option for food security and safety brought by the spread of COVID-19 which causes global health crisis. However, studies examining the perceived values, challenges, and needs towards urban agriculture are very limited and this does not exempt even the context of Cebu City in the Philippines. In this regard, this study aimed to assess the problems and prospects concerning urban agriculture in the aforementioned City. The purposes are to propose action plans and offer insights in designing and implementing food and agricultural programs and policies in the planned participatory action research (PAR) for sustainable urban agriculture.   Methodology: This study used Kemmis and McTaggart’s (1988) Model of Action Research. The use of this research method is an essential approach towards constructing sustainable developments of urban agricultural systems. However, only the planning stage was accomplished in this phase of action research of which it employed sequential explanatory research design. There were 509 household representatives in this stage of the study who participated in an online survey, 217 and 292 were from the north district and south district, respectively. Subsequently, each district had five representatives who were subjected to interviews to explain the quantitative results.   Findings: Results indicate that Cebuanos positively perceives the social, economic, health, environmental, and aesthetic values of urban agriculture. However, the presence of urban agriculture in the metropolitan is only from moderate to nonexistent due to lack of space or designated area. In addition, the participants disclosed a lack of training and capital or funding, thus further disengaging them from adopting urban agriculture. Nonetheless, the majority (n=463) expressed willingness to be trained in urban agriculture if given the opportunity.   Contributions: This study provides key points as to how urban agriculture can be promoted. These include designating some portions of public and privately unused lands as “urban agriculture areas”. In addition, financing institutions may also allocate small subsidies for marginally low-income families as their starting capital for urban agriculture activities. Finally, universities, non-government, and government agencies in the agriculture sector may train Cebuanos in backyard and rooftop gardening being the widely accepted urban agriculture form.   Keywords: Action research, perceived challenges, perceived needs, perceived values, urban agriculture.   Cite as: Cortes, S. T., Bugtai, V. H., Lampawog, E. Q., Sadili, C. B., Agero, A. D., Ramas, C. B., … Lorca, A. S. (2022). Understanding the issues of citizen participation.  Journal of Nusantara Studies, 7(1), 264-291. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol7iss1pp264-291

Eating NAFTA

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyshia Gálvez
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Food System ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The North ◽  
The World

In the two decades since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect, Mexico has seen an epidemic of diet-related illness. While globalization has been associated with an increase in chronic disease around the world, in Mexico, the speed and scope of the rise has been called a public health emergency. The shift in Mexican foodways is happening at a moment when the country’s ancestral cuisine is now more popular and appreciated around the world than ever. What does it mean for their health and well-being when many Mexicans eat fewer tortillas and more instant noodles, while global elites demand tacos made with handmade corn tortillas? This book examines the transformation of the Mexican food system since NAFTA and how it has made it harder for people to eat as they once did. The book contextualizes NAFTA within Mexico’s approach to economic development since the Revolution, noticing the role envisioned for rural and low-income people in the path to modernization. Examination of anti-poverty and public health policies in Mexico reveal how it has become easier for people to consume processed foods and beverages, even when to do so can be harmful to health. The book critiques Mexico’s strategy for addressing the public health crisis generated by rising rates of chronic disease for blaming the dietary habits of those whose lives have been upended by the economic and political shifts of NAFTA.

scholarly journals Where Do I Allocate My Urban Allotment Gardens? Development of a Site Selection Tool for Three Cities in Benin

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 318
Author(s):  
B. G. J. S. Sonneveld ◽  
M. D. Houessou ◽  
G. J. M. van den Boom ◽  
A. Aoudji
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Poor ◽  
Site Suitability ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Allotment Gardens

In the context of rapid urbanization, poorer residents in cities across low- and middle-income countries increasingly experience food and nutrition deficiencies. The United Nations has highlighted urban agriculture (UA) as a viable solution to food insecurity, by empowering the urban poor to produce their own fresh foods and make some profit from surplus production. Despite its potential role in reducing poverty and food insecurity, there appears to be little political will to support urban agriculture. This is seen in unclear political mandates that are sustained by information gaps on selection criteria for UA sites. The research reported here addresses this issue in the form of a decision-making support tool that assesses the suitability of cadastral units and informal plots for allotment gardens in urban and peri-urban areas. The tool was developed and tested for three rapidly expanding cities in Benin, a low-income country in West Africa, based on an ordered logit model that relates a set of 300 expert assessments on site suitability to georeferenced information on biophysical and socio-economic characteristics. Soil, land use, groundwater depth, vicinity to market and women’s safety were significant factors in the assessment. Scaled up across all cadastral units and informal sites, the tool generated detailed baseline maps on site suitability and availability of areas. Its capacity to support policymakers in selecting appropriate sites comes to the fore by reporting changes in site suitability under scenarios of improved soil fertility and enhanced safety for women.

scholarly journals Seniors and Undergraduates Mutually Benefit From an Interprofessional Service-Learning Health Promotion Program

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 8-8
Author(s):  
Britteny Howell
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Interprofessional Education ◽  
Interdisciplinary Teams ◽  
Health Promotion Program ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Promotion Program

Abstract Although benefits of service-learning and interprofessional education (IPE) have been separately well documented to be effective for students in gerontology and geriatrics courses, few curricula appear to integrate both aspects into a single course for undergraduate students in public health. This poster discusses the development and implementation of a service-learning health promotion program utilizing IPE embedded within two courses in two different departments at a mid-sized university. Students worked in interdisciplinary teams and acquired interprofessional educational learning outcomes while they engaged in their first experiences working with diverse older adults at a low-income, independent-living housing community. Twenty-five students (N=25) each team-taught 2 sessions on nutrition, physical activity, and stress reduction techniques in a 10-week program. Qualitative and quantitative results are presented which demonstrate significant learning outcomes from the students about the health needs of the aging population and increased comfort in working with older adults. Older participants in the program also reported positive health and psychological outcomes from their participation. Limitations, challenges, and next steps are also presented.

scholarly journals Increased risk for lead exposure in children through consumption of produce grown in urban soils

2020 ◽  
Vol 743 ◽  
pp. 140414
Author(s):  
Harris L. Byers ◽  
Lindsay J. McHenry ◽  
Timothy J. Grundl
Keyword(s):  
Lead Exposure ◽  
Urban Soils ◽  
Increased Risk

scholarly journals Adding Fuel to Fire: How IMF demands for austerity will drive up inequality worldwide

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nona Tamale
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
International Monetary Fund ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Uneven Distribution ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Global Institutions ◽  
Briefing Paper ◽  
The International Monetary Fund ◽  
The Imf

The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a huge blow to every country, and many governments have struggled to meet their populations’ urgent needs during the crisis. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stepped in to offer extra support to a large number of countries during the pandemic. However, Oxfam’s analysis shows that as of 15 March 2021, 85% of the 107 COVID-19 loans negotiated between the IMF and 85 governments indicate plans to undertake austerity once the health crisis abates. The findings in this briefing paper show that the IMF is systematically encouraging countries to adopt austerity measures once the pandemic subsides, risking a severe spike in already increased inequality levels. A variety of studies have revealed the uneven distribution of the burden of austerity, which is more likely to be shouldered by women, low-income households and vulnerable groups, while the wealth of the richest people increases. Oxfam joins global institutions and civil society in urging governments worldwide and the IMF to focus their energies instead on a people-centred, just and equal recovery that will fight inequality and not fuel it. Austerity will not ‘build back better’.

Participatory Design of Public Spaces for Urban Agriculture, Rosario, Argentina

2009 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-49
Author(s):  
Marielle Dubbeling ◽  
Laura Bracalenti ◽  
Laura Lagorio
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Participatory Design ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Sustainable Urban Development ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
The City

Urban agriculture is increasingly recognized for its potential contribution to more sustainable urban development. Urban agriculture includes the cultivation and raising, processing and marketing of food and non-food crops, medicinal and aromatic herbs, fruit trees, as well as animal products within urban and periurban areas. Urban agriculture positively impacts urban food security, local economic development, environmental management and community building. To reconcile the demands posed by urban growth with urban agriculture activities of high social and economic value, urban agriculture however should be included into land use planning and design, and regulated by municipalities, assuring its proper management and avoiding potential health and environmental risks. Open and green urban spaces could be designed for multifunctional urban agriculture and combine natural habitat, food production, educational, recreational and leisure activities. Such design processes would benefit from broad participation of urban planners and architects, urban farmers, citizens and slum inhabitants as to enhance ownership and engagement, more effectively use available local resources and give the process a higher credibility and wider outreach. This article shares the experience of Rosario, Argentina where the city planners and University staff collaborated with two low-income communities in the design and implementation of a multifunctional neighborhood park, public square and road reserve. A step-by-step participatory design process was followed: starting from initial visioning, defining and relating the various existing and multi-functional land uses desired, to elaborating the site plan, and agreeing on implementation procedures. The article briefly contextualizes the site and its inhabitants, illustrates the design process and the results achieved and highlights some of the problems encountered. Participatory design of open spaces for urban agriculture in Rosario- though a complex process- proved to have contributed to improving socio-economic and environmental conditions in the city, while also serving as a source of inspiration to other cities in the region.

Gender perspectives in organic waste recycling for urban agriculture in Nairobi, Kenya

2009 ◽  
pp. 141-155
Author(s):  
Kuria Gathuru ◽  
Mary Njenga ◽  
Nancy Karanja ◽  
Patrick Munyao
Keyword(s):  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Organic Waste ◽  
Waste Recycling ◽  
Gender Perspectives
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