Research & reports

Raquel Yurie Hioki, Moacir Roberto Darolt · Archives of Veterinary Science · Brazil (Curitiba)

This study, conducted in Curitiba, Brazil, and its metropolitan area, aimed to discuss the risks and benefits of legalizing urban poultry farming. Through interviews with key informants, challenges were identified across sanitary, legislative, and commercial areas, urban chicken breeders, and bird management. The main challenges cited were sanitary and environmental risks, mistreatment, irregular slaughter, and neighborhood disturbances, which could be addressed through activity regulation, registration of farms, technical monitoring, and implementation of pilot projects.

April M. Roggio, Jason Evans · Sustainability · Global

Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) are locally-rooted agroecological governance mechanisms that have garnered interest globally. However, there is little evidence of their development in the United States, where community supported agriculture (CSA) and farmer's markets grew instead, though many of these mechanisms failed to sustain interest and support. This study explores factors driving PGS creation in other global regions and identifies factors shaping a different trajectory for local agriculture in the United States.

Alesandros Glaros, Geoff Luehr, Zhenzhong Si, Steffanie Scott · Land · China

An exploratory study investigated the manifestation of urban agriculture within the context of Ecological Civilization (EC) in four Chinese cities, through four months of on-site interviews and surveys with urban agriculture practitioners. The study found that capital-intensive and peri-urban approaches to urban agriculture are favored under EC, while small-scale intra-urban initiatives are actively discouraged in policy and risk overlooking grassroots efforts and local residents' needs.

Laís Caroline Marianno de Olivera, Gislaine Costa de Mendonça, Renata Cristina Araújo Costa, Regina Aparecida Leite de Camargo, Luís Filipe Sanches Fernandes, Fernando António Leal Pacheco, Teresa Cristina Tarlé Pissarra · Land Use Policy · Brazil

This study investigated the impacts of 35 years of urban expansion in Brazil's Administrative Region of Ribeirão Preto, linking it to agricultural land loss and environmental consequences. Using Landsat images and GIS, the research found rural area losses exceeding 350 km2, with equivalent production and economic losses of approximately 1.1 Mton/year and 230 MR$/year. Significant environmental impacts included the destruction of over 9100 km of natural watercourses, nearly 630 km2 of Permanent Preservation Areas, and the occupation of Guarani Aquifer recharge areas with impermeable surfaces, affecting approximately 7000 headwaters.

Gordon Prain, Dávid Simon, Jess Halliday, Pay Drechsel · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Global South

Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in the Global South faces challenges such as limited recognition, land conversion, and water pollution, which threaten its potential for urban resilience. Innovations in urban governance are required to integrate food systems into urban planning through food mapping and multisectoral platforms.

Paulo Silvano Magno Fróes-Júnior, Fabrício Khoury Rebello, Marcos Antônio Souza dos Santos, Cyntia Meireles Martins, Maria Lúcia Bahia Lopes, João Paulo Borges de Loureiro · Conjecturas · Brazil (Belém)

This study interviewed 63 urban farmers in Curuçambá, Belém Metropolitan Region, Brazil, analyzing business management and entrepreneurial skills amidst urbanization and crime risks. It found that 98.41% of businesses are family-managed, but 52.38% have little management experience, with 76.19% never keeping financial records and 81.71% never seeking technical assistance. A significant 33.33% of farmers rated criminality as "very high" severity, indicating that a lack of public safety severely limits commercial performance and investment in urban agriculture.

Denise Misleh · The AAG Review of Books · Global

Organic stores, trendy coffee shops, and food initiatives generally associated with the alternative food movement, such as farmer's markets and community gardens, have become a clear symbol.

Rafael Lima Oliveira, Gabrielly Dos Santos Lima Oliveira, José Raimundo Oliveira Lima · P2P E INOVAÇÃO · Brazil

This study investigated the role of cooperativism as an element for strengthening urban and peri-urban agriculture (AUP) in Brazil. Findings revealed that the absence of public policies and credit availability are limiting factors for AUP. Increased production and product outflow are also difficulties faced by these farmers, which could potentially be resolved through cooperation.

Julia R Bryant · Digital Archive @ GSU · United States (Atlanta)

This paper explores how urban farming in Atlanta, Georgia, shows evidence of neoliberal shaping and retooling. Through qualitative analysis, including a case study, interviews with farmers, participant observation, and archival data collection, it examines how the city and the farm are understood from the perspective of the farmer to understand the degree to which these contestations are resisting neoliberalism. The research suggests that while urban farming can provide spaces for contestation to neoliberalism, scholars should more fully consider the hybridized nature in which urban farmers understand their work.

Kimberly Hill-Tout, Claudia Towne Hirtenfelder, Kiera E. B. McMaster, Megan Herod · Gastronomica The Journal of Food and Culture · Canada

In April 2021, a panel discussion on food security in Canada took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article aims to make visible the vulnerabilities and structural injustices embedded within Canadian foodscapes through different perspectives on food security and justice. COVID-19 rendered many of the structural injustices of food security in Canada more visible.

Janet Music, Charlotte Large, Sylvain Charlebois, Kydra Mayhew · Local Environment · Canada

This systematic scoping review revealed the extent of existing knowledge regarding the governance and management of urban grassroots agri-food organizations in Canada. Among Canadian studies, 15 were qualitative case studies, 11 were exploration/analysis papers, one was a literature review, and one was a quantitative analysis. It was found that for greater success in urban agriculture, municipal policymakers need to intentionally and radically shift policy to plan for and integrate urban agriculture networks into the urban environment without taking over the networks themselves. The review also indicated a lack of broad research into the influence of gender dynamics on the organization and management of urban agriculture or community gardens.

Gamuchirai Chakona · · South Africa

A study surveyed 314 randomly selected households in four peri-urban settlements in South Africa to assess dietary diversity and food security. Findings revealed generally low dietary diversity and high levels of food insecurity across all sites, with male-headed households experiencing worse conditions than female-headed households. Food insecurity was linked to high poverty, unemployment, and low education levels.

Abdolzaher Ghezeljeh, Jutta Gutberlet, Denise Cloutier · Canadian Geographies / Géographies canadiennes · Canada (Victoria)

This study used qualitative research methods to explore the main barriers to urban agriculture as perceived by community-based groups in Victoria, British Columbia. Data from 18 semi-structured interviews and two community mapping workshops with residents, government officials, and non-governmental groups revealed "urban agriculture zones" and "garden-style" apartment housing as important avenues. However, progress towards far-reaching changes requires an efficient urban agriculture development process, including creating site inventories, increasing stakeholder participation, reducing waitlists, and tackling high land prices.

Contingent Horizons · Contingent Horizons The York University Student Journal of Anthropology · Canada (Winnipeg)

This paper uses the Rainbow Community Garden in Winnipeg as a case study to discuss the benefits and challenges of community gardening for new immigrant and refugee families. Through a literature review and interviews with gardeners, the study emphasizes the role of food and community gardens in facilitating cross-cultural interactions, providing culturally appropriate food, and expressing cultural identity. The main conclusion is that for new immigrant and refugee participation, a garden is not only physical soil but also an important place for practicing culture and engaging in meaningful cross-cultural interaction beneficial for adjusting to a new life in Canada.

Ainsley C. McStay, S.L. Walser, Eric C. Sirkovich, Nicolas Perdrial, Justin B. Richardson · Journal of Environmental Quality · United States

This study evaluated portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) measurements of macronutrients, micronutrients, and toxic elements (As, Pb) in soils and plants from 10 urban community gardens across the eastern United States. It found that pXRF and traditional methods provided agreeable estimates for some elements (Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb) but not for macronutrients (Ca, K, P). While pXRF is an accurate tool for screening Mn, Cu, Zn, and Pb, macronutrients were poorly estimated in fruits, leaves, and roots, and genus-specific and garden-specific factors may be important for plant uptake models.

Ana Clara Aparecida Alves de Souza, Fernando Dias Lopes · Cadernos EBAPE BR · Brazil (Porto Alegre)

This two-year participatory investigation of Horta da Formiga, a collective urban garden in Porto Alegre, Brazil, analyzed how key agents reconcile inherent contradictions. The study found that while individuals exhibit agency, structured conditions within the social field prevent the organic and diverse reconciliation of contradictions. This occurs despite agents aligning with state-legitimized capital.

Felix Chari, Bethuel Sibongiseni Ngcamu · Environmental & Socio-economic Studies · Sub-Saharan Africa

This narrative review searched Scopus, the Directory of Open Access Journals, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Academic Search (EBSCO) using terms including "urban farming," "urban agriculture" and "climate change" to synthesize literature on climate change's effects on urban agriculture in sub-Saharan African cities. While reviewed studies agree that climate change affects urban agriculture from production through processing, storage and distribution, integrated literature on the topic remains scarce, and the extent and magnitude of impacts differ by region, meaning adaptation and mitigation strategies cannot be applied universally and must instead be context-specific.

Abdelkarim Hamrita, Daniel Ferrer Jiménez, Hichem Rejeb · Frontiers in Sustainable Cities · Africa

A 2022 study analyzed the peri-urban agrifood system of the Sousse urban agglomeration, one of the most important in Tunisia, from a landscape perspective. It finds that clearly deficient regulations combined with uncontrolled urban development, together with intersecting political, environmental and economic factors, are threatening the survival of a traditional, largely family-based agricultural model built on mixed or polyculture production with predominant olive groves — a model the study describes as vital to the economic maintenance of many families and to food security. Using the Landscape Character Assessment methodology, the study proposes a landscape-project tool to strengthen the resilience and sustainability of peri-urban agriculture and prevent the loss of landscape heritage. It also points to the importance of integrating green infrastructure into land-use planning and to the need to promote Agricultural Parks, a protected status already recognized in Spain and other countries, putting forward specific proposals for the Sousse peri-urban agricultural landscape while insisting on the need to reform current forms of governance.

Per-Anders Langendahl, Maria Tunberg, Suvi Kokko · · Europe

Smart urban agriculture — food produced in closed, controlled and digitally augmented environments such as vertical farms, plant factories and aquaponics systems — is found in cities worldwide and is said to produce fresh food year-round using fewer chemicals and fewer food miles. However, critiques of smart urban agriculture note it is a marginal activity that often produces food with low nutritional value and requires energy-intensive artificial lighting. Using qualitative research methods, this report examines the development of smart urban agriculture in Sweden, identifying experimental and entrepreneurial initiatives and analyzing them in relation to high-level policy agendas such as food policy, smart cities and digitalisation. The findings show Swedish smart urban agriculture broadly consists of technology-oriented entrepreneurial start-ups and experimental initiatives split into production-oriented (mainly herbs and leafy greens), community-oriented (prioritizing social benefits), and technology-oriented (developing and supplying digital solutions and services) types. However, product output was limited to a small variety of financially high-margin crops sold at premium prices. In relation to high-level strategic agendas, smart (urban) agriculture is recognized for environmental and social benefits such as mitigating flooding.

Thulani Dube, Saziso Sibanda, Phibion Chiwara · Cogent Social Sciences · Zimbabwe (Bulawayo)

This study investigated farmers' perceived effects of climate change on peri-urban agriculture in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, and their adaptation methods. Using a sample of thirty peri-urban plots, findings revealed that farmers perceived significant climatic changes negatively impacting their farming activities, including reduced precipitation, increased atmospheric temperature, and diminishing borehole yields. Adaptation methods included repeated planting, watering plants at night, renting animal space in other farms with more water sources, and purchasing supplementary feed for livestock.

Victoria Schoen, Chris Blythe, Silvio Caputo, Runrid Fox-Kämper, Kathrin Specht, Agnès Fargue‐Lelièvre, Nevin Cohen, Lidia Poniży, Konstancja Fedeńczak · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Global North

This 2021 paper, based on data collected in summer 2020 from five Global North countries (France, Germany, Poland, UK, USA), examined the effects of COVID-19 on urban farms and gardens. The pandemic presented multiple challenges, including loss of support services, lost income, and reduced output due to labor supply issues. It also created opportunities like new local markets and increased community cohesion, demonstrating how gardens adapted to become more resilient.

Susana Toboso‐Chavero, Cristina Madrid‐López, Gara Villalba, Xavier Gabarrell, Arne Björn Hückstädt, Matthias Finkbeiner, Annekatrin Lehmann · The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment · Global

A comprehensive environmental and social life cycle assessment of perlite, peat, and coir growing media, imported to Spain from Turkey, Germany, and the Philippines respectively, was conducted for urban rooftop farming. Environmentally, coir had the lowest burden, while perlite had the highest impacts due to mining and transport. Socially, peat performed best, but coir showed the worst scores in community infrastructure and human rights, and perlite performed lowest in health and safety.

Christina Ergas · · Cuba

This chapter examines Cuba's urban agricultural food production, which developed through top-down government initiatives that later decentralized and subsidized local efforts in response to resource scarcity. While Cuban urban farmworkers' cooperatives enable local residents to sell produce at low costs, the program still faces social environmental stumbling blocks despite its successes in achieving high human development with a small ecological footprint.

Bruno do Nascimento Macedo, Fernanda Nogueira Comas, Amarílis Lucia Casteli Figueiredo Gallardo · Journal of Urban Technology and Sustainability · Brazil (São Paulo)

This study discussed the main environmental services and disservices associated with urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in São Paulo, Brazil, using a systematic literature review and spatial analysis. It identified 12 environmental services and 5 disservices, mapping 197 UPA initiatives. The research concluded that UPA has the potential to offer environmental benefits, but can also exert negative pressures on the environment, including in areas that should be protected.

Jamie Wang · Humanities · Singapore

This article explores the rise of urban farming in Singapore, following small- to medium-scale urban farms, including rooftop gardens, community farms, and organic farms, through the politics of localism and the notion of care. It investigates how localism, in some contexts, has been reduced to a narrow sense of geographic location. The study also examines what is being cared for in urban farming and how it might transform bio-cultural and social-technological relations.