Research & reports

John Diaz, Laura A. Warner, Sue Webb, Debra M. Barry · Applied Environmental Education & Communication · Global

This study used a consensus-driven process to identify central issues impeding the sustained success of school gardens. It outlined practical, logistical, and institutional barriers that need to be addressed to ensure their success in supplementing education.

Salvatore Engel‐Di Mauro · Gender Place & Culture · Global

This study discusses two concerns regarding urban community gardens' political potential, suggesting caution. It notes that the community in urban community gardens can be reactionary and capitalism-friendly, potentially impeding the collectivization of social reproduction if it remains largely women's work. Additionally, urban gardeners, primarily women, people of color, and the elderly, may face exposure to toxic substances and increased care work needs due to health effects.

Jose Martinez Carbonell · Cultura Educación y Sociedad · Colombia

A qualitative study involving twelve tenth-grade students and their parents at Jose Dadul Agroecological Technique IED in Colombia implemented a school garden as a research tool. The study found limitations during activity implementation, including lack of interest from parents acting as companions, insufficient space and time, and cessation of academic activities. Despite these constraints, it was possible to increase motivation for both parents and students through research and contemporary strategies.

Paloma Gonzalez de Linares · International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics · Hungary (Budapest)

This paper aimed to assess factors contributing to more successful integration of urban agriculture in some cities and to introduce agro-ecology practices in public green spaces and community gardens through landscape assessment and map-based comparison. A key problem identified was the lack of motivation among planners to integrate urban agriculture into urban plans, preventing these green structures from becoming part of the city's landscape and dynamics. The sustainability of food systems was concluded to depend on the city's planning strategy and governance policies.

Sécou Omar Diédhiou, Oumar Sy, Christine Margétic · Espace populations sociétés · Senegal (Ziguinchor)

A study in Ziguinchor, Senegal, surveyed 248 farmers and 130 vegetable vendors in 2016 and 2017 to examine the role of urban agriculture. Urban expansion has led to shrinking agricultural land and land-use conflicts, while increasing food demand. Women play a central role from production to commercialization, farming in multiple locations for self-consumption and income, but the sustainability of these practices requires integration into proactive urban development policies.

Zane Vincēviča–Gaile, William Hogland, Māra Stapkēviča, Juris Burlakovs · Linnaeus Eco-Tech · Latvia

This study investigates the transfer of metallic elements in the soil-plant segment of the food chain through laboratory and field experiments. It also includes a quantitative analysis of food samples from Latvia, including fruits and vegetables from Riga city allotment gardens, to identify element composition and potential contamination risks from urban pollution. Results of experiments and analyses revealed the influence of factors such as seasonality, botanical origin, site-specific factors, agricultural practice, and food processing on element transfer.

Pushpawani Ramaloo, Choong-Yeun Liong, Chamhuri Siwar, Anizan Isahak · · Malaysia

In the Taman Desa Damai community of Bukit Mertajam City, Penang State, Malaysia, in-depth interviews and observations were conducted with 15 community residents to investigate the influences of urban agriculture on social, economic, and environmental benefits. The study found that while community farming is significant in realizing the potential of the residential community, it faces obstacles to long-term sustainability.

Joshua Zeunert · · Global

This chapter examines urban agriculture (UA) through six dimensions: spatial, economic, social, environmental, practical, and intellectual. It highlights UA's financial returns, production volumes, sustainability benefits, and social value. The chapter concludes that a clearer understanding of UA's value within governance, academia, and communities is imperative to overcome regulatory barriers.

Amina Abubakari, John Asiedu Larbi, Robert Clement Abaidoo · Journal of Tropical Diseases · Ghana (Kumasi)

A 2018 study in Kumasi, Ghana, assessed 7017 health facility data from 77 communities to investigate malaria transmission in areas with wastewater irrigation. It found approximately 3698 malaria cases in wastewater irrigation areas and 3319 in areas without, with a P-value of 0.1914, indicating no statistically significant difference. However, Anopheles spp. mosquito densities were high in furrows, followed by ponds, suggesting that anthropogenic activities related to urbanization and wastewater irrigation may contribute to malaria transmission.

Kwaku Obosu-Mensah · · Ghana (Accra)

This study examines the influence of social inequality on urban agriculture in Accra, Ghana, focusing on land ownership and cultivation practices. It found that urban residents born or raised in other regions of Ghana are more likely to be middle/upper class, own urban land, and engage in enclosed cultivation. A disadvantage of enclosed cultivation is associated with water supply.

Désiré Jean‐Pascal Lompo, Emmanuel Compaoré, Michel Papaoba Sédogo, Martina Melapie, Charles Bielders, Eva Schlecht, Andreas Buerkert · Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems · Burkina Faso (Bobo Dioulasso)

This study investigated nutrient management in six urban vegetable gardens in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, quantifying nitrogen (N), potassium (K), and carbon (C) fluxes and balances. Inputs of N and K significantly exceeded recommended amounts, leading to substantial horizontal annual surpluses of 1013 kg N ha−1, 879 kg K ha−1, and 25 t C ha−1. While total balances for N and K were positive, the total balance for C was negative, indicating an environmental tradeoff due to excessive nutrient input.

John Misenheimer, Clay Nelson, Evelyn Huertas, Myriam Medina-Vera, Alex Prevatte, Karen D. Bradham · Geosciences · Puerto Rico

Total and bioaccessible arsenic (As) and lead (Pb) levels, and their uptake by 10 commonly grown garden plants, were examined in three urban community gardens in Puerto Rico. Total As ranged from 2 to 55 mg/kg and Pb from 19 to 172 mg/kg in soils. Leaves accumulated higher concentrations of As and Pb than edible flesh, with culantro leaves showing the highest concentrations (3.2 mg/kg dw As, 8.9 mg/kg dw Pb).

Sugandhi del Canto, Rachel Engler‐Stringer · Policy Press eBooks · Global

Restrictive covenants, a corporate real estate practice, are identified as a significant barrier to establishing new food stores in older neighborhoods globally. These covenants place conditions on land use, such as prohibiting food sales or grocery store development, making it harder to address existing nutrition deserts. Government support is needed to limit these covenants and develop alternative food channels, including urban agriculture.

D.V. Belobrova, Д. А. Шаповалов · Dokuchaev Soil Bulletin · Russia

This study conducted large-scale (1:5000) soil mapping of garden non-commercial partnerships in the Meshchera lowland of Noginsk district, Moscow region. Investigations revealed that initial soils underwent significant transformation since their creation, with soddy podzolic and boggy soils changing into agro-soddy podzolic soils and agrozems due to intensive development and fertilizer use. While these changes reflect increased productivity and quality of allotment soils, the transformed soils are characterized by neutral pH and high/medium mobile phosphorus content, but are poor in exchangeable potassium compared to natural soil profiles.

Manabika Sheel, Mohammad Bashir Ahmed, Shamim Ahmed Kamal Uddin Khan, Md. Matiul Islam · Fundamental and applied agriculture · Bangladesh (Khulna City)

A study in Khulna City from March to April 2018 interviewed 60 rooftop gardeners to analyze the scenario and problems of rooftop gardening. The study found that gardeners earned very poor economic benefits compared to their expenditures, with most preferring it as a hobby (98.33%) or for aesthetics (90%). Severe problems included excessive heat (91.67%), lack of proper nourishment (87.08%), and roof load (72.92%).

Erwin van Tuijl, Gert-Jan Hospers, Leo van den Berg · European Spatial Research and Policy · Global

This paper explores the concept of Urban Agriculture (UA) and discusses its locational and strategic dimensions. Using case examples from cities worldwide, it shows that UA can contribute to the social, environmental, and economic pillars of sustainable city development; however, there are limitations that cities investing in urban agriculture should consider.

Miguel A. Altieri, Clara I. Nicholls · Agro Sur · Global

Although urban agriculture (UA) is estimated to provide 15-20% of global food, its significant contribution to city food self-sufficiency is questionable due to low yields in most existing urban farms. Agroecology can enhance UA's productive potential by offering key principles for designing diversified, productive, and resilient urban farms. This paper describes principles and practices for increasing soil quality and enhancing plant health.

Muhammad Shahid, Camille Dumat, Nabeel Khan Niazi, Sana Khalid, Natasha Natasha · VertigO · Global

Arsenic concentrations exceeding the World Health Organization's recommended limit (10 μg/L) have been frequently found in groundwater in several countries globally, exposing millions to arsenic. This study synthesizes recent interdisciplinary knowledge on arsenic, particularly for urban gardeners and farmers who may face contamination in well water or produced vegetables. Geogenic arsenic poses a major health threat in many countries, especially in Asia, and advice is proposed to avoid and reduce human exposure to arsenic in urban agriculture contexts.

Cuthbert Majoni, Deliwe Tembachako, Anyway Katanha · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Zimbabwe

This study was conducted in Bindura urban area, Zimbabwe, to evaluate the viability of urban quail farming, interviewing 40 urban quail farmers selected via snowball sampling and 10 key informants using semi-structured guides. Key challenges highlighted included inadequate housing facilities, insufficient space, theft, predation, inadequate knowledge, market price fluctuations, inability to access credit, and misconceptions in urban agriculture policies. Despite these challenges, urban quail farming showed potential to boost family income and reduce poverty to some extent.

Simon Kojo Appiah, Eric Nimako Aidoo, Derrick Asamoah Owusu, M. W. Nuonabuor · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Ghana (Kumasi)

This paper assesses the spatial distribution of heavy metals and potential ingestion risks in Kumasi, Ghana, using geostatistical techniques on topsoil samples. Results from univariate and multivariate semivariogram models showed strong spatial dependence with autocorrelations ranging from 100 to 300 meters. The produced risk maps indicate strong spatial heterogeneity for most soil heavy metals, with extremely high contamination risk found near commercial areas.

Marit Rosol · · Global

This chapter discusses the politics of urban community gardening, positioning it ambiguously between neoliberal/austerity urbanism and progressive urban politics. It argues that urban community gardening can reinforce neoliberal urbanism through land use struggles and gentrification, the role of volunteering in neoliberal urban governance, and governing through community and technologies of the self. The continuous emphasis on self-help in urban green spaces is problematic when civic engagement focuses exclusively on certain groups and values.

Isabel de Felipe · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Global

This paper describes urban agriculture as an activity gaining new support but facing difficulties due to inadequate governance. The research identified eight instruments for sustainable urban agriculture, including food security and economic development. It concludes that each city requires specific governance to achieve synergies.

Kate Wright · Cultural Studies Review · Australia (New South Wales)

A postdoctoral project involving collaboratively planting and maintaining a community garden on land that was once part of the East Armidale Aboriginal Reserve in New South Wales, Australia, began in 2014. This research offers a personal narrative of involvement in an anti-colonial multispecies research project within the confines of a neoliberal university, interrogating the potential and limitations of anti-colonial projects undertaken from colonial subject positions predicated on social and environmental privilege.

Illana C. Livstrom, Amy Smith, Mary Rogers, Karl Hackansan · Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies · Global

A qualitative case study of "Grounding Roots," a community-based collaborative educational program that aims to build food, environmental, and cognitive justice through sustainable urban agriculture and horticulture via intergenerational communities of practice. Drawing on Linda Tuhiwai Smith's framework of decolonizing methodologies, the study examined both the ways a Community-University partnership engaged in decolonizing work through research and practice, and the ways the same partnership served to preserve colonizing practices, using deductive coding grounded in decolonizing-practice theory. Identified decolonizing practices included implementing a program of worth to the community and youth, building from community-led agendas, and prioritizing community healing and transformation over academic research agendas. Identified colonizing practices included inequitable power hierarchies within the leadership team and in garden groups, deficit-oriented talk about minoritized youth, and the devalorization of youth voice. The study concludes that researchers doing community-based work need to examine the white supremacist roots embedded in their own practices, embrace decolonizing and humanizing approaches, engage in community-driven agendas that prioritize process over product, facilitate distributed leadership in collaboration with community members, and produce work of genuine value together with the community.

Jennifer Wilhelm, Richard G. Smith · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · Global

This 2017 global review analyzed 320 peer-reviewed papers on urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) published between 2000 and 2014, focusing on UPA's impact on ecosystem services (ES) and land sparing potential. The review found that while UPA research is growing, few studies (n=15) place UPA in the context of ES, and no studies explicitly quantify its land sparing potential. Additionally, few studies (n=19) quantify UPA's production potential, indicating a significant data gap.