Research & reports

Anne Barbillon, Christine Aubry, François Nold, Stéphane Besançon, Nastaran Manouchehri · Agricultural Sciences · France

This study assessed health risks from soil trace metals (lead, cadmium, mercury, copper, and zinc) at three urban farms near Paris (Ile-de-France region), evaluating two main exposure pathways: soil and vegetable ingestion. All three farms had soil trace-metal levels above geochemical background values and the thresholds used in France as reference values for sludge spreading. Using a Hazard Quotient (HQ)-based risk assessment (HQ being the ratio of estimated daily intake to tolerable daily intake), the riskiest scenarios were urban farmers working on-site daily year-round (HQtot = 1.02), child gardeners (HQtot = 1.29), and regular child consumers eating exclusively the farm's vegetables under a maximalist scenario (HQtot = 1.6). The adult gardener scenario followed (HQtot = 0.9), while the lowest-risk scenarios were adult consumers (HQtot = 0.62) and farm workers (HQtot = 0.45).

Annelise Caetano Fraga Fernandez, Almir Cezar Baptista Filho · Cidades, comunidades e território/Cidades comunidades e territórios · Brazil

This article describes the obstacles to applying Brazil's family-farming public policy in urban settings. It shows that a set of representations associated with rural agriculture has shaped the classification criteria used by rural technical-assistance (ATER) staff, and that this in practice limits how the policy can be applied in urban areas. It states that the mobilization of social movements linked to urban agriculture, specifically in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, led to the construction of an initiative, but the available abstract breaks off at that point.

Alice A. Oluoko-Odingo · Journal of Climate Change and Sustainability · Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper examines gender mainstreaming in adaptation to weather and climate extremes, centered on peri-urban farming in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although women provide most agricultural labour, they remain poor and among the most vulnerable to weather and climate extremes because of inequalities in ownership of and decision-making over land, assets and cash; even in well-planned African cities, developmental and environmental challenges continue to perpetuate inequality, discrimination and underdevelopment, with low-income communities living in risky areas without access to key services and facing heightened vulnerability. Combining literature review with fieldwork in peri-urban Nairobi (Machakos and Kajiado Counties), Kenya, the paper discusses how gender mainstreaming in peri-urban farming could support Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 13, while noting the research gap on gender mainstreaming in peri-urban farming as itself a problem the field has yet to address.

Micajah Daniels, Courtney Coughenour · Digital Scholarship - UNLV (University of Nevada Reno) · United States

This project uses Black Feminist Health Studies as an interdisciplinary approach to analyze the holistic impacts of community gardens on nutrition behaviors. It demonstrates, through a Socio-Ecological Wellness Wheel, that the implementation of green spaces such as community gardens correlates with both benefits and unintended negative consequences, including green gentrification, and proposes this audit tool as a way to empirically measure garden quality and the nutrition environment affecting fruit and vegetable consumption among food-insecure populations.

Ioannis Manikas, George Malindretos, Konstadinos Abeliotis · Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing · Global

An essay that states urban food production is exposed to high levels of urban-generated contaminants, and argues that urban floriculture - an intensive form of agriculture with income per unit area far higher than other agricultural branches - can offer a more sustainable and socially acceptable alternative to urban food production. It states floriculture may also reduce the carbon footprint of cut-flower transport and provide higher-quality seasonal product, and examines urban floriculture as an approach for mitigating the negative impacts of global floriculture supply chains.

Lucy Rose Wright, Ross Fraser Young · Manchester University Press eBooks · Global

A chapter introducing the concept of political gardening. It begins by situating the re-evaluation of "everyday space" within neoliberal processes of privatization, devolution and entrepreneurialism, then connects the rise of academic interest in urban gardening with the movement's political dimension. Drawing on Rawls' theory of social justice, it conflates political gardening with injustice, uses case studies to unpack that process of addressing injustice across six iterative stages, and arrives at a definition of political gardening as both a term and a process through which participants become "democratized" citizens.

Asnath Alberto Malekela · · Tanzania

In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, a study of climate change impacts on urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) drew on secondary literature plus primary data from structured and in-depth interviews, observations, and focus group discussions with 201 UPA practitioners. 84% of respondents engaged in UPA for food and income, and UPA made a positive contribution to food security. However, UPA was found to be severely affected by climate change: effects included drying of crops (41%), crop pests and diseases (28%), decreased crop yields (13%), loss of soil fertility (8%), animal diseases (43%), drying of pasture lands (41%), and livestock deaths (16%). The study states plainly that urban and peri-urban agriculture in Dar es Salaam is severely affected by climate change, and recommends adopting farming systems such as vertical farming that use limited water resources.

Michael Martin, Elvira Molin · Sustainability · Sweden

This study assessed the environmental impacts of urban vertical hydroponic farming through a life-cycle perspective, applied to a case-study vertical hydroponic farm in Stockholm, Sweden, comparing current performance with potential improvement scenarios. Results showed that growing medium, pots, electricity demand, and transportation of raw materials and product deliveries were the important contributors to environmental impact in this system. Replacing plastic pots with paper pots was found capable of producing large reductions in GHG emissions, acidification impacts, and abiotic resource depletion, and replacing conventional gardening soil with coir as the growing medium also led to large impact reductions. However, the study states that further reducing the system's impacts will require more resource-efficient steps specifically to address impacts from electricity demand, an issue not resolved by the pot and growing-medium substitutions, and identifies potential for more symbiotic exchanges using urban wastes and by-products.

Abdallah Zacharia, Wajihu Ahmada, Anne H. Outwater, Billy Ngasala, Rob Van Deun · The Scientific World JOURNAL · Tanzania

This cross-sectional study, conducted from February to August 2018, evaluated three waste stabilization ponds (WSPs) in the Morogoro, Mwanza and Iringa regions of Tanzania, where treated effluent is used for urban agricultural activities despite the disease-transmission risks posed by untreated or partially treated wastewater. Using APHA physicochemical methods, the modified Bailenger method and Ziehl-Neelsen staining for parasites, and membrane filtration for fecal coliforms (FC), analyzed with SPSS version 20, the study found helminth egg removal ranging from 80.8% to 100% and protozoan (oo)cyst removal from 98.8% to 99.9%, with the Mwanza WSP showing the highest FC reduction (3.8 log units per 100 mL). Both parasites and FCs in the effluents of the assessed WSPs were found at concentrations exceeding World Health Organization and Tanzania Bureau of Standards limits, except for helminths in the Morogoro WSP and FCs in the Mwanza WSP. FC counts correlated significantly with protozoa (p<0.01) and predicted protozoa occurrence well (p=0.011), with correlations also found among physicochemical parameters, parasites and FC bacteria. The study attributes the systems' inadequate performance to a lack of regular maintenance and/or operation beyond capacity, and concludes that FC indicators are a reasonable proxy for monitoring protozoa but not for helminths, which should be surveyed independently.

トシオ キクチ, Toshio Kikuchi, 俊夫 菊地 · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Canada

Focusing on community gardens in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, particularly in the city of Richmond, this study (2019) sought to clarify how urban agriculture's development is accompanied by the "commodification of rural space." It finds that Metro Vancouver's urban agriculture differs from suburban agriculture in that community gardens prioritize maintaining green and leisure space within the urban environment over agricultural production for food supply. The study concludes that community gardens function as a node connecting "urbanity" and "rurality," existing in the metropolitan periphery through a commodification of rural character for urban leisure use — that is, their role as green/leisure space for urban residents takes precedence over their function as actual food production.

Mary Anne Martin · Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l alimentation · Canada

This article revisits a case study of Durham Integrated Growers (DIG), an umbrella organization supporting urban agriculture in Durham Region, Ontario, Canada, through feminist theoretical framings of knowledge, work, power, care, and community. It states that community-based food initiatives, which strive to provide alternatives to dominant food production practices, are often constrained by limited access to financial, labour, time, and political resources, and notes that the feminization of urban agriculture initiatives in Canada -- despite parallels to what has traditionally been dubbed "women's work" -- has received little attention in the academic literature. Prior research on DIG revealed themes involving the need for community expertise to be recognized, the role of public policy, the effects of relying on unpaid labour, and the centrality of building community.

Will Thompson · Plinth · United Kingdom

Published 12 June 2019, this piece estimates that UK charities spend around 15.8 million hours a year on grant monitoring reports, roughly £204 million in staff time. It assumes an average of 40 hours per grant, about 391,280 grants distributed per year and an average grant of around £50,000. Charities with at least one full-time-equivalent member of staff typically juggle five to ten different funders, each asking for similar information in different formats at different times, so the administrative load accumulates without producing learning. The estimate draws on interviews with ten people at small and medium charities reporting to six local authorities and more than fifty funders.

S. Alan Walters, Karen Stoelzle Midden · Agriculture · Global

Vegetable production on green roofs faces multiple challenges, resulting in minimal current activity despite its potential for urban agricultural sustainability. While intensive green roof systems are considered suitable for vegetable production, extensive systems with shallow-rooted crops like lettuce, kale, and radish show the greatest potential for sustained productivity due to building weight restrictions. Deeper-root crops like tomatoes require constant monitoring of fertility and moisture. Green roofs are not presented as a total solution for urban food provision.

Nathan McClintock, Christiana Miewald, Eugene McCann · · North America

This chapter explores urban agriculture (UA) as fundamentally political practices, examining its role in neoliberal governance and sustainability policy-making, and as an object of contestation. It relates UA motivations and practices to processes of urbanization and political economic restructuring. The chapter highlights that UA is a site of political contestation, arising from broader political economic shifts.

Juliana Maantay, Andrew Maroko · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · United States (New York City)

This study examined whether proximity to community gardens in less affluent neighborhoods is associated with an increased likelihood of gentrification, using Brooklyn, New York as a case study. Employing GIS and spatial analysis, the results suggest that proximity to community gardens is associated with significant increases in per capita income over a five-year period. This indicates that environmental improvements, such as community gardens, may paradoxically spur gentrification and the displacement of existing lower-income residents, raising concerns for environmental justice.

Mark Paul · Journal of Agrarian Change · United States (Massachusetts)

This paper evaluates the livelihoods of Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmers in the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts from their perspective. Results indicate that while CSA farmers earn more farm income than other U.S. farms on average, they still earn far below the median national income and generally fail to earn a living wage. Despite these economic findings, farmers stressed the importance of broader social, ecological, and economic benefits to farming. The study concludes that CSA has largely failed to provide adequate livelihoods for farmers to date.

Anna Trembecka, Anita Kwartnik-Pruc · Sustainability · Poland

This study analyzed data on the number and area of allotment gardens, their distribution across Poland, and the process of regulating the legal status of land occupied by allotment gardens. The research identified the number and area of family allotment gardens in Poland, along with the range and types of claims against them. The study found that land occupied by family allotment gardens requires protection and legal status regulation, which is difficult due to various entities submitting claims to these areas because of their attractive urban locations.

Martin Dawson, Mike Hutchins, Nuria Bachiller‐Jareno, Steven Loiselle · Freshwater Science · United Kingdom (London)

A citizen-science study from 2014 to 2016 assessed water quality in a 5.6-ha urban community garden in southwestern London, using borehole water. Measurements of specific conductance and tryptophan-like fluorescence were taken over 28 months. The study found no evidence of external contamination sources or temporal changes in water quality. However, significant variations in water quality between boreholes were directly linked to on-site manure storage and use, and local geological conditions.

Camille Frazier · Journal of Political Ecology · India (Bengaluru)

This article examines the motivations and practices of organic terrace gardeners (OTGians) in Bengaluru, India, who grow food in private spaces. While OTGians successfully create a vibrant community driven by food safety and environmental concerns, their efforts are limited to the middle class due to class-specific concerns and production practices. The study highlights that urban gardening in this context remains an intervention primarily for the middle class.

Zsofia Mendly‐Zambo, Dennis Raphael · Social Policy and Society · Canada

Household food insecurity (HFI) affects over 1.7 million Canadian households, yet government action to address it has been remarkably limited. Non-governmental efforts like food banks and community gardens have depoliticized HFI, complicating solutions. The study argues that the critical materialist political economy discourse, which is least considered, best explains HFI in Canada and offers the most effective response.

Dona Pickard · International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food · Bulgaria (Plovdiv)

This paper analyzes an urban agriculture case in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, where the municipality cleared over 2 hectares of long-tolerated allotments without involving users, despite NGOs promoting urban agriculture as a social innovation. The case exemplifies barriers hindering social innovation, particularly regarding governance, as the eviction occurred without discussion about the future of urban agriculture. This suggests a lack of civic participation and access to resources for deprived groups.

Tinashe P. Kanosvamhira · Development Southern Africa · South Africa (Cape Town)

Based on a literature review, urban agriculture and its organizational forms in Cape Town, South Africa, were explored. A lack of effective coordination of initiatives among supporting actors was suggested to be a significant pitfall in the development of urban agriculture. Furthermore, the failure of farmers to self-organize was identified as equally detrimental. Therefore, improved synergies between state and non-state actors are called for to enhance the gains of urban agriculture.

In-Kyoung Hong, Young Chae, Yoonah Jang, Sangmi Lee, Jung Nam Su · Journal of people, plants, and environment · South Korea

A study in South Korea surveyed 115 urban citizens to analyze urban agriculture's effects based on income level, identifying socially sustainable, negative, and economically sustainable factors. Findings showed psychological stability, connection with nature, and local agricultural vitalization correlated significantly with income level. However, the negative effect of urban agriculture showed no significant correlation with income level.

Percy Toriro · · Zimbabwe (Harare)

This chapter explores the governance of urban food production in Harare, Zimbabwe, from 1890 to the present. Evidence indicates that while the practice has gained general acceptance through shifting positions over the years, the status of producers remains uncertain. This uncertainty stems from the lack of full incorporation of urban food production into city plans by planning officials, whose values are out of sync with Harare's lived reality.

Shannon Donovan · Case Studies in the Environment · United States (Anchorage)

A multi-faceted needs assessment, including a community survey, stakeholder workshop, and key informant interviews, was conducted in Anchorage, Alaska, to explore the strategic expansion of its community garden system. The study found that demand for community gardens far outweighs supply. To sustainably meet diverse needs, expansion efforts should focus on accessible locations, gardener capacity building, and strengthening partnerships.