Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
2116 results(35 / 85)
Nature-Based Solutions for Agriculture in Circular Cities: Challenges, Gaps, and Opportunities
2021Alba Canet-Martí, Rocío Pineda‐Martos, Ranka Junge, Katrin Bohn, Teresa A. Paço, Cecília Delgado, Gitana Alenčikienė, Siv Lene Gangenes Skar, Gösta F. M. Baganz · Water · Global
This paper examines nature-based solutions (NBS) for urban agriculture (UA) in circular cities, focusing on input/output streams. It identifies that the understanding of I/O streams for different NBS is insufficient to fully leverage their potential for strengthening circularity in UA. The study pinpoints gaps that hinder UA's development as an opportunity within the Circular City framework, emphasizing the need for a broader understanding of food-related urban streams.
Limited or null effectOrganic cycleClimate changeAssessing Agri-Food Start-Ups Sustainability in Peri-Urban Agriculture Context
2021Ambrogio Zanzi, Valentina Vaglia, Roberto Spigarolo, Stefano Bocchi · Land · Italy (Milan)
This study assessed the sustainability of eight agri-food start-ups in a peri-urban area of Milan, Italy, using the FAO's Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture systems (SAFA) framework. The application of SAFA indicators revealed positive aspects but also some limitations typical of unstructured enterprises.
Economic viabilityPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsPolicyCommunityClimate changePromoting Urban Agriculture and Its Opportunities and Challenges—A Global Review
2021Chethika Gunasiri Wadumestrige Dona, Geetha Mohan, Kensuke Fukushi · Sustainability · Global
This systematic literature review analyzed 54 articles on urban agriculture, examining socio-economic context, agriculture models, opportunities, and challenges. The review found that academic literature favors community gardens in developed countries and gives comparatively less attention to identifying challenges, benefit groups, and government support for urban agriculture.
Governance failureCommunityHealthEconomicsPolicyMonitoring the contribution of urban agriculture to urban sustainability: an indicator-based framework
2021Carlos Tapia, Linda Randall, Shinan Wang, Luciane Aguiar Borges · Sustainable Cities and Society · Denmark (Aarhus)
This study presents a novel indicator-based evaluation framework for urban agriculture, tested in Fællesgartneriet Brabrand, a community garden in Aarhus, Denmark. The framework aims to capture the contribution of gardening practices to urban sustainability, acknowledging that urban agriculture may also have social and environmental externalities depending on prevalent farming practices.
Environmental trade-offsCommunityHealthPolicyClimate change“We Have Been Part of the Response”: The Effects of COVID-19 on Community and Allotment Gardens in the Global North
2021Victoria 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.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyHealthFood sovereignty & justiceEnvironmental and social life cycle assessment of growing media for urban rooftop farming
2021Susana 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.
Equity & displacementDigital agricultureClimate changeEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Oasis
2021Christina 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.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityPolicyEconomicsServiços e Desserviços Ambientais Associados à Agricultura Urbana e Periurbana no Município de São Paulo
2021Bruno 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.
Environmental trade-offsUrban–rural linkageClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicyThe Sprouting Farms: You Are What You Grow
2021Jamie 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.
Equity & displacementPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityDigital agricultureO DESENVOLVIMENTO SÓCIO-ESPACIAL DA AGRICULTURA URBANA E PERIURBANA (AUP) NA CIDADE DE FORTALEZA, CEARÁ
2021Gabriela de Azevedo Marques, Iara Rafaela Gomes · Boletim Goiano de Geografia · Brazil
This empirical study analyzed the socio-spatial development of Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (AUP) in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, examining both spontaneous agricultural activities and municipal institutional actions. While AUP holds significant relevance in the city, particularly in peripheral areas, governmental initiatives were found to be sporadic and discontinuous, lacking a broader institutional agenda. The study concluded that despite recent municipal efforts, legal and institutional support for AUP remains weak, leading to the rapid disappearance of productive spaces and indicating that institutional actions have not effectively fostered the socio-spatial development of spontaneous initiatives.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyCommunityUrban–rural linkageDESKRIPSI KEGIATAN BUDIDAYA TOGA BERBASIS URBAN FARMING SERTA ASPEK KENDALA YANG DIHADAPI: SUATU KASUS TOGA KUNYIT DI KELURAHAN RANCABOLANG, KECAMATAN GEDEBAGE, KOTA BANDUNG
2021Elly Rasmikayati, Anton Eisa Putra, Bobby Rachmat Saefudin · MIMBAR AGRIBISNIS Jurnal Pemikiran Masyarakat Ilmiah Berwawasan Agribisnis · Indonesia (Bandung City)
This study used descriptive statistics to examine urban farming-based TOGA plant cultivation activities and their obstacles in Rancabolang Village, Bandung City. The program has not run optimally, with cultivation activities not reaching the production stage for economic use, as most harvests are only for PKK group members and harvesting is not routine. Key obstacles include limited land and seed needs for cultivation, unscheduled harvesting, small production for marketing, and low member participation and irregular meetings for organization.
Governance failureCommunityEconomicsFood educationHow to guarantee food supply during pandemics? Rethinking local food systems from peri-urban strategic agents’ behaviour: The case study of the Barcelona Metropolitan Region
2021Sònia Callau-Berenguer, Anna Roca-Torrent, Josep Montasell-Dorda, Sandra Ricart · Investigaciones Geográficas · Spain (Barcelona)
This study analyzed the food system behavior in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region, Spain, during the initial stage of the Covid-19 pandemic (March-May 2020). Semi-structured interviews with 11 peri-urban entities and institutions revealed shortcomings in the operation and logistics of the metropolitan food system. Findings also indicated complicity between local producers and urban consumers, the role of peri-urban agricultural areas in food supply, and a need for cooperation among food system agents.
Governance failurePeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicyReasons and Remedies to the Dying Plant Walls
2021Hayley Q McGough · DigitalCommons - CalPoly (California State Polytechnic University) · Global
This paper investigates why plant façades on buildings frequently die, preventing them from fully realizing benefits like urban heat island reduction and improved air quality. Through interviews with landscape architects, it examines factors for maintaining plant façades and assesses if new approaches, such as earlier integration of landscape architects or biocurtains, can address the high mortality rates. The study highlights that these plant façades often fail, leading to waste and unfulfilled potential.
Limited or null effectClimate changeBiodiversityEconomicsDIYPollution in rainwater harvesting: A challenge for sustainability and resilience of urban agriculture
2021Yang Deng · Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters · Global
While rainwater harvesting (RWH) is considered a sustainable irrigation method for urban agriculture, contaminants in rainwater pose challenges to RWH practices due to potential threats to crop, soil, and human health. Based on literature data, principal pollutants such as particles, toxic metals like cadmium, copper, and zinc, synthetic organic chemicals like agrochemicals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and waterborne pathogens were identified as likely exceeding irrigation quality criteria. This study identifies challenges, knowledge gaps, and research needs for RWH irrigation, offering a basis for technical strategies.
Contamination & food safetyHealthClimate changeOrganic cycleANALISIS AKSESIBILITAS PETANI PERKOTAAN TERHADAP AGROINPUT DAN IMPLIKASINYA TERHADAP PENGEMBANGAN URBAN FARMING
2021Harniati Harniati, Reni Suryanti · Jurnal Penyuluhan Pertanian · Indonesia
This study investigated urban farmers' accessibility to agroinputs in intra-urban (Situ Gede, Margajaya) and peri-urban (Pasir Buncir, Pasir Eurih of Tamansari) areas in Indonesia. The findings revealed that land, labor, feed concentrate, fertilizer, and seeds are difficult for farmers to access. Specifically, peri-urban paddy land ownership is less than 0.2 Ha, intra-urban farmers are landless, outside labor is limited and expensive, and feed concentrate for sheep is rarely available and unaffordable. These limited accessibilities present problems and challenges for urban agribusiness development.
Economic viabilityPolicyEconomicsCommunityPeri-urban agricultureAssessment of the Effect of Urban Agriculture on Achieving a Localized Food System Centered on Chicago, IL Using Robust Optimization
2021Christine Costello, Zeynab Oveysi, Bayram Dündar, Ronald G. McGarvey · Environmental Science & Technology · United States (Chicago)
This study used optimization techniques to assess the land area and radius needed around Chicago, Illinois, to meet nutritional needs. It found that no mix of food items could satisfy vitamin D, B12, and calcium needs within a 650 km radius. While urban agriculture reduced the required radius by 10-15 km, significant nutrient fortification or supplementation was still necessary to localize the food system.
Limited or null effectHealthUrban–rural linkageEconomicsPathogen and heavy metal contamination in urban agroecosystems of northern Ghana: Influence of biochar application and wastewater irrigation
2021Isaac Asirifi, Korbinian Kaetzl, Steffen Werner, Courage Kosi Setsoafia Saba, Felix K. Abagale, Philip Amoah, Bernd Marschner · Journal of Environmental Quality · Ghana
A field experiment in northern Ghana assessed health risks from pathogen and heavy metal contamination in urban agriculture, evaluating rice husk biochar, N-P-K fertilizer, and their combinations with untreated wastewater or tap water irrigation. While heavy metals in irrigation water and soil were below FAO/WHO standards, wastewater irrigation caused significant E. coli, fecal coliform, and helminth egg contamination on red amaranth vegetables and in soil. Biochar application did not affect bacterial contamination.
Contamination & food safetyHealthOrganic cycleImpact of Urbanization on Agricultural Land in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria
2021Shabu Terwase · International Journal of African and Asian Studies · Nigeria
This study assessed the impact of urbanization on agricultural land in Makurdi Local Government Area, Benue State, Nigeria, using population figures and land use data from 1997, 2007, and 2017. GIS analysis revealed an increase in settlement and a decrease in agricultural land, with 99.51 hectares of agricultural land converted to settlement between 1997 and 2017. Urbanization significantly decreased agricultural land, activities, and farm size in the study area.
Environmental trade-offsUrban–rural linkagePolicyMicro and Small Enterprises in Dire Dawa Administration: Marketing Mix Challenges and Opportunities and Their Implication on Sales Turnover
2021Yalew Mamo · European Journal of Business and Management · Ethiopia (Dire Dawa)
This cross-sectional descriptive study examined marketing challenges and opportunities for 226 micro and small enterprises, including urban agriculture, in Dire Dawa City, Ethiopia. Regression analysis found that product, price, and place significantly affected sales turnover, but promotion had an insignificant effect. Major challenges included a lack of coordination among government offices and insufficient commitment from enterprise owners.
Governance failureEconomicsProduction of Edibles and Use of Garden Waste in Domestic Gardens of a Middle-Class Suburb in Cape Town, South Africa
2021Anjali Mistry, Manfred Spocter · · South Africa (Cape Town)
A study in a middle-class suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, investigated edible cultivation and garden waste management in domestic gardens. While potential gardening space averaged two-thirds of residential plots, 129 respondents primarily cultivated lawns, not food, with minimal vegetable production. Residents often used private gardening services for waste disposal, and on-site garden waste disposal techniques need promotion.
Limited or null effectDIYCompostCommunityUrban–rural linkageAnalysis of the Physical Structure of School Gardens as Learning Environments
2021Zerrin Mercan, Büşra BİLİR, Nilüfer Darıca · Cukurova University Faculty of Education Journal · Turkey
This qualitative study examined the gardens of 27 preschool education institutions in Gaziantep province as physical learning environments. Findings showed that while physical and social areas existed in school gardens, they required qualitative support. Silent areas were very limited and located within vocal areas, and creative and sensory areas were not present in the school gardens.
Limited or null effectFood educationCommunityHealthRe-energizing Japan's teikei movement
2021Chika Kondo · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Japan
This paper analyzes Japan's teikei movement (Japanese CSA) and how it exemplifies diverse economies. Through case studies of two teikei groups in the Kansai region, it assesses how changes made by current generations allow teikei to adapt to long-standing challenges, such as the decline of volunteer labor. Despite current members' detachment from strong activist identities, they sustain their organizations through part-time work, community building, and institutionalizing volunteer labor.
Economic viabilityCSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsDevelopment potentials and sustainability challenges of peri-urban farming in the metropolis of Rabat (Morocco)
2021Fatiha Hakimi · Journal of Analytical Science & Technology · Morocco (Rabat)
This study assessed the practices, roles, and challenges of peri-urban farming in the metropolis of Rabat, Morocco, surveying 50 respondents. Peri-urban agriculture is a multifunctional activity contributing to job creation, income generation, food supply, and environmental beautification. However, it faces several constraints, including precarious and costly labor, absence of regulating laws, lack of training and technical supervision for peri-urban farmers, and water resource shortages.
Environmental trade-offsPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsClimate changePolicyPeri-urban agriculture and alternative food networks in Athens: Solidarity dynamics, spatial planning challenges and institutional reforms
2021Sofia Nikolaidou · Cahiers de la Méditerranée · Greece (Athens)
This article analyzed the role of peri-urban agriculture and alternative food networks (AFN) in the Athens metropolitan area, Greece, using a mixed method approach including qualitative, quantitative research, and spatial data collection. Bottom-up claims for food security positively impacted sustainable food systems and public policies, while informal retail channels and self-production schemes strengthened agricultural resilience. However, poor land management and zoning control are major constraints to sustainable agricultural production and farmers' resilience in the Athens metropolitan area.
Governance failurePeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityPolicyGoals and persistence of sustainability experiments in divergent urban contexts: urban agriculture and a geodemographic classification in London
2021Irene Håkansson · Local Environment · United Kingdom (London)
This paper critically examines urban experimentation for sustainability, arguing that urban experiments are often assessed from a diffusion-oriented perspective that over-emphasizes unifying visions and neglects unsuccessful initiatives. Using a novel methodological approach combining a metropolitan geodemographic typology with qualitative data on 166 active and inactive urban agriculture initiatives across London, the paper demonstrates that neglecting the diversity of urban socio-economic, demographic, and physical contexts may lead to the erroneous suggestion that only demographically privileged places can achieve sustainability. It highlights that contextual differences at neighborhood levels significantly influence socio-spatial patterns of experimentation.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomics