Research & reports

Pay Drechsel, Keraita, Bernard N. · CGSPace A Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) · Global

A CGIAR (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) perspective piece on food and water challenges at the urban-rural interface amid global urbanization. It states that in low-income countries, investments in waste management and sanitation are not keeping pace with population growth, so the urban "return flow" of waste is not adequately managed. Where polluted water is used for irrigation to feed cities, food safety becomes a crucial component of food security. The piece explicitly states that urban and peri-urban farming systems — often run by the informal sector — are the systems most affected by this resource competition and pollution. It describes CGIAR's Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) research program as working at the interface of agriculture and sanitation to address these urbanization-related challenges and opportunities.

Michelle L. Kaiser, Michele L. Williams, Nicholas T. Basta, Michelle D. Hand, Sarah Huber · Journal of Food Protection · 米国・オハイオ

Focus groups (n=67) in four low-income Ohio neighbourhoods plus soil tests at six sites. Residents wanted gardens for fresh produce but worried about soil. Lead, zinc, cadmium and copper were present (paint likely main source); arsenic/chromium and PAHs were low. Further management to cut Pb/Cd bioavailability is needed before food crops; longer-established gardens showed lower contaminant signals. Critical evidence that vacant-lot gardening requires soil risk assessment.

Baltazar M.L. Namwata, Idris S. Kikula, Peter A. Kopoka · Journal of African studies · Africa

A study examined urban farmers' access to land, water and inputs for urban agriculture toward household food security, employment creation and income generation in Dodoma municipality, Tanzania. A cross-sectional survey of 300 urban farmers from both squatter and non-squatter settlements used structured questionnaires, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, observations and documentary review. The analysis found urban farmers constrained by land tenure insecurity, erratic water access, inadequate inputs for optimizing plot productivity, and ambivalent application of urban legislative frameworks, with no support given to enable urban farmers to access land, water and inputs. The apparent lack of political will necessary to promote such access is reflected in weak or absent policy frameworks, resulting in an enormous capacity deficit.

Yang Feng-x · · China

A field investigation with detailed records examined the safety of park green spaces in major parks and community gardens in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, China. Measured against a "people-oriented" guiding principle and a "select the auspicious, avoid the inauspicious" principle, the study identifies several safety hazards and unreasonable plant arrangements present in these park green spaces as irrational, and proposes methods and countermeasures to address them.

National Audit Office · National Audit Office (NAO) · United Kingdom

An investigation published by the UK National Audit Office on 29 October 2015. The children's charity Kids Company received at least £46 million of public funding over fifteen years, £28 million of it from the Department for Education. In 2008 it took 20 per cent of the funding available under one programme, and in 2011 it received over twice the amount given to any other grant recipient. Officials raised sustainability concerns in six separate briefings between 2002 and 2015, yet funding continued outside competitive processes; the charity closed insolvent on 5 August 2015 and around 1,900 cases were passed to local authorities.

Georgia Graham · Channel 4 News · United Kingdom

A fact-check on Kids Company, the charity founded in 1996 that operated in London and Bristol. It claimed to reach 36,000 children by 2015 and had received £46 million of public money over fifteen years — £44 million from central government, £28 million of that from the Department for Education. Its 2013 annual income was £23 million, 20 per cent from government and 77 per cent from private donations. The piece notes that government oversight relied on the charity's own self-assessments, with no independent verification of outcomes or beneficiary numbers.

Emily Gustafsson-Wright, Sophie Gardiner, Vidya Putcha · Brookings Institution · Global

A Brookings Institution report published on 9 July 2015 examining the 38 impact bond deals in existence as of 1 March 2015, with six more contracted by July. It defines impact bond structures, inventories existing deals, sets out policy frameworks and the motivations of each type of stakeholder, and tests the claims made for impact bonds. The authors express cautious optimism while stressing that the field remains nascent and needs greater transparency and continued research.

Chiara Tornaghi · Progress in Human Geography · Global

This paper defines the scope and an initial agenda for a critical geography of urban agriculture, noting that despite growing interest across disciplines, it remains a marginal field in human geography. Beyond rhetoric, urban agriculture raises questions for critical geographers, particularly regarding its role in reshaping urban landscapes and experimenting with alternatives to capitalist urban organization. The paper highlights that urban agriculture is sometimes establishing embryonic forms of recreating the Commons.

Melissa N. Poulsen, Marie L. Spiker, Peter J. Winch · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States (Baltimore)

This study explored the perceived importance of community buy-in for urban farming, along with its barriers, facilitators, and strategies, through participant observation at urban farms and interviews with urban farmers, neighborhood leaders, residents, and key stakeholders in Baltimore, Maryland. Findings revealed that residents' unfamiliarity with urban farming, concerns about negative neighborhood impacts, and perceptions of urban farms as "outsider projects" were barriers to buy-in. Strategies for gaining buy-in were shown to follow three main phases: gaining entry into a neighborhood, introducing the urban farm idea, and engaging the neighborhood.

David Adams, Michael Hardman, Peter J. Larkham · Local Environment · Global

This paper explores those affected by guerrilla gardening, noting that it often colonizes land without permission and transforms areas without consulting local communities. Grounding its argument in evidence from three guerrilla groups, the study investigates the public's views on several informal gardening projects. Responses were very mixed, ranging from positive comments about improving aesthetics to negative remarks surrounding the practices of some groups. Ultimately, the paper demonstrates that although often promoted as constructive, guerrilla gardening can result in adverse impacts on those who surround colonized sites.

Brent F. Kim, Melissa N. Poulsen, Jared D. Margulies, Katie L. Dix, Anne Palmer, Keeve E. Nachman · PLoS ONE · United States (Baltimore, Maryland)

This study characterized urban community gardeners' knowledge and perceptions of soil contaminant risks in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, through surveys with 70 gardeners from 15 gardens and interviews with 18 key informants. It found low levels of concern and inconsistent knowledge regarding heavy metal and organic chemical contaminants among gardeners. Furthermore, barriers to investigating garden site history and conducting soil tests, along with limited knowledge of best practices for reducing exposure, were identified.

Harry Kasumba, Tabukeli Musigi Ruhiiga · Journal of Human Ecology · Global

This literature review explored the potential of Structural Path Analysis (SPA) for investigating urban agriculture. The review found that urban agriculture has not yet attracted scholarship using the SPA technique. It also identified that smaller geographical areas often lack applicable databases for SPA, and a critical requirement for SPA is a developed system of continuous record-keeping by participants, which is often absent.

Aminata Koné, Kouamé M. Adou · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Congo (Kinshasa)

This article details a methodology developed in 2014 to assess the association between heavy metal contamination in market-sold vegetables and consumer biomarker exposure in Kinshasa, Congo. The cross-sectional design includes stratified random sampling of vendors, laboratory analysis of leafy vegetables for lead, cadmium, and mercury, recruitment of regular consumers for interviews and blood/urine sample collection, and statistical analysis using multiple regression. The described protocol was successfully piloted, demonstrating feasibility with a high participant recruitment rate.

Suleiman Mkwela Hawa · Journal of Geography and Regional Planning · Tanzania (Dar Es Salaam)

This study assessed the governance of urban agriculture (UA) in Kinondoni Municipality, Dar Es Salaam City, Tanzania, through the perceptions of 24 local leaders. Unstructured interviews focused on leadership quality, infrastructure provision, and farmers' land rights. The leaders generally perceived limited efforts and plans to support UA in the municipality based on these criteria.

Zogo Ndomo, Yannick Emmanuel · Bulletin of animal health and production in Africa · Global

Urban agriculture in developing countries is a vital asset in the livelihood strategies of urban households, having expanded rapidly over the last two decades and contributing to income generation for unqualified workforces. However, the illegal status of urban agriculture has created a governance vacuum, necessitating policy formulation and institutionalized management to secure land for the urban poor and improve food security and the environment. Political leaders have a role in regulating this sector.

Rachel Surls, Gail Feenstra, Sheila Golden, Ryan E. Galt, Shermain Hardesty, Claire Napawan, Cheryl Wilen · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · United States (California)

Urban agriculture (UA) in California has been slower to gain momentum compared to other urban states, partly due to limited availability of relevant information and technical assistance for urban farmers and municipal decision-makers. A University of California Cooperative Extension project is developing web-based educational resources based on a needs assessment, which includes a literature review, an internal survey of personnel, and community interviews. Preliminary findings indicate challenges in supporting urban farming due to resource constraints and information gaps.

Nerea Morán Alonso, José Luis Fernández de Casadevante · Hábitat y Sociedad · Spain

In Spain, urban agriculture is gaining importance, but faces difficulties in municipal regulation, particularly for community gardens. This regulatory challenge perpetuates the insecurity and precariousness of urban agriculture projects.

Chen Ao Nan · 农民致富之友 · China (Wudang District)

A field survey conducted on agricultural parks in Wudang District, Guizhou Province, China, studied the development status, progress, and existing problems of the Wudang District Cherry Modern High-Efficiency Agricultural Demonstration Park. The findings indicated that while the park's construction progressed rapidly and orderly with some innovations in its operating mechanism, it also faced many problems and difficulties.

Mikey Tomkins · Repository hosted by TU Delft Library (TU Delft) · United Kingdom (London)

This research explored reactions to the idea of potential urban agriculture landscapes through 32 participatory walks with 150 local residents around a 25-hectare site in east London. The walks used an "edible map" that suggested food growing in vacant urban areas. The study showed initial engagement with urban agriculture and local food systems, but also produced a strong critique of urban spatial design and a desire for place-making.

Margot J. Pollans · Pace Digital Repository (Pace University) · United States

This article examines the various roles law plays in the cultivation of urban agriculture. It argues that despite growing enthusiasm for urban agriculture, serious equity and ecological concerns exist within the forms of modern urban agriculture, recommending that careful strategic planning should align the implementation of available legal tools to address these concerns.

Duncan Hilchey · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States

A study in the late 1990s investigated small-scale grower cooperatives in the northeastern United States, which had annual sales of US$5 million or less. It found many barriers to growth, including managers' difficulties in balancing diverse member interests, meeting buyer standards, and operating in a high-cost, low-price business. The Northeast Federation of Family-Farm Cooperatives (NEFFCO), a proposed support group, did not last beyond its grant period, indicating challenges in sustaining such initiatives.

H.W. Kamwele, George Mark Onyango, George G. Wagah, Maria Nyström · Chalmers Publication Library (Chalmers University of Technology) · Kenya

This paper examines the legal and policy framework affecting urban agriculture development in Eldoret Municipality, Kenya, through a case study involving interviews with government officials and review of various acts and bylaws. It found that while national legislation allows for urban agriculture, there is no specific policy for it, and Eldoret Municipality tolerates the practice despite its illegality. The study concludes that the awareness of urban farming's importance has not translated into formal recognition in bylaws and ordinances.

Ophélie Robineau, Julia Tichit, Thomas Maillard · Espaces et sociétés · Global

This study examines the socio-spatial integration of urban agriculture in three Southern cities, despite its limited consideration in urban planning policies. In Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso), farmers secure access to productive resources through social relations. In Metro Manila (Philippines), local actor networks ensure the sustainability of practices. In Saint-Louis (Senegal), farmers' self-initiated organizations enable them to assert their interests with urban authorities, highlighting the challenge of urban agriculture not being adequately integrated into planning policies.

Tim Cashion, I. Forbes, Irena Knežević · · Canada

This preliminary study in Nova Scotia, Canada, explored the initiation and sustainability of community food initiatives through in-depth interviews with coordinators. The research identified that these initiatives are in a precarious state due to reliance on volunteers, land ownership issues, and a lack of consistent funding. Despite these challenges, they persist through community support and coordinator dedication.

Luke Drake · Urban Geography · Global

This study analyzed six case studies of community gardens, categorized by grassroots, externally-organized, and active nonprofit management, to examine how "community" definitions influence participation or resistance in urban food production. The analysis highlights specific organizational and management moments that affect engagement, scrutinizing community gardens as sites of governmentality that produce neoliberal subjects.