Research & reports

Supriya Dadaso Dighe · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · New Zealand

This study provides an eco-critical analysis of Eleanor Catton’s novel "Birnam Wood," exploring the entanglement of environmental activism, capitalist expansion, and identity formation. While the novel depicts conflicts between activist collectivism and corporate techno-capitalism through guerrilla gardening and land commodification, the study argues that its allegorical structure and reliance on familiar ideological binaries may constrain its capacity to generate radically new ecological insight. The research ultimately raises questions about the limits of literary representation in envisioning transformative environmental futures.

Piedley Macêdo Saraiva, Aline Maia de Macedo, Cicera Giovanna Michelly Ferreira de Oliveira, Enzo Fernandes Sá, Laysa Yanne Silva Moreira, Thayla Sousa de Oliveira, Rayna Petrola Rocha Dias Milfont · Revista Ibero-Americana de Humanidades, Ciências e Educação · Brazil

This study analyzed the implementation of a vertical garden in a nursing home in Juazeiro do Norte-CE, Brazil. The intervention contributed to the reuse of construction waste, the production of toxic-free food, and increased opportunities for interaction among residents and caregivers. However, it also revealed limitations related to the vulnerability of the target audience, scheduling incompatibilities with the academic team, and the institution's dependence on continuous garden maintenance.

Malone M., Johnson B., Richard SI., Garcia N., Hamlin S. · Journal of Environmental Management · United States (Seattle)

Compares heavy-metal concentrations in vegetables grown in urban community gardens in the Seattle metropolitan area with produce from the grocery stores participants regularly used — a question set by the partnering farmers themselves. Metal concentrations frequently exceeded health guidelines in both, but were generally higher in the community-garden produce. Cadmium and lead posed the greatest risk and may exacerbate health risks for some populations.

Wendpouiré Léticia Nadège Nonguierma, Jean-Marie Dipama · Afrique contemporaine · Africa

A study of the "Ceinture verte" (Green Belt) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, as a nature-based response to climate adaptation. Established in 1976 and relaunched in 2018, the initiative combines forestry development with urban agriculture, aiming to contain urban sprawl, improve the local climate and strengthen the capital's resilience. The study combined a diachronic analysis of Landsat imagery from 1984-2024 with interviews of institutional actors, associative partners and direct beneficiaries. Results show significant contributions — expansion of dense vegetation in some areas, a perceived improvement in air quality, the creation of income-generating market-gardening activities, and the inclusion of vulnerable populations — but also reveal strong constraints: illegal occupations covering a significant share of the land, fragmented governance, limited access to water, security fragility, and still-limited involvement of local residents. The study discusses the feasibility of a trajectory to 2050 between an optimistic scenario conditional on structural reforms and a critical scenario underscoring current limits, and offers lessons transferable to urban adaptation policies in other Sahelian metropolises.

Resa Ramadhan, Fatimah Azzahra, Syifa Fauziah · JURNAL ILMIAH MAHASISWA AGROINFO GALUH · Indonesia

A quantitative study of Karangmukti Village, Bungursari District, Purwakarta Regency, Indonesia, analyzing the influence of livelihood capital on the livelihood resilience of farming households. The village has been undergoing agricultural land conversion: the agricultural land area was about 206 hectares before the change, roughly 30 hectares were converted in 2025 (mainly for industrial and residential development), leaving about 176 hectares, and further conversion is planned for 2026-2027, which may further reduce the amount of productive agricultural land. Samples of farming households were drawn using the Slovin formula and cluster sampling, with data collected via questionnaires, interviews, observation and documentation, and analyzed using quantitative descriptive analysis and Smart-PLS. The results show that livelihood capital among farming households was at a moderate level, with natural capital as the most dominant component, and livelihood resilience was also categorized as moderate; livelihood capital was found to have a statistically significant positive influence on livelihood resilience.

Magdalena Raftowicz, Mirosław Struś · Sustainability · Poland

An empirical study in Poland, based on a critical literature review and a 2024 CAWI (computer-assisted web interview) survey of CSA producers, examined whether social capital theory explains food producers' engagement in Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) and whether this holds in practice. It found that social capital theory does explain the mechanisms underlying CSA engagement, with implications for local food system and small-farm policy, but that because of Poland's low level of social capital, the CSA model there remains only a niche complement to traditional agriculture, functioning primarily for a narrow group of socially and environmentally conscious consumers and small producer clusters.

Subin Babu Neupane, Pedro F S Toledo, Katerina Velasco-Graham, Felipe N. Soto‐Adames, Arash Kheirodin · Journal of Integrated Pest Management · United States

This is the first report documenting the invasive thrips species Thrips parvispinus, native to Southeast Asia, in Texas, USA. Samples collected from 12 locations across Texas -- including greenhouse facilities, large retail outlets and community gardens -- from plants showing foliage injury confirmed the species' presence in November 2025, and detections across multiple counties suggest it has been introduced to multiple locations and may be widely distributed in the state.

Jackson Borges de Carvalho, Murilo Couto Lacerda, Linia Dayana Lopes Machado, Rejaine Silva Guimarães · Contribuciones a las Ciencias Sociales · Brazil

A documentary literature study examined urban agriculture in Gurupi, Tocantins, Brazil, where 288 productive units exist despite the municipal master plan and local legislation not explicitly addressing the practice, focusing on the need for municipal regulation. Drawing on federal, state, and municipal legislation, academic studies, territorial diagnostics, and empirical survey data from Primo et al. (2014), the study found that urban agriculture holds socio-environmental, food, and community relevance but faces a lack of technical assistance, legal insecurity, and scarce institutional support.

Hedwig Ajeng Grahani · GeoEco · Indonesia

A 2024 systematic survey of 217 urban farming households in Yogyakarta City, Indonesia, used Stata 19 for hypothesis testing and SPSS 27 for descriptive statistics, running a multiple linear regression of net urban farming income against 22 variables covering sociodemographics, farm structure, input management, biotic stress and institutional support (R2 = 0.7448). Eleven variables had a significant effect, with farm size the most favorable factor, followed by financial support, seed subsidies and technical aid; gender and family size also showed positive effects. Crop type correlated negatively with income, and biotic stress — particularly pest type and severity — substantially reduced income, while training and market access were not statistically significant.

Abdullah Abdullah, Abdul Haris, Andi Wisneni, Annas Boceng, Maemuna Nontji, Anwar Robbo, Muhammad Munawir Syarif · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Indonesia (Makassar)

A study in Makassar City, Indonesia, evaluated the multidimensional sustainability of urban agriculture (UA) through expert discussions and semi-structured interviews with 23 purposively selected stakeholders including academics, practitioners, urban planners, legislators and government officials. A Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) approach compared sustainability indices from two previous studies, supplemented by prospective and interdependence analyses to identify key leverage factors. Results showed the overall sustainability status of UA in Makassar during 2016-2020 remained "less sustainable," with a multidimensional sustainability index of 43.02%; the ecological (51.84%) and technological (65.09%) dimensions improved to moderately sustainable status, while the economic (46.15%), social (49.81%) and institutional (39.20%) dimensions showed declining sustainability performance. The study proposes three policy directions: strengthening UA planning and management systems, improving institutional coordination among stakeholders, and expanding UA's socio-economic and environmental functions.

R. E. Molenaar, Marcel Pleijte · · Netherlands

A Wageningen University Science Shop report examines measures to improve water management for the "duinlandjes", centuries-old allotment gardens in the dunes near Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands, that form part of the Zeesdorpenlandschap cultural heritage. Commissioned by the Duinlandjesvereniging de Noord association, it investigated sustainable solutions from sociocultural, hydrological and ecological perspectives. The duinlandjes are currently experiencing flooding that makes cultivation very challenging. A stakeholder analysis found that while collaboration between the association and drinking water company PWN has advanced, interactions among stakeholders remain fragmented, and it calls for the province of Noord-Holland to take an active coordinating role. The hydrological analysis identifies winter precipitation surplus as the main driver of rising groundwater, projecting that climate change will bring wetter winters and drier summers with greater groundwater fluctuation, though long-term groundwater trends remain uncertain while winter/spring water excess will probably continue. The ecological risk assessment highlights the vulnerability of surrounding dune habitats, noting that draining and diverting excess rainwater can cause habitat degradation and increased drought stress.

Julija Bakunowitsch · Urban Planning · Germany

This qualitative study examines a publicly funded urban gardening project in Dortmund, Germany, implemented as a labor-market activation measure on temporarily available land targeting employable welfare recipients. Drawing on interviews, participant observation, and document analysis, it combines the concept of "food justice" with valuation studies to analyze how labor, land, and exchange are valued in everyday practice. The findings reveal tensions between empowerment and dependency, care and control, and social recognition and material precarity: while participants experienced gardening as meaningful work and a source of social participation and belonging, these valuations remained bounded by welfare regulations, temporary land tenure, and charity-based food distribution. The study concludes that such temporary urban gardening projects function as sites of plural, negotiated valuation where justice is enacted only provisionally, through everyday practice, within the limits of welfare governance.

Rabia Admin, Malka Shahzadi, Malika Shahzadi, Muhammed Faisal Rasheed · Social Sciences Spectrum · Pakistan

This study examines women's involvement and empowerment in agricultural activities in Lahore Cantonment, Punjab, Pakistan, based on data from 118 women engaged in agriculture, analyzed using mixed methods including descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, correlation, and multiple regression. The results show that while participation rates among women are high, women are not yet empowered, owing to existing socio-cultural and resource-based obstacles. Significant associations were found between land ownership and women's decision-making, between education and participation, and between access to credit and extension services and involvement in agricultural activities; the correlation matrix showed positive relationships among key variables, and regression analysis identified land ownership, education, and access to credit as significant predictors of women's empowerment. The paper states that changes to law, access to resources, and social support are needed to improve women's agency in peri-urban agriculture, and proposes policy measures including land rights reform, targeted educational initiatives, and improved access to resources.

Quinton J, Nesbitt L, Connolly JJT, Wyly E · Urban Studies · カナダ（バンクーバー・カルガリー）

Green gentrification describes how greening a neighbourhood — with parks, community gardens and the like — can draw in higher-income households and displace or exclude marginalised residents; the authors note this has rarely been tested empirically, and that the literature has focused almost exclusively on urban neighbourhoods even though the desire for green space is often cited as a reason households move to suburbs. Surveying 104 households in gentrified downtown Vancouver and suburban Calgary new-build neighbourhoods, the study finds green factors were of similar importance to non-green factors such as safety, scenic views and ambience (and, in Vancouver, proximity to entertainment and transit). Proximity to green space mattered more than overall neighbourhood greenness, and private green space mattered more in the suburbs. Greening, in other words, is not the sole driver, and green-gentrification research needs to widen its geography beyond dense city environments.

Liz Ignowski, John Luis Lagdameo, Liel Gonzalez, Arma Bertuso, Pepijn Schreinemachers · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems 11(1) · Philippines (Quezon City, Metro Manila)

A quantitative survey of 300 urban food producers in Quezon City, one of the 17 cities of Metro Manila, examining who practises urban agriculture, the methods and technologies used, the challenges met and the benefits gained. Production is mainly small-scale and subsistence-oriented, with commercialisation limited except among those with access to agricultural land. Self-produced food does increase access to fruit and vegetables, but participation reflects economic vulnerability rather than food sufficiency, and both scale and commercialisation depend strongly on land access — a structural barrier in dense cities. The authors conclude that urban agriculture in Quezon City acts as a safety net rather than an income source, while also providing enjoyment and stress relief, and that urban food-security policy should be realistic about the limited role of urban food production.

Jeong D., Li L., Perez-Quesada G. · Choices Magazine (Agricultural & Applied Economics Association), 2nd Quarter 2026 · United States

An analysis of community garden siting through an environmental cost-benefit framework, organised around two direct costs (land and water) and two externalities (water pollution and gentrification). Cheap vacant parcels can carry remediation and infrastructure costs that exceed those of pricier development-ready sites over a garden's planning horizon, and in arid regions irrigation can be up to 34% of annual maintenance cost. On the externality side, weak nutrient management lets nitrogen and phosphorus accumulate and risk groundwater contamination, and community gardens can raise adjacent property values by 3–4% initially and around 7% within five years, potentially displacing the lower-income residents they are meant to serve. The authors note that the absence of a comprehensive geo-referenced inventory of community gardens — with establishment dates, tenure arrangements and management practices — constrains rigorous cost quantification and causal analysis.

Plinth · Plinth · United Kingdom

Published 5 April 2026 and updated 14 June 2026. Full cost recovery means funders covering not only a project's direct costs but its proportional share of overheads — rent, finance, IT, HR and chief-executive time. The article works through an example where two of ten staff (20 per cent of capacity) deliver a project, so £28,000 of £140,000 in annual overheads is added to £85,000 of direct costs for a £113,000 budget, and notes that overhead rates of 15–25 per cent are common sector guidance. It argues that accepting grants below true cost is a structural funding problem rather than a budgeting error, with consequences including staff burnout and governance risk, and notes that charity staff earn roughly 7 per cent less per hour than equivalent roles elsewhere in the economy.

Kremer, Peleg, Borowiak, Craig, Scolio, Madeline · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · 米国（ペンシルベニア州フィラデルフィア）

US community gardens embody a conundrum: vital to community well-being and integral to urban social infrastructure, yet profoundly vulnerable through insecure land tenure, fragmented policy support and systemic disinvestment. This reflective essay examines the Philadelphia Garden Data Collaborative (PGDC), a multistakeholder initiative documenting, protecting and advocating for community-managed green space, from the authors' position as participant researchers. It traces the shift from grassroots mapping to coordinated data stewardship, which enabled both emergency interventions (such as preventing sheriff-sale evictions) and long-term preservation strategies, and examines the ethical dilemmas of collecting sensitive community data where bureaucratic neglect has rendered gardens invisible and where visibility can expose them to new risks. It concludes that data can strengthen advocacy and inform policy, but must be coupled with secure tenure mechanisms and sustained public investment.

Pearson, Natalie · British Food Journal · 英国（食を育てる人びとへの質的調査）

It is often argued that growing one's own food reduces household food waste by raising appreciation of food, but focused research on this is lacking. Using thematically analysed qualitative surveys with a privileged sample of food gardeners, this study finds the relationship more complex than proposed: for these gardeners, growing their own food can also decrease appreciation of food and create waste because of the challenges of growing, processing and storing it. Food gardening could nonetheless become an instrumental waste-prevention practice if growing is made easy and convenient, gardeners are given opportunities to work together, more channels exist for sharing surplus, and cooking skills improve. Its contribution is to critique the assumption that growing your own always leads to appreciation of food and less waste.

Rduch Paulina, Hodor Katarzyna, Wilkosz-Mamcarczyk Magdalena · Cities · ポーランド・チェコ

A study of Katowice (Poland) and Brno (Czech Republic) examining how family allotment gardens function as greenery in city centres, together with the legal regulations that govern them. Drawing on statistical and cartographic data, it shows a downward trend in the area of allotment gardens within cities.

Nkrumah B. · Urban Science · アフリカ（都市部・系統的レビュー）

A systematic review of the irony between abundant arable land and persistent hunger in African cities. It asks why a disproportionate share of urban residents do not produce their own food, even as food insecurity rises with heavy reliance on market-bought food, high poverty and rapid urbanisation, screening peer-reviewed literature via PRISMA and five inclusion benchmarks to clarify the debate on low uptake of urban agriculture.

Rao X., Zahid A., Ye X., Jain D., Duffield N. · Urban Informatics · 国際（論考）

A Perspective arguing that controlled environment agriculture (CEA), driven by venture capital and profit-maximising imperatives, has delivered limited scalability, narrow crop diversity and minimal engagement with spatial equity — the fair distribution of food infrastructure across urban geographies. It calls for repositioning CEA not as a standalone technological fix but as a component of urban infrastructure delivering co-benefits for food justice, public health and environmental resilience.

Hinch J. · Southeastern Geographer · 米国フロリダ州タンパベイ

This study builds an equity-focused, GIS-based multi-criteria decision analysis model integrating socioeconomic, logistical and environmental variables to assess community garden suitability across census tracts in Tampa Bay. High-suitability tracts cluster somewhat in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties, existing gardens align moderately with modelled suitability, and the paper shows both the utility and the limits of spatial models in equitable urban agriculture planning.

Olabode K., Lewińska K., Komorowicz I. · Environmental Geochemistry and Health · ポーランド南部・ズウォティストク（旧鉱山地域）

Quantifies total arsenic, gastric-phase in vitro bioaccessible arsenic (IVBA) and direct-soil-exposure risks for children and adults in mining-affected allotment gardens in Złoty Stok, southern Poland, applying deterministic calculations and Monte Carlo simulation to incidental soil ingestion, dermal contact and inhalation of resuspended particles. Total As ranged 433–1148 mg/kg and IVBA 4.5–23.5%. Under the total-As multi-pathway scenario median hazard indices were 5.50 for children and 0.62 for adults (P05/P95: 2.26/15.18 and 0.29/1.89). Median total cancer risk was 1.78×10⁻⁴ for children and 1.06×10⁻⁴ for adults, with 80.0% of simulated child profiles and 54.0% of adult profiles at or above 10⁻⁴. Ingestion and dermal contact accounted for nearly all modeled risk while inhalation was negligible; applying IVBA to the ingestion pathway alone cut the median ingestion-related hazard quotient and cancer risk by 89.3%. Total soil As and soil ingestion rate were the principal positive risk drivers, body weight inversely associated.

Leanne Idzerda, Calin Lazarescu, Tricia Corrin, Eric Vallières, Alix Couture, Sara Khan, Lynn McIntyre, Valerie Tarasuk, Alejandra Jaramillo Garcia · Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada · Canada

A systematic review (PROSPERO CRD42021254450) searching four databases to 19 February 2025, with duplicate independent screening, risk-of-bias assessment and certainty grading, on food-based interventions that could reduce household food insecurity (HFI) in Canada. Exposure to food voucher programmes may reduce HFI, but exposure to food box, community gardening, school food, hunting and fishing, and food charity programmes may have little to no effect on HFI. The authors conclude that because HFI is primarily an economic problem, food-based responses are unlikely to have a major impact on overall HFI and a more comprehensive public policy approach is required. This is direct counter-evidence to framing community gardens as a food-insecurity intervention.