Research & reports

Robert Emmett · ISLE Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment · United States (Los Angeles)

The South Central Farm in Los Angeles, a 14-acre community garden cultivated by hundreds of residents for over a decade, was a significant site against environmental racism. However, urban development ultimately led to its destruction. As of this writing, satellite images show the former lush gardens replaced by a scraped, vacant field, highlighting the impermanence of such community-led green spaces in the face of dominant urban development narratives.

Hong‐Yi Chen · Nongye xiandaihua yanjiu · Global

This article discusses the vulnerability of urban agriculture, identifying its performance in human resources, land resources, capital flows, and the ecological environment. The primary reason for this vulnerability is the unreasonable flow of human, financial, and material production factors, driven by opportunity costs, amidst rapid urbanization. Strategies for healthy development include enhancing protection awareness, promoting orderly rural labor flow, improving investment, and strengthening land resource protection.

Rachel Carey, Fanny Krumholz, Kena Duignan, Kathy McConell, Jessica L. Browne, Catherine Burns, Mark Lawrence · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Australia (Victoria)

This policy analysis examined fruit and vegetable production in peri-urban areas of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It highlights that environmental pressures, the loss and cost of peri-urban agricultural land, and a cost-price squeeze due to rising input costs and low farm-gate prices combine to threaten the viability of the Victorian fruit and vegetable industries. These pressures suggest that the availability and affordability of fruit and vegetable supplies cannot be taken for granted.

A. K. Ango, Aliyu Abdullahi, Bello Bunza Abubakar · International Research Journal of Agriculture and Soil Science · Nigeria (Birnin Kebbi)

A study in Birnin Kebbi metropolis, Nigeria, during the 2009/2010 cropping season surveyed 100 urban farmers across 10 districts. The study found that urban farmers cultivate food crops and rear animals, but identified low capital, lack of adequate funds, strict land-use regulations, and lack of agricultural inputs as major problems. Socio-economic status, family size, and education level were significantly related to participation in urban farming.

Maura Neves Coutinho, Heloísa Soares de Moura Costa · Revista Geografias · Brazil (Belo Horizonte)

This article discusses urban agriculture (UA) concepts and practices, focusing on initiatives in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, by both residents and local government. It considers UA's potential for ecological, productive, and inclusive cities, but notes the difficulty of secure access to urban land. The discussion on UA is still fragile and faces challenges in becoming an effective social policy.

Maura Neves Coutinho, Heloísa Soares de Moura Costa · Anais ENANPUR · Brazil (Belo Horizonte)

This paper discusses urban agriculture (AU) practices occurring in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, both through informal and spontaneous initiatives by residents in peripheral neighborhoods and as an object of public intervention by the local government for specific purposes. The study concludes that secure access to urban land for maintaining AU practices is difficult, and the discussion on AU remains fragile, facing challenges for its implementation as a social policy impacting urban policies.

Saloua Toumi, Roland Vidal · Projets de paysage · Europe, Africa

Urban agriculture is expanding in various metropolitan areas, but its agro-economic and socio-spatial logic differs by context. Tunisia's urban agriculture is threatened by increasing urban expansion and is not yet integrated into territorial projects. Issues related to land value appreciation are dominant, and its landscape and environmental benefits could be compromised in the relatively short term if it does not find its place in urban development plans.

胡永林 · 浙江现代农业 · China (Yuhang)

This paper examines the development of modern urban agriculture in Yuhang District, China, driven by an urbanization strategy. It notes that the provincial initiative in 2010 to establish "two zones" (modern agricultural demonstration zones and grain production functional zones) provides a clear direction and strong framework for advancing modern urban agriculture, necessitating in-depth research and practical implementation.

Inge Wagemakers, Oracle Makangu Diki · Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks · Congo (Kinshasa)

In rapidly growing African cities, particularly Kinshasa, urban agriculture is crucial for food provision, yet land available for agriculture decreases as cities expand. This study points out that in Kinshasa, population growth and a lack of empty land are pushing agriculture towards the city's periphery, threatening urban agricultural space. This situation highlights a conflict between the need to produce food and the need for living space.

José Luis Galdeano Tostado · Creatividad y sociedad: revista de la Asociación para la Creatividad · Global

This paper observes an increasing awareness of environmental issues and neighborhood action in city centers, with concepts like urban gardens and self-managed spaces becoming more familiar. It suggests that vacant lands and unused building sites in cities offer significant potential for citizens' creative initiatives. The abstract does not present any specific findings on governance challenges or critical interventions.

H.S. Geyer, Bennie Schloms, Danie du Plessis, Amanda van Eeden · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · South Africa (Cape Town)

An analysis of agricultural land consumption within the Cape Town urban edge between 2002 and 2007 revealed that low-density residential development is the primary consumer of high-potential agricultural land. Commercial, industrial, and informal residential developments had minimal impact on agricultural land loss. High-potential agricultural land is not adequately protected, and urban agriculture is constrained by competition with more profitable land uses like residential development.

幸治 江口 · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan

The Santome Area in Saitama Prefecture has practiced circular urban agriculture utilizing plain woods for 300 years, but urbanization, particularly in Kawagoe City and Tokorozawa City, is causing a significant decline in farmland and plain woods. While the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Saitama Prefecture promote urban agriculture and plain wood preservation, the plain-wood-utilizing circular urban agriculture in Santome Area faces specific problems. This paper identifies land systems, including taxation, as a central issue among these problems and examines the possibility of integrated preservation for farmland and plain woods.

Ari Jokinen, Ville Viljanen, Krista Willman · Alue ja Ympäristö · Finland (Tampere)

This article analyzes the social and ecological significance of the Pispala allotment area in Tampere, Finland, where nearly 300 plots are used for urban farming, despite city plans for building purposes. A mixed-method analysis, using field observation, planning documents, biological surveys, and questionnaires, found that farming practices make the place visible, foster social interaction, and link the site ecologically to rare plant species. However, these crucial features of urban diversity are frequently disregarded by local administrative bodies in planning.

Marcos Antonio de Castro Marques Teixeira · Aleph UCLA Undergraduate Research Journal for the Humanities and Social Sciences · Brazil

This study surveyed urban gardens in Santa Maria da Codipi and Dirceu Arcoverde, Teresina, Brazil, to assess their economic viability for gardeners. The study found that urban gardens in both areas do not provide income security for those who work them. Problems identified include petty theft, low education levels, lack of technical assistance hindering investment in new crops, and pesticide use creating a competitive disadvantage.

Liu Xiang, Na Fu, Liu, Xiang, Fu, Na · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · China

This study analyzed the current situation of rural industrialization in the process of rural-urban integration in Binhai New Area using reference and field research methods. It identified problems such as difficulties in breaking the dual economic structure in urban and rural areas, imbalanced economic development, and inadequate development of the third industry. Countermeasures proposed include optimizing agricultural industrial structure to form an urban agricultural model focusing on facility, park, and high-end agriculture to achieve intensive agricultural growth.

Michael Raleigh · eCommons (Cornell University) · United States (Buffalo)

The City of Buffalo has made progress in accepting urban farming on vacant land, but remains unwilling to take risks in this area. Policies restrict farmers' access to land, long-term security, food diversity (including animals), and sales. To foster urban farming, the City should amend these policies to grant farmers more freedom and could promote farming through a city-wide composting program and a demolition policy requiring vacant lots to be seeded with clover.

Dieudonné E. Musibono, E.M. Biey, M. Kisangala, Camille Ipey Nsimanda, B.A. Munzundu, V. Kekolemba, J.J Palus · VertigO · Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa)

Urban agriculture in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, serves as a palliative solution for social survival constraints such as a lack of remunerative salaries and sustainable jobs. However, poorly supervised urban farmers cultivate along busy roads, exposing vegetables to various contaminations, including lead. This practice highlights issues with site selection and supervision.

Eric L. Hazzard, Elizabeth Moreno, Deborah Lane Beall, Sheri Zidenberg‐Cherr · Public Health Nutrition · United States (California)

A mid-term evaluation was conducted on 3103 California public schools (80.6% of applicants) to assess the effectiveness of the California Instructional School Garden Program (CISGP). Many schools reported not achieving their predicted goals related to the CISGP grant, with only 39.4% of schools accomplishing all their garden-related goals. Additionally, 37.8% of schools reported that their school gardens were negatively affected by the California budget deficit, suggesting that the discrepancy between predicted and actual grant utilization may be due to a combination of budget shortfall and insufficient grant award amounts.

Romborah Simiyu, Dick Foeken · · Kenya

This chapter reviews national and Eldoret Municipal Council laws and policies related to Urban Agriculture (UA) in Eldoret town, Kenya. It assesses how these policies have shaped the livelihoods of urban farmers and the development of UA as a strategy for urban dwellers. The chapter also reflects on recent developments towards a more facilitative policy framework for UA at the national level.

知弘 岡田, 大介 小山 · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan

This paper is part of a special issue on the "Possibility and problem of 'coexistence of agriculture and housing' in suburban agricultural region of big city," presenting an overview of the urbanization process and contemporary challenges of town planning in the Kuga-Hatsukashi area of Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City.

Masao Makiyama, Mami Inoue · JOURNAL OF RURAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION · Global

This study examined kleingartens (stay-type allotment gardens) established by private organizations, finding an increasing number of such gardens. Case studies revealed that privately established kleingartens tend to have higher use fees compared to government-established ones. Furthermore, problems identified include the reduction of administrative and maintenance expenses, location conditions, and the succession of managers.

I. K. Adewumi, Adebanji Samuel Ogbiye, E. O. Longe, David O. Omole · Covenant University Repository (Covenant University) · Nigeria (Ota)

This study assessed the impact of industrial wastewaters discharged into River Atuwara in Ota, Nigeria, on water quality using standard physical and chemical analyses and QUAL2K software. The majority of water quality parameters exceeded maximum permissible concentrations, with BOD at ≥ 31 mg/L, COD at ≥ 181 mg/L, and alkalinity at ≥ 138.4 mg/L. High concentrations of heavy metals, including Cadmium, Pb, Zn, Fe, and Mn, were detected, indicating an environmental hazard for riparian users.

Catherine J. LaCroix · Case Western Reserve University School of Law Scholarly Commons (Case Western Reserve University) · United States (Cleveland)

This paper explores legal challenges faced by shrinking cities, using Cleveland, Ohio as an example. It specifically examines issues related to downzoning urban property for urban agriculture and other green uses, focusing on takings law, fairness, and the limitations of current legal structures for Brownfield revitalization when traditional redevelopment is improbable. The study identifies significant legal constraints and challenges in implementing such land use changes.

Miranda Martinez · · United States (Lower East Side)

This work explores the dynamics of gentrification, community gardens, and their impact on the Puerto Rican community in the Lower East Side. It examines class cultures in conflict, neighborhood transformation, and the symbolic significance of the area.

Charles French, Mimi Larsen Becker, Bruce E. Lindsay · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Cuba (Havana)

This study examined urban agriculture in Havana, Cuba, using secondary data and interviews with 11 urban gardeners. It found that while agrarian reforms after 1991 led to the growth of private urban gardens and cooperatives, Cuba's integration with the global economy and adoption of free-market principles have since forced dramatic adjustments in the urban agriculture sector. This shift presents challenges to the sector's original role in food security.