Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Farmer awareness of heavy metal contamination in urban roadside vegetables along the Accra–Tema motorway, Ghana
2025Ebenezer Boahen · Discover Agriculture · Ghana
This study assessed the awareness and practices of 50 purposively selected vegetable farmers along the Accra-Tema Motorway, Ghana, regarding heavy metal contamination from vehicular emissions and its potential health implications. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and one-on-one interviews. Results showed that 96% of the farmers were unaware of heavy metal contamination, though 80% expressed a willingness to discontinue farming near the motorway if they were informed of the risks. Farmers face challenges such as limited access to clean irrigation water and dependence on informal agricultural knowledge. The study highlights the urgent need for targeted educational interventions to raise awareness about the risks of heavy metal exposure and to encourage safer farming practices.
Contamination & food safetyHealthEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceFuture climate risks and sectoral vulnerabilities shaping resilience in the Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana
2025Yaw Agyeman Boafo, Bob Offei Manteaw, Philip Antwi‐Agyei, Portia Adade-Williams, Nana Ama Browne Klutse, Kofi Asare, Doreen Larkailey Lartey, Bernard Ayittiah · Discover Cities · Ghana
This study assesses future climate risks and sectoral vulnerabilities in Ghana's Cape Coast Metropolis using meteorological data and downscaled climate projections through 2100. Findings indicate significant warming trends and heightened rainfall variability, which render peri-urban agriculture highly susceptible to crop failure, fishery declines, and water scarcity. Informal economic sectors are also at risk from infrastructure damage and income impacts.
Limited or null effectClimate changePeri-urban agricultureEconomicsDigital Land Governance and Gendered Credit Access: A Peri-urban Theoretical Framework for Kigali, Rwanda (2000–2026)
2025Marie Claire Uwase, Jean de Dieu Uwimana · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Rwanda (Kigali)
This article develops a theoretical framework to analyze how digital land registries in Rwanda, specifically in Kigali's peri-urban areas, mediate women's access to formal agricultural credit. The framework posits that despite formal legal equality, digitization can paradoxically solidify existing patriarchal biases within credit assessment algorithms. It reveals that digital land governance is not a neutral solution for gendered credit gaps and can entrench barriers to women's financial inclusion in peri-urban agriculture by systematically undervaluing women's communal land use practices as collateral.
Equity & displacementPeri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomicsDigital agricultureÅ øke ambisjonene for urbant landbruk i det offentlige rom: å fremme urban agroøkologi og planetær helse
2025Chiara Tornaghi · · Global
This chapter, based on 15 years of research, identifies key shortcomings in urban planning policy that prevent urban agriculture from reaching its full potential for human and non-human health. These include the failure to recognize urban agriculture as food production, the invisibility of soil and its role, and the neglect of soil care and food production specialists in public land design and soil management. The chapter suggests that agroecological considerations can enhance urban agriculture's ambition in public spaces.
Governance failurePolicyHealthCommunityClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceImplications for malaria transmission: a cross-sectional study on the bionomics and susceptibility of local malaria vectors in urban and periurban settings of Ndola district
2025Westone Hamwata, Mwendalubi Hazyondo, Victor Daka, Mbanga Muleba, Nzooma M. Shimaponda-Mataa · BMJ Open · Zambia
A cross-sectional study in urban and periurban areas of Ndola district, Zambia, assessed malaria vector behavior and insecticide resistance. Urban agriculture practices created highly productive mosquito breeding sites like irrigation trenches and garden ponds, where Anopheles funestus s.s and Anopheles gambiae s.s coexisted. Anopheles gambiae s.s showed high resistance to pyrethroids, carbamates, and organochlorines, indicating that urban agricultural practices increase the risk of sustaining malaria transmission year-round.
Environmental trade-offsHealthPeri-urban agricultureUrban Agriculture or Agriculture in Urban Space? A Systematic Review of Concepts, Characteristics and Typologies
2025Joyce dos Santos Saraiva, Caio Cézar Ferreira de Souza, Maria Lúcia Bahia Lopes, Helena Lúcia Zagury Tourinho, Marcos Antônio Souza dos Santos · Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental · Global
This study, using a systematic literature review with the PRISMA method, investigated whether distinctions between urban and rural agriculture justify "urban agriculture" as a specific category. The analysis revealed a lack of consensus among authors, with a predominant understanding that there are not two distinct types of agriculture, but rather the same activity carried out in different spaces, which questions the validity of the term "urban agriculture."
Methodological critiqueUrban–rural linkagePolicyThe Social Determinants of Urban Agricultural Practice: A Study of Market Gardeners in the City of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
2025Vazoumana Koné · Uirtus · Côte d’Ivoire
In Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, market gardening is widespread, but the Master Plan of Greater Abidjan does not allocate specific spaces for these crops. This forces producers to use unsuitable areas like flood-prone lowlands. A study of 45 market gardeners found that they employ various social practices to legitimize their activities and maintain their presence in urban spaces despite the lack of official land allocation.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsConclusion: Cultivating Middle Ground
2025· The MIT Press eBooks · Global
This book examines community farms in Latin America, Australia, and China, highlighting tensions between local identities and global transformation. It finds that while industrial expansion in export agribusiness generates macroeconomic benefits, it incurs micro-level costs such as the replacement of peri-urban farms by plantations, loss of biodiversity, and groundwater contamination from pesticides and fertilizers. The study suggests that food system intermediaries are crucial in connecting rural migrants with urban farms and resources.
Environmental trade-offsCommunityPeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceBiodiversityClimate changeCommunity connectedness and sustainable eating
2025Michela Lenzi, Andrea Scatolon, Luciana Carraro, Margherita Guidetti, Valentina Carfora · Current Opinion in Psychology · Global
This review explored how community connectedness influences sustainable eating, particularly meat consumption. It found that while community ties can encourage pro-environmental behaviors and support plant-based diet initiatives, a strong connection to one's community may also hinder the adoption of environmentally friendly diets by reinforcing meat-heavy culinary traditions. The potential for community connectedness to promote sustainable eating depends on factors like environmental awareness.
Limited or null effectCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeThe importance of digital record-keeping among urban agriculture communities: a review
2025Noryana Ahmad Khusaini, Munifah Siti Amira Yusuf · Universiti Putra Malaysia Institutional Repository (Universiti Putra Malaysia) · Global
This review examines the significance of digital record-keeping in urban agriculture, focusing on its impact on efficiency, productivity, market access, economic benefits, sustainability, and environmental benefits. The review identifies challenges such as a lack of digital skills, high implementation costs, inadequate technological infrastructure, limited connectivity, data privacy, and security. These challenges hinder the adoption of digitalization in urban agriculture.
Governance failureDigital agricultureEconomicsCommunityClimate changePOSITIVE EFFECTS OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN BUILDINGS ON URBAN SUSTAINABILITY
2025R Mohammadzadeh · Proceedings of International Structural Engineering and Construction · Global
This qualitative secondary study, based on a structured literature review, examined the role of green infrastructure (GI) integrated into buildings for urban sustainability. Findings indicate that GI supports climate change adaptation, improves air quality, promotes urban biodiversity, and enables energy-efficient design. However, the paper also recognizes limitations related to cost, maintenance, and structural requirements for implementing building-based GI.
Economic viabilityClimate changeBiodiversityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsRole of Urban Farming in Promoting Sustainable Economic Development
2025Yosra Abduljalel Alajeli, Gunavathy Selvarajh · Journal of Business and Social Review in Emerging Economies · Global
This qualitative desk research investigated urban farming's economic, environmental, and societal impacts on sustainable economic development. Findings indicate urban farming enhances local economies, provides fresh produce, strengthens community engagement, and promotes green infrastructure. However, its broader adoption is hindered by limited land access, inadequate legislative support, and low public awareness.
Governance failureEconomicsClimate changeCommunityPolicyAdvancing the New Urban Agenda through Promoting Urban Agriculture: The Case of Masvingo City, Zimbabwe
2025Average Chigwenya, Samson Gwamure · Kuveza neKuumba The Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University Journal of Design Innovative Thinking and Practice · Zimbabwe (Masvingo City)
This research examined how urban agriculture has been incorporated in Masvingo City, Zimbabwe. A mixed methods approach, including interviews with key informants and field observations in urban agriculture areas, was adopted. The research found that despite the widespread practice of urban agriculture, Masvingo City is not innovative in including urban agriculture in its development agenda.
Governance failurePolicyUrban–rural linkageCommunityCommoning and just sustainability across time, space and class: lessons from terminated urban gardening projects in Bucharest
2025Ioana Florea · Environmental Sociology · Romania
This paper investigated three collective gardening projects in Bucharest that closed between 2019 and 2021, analyzing what remains of their sustainability capacities and commoning efforts after termination. Findings indicate that while essential commoning aspects like collectivity building and autonomy can endure and transfer to other spaces, cross-class aspects fade away with these transpositions. This reveals that what persists from closed gardening projects is strongly tied to structural historical contexts.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsUrban Agriculture in Mogadishu: Opportunities and Constraints
2025Yasin Mohamed Ibrahim · Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology · Somalia (Mogadishu)
A study in Mogadishu, Somalia, used snowball sampling to assess constraints and opportunities for urban horticulture. It found that temperature, wind, pests, diseases, and limited irrigation water significantly restrict production, particularly for open-field farmers who face high irrigation demands, pest infestations, and low-quality yields unattractive to buyers. While greenhouses offer some protection, plastic greenhouses specifically suffer from inadequate gutter height and poor ventilation, requiring farmers to use primitive methods to combat extreme temperatures.
Economic viabilityPeri-urban agricultureClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceUnraveling the Transformation of Urban Agriculture in Damavand: A Mixed-Methods Exploration of Land Use Changes
2025Sara Ramezani, Mahin Nastaran, Homayoon Nooraie, Kei Otsuki · Journal of Landscape Ecology · Iran
A study investigating urban agriculture land use changes in Damavand, Iran, from 1995 to 2022 found a 109% increase in built-up land and declines of 14.34% in barren land and 22.44% in vegetation, including urban agriculture lands. Interviews with 15 participants identified land value changes, attraction to urban livelihoods, management and planning factors, physical-environmental factors, and urban infrastructure availability as primary reasons for these changes. The research highlights the urgent need for effective planning to mitigate threats from extensive urban agriculture transformations.
Governance failureEconomicsFood sovereignty & justicePolicyTrading urban green spaces for brown space development in African cities: evidence from the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana
2025Alex Barimah Owusu, Collins Adjei Mensah, Clement Kwang, Gerald Albert Baeribameng Yiran, Ronald Reagan Gyimah, Dominic Edem Hotor, Princella Ofori Darko · International Planning Studies · Ghana
This paper analyzed the replacement of green spaces with brown spaces in Accra, Ghana, from 1991 to 2021 using Landsat satellite images. Brown areas increased from 24.5% in 1991 to 81% in 2021, while green areas decreased from 75.5% to 19% during the same period. The study found a significant reduction in green spaces due to urbanization.
Environmental trade-offsPolicyUrban–rural linkageBiodiversityThis is God’s land: Moral economies, spirituality, and insurgent land seizures in Zimbabwe’s urban peripheries
2025Johannes Bhanye, Abraham R. Matamanda, Ruvimbo Shayamunda · Discover Global Society · Zimbabwe
In Lydiate informal settlement in peri-urban Zimbabwe, Malawian migrants mobilize insurgent practices, including informal land seizures, spiritual claims, and communal strategies, to access land for farming. Access to land for urban and peri-urban farming remains a significant hurdle, especially for marginalized migrants. Migrants invoke divine ownership narratives, Nyau cult practices, and witchcraft deterrence as tactical tools for defending seized land.
Equity & displacementPeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityPolicyWelfareEconomicsHealthEstimating Urbanization’s Impact on Soil Erosion: A Global Comparative Analysis and Case Study of Phoenix, USA
2025Ara Jeong, Dylan S. Connor, Ronald I. Dorn, Yeong Bae Seong · Land · Global
This study modeled the impact of urbanization on soil erosion across global cities using modern erosion data and cosmogenic nuclide 10Be analysis. It found that urbanization accelerated soil erosion by approximately 7–19 times in environments with mean annual precipitation below 1500 mm, and by 23–72 times in wetter urban centers. A century-long expansion of Phoenix, USA, accelerated soil erosion by about 12 times, supporting the urban cycle of soil erosion theory.
Environmental trade-offsClimate changeUrban–rural linkageResearch on Urban Agriculture Scene Innovation Driven by Generative AI
2025Tong Wu · Scientific and Social Research · Global
This study analyzed the impact of generative AI on the intelligent transformation of urban agriculture from theoretical and technical perspectives. Generative AI was shown to be applicable in production optimization, marketing innovation, and farmer education, enhancing resource utilization efficiency and industrial sustainability. However, its widespread application faces challenges such as agricultural data silos, model adaptability, cost, and talent shortages, requiring collaborative support from policies, technologies, and talent.
Governance failureDigital agricultureEconomicsPolicyFood educationHydrochemical Characterization and Water Pollution Indices of Groundwater in Urban Farming Areas: The Case of the Municipality of Man, Western Côte d'Ivoire
2025YAO, Kouadio Assemien François, OUEDRAOGO, Moussa, BROU, Konan Richmond, COULIBALY, Léréyaha, OUATTARA, Ismaïla, N'CHO, Odon Clément, YAO, Koffi Blaise · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Côte d'Ivoire
Nine groundwater samples were collected in March 2025 from urban farming areas of the Man municipality, western Côte d’Ivoire, to assess their physicochemical and metallic quality. Analysis revealed high concentrations of major ions and nitrites (up to 101.7 mg/L) in the groundwater, exceeding WHO standards. Extreme pollution by cadmium, iron, and zinc was confirmed, with an overall contamination degree of 793.6. These groundwaters are unsuitable for human consumption and require regular monitoring and sustainable water resource management.
Contamination & food safetyHealthOrganic cycle‘This city is not for me’—farmers’ differentiated experiences of, and responses to, reorganisation of urban marshlands in Kigali
2025Karolin Andersson · Gender Place & Culture · Rwanda (Kigali)
This qualitative study in Kigali, Rwanda, examined the socially differentiated implications for urban farmers of reorganizing urban cultivated marshlands. The study found that marshland reorganization and closure reproduce farmers’ vulnerabilities, shaped by gender, age, health/ability, and education. It demonstrated a largely exclusionary pattern in the city’s urban greening agenda, contradicting authorities' stated ambitions.
Equity & displacementPolicyCommunityWelfare3 Food banks, food diversion, and other responses
2025Dennis Raphael · Policy Press eBooks · Global
This chapter documents the growth of charitable non-governmental responses to food insecurity in Canada and the UK, including food banks and community gardens. It argues that these responses are problematic because they fail to address the economic and political causes of food insecurity. Further failures include the stigma experienced by food bank users and the false belief that food insecurity is being resolved.
Governance failureCommunityWelfareFood sovereignty & justicePolicyGrass-roots Innovation for Justice in Urban Food Provisioning
2025Lídia Cabral, Ronald Ranta, Suleyman M. Demi, Ísis Domingues, Julian May, Claire Néel, Grace Nkomo, Luciana Marques Vieira, Marie Walser · · Global
An international research collaboration examined grass-roots food provisioning innovations in five urban locations across the UK, Canada, France, Brazil, and South Africa. These initiatives, which include social supermarkets and school gardens, faced challenges such as dependence on surplus food, logistical problems, funding limitations, and the need for ongoing volunteer support. The study found that these innovations struggle with economic viability due to funding and volunteer reliance.
Economic viabilityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareCommunityEconomicsGenomics and Network Analysis of Multidrug-Resistant Shigella flexneri from Raw Vegetables in Bangladesh for Risk Assessment and Targeted Therapeutic Intervention
2025K M Tanjida Islam, Md Shahin Mahmud · Pharmacon Jurnal Farmasi Indonesia · Bangladesh
This study characterized multidrug-resistant (MDR) Shigella flexneri strains from contaminated raw vegetables in Bangladesh, retrieved from the NCBI genome database. Whole-genome sequences of four S. flexneri strains from tomatoes and green chilies in Gazipur and Dhaka were analyzed. The analysis identified 4273 core genes and 44 antibiotic resistance genes, with five essential hub genes (tolC, acrA, emrK, emrB, evgS) identified as high-priority therapeutic targets for compromising MDR mechanisms in food-borne S. flexneri.
Contamination & food safetyHealth