Research & reports

Lena Katharina Mietz, Bárbara Civit, Alejandro Pablo Arena · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Global

This review focuses on the present state and methodology of life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the sustainability of urban agriculture. It notes that while urban agriculture is seen as a potential alternative for a resilient food system, existing case studies are mostly incomplete and lack diversity. Further research is needed, especially the integration of social and economic perspectives, to achieve a comprehensive scientific understanding.

Agnès Fargue‐Lelièvre, Jason K. Hawes, Benjamin Goldstein, Lidia Poniży, Erica Dorr · Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists · Global

This 2024 essay in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists states that urban agriculture brings many benefits to its participants but is not guaranteed to be more climate-friendly than conventional agriculture. It adds that there are some specific steps urban farmers can take to cut carbon emissions.

Aji Saputra, Oekan S. Abdoellah, Gemilang Lara Utama · Local Environment · Indonesia

A commentary on the current state of urban agriculture implementation in large Indonesian cities, the initiatives underway and the mechanisms for pursuing stated goals. It identifies land scarcity, inadequate urban agricultural infrastructure, financial constraints, and regulatory and administrative problems as the major obstacles to implementation. It also states that urban agriculture improves quality of urban life by providing fresh, healthy food and fostering community engagement, and cites Singapore, New York and Ghana as examples showing the importance of policy support, innovation and community involvement.

Francesco Orsini, Giuseppina Pennisi, Giorgio Gianquinto, Michael Martin · International Journal of Vegetable Science · Global

This paper argues that widely publicized figures on urban agriculture's environmental impacts lack the methodologically sound evidence needed for valid comparison, before conclusions can be drawn. It addresses problems in comparatively assessing environmental performance between rural and urban farming and argues for the need for specifically designed indicators capable of comprehensively assessing multifunctional urban agriculture.

Madison Powers · · Global

This chapter surveys the food-security implications of agricultural land use, unsustainable features of widespread food production practices, and the debate over agricultural intensification versus extensification, then examines land use's consequences beyond the land itself for groundwater, surface water, oceans, ambient air quality, and planetary systems. It explains the causes of forest destruction and fragmentation driven by the global expansion of land used for "high-risk commodities," the linkage between deforestation and declining terrestrial biodiversity, and the global market dynamics driving both crises. It assesses socioeconomic and ecological shortcomings in some proposed nature-based solutions, showing that they perpetuate an unsustainable business-as-usual approach, and summarizes how these land-use issues are conceptualized as human-rights concerns and translated into policy proposals.

Tarek Ben Hassen, Hamid El Bilali · · Global

This book chapter combines bibliographical and topical analysis of scholarly and gray literature with case studies from Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries to examine the state of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) amid regional climate pressures — rising temperatures and frequent droughts damaging limited water resources and threatening agriculture and food security. The chapter reports that UPA in the region lacks adequate infrastructure and resources, including access to water, suitable land and equipment, and that in many MENA cities, the absence of government initiatives combined with land tenure problems and high land prices makes UPA less prevalent and less viable; it concludes that improved policy support and enabling regulations — including zoning rules and financial and technical support — are needed to expand UPA in the region.

Andrés G. Rolhauser, J. Scott MacIvor, Adriano N. Roberto, Selena Ahmed, Marney E. Isaac · Ecological Solutions and Evidence · Global

This paper addresses the limited understanding of conditions under which stress-tolerant "nurse" plants can facilitate stress-intolerant "protégé" species on extensive green roofs for urban agriculture. It proposes a framework and linear model, integrating trait–environment theory and facilitation ecology, to make testable predictions on protégé species performance along stress gradients. The framework aims to help researchers assess the feasibility of nurse–protégé interactions under various environmental conditions.

Annie Drottberger, Yizhi Zhang, Jean Wan Hong Yong, Marie-Claude Dubois · Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews · Global

This systematic literature review, based on 45 articles, examined the benefits and challenges of rooftop greenhouse technology. While benefits include optimized land use, increased profitability, good yields, and resource efficiency, the review identified significant challenges. These challenges include additional investment and operational costs, limited availability of flat roofs, and various regulations, which hinder the widespread adoption of rooftop greenhouses.

Renata Priore Lima, Lady Laura Soares Gundim · Revista Gestão & Sustentabilidade Ambiental · Brazil (São Paulo)

This study investigates the benefits of vertical farms as a sustainable food production model in cities. Through a literature review and a case study of Pink Farms in São Paulo, Brazil, the results indicate benefits such as energy and land use optimization, but also highlight the ecological, social, and landscape limitations of vertical farms.

Moefty Mahendra, Sri Utami Dewi, Ajang Ramdani · JURNAL DIKDAS BANTARA · Indonesia

A qualitative descriptive study with 13 fourth-grade students at MIN 1 Karanganyar, Indonesia, found that the Adiwiyata program's greenhouse initiative was not running smoothly due to a lack of funds. The students' ecoliteracy in the "head" and "heart" aspects needed improvement, as most did not habitually sort waste despite knowing types, and some lacked empathy for plants. However, students demonstrated ecoliteracy in the "hands" aspect through proper cleaning tool use, bringing supplies from home, and saving electricity and water.

Herbert Mandigo, Teddious Mhizha, Terence Darlington Mushore · Applied Sciences · Zimbabwe (Harare)

This study investigated the implications of urban growth on maize yield in Harare metropolitan city, Zimbabwe, from 1984 to 2018 using Landsat data. Cropland area was reduced from 11,120 ha in 1984 to 2631 ha in 2018. Consequently, the estimated average maize yield decreased significantly from 52,264 tons in 1984 to 12,366 tons in 2018, demonstrating that urban growth has the potential to compromise food security.

Abdillah Abdillah, Ida Widianingsih, Rd Ahmad Buchari, Heru Nurasa · Cogent Food & Agriculture · Indonesia

A systematic literature review on urban farming in Indonesia identified its trend in achieving urban resilience as a response to urban food security issues and an economic boost during the COVID-19 crisis. While urban farming is suggested to promote urban resilience in Indonesia, it has several weaknesses in the urban resilience design due to problems with production, food security, and land scarcity in urban areas.

Leigh Whittinghill, Major Ballard, Anju Chaudhary, Smriti Kandel, Caitlin Mullins, Pradip Poudel · HortScience · United States

This study analyzed runoff water quality from four different nutrient management treatments (conventional fertilizer, organic fertilizer, low-compost + organic fertilizer, and high compost) in raised beds and small plastic pool container plots in the United States. Water samples, collected monthly, were analyzed for pH, conductivity, color, turbidity, nitrate-nitrogen, ammonia-nitrogen, total phosphorus, and potassium. While significant differences existed between raised beds and container plots, these did not translate to meaningful water quality differences for most variables, except for nitrate-nitrogen. The conventional fertilizer treatment showed greater or more variable nutrient leaching than other treatments.

Lara Houston, Sara Heitlinger, Ruth Catlow, Alex Taylor · Policy Press eBooks · United Kingdom (London)

Workshops critically experimented with the possibilities and challenges of blockchain as an infrastructure for food abundance and reparative work, using fictional scenarios set in a London transformed into a city farm by 2025. This experimentation suggested that blockchain presents challenges to such restorative and sustainable work. For participants, reparation involved working in the aftermath of social and environmental collapse to bring into being more-than-human-value systems that radically decentered human knowledge and experience.

Institut de Gestion des Techniques Urbaines, Université Larbi Ben M’hidi, MERIEM BENLAHRECHE, Saïd Mazouz, Département d’architecture, Université Larbi Ben M’hidi · Revue Roumaine de Géographie / Romanian Journal of Geography · Algeria

This article aims to explain urban phenomena in Hamma Bouziane, Algeria, a city known for its fertile land. The study indicates that the peri-urban agriculture of Hamma Bouziane is suffering negative repercussions due to unbridled urban expansion and socio-economic changes.

F.E. Awoyelu, R.A. Mebo · Agro-Science · Nigeria (Osun State)

This study assessed the effects of artisanal sand mining on peri-urban agriculture in Ife East and Ife Central Local Government Areas, Osun State, Nigeria, from 2015 to 2019. Data from 120 respondents (landowners, cultivators, residents) showed that cultivated land area decreased by 24.8% (from 48% to 23.2%), while sand-mined area substantially increased by 20.4% (from 14.6% to 35%). Landowners' decision to part with land for sand mining increased with age, household size, and farming as primary occupation, but decreased with higher education levels.

Sadika Parvin, Md. Shahidul Islam · Khulna University Studies · Bangladesh

This descriptive quantitative study assessed the social acceptance of rooftop gardens among city dwellers in Bangladesh, surveying 475 participants online. While approximately three-quarters of respondents showed positive attitudes towards rooftop gardening, about one-third had negative attitudes, indicating unwillingness, with similar trends observed for behavioral perceptions. The study revealed that one-third of respondents still held negative attitudes and just over one-third had negative behavioral perceptions towards rooftop gardening.

Norbertus Citra Irawan, Suswadi Suswadi, Mahananto Mahananto, Agung Prasetyo · Jurnal Ilmiah Hijau Cendekia · Indonesia (Surakarta)

This study investigated changes in the urban farming community in Surakarta, Indonesia, using the AIDP model analysis approach, surveying 50 community members. Results showed varying success rates across strategy stages; evaluation strategies like partnerships with local traders and financial institutions, vertical land use, and open dialogue performed poorly. Furthermore, improving financial literacy and sustainable waste management systems were unsuccessful, and agricultural product brand promotion and innovative institutional models also performed poorly.

Bismark Osei, Mark Edem Kunawotor, Paul Appiah-Konadu · International Journal of Social Economics · Africa

This study examined measures for achieving a sustainable environment to mitigate climate change in 54 African countries from 2000 to 2020, using panel data and a Cox proportional hazard model. Findings indicate that carbon farming, rooftop gardens, and renewable energy positively contribute to a sustainable environment. However, governance adversely affects the objective of achieving a sustainable environment.

Sandrine Simon · Urban Governance · Portugal (Lisbon)

This study examined urban agricultural initiatives in Lisbon, Portugal, and their integration into urban planning strategies for sustainability, using Design Thinking methodology for a literature review. The integration of urban agriculture into urban planning is identified as a complex problem due to conflicting goals among actors. The research suggests that Design Thinking could assist urban planners in addressing this challenge by providing flexible, iterative, and participatory approaches.

Jiangxiao Qiu, Hui Zhao · EDIS · Global

This overview identified eight ecosystem services generally attributed to urban agriculture, including food production, microclimate regulation, stormwater retention, and social-cultural values. However, the study found that quantitative evidence for many of these ecosystem services, especially intangible ones, is scarce. It suggests that while urban agriculture could be integral to green infrastructure, further consideration is needed for types, technology, management, and potential tradeoffs.

Ana María Bertolini, Patrícia Constante Jaime, Gabriela Marques Di Giulio · Saúde e Sociedade · Global

A critical literature review discussed the evolution of food and nutrition security (FNS) and the contributions of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA). The review found that institutional responses to FNS are concentrated in times of crisis, which favors the maintenance of globalized and unsustainable food systems. UPA practices show peaks of rise and decline, evolving with the FNS agenda.

Fanxin Meng, Qiuling Yuan, Rodrigo A. Bellezoni, José A. Puppim de Oliveira, Yuanchao Hu, Rui Jing, Gengyuan Liu, Zhifeng Yang, Karen C. Seto · npj Urban Sustainability · Brazil (São Paulo)

A framework was developed to analyze the food-water-energy nexus of green roofs in data-sparse cities, integrating environmental costs and benefits. Testing this framework in São José dos Campos, Brazil, and Johannesburg, South Africa, revealed that green roofs are carbon neutral but net energy consumers from a life cycle perspective. São José dos Campos is a net water beneficiary, while Johannesburg is a net water consumer, and rainwater utilization, though saving irrigated water, requires 1.2 times more energy.

Weisong Chen, Weixuan Xian, Guiying He, Zhongye Xue, Shaomin Li, Wenyan Li, Yongtao Li, Yulong Zhang, Xingjian Yang · Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety · China (Guangzhou)

A study in seven districts of Guangzhou City, China, evaluated the large-scale occurrence and spatiotemporal distribution of 16 PAHs and 14 OPAHs in urban agricultural soils. Average concentrations of ΣPAHs and ΣOPAHs during the flood season (59.6 ± 31.1-213 ± 115.5 μg/kg) were significantly higher than during the dry season (42.1 ± 13.3-157.2 ± 98.2 μg/kg). Coal combustion and traffic emissions were identified as the dominant sources for these contaminants in both seasons.

Chomchid Phromsin, Orasa Suksawang · Sustainability · Thailand (Phayao)

This research surveyed 80 farm households in Huay Lan Subdistrict Municipality, Thailand, between December 2018 and January 2019, to examine socio-economic and environmental conditions and the potential of urban agriculture for food security. The study found uncertainties in future food security due to labor shortages, low productivity, low income, and chemical use. Spatial clustering identified weaknesses and development opportunities, suggesting a farmer coalition could enhance food security through collective efforts.