Research & reports

Luna Khirfan · · Canada (Waterloo)

This chapter introduces three deliberative methods for cultural ecosystem services, based on empirical experimentation. One method, a conventional charrette, sought to understand and overcome barriers to community gardening at four community gardens in the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The study identified barriers to community gardening.

Tesfay, Hailay, Machethe, Charles · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Ethiopia (Tigray)

This paper examines the effect of Ethiopia's land certification program on the land tenure security of rural and peri-urban farming households in the Tigray region. Analyzing cross-sectional data from 500 respondents using logistic regression, the study showed that the program's effect is significantly influenced by the geographic location of farm households. The program produced better results for rural farmers than for peri-urban farmers, with certified households in rural areas being less likely to experience a change in their land tenure (less secure land tenure) compared to certified farmers in peri-urban areas.

Rita Regina Marques Costa, Denes Dantas Vieira, Vivianni Marques Leite dos Santos, Deise Cristiane do Nascimento · · Brazil (Juazeiro)

This qualitative and quantitative field study analyzed the interaction between university extension and community-based family agriculture at the Povo Unido Community Garden in Juazeiro, Brazil. Conducted between March and May 2025, the research involved semi-structured questionnaires and dialogues with 47 farming families to understand their perceptions of knowledge exchange and interaction with educational institutions. Results showed consensus on the importance of university extension, but farmers pointed out challenges such as limited time for discussion and effective inclusion of participants with lower educational attainment.

Ilham Prtama Putra, Naila Nur Aziza, Nasya Rafika Putri, Tsabitha Naura Kamila, Ghina Halwa Mufidah · Arus Jurnal Sosial dan Humaniora · Indonesia (Tangerang)

This study aimed to analyze the Tangerang City government's role in implementing food security improvement programs and identify supporting and inhibiting factors. The research focused on an urban farming program with a 1,000-hole hydroponic system. A descriptive qualitative approach was used, with data collected through literature study and policy document analysis. Results showed the Tangerang City government acts as a regulator, facilitator, and coordinator. Supporting factors included clear regulations, provision of production facilities and technical training, active community participation, cross-sector collaboration, and hydroponic technology innovation. However, inhibiting factors included limited land, technical difficulties in technology adoption, limited resources, and low community adaptation to new innovations.

Tong 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.

Karolin 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.

Dennis 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.

Sara Sama Acedo, David Berná Serna, Patricia Homs Ramírez de la Piscina · Scientific Repository of Open Access of Portugal (RCAAP) · Spain (Madrid)

A study analyzed the challenge faced by community urban gardens in Madrid, Spain, in remaining transformative spaces amidst an ecossocial crisis. These gardens are initiatives situated between community and public institutional management, with their expansion and institutionalization involving practices and relationships among diverse agents. The study points out the difficulty for these gardens to maintain their transformative role—updating community ties, reciprocity, and mutual care, and reformulating relationships with "nature" in the city and food supply—without being absorbed by market logics or marginalized into welfare or community volunteering spaces.

Kadarso, Fahmi Atha Kanaka, Untoro Hariadi, Rini Anggraeni, Putri Perdana · Jurnal Pertanian Agros · Indonesia

This study, involving 88 farmers from Yogyakarta City, investigated the role and priority activities of agricultural extension workers using quantitative and qualitative methods. While farmers perceived success in social and technical roles, the study found that responsiveness and anticipation are critical aspects requiring strengthening to address the dynamics of urban agriculture.

Etefa Tilahun Ashine · International Journal of Agricultural Economics · Ethiopia

This review examines the challenges and opportunities of urban agriculture in Ethiopia, where urbanization and living costs are rising. Key challenges include limited access to land, irrigation water, and financial institutions, as well as high prices for fertilizers and pesticides, and climate variability affecting crop yields. Opportunities include strong market demand for products, employment creation for youth and women, and additional income generation for producers. The study concludes that stronger policy support and investment are needed to enhance urban agriculture's contribution.

Victória Pansani Silveira Maia, Sílvia Aparecida Mikami Gonçalves Pina · Periódico Técnico e Científico Cidades Verdes · Global

This case study analyzed urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) experiences in India (Bangalore, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam) and an agroforestry system in Campinas, Brazil, using literature review, document analysis, and participant observation. The study identified common obstacles to agroecological practices, including land tenure insecurity, real estate pressures, lack of specific public policies, and uneven community engagement. It also highlighted potentialities such as care networks and food resilience, emphasizing the need for institutional support and public policies.

Jayne M. Rogerson · Modern Geográfia · South Africa (Johannesburg)

This article examines the organization and current state of rooftop agriculture in Johannesburg, South Africa, drawing on existing material. Johannesburg hosts the largest cluster of rooftop farms, primarily established for social considerations, with fewer projects for commercial reasons or business image enhancement. The study investigates the challenges confronting these rooftop farming projects.

Nilo Coradini de Freitas, Hélène Picard, Marcos Barros · Organization Studies · Global

This ethnographic study of a shared community garden explores the role of affective dynamics in creating dissonance within alternative organizations. The study found that intensive affective experiences generate tensions in member interactions, leading to transitional reactions that require organizational responses. This highlights how affective embodiment processes shape supposedly rational procedures and dialogue in decision-making, impacting organizational democracy.

Édipo Alves Lacerda · Espiral revista de geografías y ciencias sociales · Brazil

This book, organized by Gustavo Henrique Cepolini Ferreira et al., compiles texts from Unimontes researchers focused on critical geography and popular struggles for land and traditional territories in northern Minas Gerais, Brazil. It discusses conflicts from agribusiness expansion, disputes over resources, climate change effects on peasant farming, and challenges faced by quilombolas, indigenous, and traditional communities. The book addresses structural racism and other aspects of rural development, highlighting negative impacts on these communities.

Yusuf Kamaluddeen Ibrahim, Zabawi Abdul Ghani, Rasheed Osuolale Oladosu, O. D. Idris,, Tamwesigire Caleb · Journal of Innovative Research · Nigeria (Bauchi)

In Bauchi metropolis, Nigeria, urban farming practices and constraints were investigated among 285 urban farmers. Findings revealed that most farmers do not own land, instead borrowing or renting it. The major constraints to urban agriculture were reported as lack of tenure security, limited land area, and poor access to microcredit facilities.

S Aliyu, Okhimamhe A. A, I. M. Sule · International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science · Nigeria (Lagos)

This study explored the role of urban farming in enhancing food security and sustainability in the Lagos Metropolis through focus group discussions and quantitative surveys with various stakeholders, including policymakers, urban farmers, and community members. Findings suggest urban farming's potential to reduce food transportation distances, enhance local food production, and mitigate climate change impacts. However, challenges such as land demands and gender disparities persist, necessitating integrated policy approaches and targeted educational programs.

Girma Mulu Alemu, Sophie Schramm, Wilbard Kombe · Cogent Social Sciences · Ethiopia (Addis Ababa)

This qualitative study in peri-urban Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, explored the impacts of peri-urbanization on smallholder farmers' socio-economic conditions. The research found that peri-urbanization leads to the erosion of capital assets, with dwindling agricultural land causing tenure insecurity and disrupting livelihoods. This process exacerbates smallholder farmers' marginality by weakening social ties and mutual support systems.

Rahoyo Rahoyo, Teti Susilowati, Sri Purwantini · Economics Development Analysis Journal · Indonesia (Semarang)

This research explored the economic viability of community gardens in Semarang City, Indonesia, using a qualitative approach with 24 participants. Findings indicate that most community gardens operate at a financial loss, showing weak economic viability. However, these gardens continue to function sustainably, driven not by profit but by government programs, social cohesion, and environmental concern.

K I Safitri, Oekan S. Abdoellah, Budhi Gunawan, P Parikesit · Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics · Global

This qualitative study investigated the commercialization of urban agriculture and its influence on agricultural practices and environmental ethics, engaging 43 participants through observation, interviews, and documentation. Findings showed that global commercialization promotes policies for environmental sustainability, leading to aligned production methods. However, in local contexts, farmers cultivating sloped land without perennial crops often use artificial inputs and contaminated irrigation water, facing constraints from intermediaries.

Kirsty Lohman, Ruth Pearce · Community Development Journal · United Kingdom (Durham)

This article describes a community garden in Durham, United Kingdom, maintained by volunteers working to retain common access to green space. The garden is located on a disused bowling green, against a backdrop of a struggle over land, ownership, and community use. The council had reportedly failed to maintain the land for many years, and much of the surrounding area is owned by Durham University. The community association aims to obtain control of the land through an adverse possession claim to prevent it from being sold off by the council.

Michaela Pixová, Christina Plank · Environmental Sociology · Czechia (Prague, Brno)

This paper compared the roles of allotment and community gardens in urban sustainability, using Prague and Brno, Czechia, as case studies. It analyzed perceptions of both by municipal actors, gardeners, and activists across four dimensions: public access to urban greenery, community building, food cultivation, and environment/climate protection. The paper argues that governments' preference for gardens aligned with the status quo undermines citizens' right to the city, urban sustainability, and resilience against future threats.

Paulo Ricardo Santos Miranda · Revista Mutirõ Folhetim de Geografias Agrárias do Sul · Brazil

A collection of 13 chapters explores the interactions between city and countryside in Brazil, critically examining how capital traverses urban and rural territories, promoting expropriation and spatial reconfigurations. Studies on Uberlândia, Montes Claros, São Paulo, and the North and Northeast regions highlight land conflicts, peripheral industrialization, urban agriculture, and peasant resistance. The work emphasizes the ambiguous role of the State.

Gabriela Civeira, Florencia Rositano · Conicet · Argentina (Buenos Aires)

This study analyzed the environmental, social, and economic factors of agricultural production in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Region (RMBA) across 28 municipalities, using National Agricultural Census data and an adapted ecosystem services (SE) estimation model. Findings indicated that 97.4% of small and medium-sized horticultural producers use conventional management, with only 2.6% employing non-conventional practices. Structural problems identified include informal labor, limited technical access, and urban pressure, highlighting the need for public policies to strengthen more sustainable production systems.

Marina Abrão Ballak Dias · Revista Andaluza de Antropología · France (Paris)

This article explored how different conceptions of human-nature relationships shaped practices in two community gardens in Paris's Goutte d’Or neighborhood. Conceptions grounded in a human–nature divide prevailed, leading to a conservationist approach. Practices stemming from this perspective were found to be in constant tension with garden goals like increasing urban biodiversity and human socialization.

Ilana Herold, Buhm Soon Park · International Journal of Urban and Regional Research · South Korea (Daejeon)

Ethnographic case studies of three urban community gardens in Daejeon, South Korea, illustrated how urban agriculture (UA) serves as a platform for civil society groups, national government, and local governments to advance their political and sociocultural goals. The study argued that while national UA legislation was passed to advance top-down sustainable development goals, local actors challenge the functions of UA and ideas of expertise through their practice.