Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
14 results
CULTIVO PROTEGIDO E HIDROPONIA NA AGRICULTURA BRASILEIRA: ambientes controlados, automação e produção sustentável em pequenas áreas
2026Carlos Luiz Vieira · · Brazil
This study analyzes protected cultivation and hydroponics in Brazil as technologies enabling full control of environmental variables and eliminating dependence on climate seasonality. These technologies demonstrate 80-95% reductions in water consumption, 300-500% increases in productivity compared to open fields, and complete elimination of agrochemical residues. However, the study also points out implementation challenges for these technologies, concluding they are fundamental for food security in contexts of accelerated urbanization, water scarcity, and global climate change.
Economic viabilityDigital agricultureClimate changeFood sovereignty & justicePeri-urban agricultureToward digital community economies: California’s alternative food networks navigating market digitalization
2026Sasha Pesci, Ryan E. Galt · Agriculture and Human Values · United States (California)
This paper, based on 28 semi-structured interviews with direct market farmers in California, explores their experiences with market digitalization. It finds that while some farmers perceive online tools as eroding social and environmental connections, others view them as supportive of these connections, highlighting tensions in market digitalization for Alternative Food Networks.
Economic viabilityDigital agricultureEconomicsCSA & TeikeiCommunityThe potential roles of vertical urban agriculture to promote the right to food in Brazil
2026Felipe Jardim, Eduardo Alberto Manjarrés Trelles, Caren Freitas de Lima · Revista de Direito da Cidade · Brazil
This study investigated the role of vertical urban agriculture in promoting the right to food in Brazil, considering the food system crisis as a problem affecting the right to the city. An inductive method with a qualitative approach, including literature review, documental research, and case studies from Japan, Singapore, Germany, the USA, and Brazil, revealed that vertical urban agriculture has "cons" when appropriated as a profitable system with restricted access products, and "pros" such as occupying vacant urban land and being produced by or supporting poor families.
Equity & displacementFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsDigital agriculturePenerapan Prinsip Permakultur Desain Melalui Elemen Arsitektural pada Bangunan Vertical Harvest Farms, USA
2025Aprilia Shyntia Dewi, Muchlisiniyati Safeyah · Sinektika Jurnal Arsitektur · United States
This qualitative descriptive study analyzed the application of permaculture design principles through architectural elements at Vertical Harvest Farms, USA, using secondary data. The research found that Vertical Harvest Farms largely incorporates permaculture design principles through architectural elements, such as greenhouse-based materials adapted to local climate and optimal spatial arrangement. However, regarding mass typology, the farm was found to be less compliant with the permaculture design principle of "Design from Pattern to Detail."
Environmental trade-offsClimate changeDIYDigital agricultureUrban–rural linkageRénover Cleveland : démolition, racisme et agriculture urbaine dans l’Amérique abandonnée
2024Pierric Calenge, Maie Gérardot · Métropolitiques · United States (Cleveland)
The work by Max Rousseau and Vincent Béal illuminates the ambiguities of a policy that organizes urban decline and racial segregation in Cleveland. This policy promotes urban degrowth and racial segregation, balancing algorithmic management and urban greening. The study focuses on the Rust Belt region, which experiences de-urbanization marked by the subprime crisis, racism, and segregation.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceHealthWelfareClimate changeBiodiversityFood educationElderlyFood lossOrganic cyclePollinatorsHeirloom & landraceFood miles & supply chainCSA & TeikeiPeri-urban agricultureDigital agricultureDIYCompostFood educationWelfareElderlyFood lossOrganic cycleCommunityBiodiversityPollinatorsPolicyHealthEconomicsHeirloom & landraceUrban–rural linkageFood miles & supply chainCSA & TeikeiPeri-urban agricultureClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceDigital agricultureMapping the Dynamics of the Vertical Farm: A Biopolitical Epistemology of Valuation
2024Hayley Birss · Social Epistemology · Canada
This study examines Infarm's vertical farming practice, a venture capital-backed solution for climate change mitigation, by mapping its actor-network. The analysis reveals that Infarm's vertical farming and its climate change mitigation logics are shaped by venture capital and its biopolitical epistemology of valuation. This framework conceptualizes life, biology, and climate in terms of political economy, indicating that economic viability is a primary driver.
Economic viabilityDigital agricultureEconomicsPolicyFAZENDA VERTICAL COMO MODELO SUSTENTÁVEL DE AGRICULTURA URBANA
2023Renata 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.
Environmental trade-offsDigital agricultureClimate changeEconomicsAquaponics and Urban Farming Solutions in the US: A Comprehensive Review - Assessing the Viability, Benefits, and Challenges of Integrating Fish and Plant Farming in Urban Settings
2023Olasumbo Olagoke-Komolafe, Joshua Oyeboade · International Journal of Multidisciplinary Futuristic Development · United States
This study comprehensively reviewed the viability, benefits, and challenges of urban aquaponics systems in the United States. Through a systematic literature review and content analysis, significant environmental benefits were identified, while economically, long-term benefits potentially outweigh initial setup costs. Challenges such as technical complexities, financial barriers, and the need for specialized knowledge are also notable.
Economic viabilityDigital agricultureEconomicsCommunityFood educationVertical Farms: A Sustainable Solution to Urban Agriculture Challenges
2023Wenhao Zhu · Highlights in Science Engineering and Technology · United States (Chicago)
This paper focuses on the characteristics of vertical farms, using The Plant vertical farm in Chicago as an example to describe its design and performance, and analyze its advantages and design principles. The success of The Plant is attributed to saving raw materials and waste disposal costs through waste utilization, staggered electricity consumption, and insulated structures to maximize energy cost savings. However, while small-scale pilot projects of vertical farms have achieved some success, many constraints remain for scaling them up due to high construction and operation costs and high technical levels.
Economic viabilityDigital agricultureEconomicsClimate changeAgroproductive buildings: vertical farm as a sustainable model of urban agriculture
2022Lady L. S Gundim, Renata Priore Lima · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (São Paulo)
This article investigates the benefits of vertical farms as a sustainable food production model in cities, using a literature review and a case study of Pink Farms in São Paulo/SP, Brazil. Results indicate benefits such as energy and land use optimization, but also highlight ecological, social, and landscape limitations.
Environmental trade-offsDigital agricultureEconomics“Urban Farming Is Going High Tech”
2019Michael Carolan · Journal of the American Planning Association · United States
This 2019 study, based on 82 interviews in Denver, New York, and San Francisco, investigated how traditional and digital urban agriculture converge and diverge regarding land use and gentrification. It found that both digital and traditional urban farming systems are linked to gentrification and inequitable land use patterns. Digital urban farming systems also operate in a regulatory gray area, with their "digital" aspects used to gain more zoning permission than traditional urban agriculture.
Equity & displacementDigital agricultureEconomicsPolicyCommunityNature, Technology, & the Pursuit of Justice: Urban Agriculture Networks in San Diego County
2019Blaire O’Neal · · United States (San Diego County)
This research investigates the significance of soil in distinguishing urban agriculture forms in San Diego County and examines how soil-based and soilless growing methods relate to justice. The results illustrate that while the way food is grown is important for urban agriculture organizations' identity and practices, it is only one of many factors influencing justice, such as socio-spatial context. Justice is an ongoing process that evolves as urban agriculture commodities travel through their circuits and interact with placed networks filled with intentions, actions, discourses, objects, actors, and forces.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceDigital agricultureAvaliação da Adoção de um Kit de Irrigação de Baixo Custo e Eficiente em Uso de Água em Horta Comunitária Agroecológica, Juazeiro - BA
2016Júlio Cézar de Almeida Lopes, Hélder Ribeiro Freitas, Eliéser Santurbano Gervásio · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil
This study evaluated the adoption of a drip irrigation kit in an agroecological community garden in Juazeiro, Brazil. The introduction of the system and the social organization of the group led to low adoption of the drip irrigation system, with several farmers returning to manual watering and, to a lesser extent, micro-sprinkler systems.
Limited or null effectCommunityDIYDigital agricultureFinancing Local Food Factories
2015Stephen R. Miller · · United States (Newark, New Jersey)
This article proposes a new approach to financing local food, viewing it as a finance problem similar to urban manufacturing, to scale up local food production. It explores the necessity of large-scale urban agriculture, focusing on vertical farms, and examines creative financing examples like AeroFarms in Newark, New Jersey. The paper suggests deploying existing and potential financing types, modeled on economic development agreements, to advance local food initiatives.
Economic viabilityEconomicsUrban–rural linkageDigital agriculture