Research & reports

Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.

4 results

• Building evidence regarding nature-based solutions indicators and their implications for policy – the case of air quality

  2025

  Corina Başnou, Geovana Mercado, Åsa Ode Sang, Thomas B. Randrup, Verónica Fabio, Adrián Cabezas, Arnau Lluch, Marc Montlleó, Juan Miguel Kanai, Riccardo Saraco, Olívia Bina, Tom Wild · Nature-Based Solutions · Europe

  An overview and guidance for air pollution indicators in nature-based solutions (NBS) for urban green planning and public health were provided, using three case studies in Europe and Latin America. The study noted that approaches including multidimensional indicators in research, planning, and policies are limited, and national standards for some air pollutants are missing with little evidence for health effect thresholds. Findings also indicated that knowledge of pollutant uptake in edible plants can suggest potential human exposure risks.

  Contamination & food safetyHealthPolicyClimate change
  Read source →DOI: 10.1016/j.nbsj.2025.100296

• Urban agriculture and health: assessing risks and overseeing practices

  2019

  Christine Aubry, Nastaran Manouchehri · OpenEdition (OpenEdition) · France (Paris)

  Urban and peri-urban agriculture is exposed to various forms of pollution related to cultivation methods and urban air and soil quality, with different crop types exhibiting varied reactions to pollutants. The T4P and REFUGE programs on urban farms in the Paris region, and the ADURAA and QUALISANN programs studying vegetable-growing in Antananarivo, Madagascar, aim to assess health risks and oversee practices using methodological frameworks.

  Contamination & food safetyHealthPolicyClimate change
  Read source →

• Changes in the sizes of agricultural areas and their agricultural and environmental functions within the territories of Cracow’s Mogiła and Wyciąże neighbourhoods

  2018

  Piotr Krzyk, Bogusława Kwoczyńska · Problemy Drobnych Gospodarstw Rolnych / Problems of Small Agricultural Holdings · Poland (Cracow)

  This study quantitatively assessed the conversion of agricultural land to investment purposes in Cracow's Mogiła and Wyciąże neighborhoods from 2010-2013, based on local plans. It also addressed soil quality, heavy metal content, and pH. Analysis of spatial management plans for these areas indicated a systematic decline in the share of biologically active areas.

  Contamination & food safetyPeri-urban agriculturePolicyClimate changeEconomicsHealth
  Read source →DOI: 10.15576/pdgr/2018.4.105

• Air pollution risk assessment on urban agriculture

  2017

  Marthe Ortolo · Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) · Netherlands

  This study outlines a plan to assess air pollution risks in urban agriculture in the Netherlands, focusing on heavy metal (Cd, Hg) and PAK accumulation in spinach in Amsterdam urban gardens. It includes a literature review, policy maker interviews, and practical measurements of airborne contamination. The study aims to model different uptake routes by plants, but actual findings on contamination levels are not presented in this abstract.

  Contamination & food safetyHealthPolicyClimate change
  Read source →