Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
4 results
Temporal and Spatial Analysis of the Environmental State of the Valencia Plain Aquifer Area Using the Weighted Environmental Index (WEI)
2025Javier Rodrigo-Ilarri, Claudia P. Romero-Hernández, Sergio Salazar-Galán, María-Elena Rodrigo-Clavero · Sustainability · Spain (Valencia)
This article analyzes the impact of urban sprawl on the Valencia Plain aquifer system from 1990 to 2018 using the Weighted Environmental Index (WEI). Results show urban surfaces expanded by 70% and rainfed agricultural areas declined by over 59%, leading to a 9.2% reduction in environmental value (WEI decreased from 44.80 to 40.68). These changes threaten ecosystem sustainability and reduce the capacity to deliver ecosystem services.
Environmental trade-offsPeri-urban agriculturePolicyBiodiversityClimate changeThe food-water-climate nexus of green infrastructure: Examining ecosystem services trade-offs of peri-urban agriculture
2024Ricard Segura, Johannes Langemeyer, Alba Badía, Sergi Ventura, Jaime Vila-Traver, Gara Villalba · The Science of The Total Environment · Spain (Barcelona)
A study in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, Spain, investigated the impacts of peri-urban agricultural expansion on the food-water-climate nexus using urban metabolism and atmospheric-biosphere models across four land-use scenarios. While expansion increased food production and irrigation water requirements, replacing natural non-forested and forest areas for peri-urban agriculture was predicted to reduce net ecosystem productivity by up to 18.5% and total carbon stocks by 3.3%. Irrigated peri-urban agriculture potentially reduced near-surface temperatures by 0.7°C, though reductions in the densest urban areas were minimal.
Environmental trade-offsPeri-urban agricultureClimate changeBiodiversityFood sovereignty & justiceDancing with foxes: More‐than‐human design in ‘the chicken city’
2024Catherine Oliver · Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers · United Kingdom (London)
This paper examines urban chicken-keeping in London, where urban spaces are transformed to accommodate chickens. It argues that the human-imposed design of urban barnyards is often impractical for chickens, leading to lawns being torn up, plants demolished, and vegetable patches consumed. Additionally, chickens are vulnerable to local foxes, highlighting that chickens' behaviors and territoriality often overflow their assigned space, challenging human design intentions.
Environmental trade-offsCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceBiodiversityUrban–rural linkageWalory dekoracyjne i zdrowotność Tithonia rotundifolia (Mill.) S.F. Blake w nasadzeniach miejskich
2018Marek Kopacki, Krystyna Rysiak, Mariusz Szmaraga · Annales Horticulturae · Poland (Lublin)
This 2014 study near Lublin, Poland, evaluated the decorative qualities and health of Tithonia rotundifolia in urban plantings, including a botanical garden and allotment gardens. Observations at the end of the vegetation period revealed disease symptoms, and mycological analysis of dead plant parts identified isolates of fungi from eleven genera. Dominant and dangerous pathogenic genera, Alternaria alternata and Botrytis cinerea, were found to affect T. rotundifolia.
Environmental trade-offsCommunityBiodiversity