Research & reports

M. S. (Muhammad ) Ramadhan, R. (Renny) Nurhasana · Neliti · Indonesia (Jakarta)

This qualitative case study in East Jakarta, Indonesia, investigated urban farming as a means to balance urban life. Field observations, interviews, and documentation identified several obstacles: a lack of community awareness, limited facilities, and challenges from extreme weather. Proposed solutions include community empowerment, improved facilities, and better climate control and supply chain systems.

Ji-Won Choe, Choong-Hyeon Oh · 환경정책 · South Korea

This study collected and analyzed 223 local government ordinances supporting urban agriculture in South Korea to identify its characteristics and propose institutional improvements. The analysis revealed regional imbalances in institutional support for urban agriculture, indicating a need to expand and revise direct support ordinances. Many direct support ordinances lacked explicit provisions regarding administration, expenses, technology, education, equipment, and locations, requiring amendment. It was also noted that the definition of urban agriculture tended to be narrower than in the "Act on the Promotion and Support of Urban Agriculture," and inconsistencies existed between the titles, purposes, and definitions of related ordinances.

Alexander Follmann, Dorothea Hohengarten · transcript Verlag eBooks · Germany (Cologne)

This publication, titled "Ernährungsrat, Essbare Stadt, Gemeinschaftsgärten: Innere und äußere Logiken und Widersprüche der sozialökologischen Transformation durch Urban Gardening am Beispiel Köln," discusses the internal and external logics and contradictions of socio-ecological transformation through urban gardening, using Cologne as an example. The abstract states that this work was published in "Unterwegs in die Stadt der Zukunft" on page 241.

Nordregio, Luciane Aguiar Borges, Ana de Jesus · · Global

This report discusses the barriers and drivers of Urban Agriculture (UA) within the framework of the Horizon 2020 project 'SiEUGreen,' across environmental, technological, economic, social/cultural, and regulatory/institutional aspects. Based on insights from five showcases in Norway, Denmark, Turkey, and China, the results suggest that city food provision and UA systems can be designed considering circular economy regenerative cycles. However, key barriers limiting UA uptake include the need for more evidence-based research, further experimentation for innovative technological developments, high investments, difficulties accessing financial support, underdeveloped business cases, limited recognition of UA's benefits, and behavioral/cultural barriers.

Alisa Sahavacharin, Fa Likitswat, Kim Irvine, Lihoun Teang · Land · Thailand (Pathum Thani)

This study assessed the potential of peri-urban areas for sustainable development, focusing on a pandan farming community in Pathum Thani, Thailand, using the Community-Based Resilience Analysis (CoBRA) approach. The community identified COVID-19, water quality, and solid waste as their primary disruptive challenges. The study concluded that the community was moderately resilient to hazards, and COVID-19 was the primary disrupting event over the past 10 years.

Emmanuel Olatunbosun Benjamin, Abiola Adegoke, Gertrud Buchenrieder · Land · Nigeria (Lagos)

This exploratory qualitative research, conducted in Lagos, Nigeria, used focus group discussions to compare the perspectives of private urban farmers and public sector representatives on innovative urban farming. Urban farmers identified a lack of public sector support for circular agri-food technologies, while public sector representatives attributed issues to farmers' behavioral and educational shortcomings, including poor coordination. These differing views highlight complex dynamics and a need for structural changes and stakeholder dialogues to develop effective urban farming policies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Farhang FaghihLarijani, Elaheh Amani Vamarzani · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Iran

This study investigated whether an independent legal system exists in urban areas of Iran to recognize, maintain, and develop urban agriculture. It found that despite urban laws recognizing agricultural activities, legislators have not enacted a comprehensive law specifically for urban agriculture, nor explicitly included it in urban land definitions. The study hypothesized that a primary challenge is the lack of a compatible legal framework.

Paula Mota Santos · Social Inclusion · Portugal (Porto)

Grassroots urban horticultural plots (hortas) in the Porto Metropolitan Area, Northern Portugal, are informal communities that have existed for decades, often involving over 20-30 people. However, these low-income urbanite horticultural communities are not cherished by city governance, which does not prevent their destruction. This incompatibility between urban governance and grassroots communities hinders the right to the city for the low-income urbanites who created them.

Delf Rothe · Political Geography · United States (New York City)

This paper critically examines the concept of "green resilience" through a case study of various green resilience projects in New York City, including survivor trees, memorial groves, and community gardens. The study argues that these spaces function as key forms of state rule and biopolitical power, identifying three tensions or contradictions of green resilience as a form of biopolitical government: visibility and invisibility, knowledge and ignorance, and control and emergence.

Matthew L. Richardson, John Taylor, Megan J. Thompson, Anusuya Rangarajan, Mamatha Hanumappa, Neith G. Little · PLoS ONE · United States (Northeastern United States)

This online survey of 394 urban growers, primarily in the Northeastern United States, profiled growers and assessed urban agriculture's state, identifying needs and challenges. Most growers were white (non-Hispanic), under 45, well-educated but without agriculture degrees. Urban agriculture was dominated by small non-profits and home/community gardens. A critical finding is that urban growers face diverse barriers, with the most common being land availability and long-term access in urban areas, and many reported low revenue or operating at a net loss.

Engelbertus Nggalu Bali, Cornelia Theresia Asamal, Vanida Mundiarti · Early Childhood Education Development and Studies (ECEDS) · Indonesia

This descriptive qualitative study observed the transformation of a campus teaching program strengthening the Pancasila student profile in early childhood education in Alor Regency, Indonesia. Data was collected through observations and interviews with 3 principals and 1 teacher in 4 driving schools. The study found that challenges included media limitations, unstable electricity and network conditions, and teachers' understanding of modules and assessments.

Lucas López Sosa, Gloria E. Casanova Molina · Revista Temas Sociológicos · Spain (Barcelona), Chile

This ethnographic study conducted in Barcelona and Santiago de Chile comparatively analyzed the social utilities, conflicts, and tensions faced in the daily management of urban community gardens. The study found significant symbolic and practical similarities between the gardens in both cities, despite geographical and cultural differences, highlighting their value as tools for urban and social regeneration.

Mary Mattingly · Intellect eBooks · Global

This essay shares two research practices stemming from the author's seven-year engagement with extractive supply chains for specific objects. Swale is a floating food forest that uses the common law of the waterways as a loophole to do what was illegal on common land, highlighting governance challenges within existing systems.

Anubhav Pradhan · South Asia Research · India

This article analyzes the recalibration of justice for agrarian communities along the Yamuna in Delhi. Following a 2015 ban on edible crop farming by India's apex environmental court, the Delhi Development Authority has conducted multiple demolition drives for nearly a decade to evict farmers and clear land for redevelopment. The ongoing contentions involving farmers, planning agencies, and the judiciary in this region are symptomatic of the erosion of social justice in urbanizing India.

Juan Camilo Fontalvo Buelvas, Maria Teresa Pulido Silva, Miguel Ángel Escalona Aguilar · Magazine Portal Bibliotech Digital (Universidad Nacional de Colombia) · Global

This bibliographic review identified the main problems of urban agriculture and actions for sustainability. The study found that the primary deficiencies in urban agriculture are inadequate management practices, a lack of organization, and absent or inefficient public policies. Key leverage points for change include agroecology, policies for land access and sustainable financing, and dissemination processes.

Andrea Baier, Christa Müller, Karin Werner · Neue Ökologie · Global

This study discussed the significance of the new urban garden movement for sustainable urban restructuring, focusing on community garden practices over the past two decades. It examined how the movement is integrated into the governance of urban climate crisis policies, how it utilizes this framework, and to what extent the autonomy of gardens as free spaces and commons can be maintained under these circumstances. The findings suggest that the autonomy of urban gardens may be difficult to maintain when integrated into climate crisis policy governance.

Rosângela Míriam Lemos Oliveira Mendonça, Samantha de Oliveira Nery, Ediméia Maria Ribeiro de Mello · MIX Sustentável · Brazil

This paper presents a methodology applicable to sustainable community actions, developed from seven years of experience with low-income communities in a Brazilian community garden. The methodology is based on participatory action research, systemic design, agroecology, food sovereignty, and solidarity economy principles. The study demonstrates the importance of integrated work among the elements of the quintuple helix model (society, government, industry, academia, and environment), but it does not detail specific challenges or limitations regarding governance.

كريمة على حسن محمد, سوزان يوسف أبو الفضل, عزه أحمد صادق على · Journal of Educational Sciences - Qena Faculty of Education · Global

A study using a descriptive approach identified obstacles to the educational role of community education schools. Findings revealed obstacles across educational (e.g., low student achievement), social (e.g., low encouragement of community initiatives), cultural (e.g., low cultural level of staff), technological (e.g., lack of computer teachers), economic (e.g., weak family economic level), health (e.g., weak attention to a healthy school environment), and recreational roles (e.g., lack of school gardens).

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.

Tatiana Hlinka · Journal of Student Research · United States

In New Jersey, 50 food desert areas face the most severe food insecurity across both rural and urban contexts. This study identified nine barriers to implementing urban agriculture initiatives in New Jersey's urban food deserts, using a sequential quantitative analysis combining a survey of food systems professionals with a GIS-based spatial analysis to identify the most prevalent barrier. Working in partnership with New Jersey urban agricultural organizations, the study found that lack of funding was the most commonly cited barrier to expanding urban agriculture initiatives. The GIS-based spatial analysis found that high-priority barriers varied by region, but that all organizations identified funding, or lack of access to funding, as a significant barrier regardless of whether they operated in a low- or high-income neighborhood. The study concludes that policymakers must reevaluate the role of urban agricultural organizations in New Jersey's urban food deserts.

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.

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.

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.

Xin Mai, Yueli Xu, Yungang Liu · Annals of the American Association of Geographers · China (Shanghai)

This study investigated the emergence and development of two flagship community garden cases in Shanghai, China, initiated in 2016. Observations revealed that a nonprofit organization, not local citizens or municipal government, proactively advanced community garden production and participation. The community garden phenomenon was found to reify an alternative subjectivity, emphasizing social organizations as a state "flanking mechanism" for extraeconomic urban governance objectives.

Martine El Ouardi, Françoise Montambeault · International Journal of Urban and Regional Research · Mexico (Mexico City)

This study of citizen-led gardens in Mexico City reveals that informal urban gardening becomes a practice disconnected from the state. Despite the Mexico City government's interest in regulating urban agriculture, gardeners are increasingly formalizing their practices independently. This disconnection is attributed to a weak institutional context, characterized by top-down policymaking and the city government's incapacity and unwillingness to effectively implement policies, leading to mistrust among gardeners.