Research & reports

Anastasia Luise Gramatakos, Catherine Phillips, Andrea Rawluk · Local Environment · Australia (Melbourne)

This ethnographic fieldwork, conducted across three community-led urban food forest sites in Naarm/Melbourne, examined the everyday labors, relations, and tensions involved in caring for urban food-producing trees. The study found that participants grapple with significant tensions, particularly in open-access sites lacking fences, gates, or formal membership, highlighting the evolving and imperfect nature of commoning practices rather than a fixed ideal.

Agnes G. Kapinga, Baraka F. Lenga · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)

A qualitative case study in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, using semi-structured interviews with 31 migrant farmers and seven key informants, revealed that migrant farmers contribute to urban food security through diverse crop cultivation and livestock keeping, enhancing food production and income generation. However, migrant farmers face major constraints including insecure land tenure, flooding, water scarcity, high input costs, and limited institutional support. City authorities institutionalize the marginalization of migrant farmers by treating urban agriculture as an informal and temporary activity, despite their critical contributions.

Virag Havasi · IntechOpen eBooks · Hungary (Miskolc)

This chapter examines the history of the green movement in Hungary, including its alignment with global environmental trends and domestic political events. A case study of Miskolc revealed a lack of cross-sectoral cooperation and diminished civic mobilization, mirroring national tendencies. Hungarian civil society and green organizations have less financial and social support, and while they adopt social innovations, they do not excel at creating them.

Baltazar Namwata · Journal of Agriculture and Agronomy (JAA) · Tanzania (Dodoma)

This mixed-methods study assessed the implementation of urban agriculture (UA) policies in Dodoma City Council, Tanzania, surveying 300 urban farmers. Findings revealed low farmer awareness of city planning (15.9%) and UA regulations (24.4%), limited access to extension services (25.4%) and credit (24.0%), and unreliable water sources for many (45.5%). The study concluded that supportive national policy recognition has not translated into effective local implementation, farmer awareness, reliable service delivery, or practical enforcement.

Blaž Križnik, Laura Mittermaier · Local Environment · Slovenia (Ljubljana)

This study examined the Onkraj gradbišča community garden in Ljubljana to understand how community gardening enables transformative social change and how institutional support affects it. Findings showed the garden fostered inner transformation, collective leadership, community capacity building, and some scaling strategies. However, scaling up strategies were ineffective, and the absence of institutional support limited the impact on governance, suggesting the garden's transformative potential for urban sustainability transitions was limited.

Adomas Gedvilas, Dovilė Krupickaitė · Journal of Architecture and Urbanism · Lithuania

This paper examines old community gardens in Grigiškės and Plungė, Lithuania, as examples of Everyday Urbanism, using literature, data, maps, and interviews. The study found that these gardens, established informally on vacant land during the socialist period, are not officially recognized and their future development may differ due to varying local government attitudes. This highlights the need for a more flexible approach to their preservation and integration into urban planning.

Dario Cottafava, Francesco Marengo, Giuseppe Emiliano Di Martino, Laura Corazza · Business Strategy and the Environment · Global

This study introduced a social impact accounting framework, "accounting for the loops," for sustainability education for climate action (SECA), applying it to a university-led community garden case study. It found that a sense of belonging and personal recognition activate positive reinforcing loops. However, project size and community autonomy counterintuitively triggered balancing loops, leading to increased bureaucratic obstacles and institutional support needs, which negatively impacted participant motivation.

Chris Blythe · OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) · Global

This systematic review aims to explore the barriers to urban agriculture at a global scale. Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in systematic reviews concerning urban agriculture's health benefits, motivations for participation, and sustainability elements. This study will focus on the challenges and obstacles in implementing urban agriculture.

Thulani Dube, Bright Chisadza, Nkululeko Mpofu, Abel Mungure, Nancy N Manase · Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition · Zimbabwe (Bulawayo)

A study in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, investigating urban food insecurity resilience strategies through 200 household surveys, found that 50.5% of households experienced food insecurity, primarily driven by hyperinflation and unemployment. Current interventions, including urban agriculture, showed mixed effectiveness due to fragmented coordination and rural-biased programming, indicating governance challenges.

Kendel Constant · DigitalCommons - Kennesaw State University (Kennesaw State University) · Dominica

This thesis explores improving Dominica's urban agricultural sector, examining challenges like hurricanes, landslides, temperature shifts, limited adoption of advanced farming techniques, an aging farmer population, and soil erosion. The proposed Agricultural Learning Facility aims to address these issues by leveraging smart farming methods and enhancing traditional practices. However, the proposed greenhouse and hydroponic systems cannot completely replace traditional farming practices, but rather help increase food production.

Nina Oher, Anna Bengtsson, Patrik Grahn · Land · Global

This study aimed to understand the evidence-based design process behind a rooftop garden at an urban Memory Clinic. Through focus group interviews with healthcare professionals and an interview with the landscape architect, findings showed that while the garden exceeded expectations regarding aesthetics, restorative qualities, and staff use, it was not used for patient-oriented therapeutic activities as intended. This divergence was linked to governance issues such as organizational change, loss of key actors, insufficient documentation of design intentions, procurement disruptions, shifting clinical priorities, and maintenance arrangements.

Hamed Faghiri, Zulkornain Yusop, Zainal Abidin Mohamed · IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science · Malaysia

This systematic review analyzed 46 studies published between 2010 and 2025 to assess the role of urban farming in enhancing food security in Malaysia. Findings indicate that urban farming positively impacts food accessibility, availability, and affordability, while also promoting environmental sustainability and socio-economic inclusion. However, challenges such as limited space, regulatory hurdles, and public awareness gaps hinder its widespread adoption.

ROAN BAGAOISAN · Divine Word International Journal of Management and Humanities (DWIJMH) (ISSN 2980-4817) · Global

A study investigated school garden programs in elementary schools, exploring the experiences of fifteen teachers, staff, and students using a descriptive phenomenological approach and open-ended questionnaires. It found benefits in academic learning, environmental awareness, health, and social development, but also identified challenges including resource constraints, time limitations, garden maintenance, and stakeholder engagement. These challenges require careful planning, collaboration, and creative solutions.

Rabia Admin, Malka Shahzadi, Malika Shahzadi, Muhammed Faisal Rasheed · Social Sciences Spectrum · Pakistan

This study examines women's involvement and empowerment in agricultural activities in Lahore Cantonment, Punjab, Pakistan, based on data from 118 women engaged in agriculture, analyzed using mixed methods including descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, correlation, and multiple regression. The results show that while participation rates among women are high, women are not yet empowered, owing to existing socio-cultural and resource-based obstacles. Significant associations were found between land ownership and women's decision-making, between education and participation, and between access to credit and extension services and involvement in agricultural activities; the correlation matrix showed positive relationships among key variables, and regression analysis identified land ownership, education, and access to credit as significant predictors of women's empowerment. The paper states that changes to law, access to resources, and social support are needed to improve women's agency in peri-urban agriculture, and proposes policy measures including land rights reform, targeted educational initiatives, and improved access to resources.

Kremer, Peleg, Borowiak, Craig, Scolio, Madeline · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · 米国（ペンシルベニア州フィラデルフィア）

US community gardens embody a conundrum: vital to community well-being and integral to urban social infrastructure, yet profoundly vulnerable through insecure land tenure, fragmented policy support and systemic disinvestment. This reflective essay examines the Philadelphia Garden Data Collaborative (PGDC), a multistakeholder initiative documenting, protecting and advocating for community-managed green space, from the authors' position as participant researchers. It traces the shift from grassroots mapping to coordinated data stewardship, which enabled both emergency interventions (such as preventing sheriff-sale evictions) and long-term preservation strategies, and examines the ethical dilemmas of collecting sensitive community data where bureaucratic neglect has rendered gardens invisible and where visibility can expose them to new risks. It concludes that data can strengthen advocacy and inform policy, but must be coupled with secure tenure mechanisms and sustained public investment.

Rduch Paulina, Hodor Katarzyna, Wilkosz-Mamcarczyk Magdalena · Cities · ポーランド・チェコ

A study of Katowice (Poland) and Brno (Czech Republic) examining how family allotment gardens function as greenery in city centres, together with the legal regulations that govern them. Drawing on statistical and cartographic data, it shows a downward trend in the area of allotment gardens within cities.

Arild Eriksen, Deni Ruggeri, Esben Slaatrem Titland · · Norway (Oslo)

This essay examines urban agriculture from the perspective of an architect and urban farmer/beekeeper practicing bottom-up, participatory design in Oslo. Critical dimensions of urban agriculture in public space include private and corporate claims on these landscapes, and its current aesthetics of impermanence are critiqued. The essay questions the notion that the joy and freedom urban agriculture brings to a community should be built upon and enriched by future development and policy.

Md. Ashikuzzaman, Mohammad Shahidul Hasan Swapan, Atiq Zaman, Yongze Song · Sustainability · Bangladesh (Dhaka)

This study explored the connection between organizational rational choice in urban rooftop farm (URF) policy development and social innovation, using a literature review and a case study of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Despite the rising popularity of URFs in Dhaka, existing policies and strategies were found to lack clarity and governing mechanisms are absent. The findings suggest that a participatory and co-productive approach, involving community members, local governments, and NGOs, is optimal for URF policy formulation and successful governance.

James Mbugua · African Journal of Climate Change and Resource Sustainability · Global

Biochar is presented as a promising nature-based solution for urban resilience, applicable in soil remediation, stormwater management, and carbon sequestration within green infrastructure. However, its widespread adoption faces significant barriers, including inconsistent feedstock supply, high production costs, limited public awareness, and a lack of standardized quality and safety regulations. The study also identifies a critical need for policies that integrate biochar into urban planning frameworks and incentivize its production and application.

Popov, Velian · reposiTUm (TU Wien) · Bulgaria (Plovdiv)

This study examines the disappearing phenomenon of informal urban gardening, known as Rancho, in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, focusing on its socio-historical factors. Despite its authentic, decades-long existence, Rancho is neglected and considered outdated, with a lack of legal regulation and its informal character endangering its future. The study proposes a gradual transformation of these areas into community urban gardens with new infrastructures to raise awareness and encourage authorities to reintegrate Rancho into the urban context.

Francisco Tomatis, Ana Marí­a Bonet de Viola, Ulises Reno, Ouiam Fatiha Boukharta, Luis Manuel Navas-Gracia · · Argentina

In Argentina, public policies like the Argentine Plan Against Hunger and the ProHuerta Program have stimulated urban agriculture to address the food emergency crisis in early 2024. Despite urban gardening being recognized as a crisis-addressing strategy, the existence and future forms of public policies supporting urban gardens remain uncertain amid recent national political changes. Several barriers to integration and consolidation of these programs are highlighted.

Akuto Akpedze Konou, Kossiwa Zinsou-Klassou, Pablo De Roulet, Armel Firmin Kemajou Mbianda, Jérôme Chenal · Land · Togo

This study in Greater Lomé, Togo, interviewed 11 experts and surveyed urban farmers to compare their perceptions of urban agriculture and health. The findings reveal a disconnect: urban farmers identify various challenges, including health-related difficulties, while experts tend to assume different health concerns, highlighting a misalignment between the perspectives of planning and design experts and urban farmers.

Ylva Wallinder, Maria Langa · Environmental Sociology · Sweden

A study investigated the consequences of institutional policy change on urban gardening practices in Swedish municipalities over the last decade. Local sustainability policies have led to an increasingly business-centered model, which clashes even with entrepreneurial gardens. This shift caused associational gardening to give way to an extended focus on entrepreneurship and food production, representing a "green rationalization" of gardening practices in urban sustainability policies that hinders their sustainability potential.

Sarah Steinegger, Nora Katharina Faltmann · Journal of Political Ecology · Switzerland

This qualitative research examined the challenges consumers and farmers face in establishing proximity within a Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) initiative in Switzerland that links rural mountain and urban areas. The study found that consumers and farmers are facing challenges in establishing proximity. Nevertheless, shared experiences of farming activities and social events, along with participants' willingness to improve CSA operations and strengthen ties for mutual understanding and joint efforts, contribute to the ongoing process of establishing proximity.

Noémie Régeard · L’Espace Politique · Congo

This article explores the circularity of organic matter streams in Nkayi, an intermediate city in Congo, through interviews and observations. The qualitative inquiry reveals the coexistence of institutional household waste streams, supported by a development project, and informal organic matter streams, identified through intra- and peri-urban agricultural practices. These streams are subject to various socio-territorial, political, and economic tensions.