Research & reports

Kinga Kimic, Magdalena Błaszczyk · Sustainability · Poland (Warsaw)

This study identified and assessed vegetable cultivation projects submitted to the Warsaw Participatory Budget (WPB) between 2015 and 2023. The research classified projects into six types and evaluated them across social, functional, ecological, and economic dimensions. The results showed that vegetable-related projects in the WPB were decidedly niche, with only 101 initiatives submitted and 31 implemented, primarily focusing on education for children rather than direct food access.

Melissa Anna Murphy, Pavel Grabalov · ˜The œGeojournal library · Europe

A study of urban agriculture initiatives in Aarhus, Denmark, and Rotterdam, the Netherlands, explored how municipalities facilitate urban agriculture and its performance in public spaces. It identified four public service trajectories: increasing access and animation, contributing to social services, producing and distributing food, and building communities. The study found that food production and social services may be little suited for urban spaces requiring high public access, although benefits can reach a broad public if localized and facilitated appropriately.

Jaume Vilasís Pamos, Pablo Aránguiz, Stefhania Lozano, Guillermo Palau Salvador · Revista Lecciones Vitales · Spain (Valencia)

This study examines urban agriculture initiatives in Valencia, Spain, which adopt an agroecological approach to promote sustainable practices like composting. While these collective strategies aim for sustainable agricultural models and contribute to food sovereignty, they face significant challenges, particularly regarding access to water. The initiatives also engage in political action and promote equitable organizational models.

Candan Türkkan · Moment Journal · Turkey (Istanbul)

This paper analyzes urban gardening practices in Yedikule Bostanlari and Kuzguncuk Bostani in Istanbul, examining the convoluted relationship between the food movement and urban agriculture. It argues that while urban agriculture initiatives are significant for generating community and proposing alternative uses for urban space, they do relatively little to mitigate the structural problems underlined by the food movement. As such, even though they are examples of urban agriculture in practice, their aspirations do not readily associate with those of the food movement.

Davide Marino, Francesca Curcio, Francesca Benedetta Felici, Giampiero Mazzocchi · Land · Italy (Rome)

This paper proposes agroecological assessment as a tool for formulating evidence-based local food policies, adapting the Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE) model on a sample of 20 farms in the city-region food system of Rome, Italy. Data analysis showed that agroecological principles are not fully adopted by the majority of farms considered in Rome. Additionally, farms with the highest agroecological level are mainly driven by social factors and have a lower propensity for innovation, which could hinder the transformation process of food systems.

Janina Wittenberg, Maria Gernert, Hamid El Bilali, Carola Strassner · Sustainability · Germany (Münster)

This paper explores the role of grassroots initiatives in the transition towards a sustainable urban food system in Münster, Germany, using questionnaires, interviews, and desk research. Results indicate that many initiatives in Münster focus on education and information, raising awareness, rather than offering material alternatives. Policy, education, networks, and communication were identified as key leverage points.

Per-Anders Langendahl, Maria Tunberg, Suvi Kokko · · Europe

Smart urban agriculture — food produced in closed, controlled and digitally augmented environments such as vertical farms, plant factories and aquaponics systems — is found in cities worldwide and is said to produce fresh food year-round using fewer chemicals and fewer food miles. However, critiques of smart urban agriculture note it is a marginal activity that often produces food with low nutritional value and requires energy-intensive artificial lighting. Using qualitative research methods, this report examines the development of smart urban agriculture in Sweden, identifying experimental and entrepreneurial initiatives and analyzing them in relation to high-level policy agendas such as food policy, smart cities and digitalisation. The findings show Swedish smart urban agriculture broadly consists of technology-oriented entrepreneurial start-ups and experimental initiatives split into production-oriented (mainly herbs and leafy greens), community-oriented (prioritizing social benefits), and technology-oriented (developing and supplying digital solutions and services) types. However, product output was limited to a small variety of financially high-margin crops sold at premium prices. In relation to high-level strategic agendas, smart (urban) agriculture is recognized for environmental and social benefits such as mitigating flooding.

Danielle Purkiss, Ayşe Lisa Allison, Fabiana Lorencatto, Susan Michie, Mark Miodownik · Frontiers in Sustainability · United Kingdom

A citizen-science study invited 9,701 UK residents to test how biodegradable and compostable plastics actually degrade in home composting. Many items, including certified products, failed to fully break down; 60% of TUV OK Compost Home-certified items were still clearly visible afterward. The authors conclude home composting is not an effective or environmentally beneficial disposal method for these materials in the UK.

Esther Sanyé‐Mengual, Kathrin Specht, Jan Vávra, Martina Artmann, Francesco Orsini, Giorgio Gianquinto · Sustainability · Italy (Bologna)

This study compared perceptions of urban agriculture (UA) ecosystem services (ESs) among different societal groups in Bologna, Italy, namely UA project leaders, stakeholders, and the general public, with 406 individuals evaluating 25 ESs via a standardized Likert-scale survey. Statistical analysis indicated that the general public and UA stakeholders agreed on the high relevance of socio-cultural ESs, while provisioning ESs were considered less significant. This study reveals a lower perception of provisioning ESs from urban agriculture.

Jean-Christophe Levassor · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · France

This study addresses social divisions in Le Pile, east Roubaix, France, where over 40% of residents live below the poverty line. It states that without proactive policies, social divisions will worsen, and initiatives like urban farming and zero waste will only have a limited effect beyond a small circle of insiders. La Condition Publique aims to recreate ties among various actors to support urban renovation and foster resilience in this deprived neighborhood.

St Clair, Rebecca, Hardman, Michael, Adams, David, Armitage, Richard, Barry, Veronica, Larkham, Peter, Sherriff, Graeme · Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) · United Kingdom

This paper reviews the diversity of urban agriculture (UA) activities in England, from small-scale guerrilla gardening to large community projects. It suggests that UA is under-theorized, with previous research focusing on practicalities and activism. The paper highlights UA's problematic contribution to food production and warns of the 'local trap'.

Matthew Reed, Daniel Keech · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · United Kingdom (Bristol)

This study investigated how urban food activists related to the media, represented themselves, and how others represented their agenda during 2015 when Bristol was the European Green Capital. The research found that mass media primarily focused on topics other than food, and urban food was not a salient issue in their coverage. The self-representation of urban food networks revealed a narrow focus of interest, which may have contributed to a lack of connection between potential allies within the city, indicating limited connections of urban food networks to circuits of power and influence.

Les Levidow, Katerina Psarikidou · · United Kingdom

In Manchester, England, environmental and health issues have been folded into a wider agro-food strategy aimed at making the city "more sustainable." With support from state bodies and charities, several initiatives have expanded access to fresh, healthy food, particularly in "food deserts," mobilizing resources, skills, and voluntary labor through "community engagement" to create "community spaces" for social inclusion. Manchester's agro-food networks shorten supply chains by linking peri-urban agriculture more directly with urban consumers and by promoting urban agriculture grounded in local resource mobilization and personal trust, offering an alternative to conventional agro-food chains; food relocalisation is described as helping overcome socio-economic inequalities and health problems, with Manchester initiatives cooperating to build environmentally sustainable, socially just, healthy communities and reconstructing local identities and social commitments, within a national policy context that advocates food relocalisation but provides little actual support. Despite that activity, the larger food system in Manchester remains dominated by conventional agro-food chains, and community food initiatives play only a marginal role, leading practitioners to discuss how to overcome these limitations; from 2010 onward, the UK government's austerity regime is described as undermining state support further, making community engagement even more important for mobilizing resources.