Research & reports

L. Lue, K. Reis, H. Kanasa, S. Rutherford, C. Desha · Environmental Education Research · Global

A review of 22 studies (2001-2024) across six countries, primarily the US and Canada, examined how high school garden programs support adolescent food security and resilience. Findings indicated contributions across multiple socio-ecological levels, but uneven implementation significantly constrained their overall impact. Specifically, opportunities for shared decision-making were limited, and short-term, inconsistent support for policy, funding, and governance structures restricted long-term effectiveness.

Rui Ling, Sarah N. Strack, Anne Abbott, Haley Schneider, Aryn McLaren · Health Promotion Practice · Global

This qualitative study explored facilitators and barriers to implementing an electronic redemption system in a Healthy Food Incentive (HFI) program among farmers' markets, farm stands, and community-supported agriculture. Semi-structured interviews with HFI staff identified six facilitators and ten barriers, including a cumbersome registration process, technological difficulties, the risk of losing customers, and insufficient capacity. The evaluation highlighted the necessity of localizing technology dissemination.

Serafina Stone, Jeremy Farr, Damian Hine, Yasmina Sultanbawa, S. K. Fyfe · Local Environment · Australia (Brisbane)

This research investigated how 16 members of four urban community gardens in Brisbane, Australia, derive value from their involvement in relation to the food system, using semi-structured interviews and participant observation. The findings indicate that while urban community gardens alone cannot address food security needs, they provide spaces for building community, generating social capital, connecting to nature, and developing food systems education. These benefits are contingent on the gardens' continued existence and primarily extend to those able to participate.

Isabela Thomas Mkude · TANZANIA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY · Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)

In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the utilization of faecal sludge derived compost (FSDC) by urban farmers remains limited due to farmers' prejudice and hesitance. This study investigated factors influencing FSDC acceptance through a cross-sectional survey of 76 urban farmers. Results indicated that garden location in communal areas, income generation as the primary farming purpose, and accessibility of soil inputs were significantly associated with FSDC acceptance. Farmers' awareness and experience also played important roles.

Liz Ignowski, John Luis Lagdameo, Liel Gonzalez, Arma Bertuso, Pepijn Schreinemachers · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems 11(1) · Philippines (Quezon City, Metro Manila)

A quantitative survey of 300 urban food producers in Quezon City, one of the 17 cities of Metro Manila, examining who practises urban agriculture, the methods and technologies used, the challenges met and the benefits gained. Production is mainly small-scale and subsistence-oriented, with commercialisation limited except among those with access to agricultural land. Self-produced food does increase access to fruit and vegetables, but participation reflects economic vulnerability rather than food sufficiency, and both scale and commercialisation depend strongly on land access — a structural barrier in dense cities. The authors conclude that urban agriculture in Quezon City acts as a safety net rather than an income source, while also providing enjoyment and stress relief, and that urban food-security policy should be realistic about the limited role of urban food production.

Pearson, Natalie · British Food Journal · 英国（食を育てる人びとへの質的調査）

It is often argued that growing one's own food reduces household food waste by raising appreciation of food, but focused research on this is lacking. Using thematically analysed qualitative surveys with a privileged sample of food gardeners, this study finds the relationship more complex than proposed: for these gardeners, growing their own food can also decrease appreciation of food and create waste because of the challenges of growing, processing and storing it. Food gardening could nonetheless become an instrumental waste-prevention practice if growing is made easy and convenient, gardeners are given opportunities to work together, more channels exist for sharing surplus, and cooking skills improve. Its contribution is to critique the assumption that growing your own always leads to appreciation of food and less waste.

Nkrumah B. · Urban Science · アフリカ（都市部・系統的レビュー）

A systematic review of the irony between abundant arable land and persistent hunger in African cities. It asks why a disproportionate share of urban residents do not produce their own food, even as food insecurity rises with heavy reliance on market-bought food, high poverty and rapid urbanisation, screening peer-reviewed literature via PRISMA and five inclusion benchmarks to clarify the debate on low uptake of urban agriculture.

Limachi Pérez, Vicente · Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences (University of Skopje) · Bolivia (Cochabamba)

This study examined the influences of family, school, and sociodigital networks on environmental awareness among secondary school students in urban and rural Cochabamba, Bolivia. Data from three schools showed students' environmental concerns varied by region, and the internet was their primary information source. Despite isolated initiatives like school gardens, schools did not effectively integrate environmental education into the curriculum, limiting its formative impact.

Michela Lenzi, Andrea Scatolon, Luciana Carraro, Margherita Guidetti, Valentina Carfora · Current Opinion in Psychology · Global

This review explored how community connectedness influences sustainable eating, particularly meat consumption. It found that while community ties can encourage pro-environmental behaviors and support plant-based diet initiatives, a strong connection to one's community may also hinder the adoption of environmentally friendly diets by reinforcing meat-heavy culinary traditions. The potential for community connectedness to promote sustainable eating depends on factors like environmental awareness.

Blessing Nyamasoka‐Magonziwa, Esther Simango, Hatirarami Nezomba · Frontiers in Agronomy · Zimbabwe (Chitungwiza)

This study evaluated climate-smart crop production practices by urban farmers in Chitungwiza District, Zimbabwe, and their effects on household diets. Mixed methods research, including focus group discussions with four farmer groups and interviews with 107 households in 2022, classified only 23% of farmers as climate-smart. While climate-smart crop production positively influenced household diets, with climate-smart households having a significantly higher Household Dietary Diversity Score (3.3 vs. 2.9; p=0.02), there were no significant differences in maize yield between climate-smart and non-climate-smart farmers (2.10 t/ha vs. 2.27 t/ha, respectively, in the 2020/2021 season).

Ioana Florea · · Global

This chapter finds that while collective urban gardening projects represent forms of resistance against market-based food systems, the precarization of urban natures, and real-estate dominance, their everyday practices often fail to deliver on these ideals and intentions, generating incomplete, contradictory, or temporary results. It proposes a heuristic frame linking space, time, and class to review prior urban-gardening research from a political-ecology perspective, tracing how space's materiality, time embedded in plant growth, and class differences conditioning gardeners' access to space and time produce these contradictions.

Laura S. Tuominen, Heikki Helanterä, Patrik Karell, Lauri Rapeli, Timo Vuorisalo, Jon E. Brommer · npj Urban Sustainability · Finland (Turku)

This before-after study in Turku, Finland, examined the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on urban box gardening from 2019 to 2021. While box gardening's importance for resilience increased and gardeners remained motivated, participants reported receiving fewer benefits from gardening during the pandemic. This suggests a negative influence of the pandemic on well-being, extending to urban gardening outcomes.

Heidi L. Hollingsworth, William D. Giblin · Journal of Research in Childhood Education · Global

This mixed methods study investigated the impact of a middle school garden project on 6th-graders’ school connectedness. Surveys of 46 middle school students indicated that most had home gardening experience and enjoyed the school garden activities. However, pre-post results did not show increased school connectedness following the garden unit, as ratings were moderately high both before and after. Interviews with 25 participants revealed that the garden project facilitated home-school, student-student, and student-teacher connections, serving as a context for engagement and enjoyment for students.

Bernard Afiik Akanpabadai Akanbang, Millicent Awialie Akaateba, Prosper Issahaku Korah · Discover Cities · Ghana (Wa)

This exploratory cross-sectional survey in seven rapidly growing neighborhoods in Wa, Ghana, administered 285 questionnaires to residents to understand motivations, challenges, and constraints of home gardening. Results showed 56% of respondents had gardens, primarily motivated by beautification (56.1%) and food production (52.3%). Limited space (49%) and busy schedules (34%) were identified as main barriers. The study found that while garden ownership aligned with the autonomy need, the relationship need, which correlates with environmental motivations, was notably low among residents. This indicates a limited effect of environmental awareness on home gardening motivation in the surveyed population.

Reina Bazán Alarcón, Edgar Leonidas Cottallat Villao, Segress García-Hevia · Código Científico Revista de Investigación · Ecuador

This mixed-methods study in Ecuador aimed to develop a methodology for implementing school gardens at Unidad Educativa Misael Olaya, focusing on short-cycle vegetable cultivation for consumption and potential commercialization by high school students. Questionnaires and interviews with students and teachers revealed that while students had basic knowledge of vegetable cultivation, there was a need to strengthen practical activities and experimental learning.

Juliette Colinas, Francesca Ugolini, Mohammad Reza Khalilnezhad · Sustainability · Iran (Birjand)

In Birjand, Iran, a qualitative approach explored the usage and perception of public fruit trees and attitudes towards public usage and participation in two urban green spaces (Tohid Park and Akbarieh Garden). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve visitors, four administrators, and eight workers. Almost all visitors had a high interest in picking fruit, but usage in these green spaces was low, partly due to social norms.

Sigrid Gjøtterud, Rasa Holen, Trine Hvoslef-Eide · International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education · Global

This action research study explored transdisciplinary teaching and learning in an urban agriculture master's program using qualitative methods. Students demonstrated high inter- and intrapersonal competencies and cross-disciplinary idea development. However, a critical finding was that the potential for collaboration with external partners (case owners) was not fully exploited and requires further development.

Margaretha Häggström, Mårten Häggström · The Trumpeter · Sweden

This four-year exploratory study in a clearcut in western Sweden investigated the feasibility of cultivating crops in a nutrient-poor, shadowless environment to support biodiversity. The study found that while it was possible to grow potatoes, peas, and some summer flowers without special efforts, it was difficult to grow other vegetables and root vegetables. The project suggests that planting activities in clearcuts may impact people's sense of human-nature identity and respect for the natural environment.

Agnès Fargue‐Lelièvre, Jason K. Hawes, Benjamin Goldstein, Lidia Poniży, Erica Dorr · Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists · Global

This 2024 essay in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists states that urban agriculture brings many benefits to its participants but is not guaranteed to be more climate-friendly than conventional agriculture. It adds that there are some specific steps urban farmers can take to cut carbon emissions.

Ghassan Baliki, Dorothee Weiffen, Pepijn Schreinemachers, Akina Shrestha, Rachana Manandhar Shrestha, Monika Schreiner, Tilman Brück · Food and Nutrition Bulletin · Nepal

A cluster randomized controlled trial in rural Nepal (n=680 school children aged 9-13 across 30 schools) investigated whether an integrated school and home garden intervention improved hemoglobin levels and reduced anemia. The intervention did not lead to a direct significant reduction in anemia, as nutritional improvements were not strong enough to impact hemoglobin levels. However, the program indirectly improved hemoglobin levels for children under 12 by increasing good food and hygiene practices at home, particularly for girls, young children, and those with literate caregivers.

Sadika Parvin, Md. Shahidul Islam · Khulna University Studies · Bangladesh

This descriptive quantitative study assessed the social acceptance of rooftop gardens among city dwellers in Bangladesh, surveying 475 participants online. While approximately three-quarters of respondents showed positive attitudes towards rooftop gardening, about one-third had negative attitudes, indicating unwillingness, with similar trends observed for behavioral perceptions. The study revealed that one-third of respondents still held negative attitudes and just over one-third had negative behavioral perceptions towards rooftop gardening.

Shannon Doocy, Emily Lyles, Robert Kenyi Morjan, Kayla Pfieffer-Mundt, Courtland Robinson, Kevin Savage · Agriculture & Food Security · South Sudan

A prospective cohort study in South Sudan (2019–2021) examined the impact of cash assistance for work in community gardens on food security among 1213 cash-receiving, 582 non-intervention, and 300 later cash-receiving households. The study found no significant differences in changes over time in household hunger, coping strategies, or meal frequency between participants and the comparison group. Cash transfers did not appear to have lasting benefits on food security and livelihoods coping strategy use.

Jamille Anderson Luiz da Silva, Paula Tereza de Souza e Silva · Cadernos de Prospecção · Global

This study aimed to identify mobile applications developed or used for offering and trading food products in community gardens, through scientific and technological prospecting. Searches were conducted across multiple databases using keywords like "Aplicativo," "App," "Software," "Horta," and "Agricultura urbana." The results showed few applications associated with the theme, with most intended for specific localities and few available for widespread use, indicating a limited effect of existing tools.

Mahbuba Ferdous · Asian Journal of Advances in Agricultural Research · Australia (Armidale)

This case study investigated non-chemical weed management strategies in a small-scale vegetable garden in Armidale, Australia, through observation and an in-depth, unstructured interview with the garden's convener. Growers primarily used mechanical and cultural methods, including mulching, hand weeding, tillage, and grazing, to manage weed infestation. While mulching with wood chips and hand weeding were considered more effective in minimizing weed competition during critical crop development periods, they could not reach a satisfactory level. Further improvements by integrating several approaches simultaneously are needed for more effective and economical weed control.

Lena Katharina Mietz, Bárbara Civit, Alejandro Pablo Arena · Environmental & Socio-economic Studies · Argentina (Mendoza)

This study investigated vegetable consumption patterns, interest in vegetable production, opinions on urban agriculture, and barriers in the metropolitan city of Mendoza, Argentina. Using quantitative research methods and a citizen survey, the results showed strong interest from citizens in urban agriculture, but also identified barriers such as lack of time and resources.