Research & reports

Eleonora Santos, Zeeshan Arshad · Sustainability · Global

This critical narrative review synthesized evidence from 25 peer-reviewed studies on Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) applications in urban municipal wastewater reuse. While positive outcomes were reported under specific conditions like low-carbon energy grids and short transport distances, persistent methodological pitfalls were identified. These include weak pillar integration, an underdeveloped social dimension, inconsistent system boundaries, and insufficient consideration of absolute sustainability.

Pooja Boddupalli, Steffen Nijhuis, N. M. J. D. Tillie · Sustainability · Global

This systematic literature review investigated how landscape-based approaches (LbAs) and systems thinking (ST) have been concurrently applied to analyze and design urban agriculture and farming (UAF) initiatives. Screening 92 records, the study identified 12 peer-reviewed articles published between 2015 and 2025, reflecting the nascent state of this interdisciplinary approach. The findings revealed limited integration of spatial analysis with systems thinking across scales in current scholarship.

Yizhi Zhang · · Global

This report systematically reviews the environmental performance of rooftop greenhouses, focusing on life cycle assessment (LCA) approaches. The review found that existing studies are limited, often case-specific, and use diverse methodologies, hindering comparisons. Environmental performance is highly context-dependent and influenced by methodological assumptions, with conventional LCA often failing to capture dynamic interactions between greenhouse operations, crop growth, and host buildings, leading to an incomplete representation of environmental performance.

Paul Emile Tchinda, Thi-Thanh-Hiên Pham · Canadian Geographies / Géographies canadiennes 70(3) · Cameroon (one large and one medium-sized city)

Urban agriculture appears in many sustainability agendas yet has been ignored in the public policies of many African countries. Combining multi-scale mapping (city and neighbourhood) with semi-structured interviews in one large and one medium-sized Cameroonian city, this study tests how well those techniques characterise urban agriculture for local decision-making. Mapping from 5-metre SPOT satellite imagery gives a general grasp of the spatial distribution of practices, but crop types, emerging entrepreneurial practices and the temporality of crops are invisible to it and surface only through field mapping and interviews. Echoing critical remote-sensing scholarship, the authors propose a methodological framework for profiling urban agriculture and argue that the choice of research method shapes our understanding of it, so it should be made with each city's specific characteristics in mind.

Hinch J. · Southeastern Geographer · 米国フロリダ州タンパベイ

This study builds an equity-focused, GIS-based multi-criteria decision analysis model integrating socioeconomic, logistical and environmental variables to assess community garden suitability across census tracts in Tampa Bay. High-suitability tracts cluster somewhat in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties, existing gardens align moderately with modelled suitability, and the paper shows both the utility and the limits of spatial models in equitable urban agriculture planning.

Joyce dos Santos Saraiva, Caio Cézar Ferreira de Souza, Maria Lúcia Bahia Lopes, Helena Lúcia Zagury Tourinho, Marcos Antônio Souza dos Santos · Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental · Global

This study, using a systematic literature review with the PRISMA method, investigated whether distinctions between urban and rural agriculture justify "urban agriculture" as a specific category. The analysis revealed a lack of consensus among authors, with a predominant understanding that there are not two distinct types of agriculture, but rather the same activity carried out in different spaces, which questions the validity of the term "urban agriculture."

Jan Grossarth · Discover Cities · Global

This paper critically examines the dominance of quantification—certification scores, KPIs, life-cycle assessment—in sustainability practice for cities and buildings (including urban agriculture), arguing that data-driven metrics strip out the emotional and narrative meaning of sustainability. The authors label the shift from a culturally rich orientation to a purely technical, quantitative practice a "tragedy of sustainability," and argue that narrative-focused interviews and real-life storytelling in architecture and urban planning should not just accompany KPIs and ratings but be prioritized over them. The paper is a conceptual argument, not an empirical study with data or case findings.

Abdulhakeem Al-Qubati, Lulu Zhang, Matthias Forkel · Sustainable Cities and Society · Global

This 2024 global review examined 96 studies focusing on methods for estimating carbon sequestration (CS) and emissions in urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA). The review found significant research gaps: most studies were in the global north, research in the global south is lacking, and there are fewer studies on CS compared to GHG emissions. Additionally, few studies jointly assessed water and carbon cycles, and spatiotemporal analysis, modeling, and remote sensing for GHG emissions are underutilized.

Lena Katharina Mietz, Bárbara Civit, Alejandro Pablo Arena · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Global

This review focuses on the present state and methodology of life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the sustainability of urban agriculture. It notes that while urban agriculture is seen as a potential alternative for a resilient food system, existing case studies are mostly incomplete and lack diversity. Further research is needed, especially the integration of social and economic perspectives, to achieve a comprehensive scientific understanding.

Francesco Orsini, Giuseppina Pennisi, Giorgio Gianquinto, Michael Martin · International Journal of Vegetable Science · Global

This paper argues that widely publicized figures on urban agriculture's environmental impacts lack the methodologically sound evidence needed for valid comparison, before conclusions can be drawn. It addresses problems in comparatively assessing environmental performance between rural and urban farming and argues for the need for specifically designed indicators capable of comprehensively assessing multifunctional urban agriculture.

Claudia Rochael Oliveira, Eneida Maria Souza Mendonça · Geografia (Rio Claro) · Global

This article aimed to map authors discussing environmental aesthetics in urban agriculture research, inspired by Porteous's work. Using a bibliographic survey and visual representations, the study found no publications intersecting urban agriculture and environmental aesthetics. Research on urban agriculture and landscape was notably greater than on urban agriculture and aesthetics, and studies applying aesthetic theory to urban agriculture were very limited, especially in high-tech contexts like vertical farms.

Jiangxiao Qiu, Hui Zhao · EDIS · Global

This overview identified eight ecosystem services generally attributed to urban agriculture, including food production, microclimate regulation, stormwater retention, and social-cultural values. However, the study found that quantitative evidence for many of these ecosystem services, especially intangible ones, is scarce. It suggests that while urban agriculture could be integral to green infrastructure, further consideration is needed for types, technology, management, and potential tradeoffs.

Swarna Devi Palanivelu, Nur Amira Zainul Armir, Amalia Zulkifli, Ainul Hafiza Abdul Hair, Kushairi Mohd Salleh, Keith Lindsey, Muhamad Hafiz Che Othman, Sarani Zakaria · Polymers · Global

This review discusses the potentials and limitations of hydrogel in urban agriculture. While hydrogel has been introduced in urban agriculture over the past few decades, its application is still being explored regarding hydrogel types, structure, physical and chemical properties, changes due to external factors, and suitability for different plant species. The study presents the current state of knowledge on hydrogel production methods, characteristics, advantages, and limitations.

Bikram Pratim Bhuyan, Ravi Tomar, Amar Ramdane-Chérif · Sustainability · Global

An extensive systematic review of knowledge representation techniques used in smart agriculture, specifically in the urban agricultural domain, was conducted. The review found that spatial-temporal characteristics were rarely approached, a generalized representation technique to include all agricultural domains remains an issue, and a proper validation technique was missing in such ontologies.

Kit Prendergast, Amelie M. Vanderstock, Heather Neilly, Catherine E. Ross, Vanessa Pirotta, Patrick Tegart · Austral Ecology · Australia

A reflection on a citizen science project in which five early-career and PhD female researchers guided school-age children across five schools to build artificial flowers, install them on school ovals, and record over repeated 10-minute observations how flower colour (yellow vs. blue) and configuration (isolated, clumped adjacent, clumped mixed-colour, clumped single-colour) affected the number and taxa of visiting insects. The project achieved a low-cost, engaging format and exposure to female STEM role models, but the authors report constraints including having to run it in a season made suboptimal by fixed school curricula, confounding of results caused by the children's own observations, and an inability to verify the collected data.

Johanna Lochner, Marco Rieckmann, Marcel Robischon · Sustainability · Global

A study of Virtual School Garden Exchanges (VSGEs)—which link local gardening with global thinking by having elementary and secondary school students in different parts of the world exchange information about their school gardens and related topics via digital media—focused on educators' perspectives and the learning outcomes they observed, given ongoing controversy over whether VSGEs are suitable for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and whether they produce the learning outcomes educators expect. The researchers conducted 20 semi-structured interviews with VSGE educators, analyzed abductively and qualitatively. Results showed substantial overlap between observed and expected learning outcomes and ESD aims, but the data also revealed that learners engaging with international peers were affected by stereotypes and norms in varying ways: on one hand, VSGEs can lead to "Othering," which is not congruent with either ESD or the expected learning outcomes; on the other, they can inspire Transformative Learning that contributes to ESD aims. The study concludes that VSGEs hold potential for ESD depending on a complex interplay of factors, but are not guaranteed to constitute good ESD practice.

Steven C. Deller, David Lamie, Maureen Stickel · · Global

This review provides a critical analysis of current research on local and regional food networks, including urban farming projects. It reveals that many presumptions of the local food movement remain largely untested, and much of the current research lacks strong theoretical grounding and quantitative rigor. The review emphasizes the importance for practitioners to distinguish between objective, research-based information and speculative, advocacy-oriented analysis.

Kate Gardner Burt, Gail Mayer, Rachel Paul · Local Environment · Global

A systematic review analyzed 277 community gardening articles to assess outcomes of community garden participation related to food justice, synthesizing 31 studies. Many positive impacts were indicated across seven social and dietary outcomes. Community garden participation was positively correlated with community connectedness, but evidence demonstrating diet improvement was neutral. Methodological rigor in study design and lack of participant racial/ethnic and socioeconomic diversity were common issues, leaving the effectiveness of community gardening as a strategy for a more equitable food system unclear.

Jennifer Wilhelm, Richard G. Smith · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · Global

This 2017 global review analyzed 320 peer-reviewed papers on urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) published between 2000 and 2014, focusing on UPA's impact on ecosystem services (ES) and land sparing potential. The review found that while UPA research is growing, few studies (n=15) place UPA in the context of ES, and no studies explicitly quantify its land sparing potential. Additionally, few studies (n=19) quantify UPA's production potential, indicating a significant data gap.

Erin Vernoni, Jessica Price, Shoko Kumagai · · Global

A systematic review of quantitative peer-reviewed Farm to School (FTS) research found ambiguity and variability in FTS inputs. This makes it difficult to generalize outcomes for policymakers. The study proposes a pre-tested intensity measurement tool to standardize research in this area.

Bettina König, Ranka Junge, András Bittsánszky, Morris Villarroel, Tamás Kőmíves · Ecocycles · Global

A literature review was conducted on the social, environmental, and economic impacts of aquaponics. The technology has potential applications in various settings, including commercial or community-based urban food production, industrial-scale production, small-scale farming, and educational systems. However, it is concluded that due to the complexity within markets, value chains, communities, infrastructure, and policy settings, further research and data acquisition are needed to fully assess all sustainability aspects.

Heather Ohly, Sarah Gentry, Rachel Wigglesworth, Alison Bethel, Rebecca Lovell, Ruth Garside · BMC Public Health · Global

A systematic review of 40 articles on school gardening programs found that quantitative research was generally of poor quality, with limited evidence for changes in fruit and vegetable intake based on self-report. Qualitative research, though of better quality, attributed a range of health and well-being impacts to school gardens, but more robust quantitative research is needed to support these findings.

Jaimie N. Davis, Mackenzie R Spaniol, Shawn Somerset · Public Health Nutrition · Global

A review of thirteen school garden programs for children (kindergarten to 8th grade) found methodological limitations: three studies lacked control groups, and none were randomized. While six of eleven programs showed increased vegetable intake and seven of eight showed increased preference for vegetables, four programs had no effect on intake. More research is needed to understand long-term dietary improvements.

Emily Gustafsson-Wright, Sophie Gardiner, Vidya Putcha · Brookings Institution · Global

A Brookings Institution report published on 9 July 2015 examining the 38 impact bond deals in existence as of 1 March 2015, with six more contracted by July. It defines impact bond structures, inventories existing deals, sets out policy frameworks and the motivations of each type of stakeholder, and tests the claims made for impact bonds. The authors express cautious optimism while stressing that the field remains nascent and needs greater transparency and continued research.

Harry Kasumba, Tabukeli Musigi Ruhiiga · Journal of Human Ecology · Global

This literature review explored the potential of Structural Path Analysis (SPA) for investigating urban agriculture. The review found that urban agriculture has not yet attracted scholarship using the SPA technique. It also identified that smaller geographical areas often lack applicable databases for SPA, and a critical requirement for SPA is a developed system of continuous record-keeping by participants, which is often absent.