Research & reports

Antonio Emilio Alvise Longo · Virtual Community of Pathological Anatomy (University of Castilla La Mancha) · Italy

This essay recounts the experience of the project for the open spaces in the Martesana area, coordinated by the author following a call from Fondazione Cariplo di Milano. Moving from operational experience, the essay generally considers the role of agricultural open spaces in peri-urban areas, contextualizing it with long-term urban planning themes.

Arturo Sergio Lanzani · TERRITORIO · Italy

This study treats Brianza, Italy, as a prototype of recurring relationships between residential and agricultural spaces in contemporary towns and cities, using their differences to trace the evolution of the historical landscape, the causes of its deterioration, and new planning possibilities. The simplified rural fabric of the Vimercate countryside, the strings of woodland and built-up areas in the hills, urban clearings, and the woodland and countryside of Groane are each said to open prospects for new, locally specific types of urban agriculture. The proposed future is plural, examining different relationships among agriculture, collective spaces and redevelopment of existing settlements, while opting for a halt to urban growth and reconstruction of infrastructure and landscape quality in the Brianza area.

Saloua Toumi, Roland Vidal · Projets de paysage · Europe, Africa

Urban agriculture is expanding in various metropolitan areas, but its agro-economic and socio-spatial logic differs by context. Tunisia's urban agriculture is threatened by increasing urban expansion and is not yet integrated into territorial projects. Issues related to land value appreciation are dominant, and its landscape and environmental benefits could be compromised in the relatively short term if it does not find its place in urban development plans.

Steffen Lehmann · Journal of Green Building · Europe

This paper discusses resource recovery and materials flow in cities, noting that urban farming has emerged as a valid urban design strategy in Europe, contributing to local food production, organic waste composting, and biodiversity. It reports on best practices for implementing zero waste, including adaptive re-use and design for disassembly, and identifies that the construction and demolition sector is a major waste producer. A key finding is that achieving 'zero-waste' requires strong industry leadership, new policies, effective education, and refocused research agendas.

Anne-Marie Pailhès · Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks · Germany

Today, allotment gardens are counted among Germany's "lieux de mémoire," finally recognising the importance of the "allotment holders' movement" (Kleingärtnerbewegung) in the German cultural landscape. From the 1890s to the 1920s, in a continuous process centred mainly on the Berlin area, allotment enthusiasts gradually changed the character of urban peripheries, occupying parcels of land grouped into "sections" (Sparten) of "colonies." Since 1996 there has been a museum dedicated to this social movement.

Poppy Nicol · ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) · United Kingdom (London)

This paper studies how various apples enter a community in London, using the apple as a device to analyze the city-region's food system and its connection to productive land. A multi-level analysis examined four arenas of procurement: mainstream retail (supermarkets), wholesale markets, direct links with producers (CSA box schemes, farmers' markets), and ecologically localized procurement (gleaning projects, community orchards). The study explores how these different journeys are understood and accounted for.

Susan Henderson · Planning Perspectives · Germany (Frankfurt)

The Römerstadt settlement in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, was a key achievement of the "New Frankfurt" urban expansion program (1926-1932), re-housing 60,000 people in 15,000 units. It integrated technical advances like central heating and cable radio, alongside social reforms such as a model school and a landscape plan with allotment gardens and parks. This article surveys Römerstadt's design and history, presenting it as the most complete realization of the program's ideals.

Mieczysław Kunz, Andrzej Nienartowicz · Ecological Questions · Poland

This study in Toruń, Poland, analyzed changes in the distribution and surface area of heaths over nearly 120 years at two former military sites, "JAR" and "Glinki." The analysis utilized historical topographic maps, aerial photos, a high-resolution Ikonos satellite image, and direct field exploration with GPS devices. It was found that the JAR site currently has 22 heather patches covering 11.7328 ha, and the Glinki district also has 22 heather patches covering 3.5701 ha, identifying them as the largest heath sites within Toruń's administrative boundaries. The analysis also outlined small fragments where heaths could be preserved after future housing estate construction at JAR and discussed future land use changes at Glinki due to a scheduled housing estate.

· Engineering & Technology · United Kingdom (London)

This article describes the historical landscape of the 2012 London Olympic Park site, a 321-hectare brownfield in the Lea Valley. Archaeological findings by the Museum of London indicate human presence from the Mesolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman periods, with evidence of dwellings, skeletons, and a Roman coin. The site hosted textile printing in the 17th century, followed by petrol factories, bone, varnish, soap, and tallow works, distilleries, engineering, and chemical plants, and was used for landfill from the late 19th century. It also had strong electronic associations, with the development of the first diode valve in 1904 and the establishment of Britain's first radio valve factory in 1916 and first television tube factory in 1936.

C. Colliot, J.M. Bertrand · HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · France

This paper discusses how peri-urban agriculture is influenced by urban sprawl, noting that common tools like SCoT and PLU are insufficient for rural extension services in this context. Based on examples from the Provence-Alpes Côtes d’Azur region and a CASDAR project, it proposes a future network to renew competencies of rural advisors. The objective is to foster fruitful relationships with city extension services.

홍석기 · 정책리포트 · France (Paris)

The "Le Grand Paris Project" proposes a major reform of Paris to transform it into a sustainable and globally competitive city for the 21st century. Proposed plans, to be implemented from 2020 to 2030, include physical spatial expansion beyond current boundaries, establishment of new governance for geographical and sociocultural integration, and a shift from a single-core radial to a multi-core linear urban structure. The project also suggests urban agriculture, agro-cities, and green car activation to improve the urban environment in line with the Kyoto Protocol.

Lucette Laurens · Journal for Geography · France

This inquiry examines peri-urban agricultural spaces in Languedoc-Roussillon and the Montpellier agglomeration, France, which are characterized by a decline in agricultural activities and abandonment. These spaces are confronted with new, uncertain, and innovative dynamics, appearing as multifunctional spaces that need to be re-invented. The study highlights the paradox of these areas caught between appropriation for different uses and agricultural decline.

Nadine Holdsworth · Research in Drama Education The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance · United Kingdom

This article examines Joan Littlewood's cultural innovations beyond traditional theatre, focusing on her local projects in the 1960s that promoted cultural democracy and active citizenship. During redevelopment around Theatre Royal, Stratford East, Littlewood transformed discarded spaces into temporary structures, playgrounds, mini inner-city farms, and planting schemes. These activities emphasized children's access to cultural activity, social encounter, and creative play, and explored their interaction in the public realm and responsibility for animating spaces.

Samuel Martín, Nathalie Bertrand, Nicole Rousier · Géographie Économie Société · France (Rhône-Alpes)

This paper examines spatial planning documents in two Rhône-Alpes city regions, France, as a tool for regulating land use conflicts in peri-urban agricultural areas under urbanization pressure. The analysis highlights rising tensions between local actors and suggests that agriculture is instrumentalized by spatial planning policies at the inter-communal level. At the communal level, local plans manage neighborhood and land ownership conflicts.

André Viljoen, Katrin Bohn · University of Brighton Repository (University of Brighton) · United Kingdom (London)

This paper, from a U.K. perspective, discusses urban agriculture using London as an example. While the benefits of urban agriculture for food security and income have often focused on the Global South, its integration into a multifunctional land use strategy could significantly reduce a city's ecological footprint, raising questions about its wider implementation.

Anne C. Bellows · Food and Foodways · Poland

Polish allotment gardeners collectively represent the largest land managers in Poland, with a formalized urban allotment food production system dating back to 1997. This system, combining local and national government policy with NGO management and private use, provides a model for food security and urban open space. However, this arrangement also creates ongoing tension among stakeholders and a contentious debate regarding the private and public uses of urban land.

Marc Lavergne · HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · Europe

While urbanization and agriculture often appear contradictory, the existence of urban agriculture (intra-urban and peri-urban) in the Mediterranean basin demonstrates that their relationship is not as clear-cut. Urban growth consumes agricultural land, and urban and rural worlds seem radically opposed in lifestyles and values. However, urban agriculture has forged complex relationships with the urban environment, involving both antagonisms and complementarities.

Caitlin DeSilvey · Cultural Geographies · United Kingdom (Edinburgh)

A paper on Scottish allotment gardens examines how the ambiguity pervading allotment practice surfaces as a liability in strategic appeals and draws out the survival of historical forms in contemporary political negotiations, by juxtaposing narratives of involvement in a Scottish Parliament Allotments Inquiry and the history of a single Edinburgh allotment site.

Pierre Donadieu, André Fleury · Revue de géographie alpine · Europe

This paper discusses the role of agriculture in the "country town" project in Europe. Peri-urban areas, once unpleasant environments despite their essential urban functions, have recently become attractive to new inhabitants seeking countryside amenities. Urban planning supports this concept by creating green belts and integrating agriculture as an essential element of natural spaces.

Joe Howe · Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning · United Kingdom

This article explores the neglect of research concerning food grown within urban areas and its land-use policy implications. It details findings from a UK study on land-use policy and urban agriculture, investigating land-use officials' attitudes and knowledge of urban food production and the regulatory framework used. The article concludes that despite extensive urban agriculture practice, its urban land-use policy implications require more attention from both land-use officials and researchers than previously given.

· Wikipédia (français) · France

This French Wikipedia article on shared/community gardens (jardin partagé) notes that Paris's first jardin partagé appeared in 2002, after which the City of Paris institutionalized the "Main Verte" (Green Hand) program, networking and supporting charter-signing garden associations under a unified framework. It also cites that, as of 2018, the national federation (FNJFC) united over 200 associations and 20,000 gardening families.

J.J. Tolron · HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · Europe

This article examines peri-urban agriculture, which is subject to land constraints imposed by nearby cities. Two case studies in the Mediterranean region illustrate that adaptations to the peri-urban context trigger radical changes in agricultural systems' functioning rationale, leading to sometimes paradoxical operations. The study emphasizes the diversifying effect on systems and the challenges linked to land management.

Rie Oba, Reiji Obase · Journal of The Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture · United Kingdom

This study examines Britain's allotment gardens, which have a long history and are frequently cited in Japan as a model for citizen farms (shimin nōen). Focusing on the late 19th to early 20th century, when urban allotments began spreading in the UK, the study systematically traces the transformation of allotments in relation to the social conditions of the time, and empirically analyzes the administrative decision-making behind establishing and abolishing allotments. The findings show that the functions allotments served differed according to social conditions, and that changes in those functions strongly influenced whether allotments still exist today; local authorities deciding on abolition were also found to weigh the relationship between an allotment's area and the location of open space.

Stadt Leipzig, Amt für Stadterneuerung und Wohnungsbauförderung · Stadt Leipzig · Germany

The fifth booklet in a series published by the City of Leipzig's 'Careful Urban Renewal' pilot project, addressing vacant lots (Baulücken) created by wartime destruction and East German-era demolitions. It explains how a 'Gestattungsvereinbarung' (usage-permission agreement) between the city and private landowners enables temporary conversion of vacant lots into green space, play areas, or parking without affecting the underlying building rights.

John M. Merriman · Oxford University Press eBooks · France

This chapter emphasizes the “awkward embrace” between city and country in the faubourg and the persistence of an urban agricultural population. It also considers how the troubled relationship between state and city affected the urban periphery and provides an overview of industry's role in faubourg development. To understand the urban periphery in France during the first half of the nineteenth century, it explores the state-city relationship (reflected in town walls), the persistence of rural life at the edge of and within cities, and industry's place in the emergence of the nineteenth-century faubourg.