Research & reports

Antonia Lippert, Karina Pallagst, Patricia Hammer · Ra Ximhai · Germany (Dessau)

This bachelor thesis examines the revitalization of urban brownfields in shrinking cities, using the "Urban Farm Dessau" project as an example. It defines brownfields, revitalization, and urban farming, and details the GIAGEM project which develops alternative solutions for brownfield revitalization meeting bio-economic requirements. The "Urban Farm Dessau" project in Dessau-Roßlau is analyzed through a preliminary study and evaluated using a criteria grid, forming the basis for recommendations on its transferability to other cities.

Priya R. Chandrasekaran · NWSA Journal · Global

This review discusses "Mapping Gendered Ecologies: Engaging with and beyond Ecowomanism and Ecofeminism," a fifteen-chapter anthology edited by K. Melchor Quick Hall and Gwyn Kirk. The collection explores the power of ecofeminism and ecowomanism, revealing obscured relationships and ideas, and outlining pathways for socio-ecological healing and sustainability. It is recommended for scholars and collaborators in various fields, including environmental studies, women and gender studies, and urban studies.

Mary Ann N Daculog, Thea P Suaco, Romalyn D Parado · Advances in Agriculture Horticulture and Entomology · Philippines (Baguio City)

This study analyzed the chemical properties of soil in Barangay Lucnab, Baguio City, Philippines, focusing on macronutrient and micronutrient presence. Findings revealed low soil moisture content (27.26% to 33.60%) and strongly acidic pH levels (4.1 to 4.83). Organic matter content was also low (2.71% to 3.45%), suggesting that the soil's acidity may impact nutrient availability and solubility, thereby reducing harvest and productivity.

Fira Ayu Sasmita, Muhammad Hasan, Citra Ayni Kamaruddin, Nurdiana, Nur Arisah · Quantitative Economics and Management Studies · Indonesia (Makassar)

A descriptive qualitative study examined the financial literacy level of 4 farmers in the Anggrek farmer women’s group in Bara – Baraya Village, Makassar City, Indonesia. While knowledge of finance, savings, and loans was good, trust and use of financial institutions, insurance, and investment were very limited, indicating that the overall financial literacy of the farmers needs improvement.

Julia Wójcik-Madej, Barbara Sowińska-Świerkosz · Sustainability · Poland (Lublin)

A case study in Lublin city, Poland, applied objective criteria referring to seven societal challenges to 24 types of pre-existing interventions. All analyzed interventions met at least two challenges, with protecting wetlands, public parks, and allotment gardens showing the greatest challenge-orientation potential, while nesting boxes for bats and insect hotels showed the lowest. Interventions responded most to human health, climate change, and ecosystem degradation, and least to food security and socioeconomic development. The study concluded that the scale of intervention type is too general for challenge-orientation assessment.

Shirley A.A. Beresford, India J. Ornelas, Mark Bauer, Geraldine A Garrity, Sonia Bishop, Brandon Francis, Eileen Rillamas‐Sun, Linda Garcia, Filiberto S A Vecenti, Kevin Lombard · AJPM Focus · United States

The Yéego! Healthy Eating and Gardening Study was a group-randomized controlled trial in 6 elementary schools in the Navajo Nation to evaluate a school-based healthy eating and gardening intervention over one school year. Students in intervention schools showed 0.22 points greater self-efficacy for eating fruits and vegetables compared to comparison schools. While self-efficacy to grow fruits and vegetables increased in intervention schools, it did not increase significantly more than in comparison schools.

Graham Ambrose, Kirti Das, Yingling Fan, Anu Ramaswami · Landscape and Urban Planning · United States (Minneapolis-St. Paul)

An exploratory study in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, USA, directly compared happiness (net affect, average happiness, and meaningfulness) associated with household versus community agricultural gardening, surveying 118 household and 55 community gardeners. For both groups, gardening's net affect ranked among the top five daily activities. Community gardeners reported statistically higher net affect and peak meaningfulness while gardening compared to household gardeners. Community gardeners' net affect correlated negatively with family-companionship and positively with neighbor-companionship. Female and low-income household gardeners reported higher gardening net affect than their counterparts.

Aisling Bailey, Jonathan Kingsley · Land · Australia (Melbourne)

This qualitative study explored perceptions of benefits and challenges in six urban community and allotment gardens in Melbourne, Australia, through semi-structured interviews with 23 participants. Findings identified perceived benefits and demographic patterns, but also highlighted challenges to participation due to insecurity around ongoing land access. The gardens were perceived to contribute to social and environmental wellbeing.

Melissa Parks, Hope P. Hershey, Skye Sobzack, Mercedes Tichenor · Kappa Delta Pi Record · Global

This paper describes the benefits of elementary school gardening experiences and offers suggestions on how to nurture positive environmental attitudes among children through garden-based learning activities.

H. Piekarska-Boniecka, Marta Rzańska-Wieczorek, Idzi Siatkowski, Tadeusz Barczak · Plant Protection Science · Poland (Poznań)

This study investigated the parasitisation of Yponomeuta malinellus feeding on Crataegus monogyna in the allotment gardens in the city of Poznań, Poland.

Kukuh Madyaningrana, Tri Yahya Budiarso, Catarina Aprilia Ariestanti, Dan Daniel Pandapotan, Wulan Sari Sinaga · Jurnal Abditani · Indonesia (Yogyakarta)

This study aimed to demonstrate the production of liquid organic fertilizer (POC) from organic waste in the urban farming communities of Omah Paseduluran Sleman and Gemah Ripah Yogyakarta, Indonesia, as a pilot project for cultivating Brazilian spinach. The activity showed that POC made from organic waste like rice wash water, fruit peel slices, and sheep urine is easy to produce. Participants were enthusiastic and committed to making POC independently for their cultivated plants.

Alan da Silva Vinhaes, Antônio Nivaldo Hespanhol · Revista de Geografia · Brazil (Porto Ferreira)

This study aimed to understand and analyze urban agriculture practices in Porto Ferreira, Brazil. Fieldwork, including a survey of 60 urban farmers, revealed that urban gardens promote social inclusion for low-income individuals, unemployed people, the elderly, and women. Among the surveyed farmers, 55 used their produce for self-consumption or sold it at their production sites, two sold at the market, and three sold directly to supermarkets.

Özge Yalçıner Ercoşkun · IGI Global eBooks · Global

This chapter analyzes direct organic marketing mechanisms and community-building approaches, such as organic markets, participatory guarantee systems, and community-supported agriculture. It demonstrates these cultures and provides best practices for creating sustainable food community networks globally. The chapter concludes by emphasizing the significance of sociality and locality, thus contributing to the long-term goal of sustainable development and resilience.

Nia Kurniawati Hidayat, Ahyar Ismail, Hastuti Hastuti, Fitria Dewi Raswatie · Jurnal Ilmu Pertanian Indonesia · Indonesia (Bogor)

An urban farming program was initiated in Gunung Putri District, Bogor Regency, and qualitative descriptive methods, Likert scale, and SWOT analysis were used to identify development strategies, analyze public perceptions, and formulate strategies. While urban farming showed potential across technical, social, institutional, commercial, financial, and environmental aspects, obstacles included respondents' time, usable land, capital, supportive institutions, and limited marketing information. The most significant weakness identified was product marketing.

Brian Tigere, Theresa Moyo · African Journal of Disability · South Africa

A qualitative study in rural Limpopo province, South Africa, examined the role of community gardens in uplifting persons with disabilities and their communities. Using face-to-face interviews with 21 participants, including people with disabilities and government officials, the study found that community gardens contributed to the economic and social well-being of persons with disabilities by providing income and creating jobs. The study recommends a disability access audit to address accessibility challenges.

Michael Wells · · United States

This study describes "Project GREEN," a school-wide program led by Michael Wells, principal of Munster High School in Indiana, aimed at creating a sustainable school garden. The program seeks to increase high school students' engagement in STEM disciplines and introduce them to real-world problems.

István Bazsik · Studia Mundi - Economica · Hungary

A study examined the situation and theoretical frameworks of social farms in Hungary. The social farm system in the country is in its infancy, with fewer than 50 farms, many of which are not necessarily farms. Initiatives often focus exclusively on specific target groups and prioritize social functions over agricultural production, which limits successful inclusion and integration.

Larissa Siqueira Chaves, Giovanna Simokado Magalhães, Soraya Nór · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil

This article reflected on the potential of feminism in urban development as a practice of counter-hegemonic architectures. Through a cartography of central Florianópolis, it was shown that only ten streets in the city center were named after women, revealing that patriarchal patterns are fixed in the territory. Women in urban agriculture are presented as individual and collective body-territories that construct a counter-hegemonic praxis in urban spaces and social movements, politically building alternatives that foster care, reproduction of life, reconnection with nature, protection of popular traditions, as well as gender issues and the right to the city.

Axel Prestes Dürrnagel, Matias Siueia Júnior, Simone Prestes Dürrnagel · Boletim GeoÁfrica · Mozambique

In Maputo, Mozambique's capital, urban agriculture is at a critical point, with accelerated urban growth and climate change impacts increasingly compromising agricultural spaces. A qualitative case study focusing on farmer associations in the urban district of KaMavota indicated that horizontal relationships among farmers enable information sharing and social capital creation. Conversely, vertical relationships between farmers and the government primarily promote knowledge exchange and competencies related to agricultural extension and land rights allocation.

Daniel Sax, Lorien Nesbitt, Shannon Hagerman · Environment and Planning E Nature and Space · Canada (Vancouver)

A case study of an urban farm in Vancouver, Canada, facing displacement due to redevelopment, revealed that urban residents engaged in urban greening can be both implicated in and impacted by green gentrification processes. The study highlighted the power dynamics farm members navigate to preserve land access and found that the farm's identity was co-opted by development agents as a branding tool. This research contributes to understanding the limitations of development processes in accounting for green gentrification risks.

Fiona Greenland · Social Forces · Germany (Ruhr valley)

This review of "How Green Became Good" by Hillary Angelo examines why urban greening became a public good, challenging conventional accounts. Tracing urban greening in Germany's Ruhr valley, Angelo argues that greening constructs not only physical spaces but also social imaginaries, where nature as a public good is mutually constitutive with economic production needs, rather than being in opposition. The work shifts the understanding of urbanized nature from inherently contentious politics to a socio-cultural process of urban modernization.

Arpan Johari Architect, Hemant Diyalani · International Journal of Science Engineering and Management · India

The need for pedestrian zones in India is discussed, proposing a concept for walkways equipped with energy-generating tiles and photovoltaic panels. These walkways would power their own lighting from pedestrian movement and contribute to the grid. Some shade tops would also double as urban farming belts, aiming to improve urban walkability, biodiversity, and social landscape.

Nurhanis Abdullah, Muhammad Rakib, Muhammad Hasan, Nurdiana Nurdiana, Tuti Supatminingsih · Ideas Jurnal Pendidikan Sosial dan Budaya · Indonesia (Makassar)

An economic feasibility study was conducted on the urban farming business of the KWT Anggrek Women's Farmer Group in Makassar City, examining production, marketing, and financial aspects. While the business was deemed feasible in terms of production and marketing, the financial aspect showed a Net Present Value (NPV) of -8,350,133, indicating it was not feasible according to NPV provisions. However, the payback period was a favorable 1 year, 9 months, and 4 days, suggesting the business could continue.

Adi Irvansyah · Jurnal Akrab · Indonesia

This study aimed to describe factors influencing urban farmers' financial literacy and formulate effective solutions for improvement. Conducted with a qualitative approach, it found that urban farmers' financial literacy is influenced by financial knowledge, financial attitudes, family environment, and peers. To enhance financial literacy, behavioral changes supported by informal education within families and mass-approach development outreach utilizing digital media for knowledge acquisition are deemed necessary.

Giulia Giacchè, Véronique Saint-Gès, Yoann Durrieu, Mélanie Collé, Christine Aubry · Territoire en mouvement · France

A multi-phase method, METH-EXPAU®, is proposed for defining urban agriculture (UA) projects, aiming to help landowners select appropriate UA forms based on territorial characteristics. Applied to three case studies in France—Montrouge, a priority district in Lille, and a new district in Bordeaux—the method revealed its potential and shortcomings. It demonstrated how structural, technical, and social characteristics of spaces and agents can rule out certain UA forms that do not correspond to the territory's current needs.