Research & reports

Kamari Maxine Clarke · Anthropologica · United States (Philadelphia)

This paper discusses the MOVE organization, founded by Vincent Leaphart (John Africa) in West Philadelphia in the early 1970s. MOVE combined philosophies of Black nationalism, raw foods, urban farming, and opposition to modern science and capitalism. This community formation came to an end on May 13, 1985.

Vidhya Jagannathan · Georgia Library Quarterly · United States

The Cobb County Public Library Garden is a community garden that expands library services and promotes patron collaboration. This garden was envisioned for teaching, demonstrating, donating, and involving families in growing food and experiencing the satisfaction of harvesting produce. Library gardens serve as a natural setting for promoting nutritional literacy and hands-on environmental learning, reflecting the Cobb County Public Library's mission.

Diana Harding, Kevin Muhamad Lukman, Matheus Jingga, Yuta Uchiyama, Jay Mar D. Quevedo, Ryo Kohsaka · Land · Indonesia

A preliminary study conducted in Indonesian metropolitan areas investigated the subjective wellbeing of 67 urban gardening practitioners using the "satisfaction with life scale (SWLS)" and "scale of positive and negative experience (SPANE)". The study found that urban gardening practitioners tend to be in positive moods and have better overall wellbeing, with 52.24% of respondents highly satisfied with their life. Motivations for starting gardening included hobby and utilization of free space as prominent reasons.

Nam-Gyeong Gim, Nam-gyeong Gim · The Jounal of Cultural Exchange · Cuba

This study explored strategic methods for effective school garden operation in elementary schools, focusing on Cuba's organopónico system. It conducted a PEST analysis of organopónico to extract technological strengths relevant to school garden education and a SWOT analysis of domestic elementary school gardens from an operational perspective. Findings suggest organopónico offers solutions for limited space through cantero farming and highlights organic farming using living organisms as a key method for strategic linkage in school gardens.

Roman Szkup · Journal of Geography Politics and Society · Poland

Changes in the ways of using plots in allotment gardens in Poland were investigated. A direct inventory and questionnaire survey were conducted among users of five gardens: one in Łódź and four in its suburban zone. Analysis revealed that the farther from the center of Łódź, the less dominant the leisure and recreational model was. Additionally, users' professional activity and age were identified as socio-demographic features currently determining the way plots are used in these gardens.

El Syabrina, Rosmaina Rosmaina, Risqiana Dani, Purwati Purwati, Nadya Hermantika Sari · JIA (Jurnal Ilmiah Agribisnis) Jurnal Agribisnis dan Ilmu Sosial Ekonomi Pertanian · Indonesia (Pekanbaru)

A descriptive qualitative study in Pekanbaru City in August 2022 surveyed 102 urban farming managers to assess their perceptions and interest in urban farming. Respondents generally agreed with the social, economic, and ecological benefits of urban farming, scoring 3.17 on a Likert scale, with social benefits (3.34) being highest. The study suggests that commercializing urban agriculture on vacant land could maximize community socialization and boost economic and ecological benefits.

Sofyan Musyabiq Wijaya · International Journal of Current Science Research and Review · Indonesia

A systematic review of 12 articles, identified from an initial search of 43 research articles on PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar, examined urban farming in Indonesia. The review found that urban farming can increase family food security, with vegetables and fruits being common crops. Identified problems included communication issues and varying levels of knowledge and skills related to urban farming.

Raquel Yurie Hioki, Moacir Roberto Darolt · Archives of Veterinary Science · Brazil (Curitiba)

This study, conducted in Curitiba, Brazil, and its metropolitan area, aimed to discuss the risks and benefits of legalizing urban poultry farming. Through interviews with key informants, challenges were identified across sanitary, legislative, and commercial areas, urban chicken breeders, and bird management. The main challenges cited were sanitary and environmental risks, mistreatment, irregular slaughter, and neighborhood disturbances, which could be addressed through activity regulation, registration of farms, technical monitoring, and implementation of pilot projects.

Anastasia Nikologianni, Alessandro Betta, Mattia Andreola, Angelica Pianegonda, Gian Antonio Battistel, Anna Ternell, Alessandro Gretter · Athens Journal of Sciences · Europe

This paper explores urban farming models and their role in climate change adaptation within urban environments, drawing on the SATURN project's collaboration across Gothenburg (Sweden), Trento (Italy), and Birmingham (UK). It presents Gothenburg's entrepreneurial model, where municipal management leases allotments to farmers to scale businesses and provide sustainable food. Trento combines bottom-up and institutional processes to foster short local supply chains, potentially benefiting from a land lease scheme. Birmingham's model views urban farming primarily as community support for mental health and awareness, rather than an entrepreneurial activity. The research demonstrates how abandoned and underutilized land can be regenerated through these diverse European urban agriculture models.

Nusaibah Nurul Fida, Heru Purwandari · Jurnal Sains Komunikasi dan Pengembangan Masyarakat [JSKPM] · Indonesia

This study analyzed the relationship between group work productivity and the levels of economic, social, and ecological sustainability in urban farming programs in Indonesia. Using a quantitative survey method supported by qualitative data, the research found that group work productivity has a sufficient and significant relationship with the level of economic sustainability. Furthermore, group work productivity has a strong and significant relationship with the levels of social and ecological sustainability of urban farming programs.

Beverly Christian, Jason Morton · TEACH Journal of Christian Education · Australia

A case study in one Australian primary school used focus groups to gather children's perceptions of how a school garden program impacted their actualisation of values. The study found that the garden program's organizational elements positively impacted the actualisation of intrapersonal and interpersonal values among children.

Mariia Ermilova, Mitsunari Terada, Isami Kinoshita · · Japan (Tokyo)

From March 2016 to 2021, a five-year action research project was conducted in Matsudo, a Tokyo suburb, Japan, by two PhD students from Chiba University in collaboration with a local neighborhood association. Through cultivating culturally significant plants like herbs, vegetables, and flowers, and utilizing them for crafts and cosmetics, local women, the elderly, and children developed new skills, gained financial support, and social confidence. These activities expanded from edible landscape cultivation in planters to the creation of eight gardens, providing alternative forms of community participation.

Osmar Manoel Nunes, Shirley Grazieli da Silva Nascimento, Mariana Rockenbach de Ávila, Luciellen de Lourdes Silveira Vieira, Criziane Flores Pamplona · · Brazil

This preliminary study conducted a socioeconomic analysis of peri-urban family production of organic lettuce in Dom Pedrito-RS, Brazil, using case study techniques focusing on two family farmers. Through in-depth interviews and farm visits, it was found that production relied solely on family labor with minimal chemical inputs, characterizing a transition to organic production. Despite strong competition from large distribution networks, producing and marketing organic lettuce was concluded to be profitable, constituting an alternative income source and job creation in family farming, and assisting in transforming unoccupied spaces into productive ones.

Dini Sofarini, Deddy Dharmaji, Yunandar Yunandar, Fajriyanti Fajriyanti · Bubungan Tinggi Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat · Indonesia

An aquaponics cultivation technique training was conducted from August to December 2021 in the Sungai Ulin Village community in Banjarbaru City. This activity aimed to increase the use of polyculture technology in urban areas and improve the survival rate of aquaponics products. Evaluation results showed an 80% survival rate for vegetables and 75% for fish, indicating improved knowledge and skills among participants.

Laili Qomariyah, Mariza Ningtyas Febriyanti, Erlanda Nouva Wibowo, Agustin Kana Risqiyani, Miftahul Husnul Suluki, Futun Nur Faridah · Community Empowerment · Indonesia

This program aimed to ensure family food security and improve mental health for residents of RW V during the pandemic, using methods such as socialization, workshops, and training. The results showed that RW V residents were enthusiastic about urban farming and capable of growing vegetables. Additionally, mothers, especially housewives, reported feeling mentally healthier due to new activities and a focus on hydroponic urban farming.

W.H Maria Agatha Sri, Trecy Austin, Indah Pusnita · Jurnal Abdimas Indonesia · Indonesia (Palembang)

In Sako Village, Palembang City, urban farming and educational gardens support improved food security as part of the "Kampung Iklim" program, which aims for climate change adaptation and mitigation. The area of RT 98 RW 37 was deemed suitable for urban farming, and an educational garden was implemented as an introduction and example of urban farming.

Naomi Reyes, Montserrat Ganderats‐Fuentes, Francesco Acciai, Jessica Eliason, Punam Ohri‐Vachaspati · Journal of School Health · United States (New Jersey)

This study examined school garden prevalence in 148 K-12 schools across four low-income New Jersey cities between 2010-2011 and 2017-2018, before and after the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010. Garden prevalence increased from 19% in 2010-2011 to 32% in 2013-2014, but this increase was not sustained over time. Furthermore, schools with a majority Hispanic student enrollment had approximately half the odds of having a garden compared to schools with a majority Black student enrollment.

Luíza Costa Caldas, Tania Pereira Christopoulos · Revista Gestão & Sustentabilidade Ambiental · Global

This systematic literature review investigated how social network perspectives apply to urban agriculture, analyzing 65 articles. The study found that social networks are important for individual survival and empowerment, access to resources, social change, environmental change, and the development of urban agriculture projects. It also noted that relationship characteristics, such as tie strength, generate different types of social capital, including bridging and bonding.

Leila Graziele de Almeida Brito, Marilete Calegari Cardoso, Mainara Mizzi Rocha Frota, Leandro Nascimento Bertoldi · Brazilian Journal of Animal and Environmental Research · Brazil

This paper reports on the experience of establishing an organic community garden at the Casinha do Sol Children's Living Center, UESB, Brazil, with the support of the Calanguinho project. Using a collaborative work methodology, the project fostered partnerships between the nursery, families, and the university. This initiative facilitated the development of active practices and reflection, promoting ecological and sustainable awareness among the nursery, families, and the academic community.

Xunyu Zhang, Dongxu Pan, Ka Po Wong, Yuanzhi Zhang · Urban Science · China (Shenzhen)

This paper clarifies the governance structure and operation mechanism of Shenzhen's "We Garden" community garden program, introduced in 2020 to transform idle public lands into green spaces. Fieldwork, including direct observation and interviews, revealed that this experiment is driven by urban environmental public governance rather than individual needs. The "We Garden" approach represents a new top-down governance structure, emphasizing the key role of nonprofit organizations in promoting sustainable public participation in urban environmental protection.

Paulo Silvano Magno Fróes Júnior, Fabrício Khoury Rebello, Maria Lúcia Bahia Lopes, Cyntia Meireles Martins, Amanda da Silva Nogueira, Santos, Marcos Vinicius Puydinger dos, 1987- · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Belém)

This research aimed to identify and characterize the commercial channels and margins of urban agriculture in the Curuçambá agricultural community, Belém Metropolitan Region, Brazil. Information was gathered through interviews with 63 urban farmers, representing 52.5% of local farmers. The results showed that 92.44% of agricultural production was dedicated to jambu, lettuce, green onion, chicory, and cariru, primarily commercialized through fairs in the Belém Metropolitan Region, institutional markets, supermarkets, restaurants, and direct sales to consumers.

Tori Taniguchi, Alyson Haslam, Wenjie Sun, Margaret Sisk, Jann Hayman, Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan · Nutrients · United States

The six-month FRESH study in the United States evaluated the impact of a farm-to-school nutrition and gardening intervention for Native American families. It involved 193 children and 170 adults from Osage Nation Early Childhood and Education programs, finding that intervention children significantly increased vegetable intake for squash and beans, and showed increased willingness to try beans.

Laura Boluspayeva, Monika Jakubus, W. Spychalski, Akhan Abzhalelov, Yertas Bitmanov · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Kazakhstan (Oskemen)

This study investigated heavy metal contamination in soils and vegetables due to the metallurgic industry in industrial areas of Oskemen, Republic of Kazakhstan. The greatest amounts of metals were found in soils and vegetables from the industrial zone, with the lowest in the suburban zone. Lead concentrations exceeded WHO/FAO standards in all analyzed vegetable samples, leading to the conclusion that consumption of vegetables cultivated in industrial areas should be restricted due to health risks.

Rahmad Aji Maulana, Hardi Warsono, Retno Sunu Astuti, Teuku Afrizal · PERSPEKTIF · Indonesia (Semarang)

A qualitative descriptive analysis study was conducted to develop urban agriculture in Semarang City, Indonesia. The study identified diverse potential for urban agriculture in Semarang, including various vegetables, cassava, sugar cane, durian, and mushrooms. It also found that urban agriculture offers environmental, economic, social, health, education, and tourism benefits, and noted that policy instruments through top-down and bottom-up approaches are essential.

Jaimie N. Davis, Katie Nikah, Matthew J. Landry, Sarvenaz Vandyousefi, Reem Ghaddar, Matthew Jeans, Michele Hockett Cooper, Bonnie Martin, Lyndsey Waugh, Shreela V. Sharma, Alexandra E. van den Berg · Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · United States (Austin)

A cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in Austin, TX, United States, from 2016 to 2019, with primarily low-income, Hispanic children, examined the effects of the school-based gardening, nutrition, and cooking program 'TX Sprouts' on academic performance. Sixteen elementary schools were randomly assigned to either the intervention (8 schools) or control (8 schools) group, with the intervention consisting of 18 one-hour lessons in an outdoor teaching garden throughout the academic year. Results showed that schools receiving the intervention had a 6.5-percentage-point increase in fourth-grade reading State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) scores compared with control schools (P = .047). However, there were no significant differences in reading scores for fifth-grade students or math scores for either fourth- or fifth-grade students between groups.