Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
493 results(11 / 20)
Bringing urban food supply closer to food consumption: opportunities for five European metropolitan regions
2019Guido Sali, Federica Monaco, Stefano Corsi, Chiara Mazzocchi · Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca (Universita Degli Studi Di Milano) · Europe
This paper adopts a territorial approach to analyze agro-food systems in five European metropolitan regions. The methodology aims to assess the capacities of urban and peri-urban agriculture to meet urban food demand and its economic role. Preliminary results are provided to inform regulations in the agro-food sector.
Peri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceTemporary urban landscapes and urban gardening
2019Sofia Nikolaidou · Manchester University Press eBooks · Europe
This chapter examines new forms of urban gardening, often involving informal and temporary reuse of vacant land, and their impact on urban green space governance and planning practices. Using examples from Greece and Switzerland, it highlights differences and similarities in practices, social and institutional contexts, and collaborative governance patterns. The study calls attention to the critical role of the temporary nature of these initiatives, which affects new configurations of urban green areas and public space, and related planning practices.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageEconomicsUrban Farming in Inner-city Multi-storey Car-parking Structures- Adaptive Reuse Potential
2019Monika Szopińska-Mularz, Steffen Lehmann · Future Cities and Environment · United Kingdom
This paper explores the adaptive reuse potential of obsolete inner-city multi-storey car parks for urban farming, specifically hydroponics, in three UK cities (Portsmouth, Bristol, Brighton). The first stage of a multiple-site case study identified planning and technical limitations and opportunities through policy analysis, layout exploration, and field observation. The analysis showed that while these structures present similar adaptive reuse challenges, they could be converted for farming to address social, environmental, and economic issues, though this requires planning document innovations and further efficiency assessment.
Digital agriculturePolicyEconomics'The dissolution of cities': the Horseshoe settlement in Weimar Berlin
2018Barykina N. · Urban History (Cambridge University Press) · Germany
Analyzes Berlin's Horseshoe Estate (Hufeisensiedlung) by Taut and Wagner, examining how Weimar public-housing policy, new technologies, bureaucracy, and garden-city ideals shaped this modernist Siedlung as both aesthetic vision and social environment.
PolicyCommunityWelfareUrban and peri-urban agriculture in the EU
2018European Parliament Research Service · European Parliament — In-Depth Analysis IPOL_STU(2018)617468 · Europe
A comparative analysis of urban and peri-urban agriculture policy across EU member states, systematizing the impacts and challenges of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on urban farming and offering policy implications for EU-wide support.
PolicyLinking Multifunctionality and Sustainability for Valuing Peri-Urban Farming: A Case Study in the Turin Metropolitan Area
2018Gullino P., Battisti L., Larcher F. · Sustainability (MDPI) 10(5), 1625 · Italy
Evaluates the multifunctionality of peri-urban farming in the Turin metropolitan area from a sustainability perspective, presenting a method to quantify multifunctional values across food production, landscape, ecosystems and socio-culture.
PolicyBiodiversityCall for projects "Parisculteurs": catalyst for urban agriculture development on rooftops in Paris
2018Collé M., Daniel A.C., Aubry C. · Acta Horticulturae (International Symposium on Greener Cities for More Efficient Ecosystem Services in a Climate Changing World) · France (Paris)
Analysis of Paris's 'Parisculteurs' call-for-projects program based on 11-month participatory research, showing how the initiative catalyzed rooftop urban agriculture with over 48 projects on public and private buildings by 2018.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsDiversification in peri-urban agriculture: a case study in the Ruhr metropolitan region
2018· Journal of Land Use Science · Germany (Ruhr)
A case study of diversification strategies among peri-urban farms in Germany's Ruhr metropolitan region, documenting how urban proximity shapes multifunctional adaptation.
EconomicsPolicyA Differentiated Spatial Assessment of Urban Ecosystem Services Based on Land Use Data in Halle, Germany
2018· Land · Germany (Halle)
A spatially explicit assessment of urban ecosystem services in Halle (Saale), Germany, combining biotope and land-use data with hemeroby and accessibility to map local provisioning capacity.
BiodiversityPolicyAssessing green gentrification in historically disenfranchised neighborhoods: a longitudinal and spatial analysis of Barcelona
2018Isabelle Anguelovski, James J. T. Connolly, Laia Masip, Hamil Pearsall · Urban Geography · Spain (Barcelona)
Longitudinal spatial analysis linking Barcelona's municipal greening interventions (parks/green corridors) to gentrification in disenfranchised neighborhoods, providing quantitative evidence that public greening policy is associated with exclusionary neighborhood change.
PolicyWelfareAn Analysis of the Changes in the Structure of Allotment Gardens in Poland and of the Process of Regulating Legal Status
2018Anna Trembecka, Anita Kwartnik-Pruc · Sustainability · Poland
This study analyzed data on the number and area of allotment gardens, their distribution across Poland, and the process of regulating the legal status of land occupied by allotment gardens. The research identified the number and area of family allotment gardens in Poland, along with the range and types of claims against them. The study found that land occupied by family allotment gardens requires protection and legal status regulation, which is difficult due to various entities submitting claims to these areas because of their attractive urban locations.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityUrban–rural linkageIntegrating social preferences analysis for multifunctional peri-urban farming in planning. An application by multi-criteria analysis techniques and stakeholders
2018Inmaculada Marques-Pérez, Baldomero Segura García del Río · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Spain (Valencia)
This study focuses on "Huerta de Valencia," a peri-urban agricultural system around Valencia, Spain, analyzing the debate between urban growth strategies and farmland preservation. It uses multifunctionality approaches and multi-criteria analysis techniques to examine territorial planning processes by stakeholders. Differences in perceptions among stakeholder groups result in varying future visions for this agricultural system, impacting the design of rural development and agro-environmental measures.
Peri-urban agriculturePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageGlasgow in crescita: un community garden presso il Govan Graving Docks = Growing Glasgow: a community garden at the Govan Graving Docks
2018Villarino Hernandez, Diana Carolina · · United Kingdom (Glasgow)
This thesis proposes a redevelopment project for the Govan Graving Docks in Glasgow, Scotland. The project aims to make the port complex, abandoned since 1988, safer, more sustainable, and integrated with the existing urban environment by incorporating vertical farming and sustainable organic agriculture technologies. Vertical farming is positioned as a key element for developing new markets, shops, galleries, and a residential building.
CommunityOrganic cycleEconomicsPolicyCommercial Farms in Polish Metropolitan Areas: Changes in Production Factors
2018Tomasz Wojewodzic, Wojciech Sroka · Wieś i Rolnictwo · Poland
This study analyzed changes in production factors of 189 commercial farms in six Polish metropolitan areas from 2004 to 2016, using FADN data. Farms in inner metropolitan zones had larger average resources of land, labor, and capital in 2004, which largely equalized with outer zones by 2016, but remained larger than farms outside metropolitan areas. The largest percentage of farms reducing land, labor, and capital resources was in the inner zone, indicating barriers to development such as limited land supply and high labor opportunity cost.
EconomicsPeri-urban agriculturePolicyEncourager le développement de agriculture urbaine à Toulouse.Diagnostic des sols par la pédologie et les plantes bio-indicatrices.
2018Calvin Siméon · · France
This report describes the creation of a didactic booklet for beginners and curious individuals interested in urban agriculture around Toulouse, France. The booklet provides tools to diagnose a plot of land using pedology and bio-indicator plants. Based on observed data, agronomic advice is offered to select the most suitable plant production for the soil.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkagePolicyNew policies for the management of periurban agricultural spaces. The case of L’Horta de Valéncia (Spain)
2018J. L. Miralles i Garcia · International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics · Spain (Valencia)
The Law of L'Horta de València, approved on March 12, 2018, establishes new policies for managing the 23,000-hectare peri-urban agricultural area in Valencia, Spain. This law, developed over 20 years, aims to actively protect and revitalize the area's agricultural activity, which holds significant historical, environmental, economic, and social value. It introduces instruments such as a land bank, zoning, and a management council, moving beyond previous passive land-use controls to ensure the maintenance of agricultural activity compatible with its landscape and heritage.
PolicyPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsCommunityUrban agriculture: a framework for agricultural policy – present and future
2018D. Cvijanović, Otilija Sedlak, Želјko Vojinović · Instytut Ekonomiki Rolnictwa i Gospodarki Zywnosciowej Panstwowy Instytut Badawczy eBooks · Poland
This monograph was prepared under the Multi-Annual Programme 2015-2019 "The Polish and the EU agricultures 2020+". It is a collection of selected papers delivered at the 22nd International Scientific Conference organized by the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics - National Research Institute.
PolicyEconomicsUrban Agriculture: evaluating informal and formal practices
2018St Clair, Rebecca, Hardman, Michael, Adams, David, Armitage, Richard, Barry, Veronica, Larkham, Peter, Sherriff, Graeme · Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) · United Kingdom
This paper reviews the diversity of urban agriculture (UA) activities in England, from small-scale guerrilla gardening to large community projects. It suggests that UA is under-theorized, with previous research focusing on practicalities and activism. The paper highlights UA's problematic contribution to food production and warns of the 'local trap'.
Limited or null effectCommunityPolicyHealthEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceProposal of conservation-based planning approach for agricultural areas designated as Special Project Area (ÖPA) in Turkey; example of Mugla Plain
2018Neriman Yörür · Journal of Planning · Turkey
This article presents analyses and proposals for the Mugla Plain in Turkey, an agricultural area designated as a Special Project and Planning Area. The aim was to develop a project to preserve the plain's agricultural character and prevent urban sprawl by integrating it with urban residents. Proposed strategies include protecting agricultural land, establishing an agricultural development cooperative, reducing urbanization impact, and integrating the city with the area's natural landscape through urban agriculture approaches.
Peri-urban agriculturePolicyUrban–rural linkageChanges in the sizes of agricultural areas and their agricultural and environmental functions within the territories of Cracow’s Mogiła and Wyciąże neighbourhoods
2018Piotr Krzyk, Bogusława Kwoczyńska · Problemy Drobnych Gospodarstw Rolnych / Problems of Small Agricultural Holdings · Poland (Cracow)
This study quantitatively assessed the conversion of agricultural land to investment purposes in Cracow's Mogiła and Wyciąże neighborhoods from 2010-2013, based on local plans. It also addressed soil quality, heavy metal content, and pH. Analysis of spatial management plans for these areas indicated a systematic decline in the share of biologically active areas.
Contamination & food safetyPeri-urban agriculturePolicyClimate changeEconomicsHealthUrban sustainability experiments in their socio-economic milieux: A quantitative approach
2018Irene Håkansson · Journal of Cleaner Production · United Kingdom (London)
A quantitative study using data from nearly two thousand urban agriculture projects across metropolitan London investigated the geographically uneven distribution of urban sustainability experiments. Spatial statistical analyses indicated that gentrifying and income-deprived neighborhoods disproportionately often provide distinct urban milieux for initiatives to emerge, while already gentrified or otherwise advantaged urban neighborhoods have a disproportionately low number of projects.
Equity & displacementCommunityEconomicsPolicyThe Use and Value of Green School Grounds in Developing Countries
2018Arlinda Sheqiri, Parna Rastgo · Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering - A · Europe
A study on the use and value of green school grounds in developing countries was conducted across five schools in Podujevo, Kosovo. The findings revealed that the potential of green school grounds in most studied cases has not been utilized. Opportunities provided by the municipality and environmental NGOs are insufficient, suggesting a need to rethink the design and use of green school grounds in developing countries.
Governance failureFood educationHealthCommunityPolicyCivic-led public space: favourable conditions for the management of community gardens
2018Anne Könst, Rianne van Melik, Wouter-Jan Verheul · Town Planning Review · Netherlands
This article investigated the role of citizens as managers of five community gardens in the Netherlands, identifying conditions for civic-led initiatives to thrive in the management phase. In-depth interviews with volunteers revealed three key conditions for maintaining these gardens: fully connected cooperation with a ‘fun factor’, strong neighborhood involvement, and lively places of encounter. Overarching these conditions is the need for a flexible and resilient organizational structure to respond to changing circumstances.
CommunityPolicyComparative study on the motivations that drive urban community gardens in Central Eastern Europe
2018Nikola M. Trendov · Annals of Agrarian Science · Europe
This paper aims to compare existing practices of urban gardening in the Central and Eastern European region and investigate their opportunities and limitations. Five capital cities (Budapest, Bratislava, Prague, Warsaw, and Zagreb) were chosen for this research with a benchmark method to analyze the aims, main motivations, and end-user beneficiaries of urban gardens.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsUrban Gardening in Florence and Prato: How a Science Shop Project Proposed by Citizens Has Grown into a Multi-Disciplinary Research Subject
2018Franco Bagnoli, Ada Baldi, Ugo Bardi, Marina Clauser, Anna Lenzi, Simone Orlandini, Giovanna Pacini · Journal of Sustainable Development · Italy
This project, initiated by a Science Shop proposal in Florence, Italy, explored urban gardening in Florence and Prato. It involved various stakeholders to uncover the multidisciplinary aspects of urban gardening, which extends beyond traditional economic reasons to include educational, nutraceutical, therapeutic, and social relevance. The study identified urban gardening as a subject touching on agriculture, botany, psychology, chemistry, city planning, and politics.
Food educationHealthCommunityPolicy