Research & reports

Yuki Kato, Caroline Boules · Journal of Urban Affairs · United States

The disruption of social and food systems during the COVID-19 pandemic presented a distinct set of opportunities and challenges for urban agriculture. Based on 79 in-depth interviews with managers of community gardens, school gardens, and urban farms in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, this study used post-disaster "social recovery" theory to explore how each type of urban agriculture responded differently to the pandemic's social, economic, and personal disruptions. Findings showed significant differences in immediate impacts across the types of urban agriculture, with community gardens being the least affected and urban farms implementing the most variant adaptation strategies. Notable differences also appeared within each type, especially among urban farms. The study attributes these variant adaptation trajectories to pre-disaster conditions, including autonomy over cultivation space, access to resources, and connections with other facets of city life, concluding by underscoring the importance of recognizing the heterogeneity of urban agriculture when assessing its transformational capacity and potential.

Olga I. Soldatenkova · USA & Canada Economics – Politics – Culture · Canada

This article discusses the role of modern agriculture in Canada's food system, household food security and the expansion of agricultural exports. It describes the specialization and distribution of agricultural production across Canada's provinces and the territories of the country's Arctic zone, with particular attention to the development of urban agriculture, noting that in some cases it is treated as an element of action plans to combat climate change.

Julia N. M. Campbell · Digital Archive @ GSU · United States

This paper discusses how brownfield sites affect physical health (injury hazards, disease transmission, chemical exposure) and social health determinants such as neighborhood social capital, and argues that reusing brownfields as community gardens reduces environmental and associated health hazards while increasing nutrition access — especially for low-income populations — community aesthetics, social cohesion, and recreational or therapeutic opportunities. It states that special precautions are required to protect public health when converting a brownfield to a garden, including chemical sampling, soil cleanup, and protective garden design, and concludes that the community benefit is worth the initial investment required, without presenting site-specific measured outcomes.

Sara N Lupolt, Raychel E Santo, Brent F Kim, Thomas A Burke, Keeve E Nachman · GeoHealth · United States (40 cities)

A 2022 review that collected and evaluated 43 soil-safety-related urban agriculture policies across 40 US cities. About half of these cities had at least one policy that recommended soil testing or provided a testing service, but only eight cities had any policy containing an actual requirement (on soil testing or on a specific growing practice). The authors also found notable inconsistencies between cities in what counts as an 'acceptable' level of lead in soil and in the actions recommended at each level. Because US Environmental Protection Agency guidance on soil lead was not written with urban agriculture in mind, the paper sets out the research needed to revise that guidance and offers recommendations for drafting or revising municipal soil safety policies. It documents a governance gap: responses to urban soil contamination are fragmented across jurisdictions and mostly non-binding.

Daria Ponstingel · Socio-Ecological Practice Research · United States (Austin)

A 2022 study of community gardens in Austin, Texas, USA, examining the approaches used to govern them and the socio-ecological outcomes associated with each model. Using Ostrom's socio-ecological systems framework, the author combined key-informant interviews with garden managers (yielding both qualitative and quantitative data) with remote-sensing estimates of net primary productivity — a proxy for carbon sequestration — derived from ECOSTRESS imagery on the International Space Station and Planet Inc. data. Social outcomes were measured as gardeners' satisfaction and perceived success; ecological outcomes as green-space ecosystem services. The highest social and ecological performance was found in gardens with 'bottom-up' governance structures, where community members hold decision-making and management authority. The author argues the two kinds of outcome are codependent and that the governance approach determines the form that codependence takes. The study covers gardens in a single city, so generalisation elsewhere remains to be tested.

Congreso de la República del Perú · El Peruano, Normas Legales (Diario Oficial del Perú) · Peru

Peru's Congress passed Law No. 31458 on 26 April 2022, published the next day in the official gazette El Peruano (Normas Legales). The law legally recognizes ollas comunes (community soup kitchens) as temporary or permanent grassroots social organizations, guarantees their sustainability and financing during emergencies such as natural disasters or health emergencies, and promotes beneficiaries' productive work and entrepreneurship. It authorizes local governments and the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion to reallocate budget to fund food procurement and distribution for ollas comunes, and requires the Ministry of Health to approve technical guidance on sanitary and nutritional conditions.

Ministerio de Desarrollo e Inclusión Social (MIDIS) · Ministerio de Desarrollo e Inclusión Social (MIDIS), Plataforma del Estado Peruano · Peru

Peru's Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion (MIDIS) reported on 6 May 2022 that, according to registration data in its Mankachay Perú ("Mi ollita Perú") information system, Lima Metropolitana had registered the most Temporary Citizen Food Support Initiatives (ICAAT, including ollas comunes) at 2,506, followed by Callao (242), La Libertad (101) and Arequipa (98). The system launched on 5 November 2021, with local governments entering data that citizens and officials can view in real time.

Instituto Escolhas · 100 Políticas (Instituto Escolhas) · Brazil

A case study of Belo Horizonte's urban agriculture policy. Under Municipal Law No. 10,255/2011, three types of production units — school-based, public-facility-based, and community-cooperative — operate a combined 182 units producing about 3.82 tons of food per month. The program's annual municipal budget is roughly R$2 million, of which R$1.5 million is allocated to the community-cooperative units.

Instituto Escolhas · 100 Políticas (Instituto Escolhas) · Brazil

A policy analysis of Rio de Janeiro's Hortas Cariocas program, launched in 2006. It comprises 56 gardens — 27 school-based and 29 community-based — across 25.3 hectares, employing 276 people (191 in schools, 85 in communities). In the first half of 2022 the gardens produced about 35 tons of food; in June alone, 7.2 tons were produced (3.1 tons sold, 4.1 tons donated), with roughly R$150,000 per month paid from the municipal treasury as stipends.

Lange S. J., Calancie L., Onufrak S. J., Reddy K. T., Palmer A., Warnock A. L. · Nutrients 13(2):683 · United States

National survey showing that the presence of food policy councils is associated with local policies supporting healthy food access, including for food-insecure populations, underscoring their role in food system governance.

Rendón Schneir E. · e-Agronegocios, Vol. 7, No. 2 · Peru (Lima)

Analyzes short horticultural value chains (cadenas cortas) in Lima, showing that removing intermediaries improves farmer incomes and strengthens urban food security, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mary P. Corcoran · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (New Haven)

Based on 28 in-depth interviews and participant observation in New Haven, CT (Fall 2018), this article examines community-based food-justice activism across the urban agriculture and food-policy sectors. It finds that grassroots civil society groups largely set a broad and contradictory hunger agenda, that their work is structurally constrained by dependence on philanthropic funding and a fiscally weak municipality, and that a tension persists between depoliticizing and repoliticizing hunger—tensions sharpened by COVID-19 and the 2020 BLM mobilization.

Catherine Sanders, Casandra Cox, Leslie Edgar, Donna Graham, Amanda Philyaw Perez · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · United States (Arkansas)

This qualitative study conducted in-depth interviews with 16 urban farmers in Northwest and Central Arkansas to assess their needs and their interactions with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Needs were highly individualized by operation size, years in operation, and mission, but common needs included market pricing, co-ops, and equipment access; participants viewed Extension positively but noted it lacked resources specific to small-scale, sustainable farming.

Catherine G. Campbell, Shelli D. Rampold · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · United States (Florida)

Through a University of Florida IFAS Extension statewide survey of local government stakeholders, this study assessed attitudes, subjective knowledge, perceived benefits and barriers, and educational needs regarding urban agriculture. Respondents showed positive attitudes and moderate knowledge, and the findings support the hypothesis that a lack of basic knowledge about UA hampers efforts to foster it through local policy.

· Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · USA

A scoping review of how urban agriculture education programs foster youth civic engagement, leadership, and understanding of social justice in the United States.

Alves Mário Aquino, de Oliveira Lya Cynthia Porto · Local Environment · Brazil (São Paulo)

Compares municipal urban-agriculture policy implementation across three São Paulo regions. Despite policy on the books, implementation is carried out 'timidly'—strong in the south, weak in the east, and almost nonexistent in the north—driven by uneven land access and NGO presence.

Berglund E., Hassanein N., Lachapelle P., Stephens C. · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · USA

Interviews 11 municipal and county food-policy staff to assess dedicated government food-policy positions. Finds their impact is constrained by limited authority, resources, and institutional standing, documenting the practical limits of embedding food policy in local government.

Miranda Gómez, Omar, Aguilar-Gómez, Carlos Rubén · Revistes Científiques de la University of Barcelona (University of Barcelona) · Mexico

This article proposes a methodological route for data analysis using Google applications to study urban agriculture (AU) in Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic. Information was collected from Facebook groups dedicated to AU in various Mexican states. Findings indicate that AU in Mexico offers social benefits, while the use of these technological tools for social research presents both advantages and disadvantages.

Bruno do Nascimento Macedo, Fernanda Nogueira Comas, Amarílis Lucia Casteli Figueiredo Gallardo · Journal of Urban Technology and Sustainability · Brazil (São Paulo)

This study discussed the main environmental services and disservices associated with urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in São Paulo, Brazil, using a systematic literature review and spatial analysis. It identified 12 environmental services and 5 disservices, mapping 197 UPA initiatives. The research concluded that UPA has the potential to offer environmental benefits, but can also exert negative pressures on the environment, including in areas that should be protected.

Gabriela de Azevedo Marques, Iara Rafaela Gomes · Boletim Goiano de Geografia · Brazil

This empirical study analyzed the socio-spatial development of Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (AUP) in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, examining both spontaneous agricultural activities and municipal institutional actions. While AUP holds significant relevance in the city, particularly in peripheral areas, governmental initiatives were found to be sporadic and discontinuous, lacking a broader institutional agenda. The study concluded that despite recent municipal efforts, legal and institutional support for AUP remains weak, leading to the rapid disappearance of productive spaces and indicating that institutional actions have not effectively fostered the socio-spatial development of spontaneous initiatives.

Mia Arvizu · Ethnic studies review · United States

This paper introduces "Cocoon: a series" by independent artist Mia Arvizu. This initial series challenges white supremacy culture and assimilation, serving as a stepping stone to spark conversations that spread resistance against patriarchy, capitalism, and colonialism. Arvizu is currently working in a fellowship with the National Park Service (NPS) and Groundwork, USA, focusing on communications for community-based projects such as community gardens.

André Ruoppolo Biazoti, Vitória Oliveira Pereira de Souza Leão, Rafael Junqueira Buralli, Thaís Mauad · Estudos Avançados · Brazil (São Paulo)

Agricultural production and distribution in São Paulo, Brazil, were evaluated using official databases and seven semi-structured interviews with farmers conducted between 2018 and 2020. The findings indicate growth in agricultural practices and access to a wide variety of commercialization channels within the municipality. The opening of new markets, the development of public policies, and public recognition were essential for this growth.

Jessica Cuevas-Castilleja, Armando Martínez-Luz, Marcelo Adán López-Arzate, Itzel Arlette Ramírez-García, Gustavo Mora‐Aguilera, Norma Ávila-Alistac · Revista mexicana de fitopatología(en línea)/Revista mexicana de fitopatología · Mexico (Mexico City)

This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on productive activities and the level of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) application among 108 urban agriculture farmers and extensionists in six areas of Mexico City. A digital survey in 2020 revealed that the sanitary emergency reduced extension services, though they continued with digital technologies. During the peak of COVID-19, 14% of farmers declined to sow the summer-fall season, and up to 75% reported 20% losses due to the epidemic. The main pest control strategies were mechanical (67%) and chemical (52%), indicating an intuitive understanding of IPM benefits despite farmers being unaware of its principles.

Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore · Southern cultures · United States

This article examines urban gardening practices by women in the New South during the early 20th century, which provided self-sufficiency and profits. It chronicles how urban planners and zoning eliminated most of these urban gardening opportunities by the late 1930s. The study considers these practices through two collages by artist Romare Bearden, focusing on the gardener Maudell Sleet.

Anne Debertin · · United States

This research studied how equity can exist at the intersection of regenerative and biophilic design strategies within an affordable housing model. Three case studies from Minneapolis, Santa Monica, and El Paso were examined using Terrapin’s Fourteen Patterns of Biophilic Design and the Living Building Challenge design guide. The analysis revealed that equity can operate through "place" (a Living Building Challenge imperative) and "connection to natural systems" (a Terrapin pattern). The study concluded that place and connection to natural systems have the potential to act as conduits to human and planetary equity.