Research & reports

Jani Kozina, Nela Halilović · Capacities · Slovenia (Velenje)

The book "Velenje, an industrial city in transformation" aims to illuminate aspects of the Slovenian industrial city of Velenje's past, present, and future transformation, providing an overview of its developmental factors. It emphasizes social, cultural, spatial, environmental, and economic aspects, alongside a critical evaluation of future development resources and actions. Through 16 diverse contributions, the book highlights the importance of utilizing endogenous development resources and adopting a participatory approach to future decision-making.

Miguel A. Altieri, Clara I. Nicholls · The Journal of Peasant Studies · Global

The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the relevance of agroecology as a path to reconstruct a post-COVID-19 agriculture. Agroecology can prevent future food supply disruptions by localizing food production and consumption. Five key areas for a new post-COVID-19 agriculture include overcoming pesticide reliance, enriching natural environments, revitalizing small farms, creating alternative animal production systems, and enhancing urban agriculture.

Jessica Ann Diehl · Sustainability · Australia

Semi-structured interviews with 15 commercial urban farmers in Sydney, Australia, guided by questions based on the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework, examined how farmers access tangible and intangible resources through social networks within the urban food system. Three patterns emerged: urban-local, rural-local, and urban-global networks used in pursuit of sustainable livelihoods. The study concludes that land is only one driver, among many, of the sustainability of the local food system.

Lisandro Esteban Martínez · Estudios socioterritoriales · Global

A team from Argentina's National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) conducted a territorial foresight exercise for the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Region (RMBA), focusing on food production and consumption and the metropolitan territory in which they are embedded. Defining the area as a metropolitan agri-food system (SAM), the team constructed multiple plausible future scenarios, drawing on more than a decade of INTA work on urban and peri-urban agriculture in the region to characterize the dynamics of this complex system.

Zhaohui Wu, Madeleine Pullman · Oxford University Press eBooks · Global

A book chapter surveys sustainable food supply chain issues, introducing the typical actors in food supply chains and the global food system characterized by consolidation and industrialization. It discusses traceability, transparency, certification and standards, and alternatives to industrialized food systems — including cooperatives, community-supported agriculture, and small and medium-sized growers practicing regenerative agriculture — and closes with emerging logistics topics such as last-mile delivery, new technology, and cold chain management.

Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, Singapore · Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, Singapore · Singapore

In a written reply to a 4 November 2020 parliamentary question, Minister Grace Fu stated that SFA and HDB awarded the first tender for nine multi-storey carpark rooftop sites in September 2020 to operators proposing high-productivity systems, projected to collectively produce up to 1,600 tonnes of vegetables annually. She noted local produce travels shorter distances and lasts longer, and cited community benefits such as employment and increased awareness of local produce.

Mothership.SG · Mothership.SG · Singapore

This article reports that a tender for rooftop space on nine HDB multi-storey carparks in Singapore opened on 12 May 2020, closed on 16 June 2020, and results were announced on 30 September 2020. Nine sites (five standalone plus two clusters of two) were awarded to six operators; the article states the nine farming systems can potentially produce around 1,600 tonnes (1,600,000kg) of vegetables per year. The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and Housing Development Board (HDB) were involved, and the project is framed as part of the '30 by 30' strategy to produce 30 per cent of Singapore's food locally by 2030.

Youcan Feng · IntechOpen eBooks · Global

This chapter summarizes current research progress and challenges regarding the benefit, measurement, and simulation of evapotranspiration (ET) from green infrastructure (GI). ET is crucial for GI's hydrologic performance and related benefits, but classic ET equations struggle to represent variations due to urban spatial heterogeneity and GI's multi-layer designs. The underperformance of existing ET models is partly attributed to a lack of high-quality field observations for various GI types in urban settings.

Benz Kotzen · · Global

This paper argues that vertical cities, integrating biophilia, could address the challenges of increasing global and urban populations. It suggests that these megastructures, which can include green spaces and urban agriculture, offer a compact footprint that allows for increased nature and farming in adjacent areas. While individual megastructures exist, the concept of a full vertical city has not yet been realized.

Julián Briz Escribano, Isabel de Felipe Boente · Mundo del agrónomo: la revista del Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros Agrónomos de Centro y Canarias · Global

Urban naturalization, as the incorporation of nature into our environment, can occur spontaneously and invasively through what are called "weeds" with native flora and fauna, or in a controlled manner through agriculture, both in orchards and gardens.

· International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering (IJRTE) · Global

Unplanned urban expansion leads to the conversion of farmland, causing urban environmental degradation and food security concerns. This paper analyzes the correlation between urban farming and supporting food demands in urban areas. It further discusses critical challenges and opportunities for promoting urban farming as a significant tool for encouraging balanced sustenance in urban areas.

Olga Domené-Painenao, Francisco Herrera · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Venezuela

The Bolivarian University of Venezuela established the Program Degree in Agroecology (PDA) in 2004 to expand agroecological practices and knowledge. Over a decade, more than a thousand PDA graduates have contributed to agroecological scaling in urban and rural areas, playing a key role in urban agriculture amidst economic crisis. The PDA has created human talent for territorializing agroecology and institutionalizing pro-peasant policy in Venezuela.

Monika Egerer, Brenda B. Lin, Dave Kendal · Climate · Global

Habitat-scale temperatures were investigated in urban community gardens across the California Central Coast metropolitan region, USA, and the Melbourne metropolitan region, Australia. Despite very similar annual means, strong interregional differences in temperature variability were shown, likely due to differences in the scale and scope of temperature measurements and regional topography. The plants growing within these systems were largely the same, which may be due to gardeners' capacities to adapt their gardening behaviors to reduce adverse effects of local temperature variability.

Nadine Appelhans, Sabine Baumgart · · Morocco

An analysis of documents related to planning and agriculture and interviews with experts in Morocco indicated that urban and rural issues were treated as separate areas. Urban development affects daily travel distances as urban expansion changes distances between cultivated land and dwelling places. Data from Morocco show a lack of serious support for urban agriculture and animal husbandry in expanding urban agglomerations.

Neil Tyler · New Electronics · Global

Urban farming is becoming increasingly popular globally and is helping to lay the foundation for a more local approach to farming.

Pierre Donadieu · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Global

This article analyzes the political and socio-economic processes that contributed to the decline of urban agriculture over the last 50 years. It then illustrates how the concept of a common urban landscape in the 21st century facilitates new public policies for maintaining agricultural spaces and activities in urban areas. Finally, the article describes three potential scenarios for agriculture and gardening development within urban territories.

Nicolás A. Mari, Nicolás A. Mari, Beatriz Giobellina, Beatriz Giobellina, Alejandro Benítez, Alejandro Benítez, Victoria Marinelli, Victoria Marinelli, Victoria Marinelli · Journal of Agronomy Research · Argentina (Córdoba)

A study mapped and quantified urban growth and land use in Córdoba, Argentina's Green Belt. Using remote sensing and GIS, it evaluated urban growth between 1974 and 2014 and land use in peri-urban and rural areas in 2015. The study revealed a 46.5% urban area growth over nearly 40 years, alongside an increase in farm plot size, indicating land ownership concentration and a reduced number of producers. This transformation highlights a conflict between peri-urban horticulture, industrial agriculture, and urban development.

Satyendra Kumar Pothula, Parwinder S. Grewal, Robert M. Augé, Arnold M. Saxton, Ernest C. Bernard · Journal of Nematology · Global

A meta-analysis of 111 published articles assessed the impact of human interventions on soil nematode richness and abundance in urban, agriculture, and disturbed grassland ecosystems compared to natural grassland and forest ecosystems. The study found that overall nematode richness was higher in forest ecosystems than in natural grassland, disturbed grassland, urban, and agriculture ecosystems. The meta-analyses concluded that human interventions, specifically agricultural intensification and urbanization, adversely impact both the richness and abundance of nematodes, which serve as soil health bioindicators.

Mathilde Martin-Moreau, David Ménascé · OpenEdition (OpenEdition) · Global

This article discusses the revival of urban agriculture, which serves multiple purposes by strengthening city-nature links, creating new urban development models, and reinventing food production systems. It highlights how urban agriculture reintroduces natural and productive spaces into cities, responding to urban dwellers' aspirations to integrate rural practices.

Shaimaa Hameed Hussein, Samah A. Abrahem · Periodicals of Engineering and Natural Sciences (PEN) · Iraq (Baghdad)

This research investigated the socio-spatial causes and consequences of tactical urbanism practices in Baghdad, identifying main creators and their motivations. It recognized five common practices: public art, pop-up rest areas, pavement plazas, guerrilla gardening, and open streets. Examining evidence from fieldwork, interviews with involved individuals, and a questionnaire for architecture and urban design professionals, the study argued that tactical urbanism applications in Baghdad could revive urban spaces and positively impact local communities.

Ariamys Companioni, Jennys Peraza, Zulema Menéndez Díaz, Aileen González, Ledy X López, Ana Elisa Rodriguez, Jorge Cantillo, Fidel Ángel Núñez · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Cuba

A descriptive study in La Lisa Municipality, Havana, Cuba, examined 63 Rattus rattus rodents for Angiostrongylus cantonensis infection in an urban farm field. The study found that 46.03% of the captured rodents were infected with A. cantonensis, with infection rates increasing in adult individuals (59.46%) and during the rainy season (55.88%). This demonstrated the circulation of A. cantonensis in its definitive host in the area, indicating an increased risk of transmission to humans.

Yolar Blandine N., Lawrence F. Fombe, Mokwe Bea Patrick J., Nuipokoh Oscar M. · Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal · Cameroon (Bamenda)

A study examining the impact of diseases and health on wetland populations in the Bamenda urban area of Cameroon found that increased human investment in wetlands enhances inhabitants' vulnerability to flood hazards and diseases like malaria, cholera, and typhoid. The wetlands in Bamenda are rapidly degrading due to population pressure, leading to reclamation, pollution, and urban agriculture, which exacerbates the proliferation of disease vectors.

Giacomo Pettenati · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Global

This paper explores the concept of landscape in food systems and urban food planning. It presents three main perspectives on food landscapes: food systems as producers of landscape, foodscapes as frameworks for any food-related action, and food landscapes as heritage. Urban food landscapes are explored, focusing on landscapes of urban agriculture, the role of consumers as co-producers of landscape, and urban foodscapes as resources for new urban images strategies of urban development. The paper investigates the underrepresentation of landscape as a field of action in existing Urban Food Strategies/Policies. Conclusions discuss the potential role of landscape in urban food policies both as the object of specific strategies or actions and as a useful conceptual framework, able to connect the actors of the food system, in sharing a vision for its future evolution.

Lucie Sovová, Radoslava Krylová · Moravian Geographical Reports · Czech Republic (Brno)

This paper evaluates the position of urban allotments within the rural-urban spectrum, investigating how urban and rural characteristics are materialized, represented, and practiced in five allotment sites in Brno, Czech Republic. The research examines the physical environment, social life, and food production within these spaces. It suggests that overcoming the urban-rural dichotomy could facilitate the inclusion of urban gardening in contemporary cities.

Navin Ramankutty, Vincent Ricciardi, Zia Mehrabi, Verena Seufert · Agricultural Economics · Global

A review was conducted on the production, environmental, and socioeconomic performance of three alternative farming systems: organic, smallholder, and urban agriculture. Organic agriculture offers environmental, livelihood, health, and nutritional benefits but is hampered by lower yields and higher prices. Smaller farms exhibit higher yields and biodiversity but result in lower incomes for farmers. Urban agriculture can alleviate pressure on rural landscapes, provide nutritional benefits to the urban poor, and engage urban dwellers in food system challenges, but it cannot scale up to be a substantial solution on its own.