Research & reports

Wojciech Sroka · Wieś i Rolnictwo · Poland

This article addresses the concept of urban agriculture in Polish economic and agricultural literature. It aims to develop a definition of urban agriculture, operationalize it, and present its main forms. The study reviews research from various countries and proposes a definition suitable for Polish socio-economic conditions, describing key actors, products, functions, and distinguishing two main forms: urban farming and urban horticulture.

Jean Lagane · HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · France

This paper examines the challenges of food provisioning in Marseille due to global food networks and environmental issues like global warming and metropolization. A three-year ethnographic study of the "Marche du Cours Julien" in Marseille explored how citizens revived local farmers' markets and promoted bottom-up ecologization. The study also analyzed the links between the Cours Julien farmers' market, which hosts a French Community-supported agriculture (CSA), and the development of Alternative Food Networks and Short Food Supply Chains.

Wojciech Sroka · Zeszyty Naukowe SGGW - Ekonomika i Organizacja Gospodarki Żywnościowej · Poland

This article analyzes changes in the agrarian structure of Poland's provincial (voivodeship) cities from 2002 to 2010, spanning the period before and after Poland's EU accession, based on identification of urban agriculture's productive significance. It found a 25% decrease in the number of farms of up to 1 hectare and an almost threefold increase in farms above 20 hectares across provincial cities, with the average size of farms above 1 hectare in cities growing five times faster than the national average.

Judith Moellers, Brînduşa Bîrhală · OpenAgrar · Europe

Three cases of Community Supported Agriculture launched for the first time in western Romania were analyzed for the costs and benefits experienced by participating farmers and consumers. Farmers deliver organically grown vegetables directly to private contract partners; consumers were characterized by value-based attitudes such as belief in healthy nutrition and concern about synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, while farmers were driven more by economic considerations — market access itself and higher prices. Both farmers and consumers used the partnership to compensate for market failure.

Zsófia Benedek · Econstor (Econstor) · Europe

A literature review of international research on short food supply chains (SFSC) and their impacts, combined with findings on the types already established in Hungary. SFSC consumers tend to be more highly educated than average; traditional forms such as farmers' markets attract older people while newer forms such as community-supported agriculture and web-based value chains attract younger people. The review finds that clear scientific evidence of SFSCs' positive environmental, social or economic impact is not always available, and in some cases traditional food supply chains prove cheaper and more environmentally beneficial, concluding there is no generally preferable SFSC solution given their heterogeneity.

Stefano Grando, Roberto Henke, Livia Ortolani, Francesco Vanni, Thomas Aenis, Andrea Knierim, M. C. Riecher, R. Ridder, Harold H. Schobert, Holger Fischer · · Italy

Noting that urban and peri-urban farms cannot feed a city's entire population in either quantity or variety, but can provide a base for products and services that enhance the ecological, social and economic sustainability of metropolitan areas, this study analyzes farms in the countryside surrounding Rome, Italy. It first identifies market-oriented farms within the municipality of Rome and classifies them into three categories — traditional, adaptive and reactive peri-urban farms — then examines two cases of "reactive" farms in depth to identify the factors that shaped their successful trajectories and drove their renewed, multifunctional role in Rome's peri-urban agriculture.

Michela Felicetti · Advanced engineering forum · Italy

A paper examining whether the food hub concept can be applied to the Piana di Sibari area of Calabria, Italy, designated a Quality Agrifood District (DAQ) under regional law. After identifying features of the food hub concept within the area's largest cooperative, the paper argues that this arrangement represents an opportunity for small farmers to access conventional food supply chains from which they would otherwise be excluded. It frames food hubs as a hybrid of alternative and conventional food networks and, notably, as a way to address the economic viability problem faced by local food initiatives such as community-supported agriculture (CSA)—that is, the paper's premise is that CSA-type local food initiatives struggle to be economically viable on their own.

Barrow Cadbury Trust · Barrow Cadbury Trust · United Kingdom

Published 7 August 2014, reporting results for the first cohort of 1,000 prisoners in the Peterborough Social Impact Bond: an 8.4 per cent fall in reconviction relative to the comparable national baseline. The figure was produced for the Ministry of Justice by independent assessor Professor Darrick Jolliffe with Qinetiq and the University of Leicester using propensity score matching, finding 142 reconvictions per 100 prisoners at Peterborough against 155 per 100 in the control group. Payment required a reduction of more than 7.5 per cent, so the project did not qualify at this stage; outcome payments were due to be decided in 2016.

Jaquand C. · In Situ. Revue des patrimoines, no. 21 · Germany

Examines Migge's landscape designs for urban extensions in Berlin, Frankfurt and Dessau and his organic city-garden relationship based on recycling water and urban waste, including the evolving self-sufficient settlement system of his 1932 book.

Veguita de Graná · · Spain (Granada)

Rosa Felix explored urban gardens in metropolitan Granada, Spain, in 2013, linking them to employment opportunities. She noted that such experiences have a long history in many countries. Felix concluded that urban gardens would be successful if public administrations supported their creation.

Isabel de Felipe Boente, Teresa Briz · · Spain

This paper describes the impact of urban agriculture (UA) in political, socioeconomic, and environmental scenarios, and analyzes its situation in Spain, where it is mainly located on roofs, walls, indoors, and ground places. It discusses local regulations, barriers, and opportunities for UA, as well as the role of stakeholders and neighbor communities. The paper suggests actions to improve UA, including urban planning and education.

Ruud Abma, U. Kirchholtes, J.E. Jansma, M.P. Vijn · Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) · Europe

Urban agriculture is a subject of societal interest, seen as a promising contributor to sustainable urban development. It offers alternatives for agricultural professionals, accessible locations for urban residents to relax and learn, and often improves the physical and social environment of neighborhoods.

Malin Arvidson, Fergus Lyon, Stephen McKay, Domenico Moro · Voluntary Sector Review, Vol.4 No.1, pp.3-18 (Policy Press) · United Kingdom

A paper analysing how social return on investment (SROI) is used in the United Kingdom to conceptualise, measure and communicate the achievements of social enterprises and charities. It examines the quantification of benefits, the valuing of volunteering, and the ways judgement and discretion are exercised within an SROI exercise. It identifies a particular tension between the participatory element in designing each exercise and the use of its results for competitive funding, and proposes a research agenda on the contexts in which that discretion is applied. Abstract only was consulted.

Kate Metcalf, Julia Minnear, Tabitha Kleinert, Victoria Tedder · Local Economy The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit · United Kingdom (East London)

This practitioner's perspective discusses how the Women’s Environmental Network organizes support and training for community gardens in East London. It considers how these efforts contribute to local resilience against economic and cultural pressures and create greater access to green spaces.

Ashley Courtney, Brendan McShane, Ella Wiles · · North America; Europe

This research explored how low-income urban agricultural (UA) projects in North America and Europe can be strategically supported for sustainability. The authors analyzed UA projects using the 5 Level Framework and the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, along with Leverage Points, to understand their current reality. The study produced strategic recommendations and guidance for UA projects to foster a societal shift towards sustainability.

Johannes Novy · · Germany (Berlin)

This seminar aims to identify the contemporary winners and losers in Berlin's urban development and how this is manifested and reproduced through urban space. Central points of interest include conflicts surrounding the "New Berlin," the potential and threats of Berlin as a "Creative City," the spatial dimension of social exclusion, the integration of migrants, and perspectives of the "right-to-the-city-movement" (e.g., guerrilla gardening). Berlin's urban landscape will be compared to those of Paris and St. Petersburg.

Madlyne Samak · L Homme et la société · France

A long-term study in southeastern France examined the development of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) as an alternative marketing system for fruits and vegetables. The study found that the non-market dimension of CSA appears to have disappeared over time, from its initial form to current basket systems. This change is attributed to the diversification of farmers' sociological profiles and the transformation of marketing conditions for organic local products.

Gillean M. Denny · · United Kingdom

This study investigated the ability of urban agriculture (UA) to decrease food-related greenhouse gas emissions, using a life cycle analysis of tomatoes, produce surveys in East Anglia, and household surveys of 183 UA-practicing households. It found that UA participation can reduce an individual's tomato consumption emissions from 52.4 kg CO2e/yr to 11.2 kg CO2e/yr. This reduction amounts to 44% from a non-UA, low-emission diet and 78% from a supermarket diet.

Jan-Eelco Jansma, W. Sukkel, E.S.C. Stilma, Alex C. van Oost, A.J. de Visser · · Netherlands (Almere)

This case study in the Dutch city of Almere calculated that 6,200 hectares of conventional farming land (or 8,100 hectares for organic production) are needed to produce approximately 20% of the daily food basket for 350,000 future citizens. Local production reduces greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 27,000 tonnes/year, a relatively small reduction as most products are already produced in the Netherlands. The study emphasizes that other aspects, such as food basket composition, local food distribution system redesign, consumer behavior, and fossil energy use reduction, must be considered for reducing food miles, fossil energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Silvio Caputo · Kent Academic Repository (University of Kent) · United Kingdom

This paper argues for a new role for urban agriculture in developed countries, focusing on environmental, social, and economic benefits. While urban agriculture can contribute to a low-carbon society and food access, it is not currently part of UK government strategies for food security. For urban agriculture to achieve its potential, it needs to become economically viable, requiring research into highly productive methods and business models utilizing local urban resources.

Richard Wiltshire, Louise Geoghegan · Research Portal (King's College London) · United Kingdom

This chapter explores the social organization of voluntary urban food production in Britain, identifying two dominant modes: collective activities and individual allotment gardens. It notes that the organization of unpaid labor is an under-researched aspect and a key restraint on urban agriculture's expansion. The study found that relations between these two modes can be antagonistic, particularly when land is scarce.

Les Levidow, Katerina Psarikidou · · United Kingdom

In Manchester, England, environmental and health issues have been folded into a wider agro-food strategy aimed at making the city "more sustainable." With support from state bodies and charities, several initiatives have expanded access to fresh, healthy food, particularly in "food deserts," mobilizing resources, skills, and voluntary labor through "community engagement" to create "community spaces" for social inclusion. Manchester's agro-food networks shorten supply chains by linking peri-urban agriculture more directly with urban consumers and by promoting urban agriculture grounded in local resource mobilization and personal trust, offering an alternative to conventional agro-food chains; food relocalisation is described as helping overcome socio-economic inequalities and health problems, with Manchester initiatives cooperating to build environmentally sustainable, socially just, healthy communities and reconstructing local identities and social commitments, within a national policy context that advocates food relocalisation but provides little actual support. Despite that activity, the larger food system in Manchester remains dominated by conventional agro-food chains, and community food initiatives play only a marginal role, leading practitioners to discuss how to overcome these limitations; from 2010 onward, the UK government's austerity regime is described as undermining state support further, making community engagement even more important for mobilizing resources.

Gianni Cicia, Francesca Colantuoni, Del Giudice Teresa, Stefano Pascucci · International journal on food system dynamics · Italy

This study analyzed the effects of urbanization on farm land use and organization in the protected area of the Campi Flegrei Regional Park, a peri-urban rural area in the Neapolitan metropolitan area. Researchers distinguished farms into three behavioral-social groups based on specific features to identify the best-suited type for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) implementation. A market scenario was predicted for each group without intervention.

Saloua Toumi, Roland Vidal · Projets de paysage · Europe, Africa

Urban agriculture is expanding in various metropolitan areas, but its agro-economic and socio-spatial logic differs by context. Tunisia's urban agriculture is threatened by increasing urban expansion and is not yet integrated into territorial projects. Issues related to land value appreciation are dominant, and its landscape and environmental benefits could be compromised in the relatively short term if it does not find its place in urban development plans.

Nerea Morán Alonso, Agustín Hernández Aja · · Europe

This historical review traces the functions and characteristics of urban agriculture (UA) in Western cities. It notes that UA flourished during economic and energy crises for self-sufficiency, serving subsistence, hygiene, and social control in the 19th century and patriotic functions during 20th-century world wars. Since the 1970s, UA projects have focused on local development, social integration, and environmental education, led by community and ecological organizations.