Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
2530 results(15 / 102)
Reviving Traditional Food Cultures
2025Jeffery W Bentley, Paul Van Mele · CABI eBooks · Global
This work presents several global examples of community engagement aimed at reviving traditional food cultures. In Egypt, the NGO Nawaya empowers rural women as caterers by preserving culinary heritage, while a school in Peru integrates local knowledge and biodiversity through school gardens. France's La Tablée event connects organic farmers and consumers, and Bolivia's AGRECOL Andes supports smallholder farmers in selling organic produce to low-income communities. These cases highlight the potential of community involvement in revitalizing traditional food cultures.
Food educationCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageImplications of Land Ownership Heterogeneity on Household Food Security: A Case Study of Urban Farming in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal Province
2025Joyce Thamaga-Chitja, Nthabeleng Tamako, Temitope O. Ojo · Land · South Africa (Pietermaritzburg)
In Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, the impact of land ownership on household food security among 156 urban farmers was analyzed. The majority of surveyed households experienced mild food insecurity, with a smaller proportion facing moderate insecurity. Land ownership was found to significantly reduce household food insecurity by 50%. Monthly income, age, and cooperative membership positively influenced land ownership likelihood, while gender and distance to market had negative impacts.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCommunityIntegrated Drain-Type Fish Culture and Urban/Peri-Urban Agriculture System
2025Mokhdum Azam Mashrafi, Mokhdum Azam Mashrafi · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Global
This project aims to establish an integrated, eco-friendly system for fish culture, vegetable cultivation, fruit gardening, and animal farming within and around cities, towns, villages, highways, and agricultural zones. The system utilizes drain-type artificial lakes, fenced culture units, water recycling mechanisms, climate-control methods, and energy-efficient technologies to ensure high production even in challenging environments. The project emphasizes food security, urban sustainability, youth employment, environmental protection, and efficient land use.
Food sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureClimate changeEconomicsInnovative and Traditional Urban Farming Systems: Pathways to Sustainable Vegetable Production and Food Security
2025Khati Malo, Dharmendra Singh Lagoriya, Rakesh Kumar, Anil Bhushan, Sandeep Chopra, R. K. Samnotra, Sumiya Afreen · Ecology Environment and Conservation · India
This review explores various urban farming models as sustainable solutions to address food insecurity, malnutrition, and environmental degradation, particularly in rapidly urbanizing regions like India. It examines the role of urban agriculture, through both traditional systems (e.g., kitchen gardens, rooftop and community gardens) and modern approaches (e.g., hydroponics, aeroponics, vertical farming), in building resilient food systems, and the importance of combining traditional practices with technological innovations and supportive governance. Challenges such as infrastructure limitations, policy gaps, and lack of technical expertise are also faced.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageClimate changeQuilombo da Gamboa: a luta por moradia na cidade do Rio de Janeiro
2025Bernardo Riley, Mariana Trotta Dallalana Quintans · InSURgência revista de direitos e movimentos sociais · Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)
The Quilombo da Gamboa Popular Housing Project in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, originated from social movements' struggle for popular housing. The project secured six Union properties for over 100 families under the My Home My Life Entities Program. Currently, 17 families live in temporary houses while the main project advances. The Quilombo da Gamboa also operates a solidarity kitchen and a community garden, and conducts political and cultural activities supporting surrounding occupations.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareREINO VEGETAL: RESILIÊNCIA E GENEROSIDADE ABSOLUTA À SAÚDE COLETIVA
2025Omar Ángel Arach, Iracélis de Fatima Moraes, José Oswaldo Soares de Oliveira, Amira RACHID, Sandra Maria Pereira da Silva, Ana Maria Girotti SPERANDIO · Editora Científica Digital eBooks · Global
This article aims to reflect on the generosity of the plant kingdom, which provides solutions to various socio-environmental problems through agriculture, health, and the environment. Plants ensure food supply through healthy agriculture (organic, agroecological, biodynamic, urban agriculture), the use of medicinal plants (phytotherapy in public health), and urban greening and reforestation (carbon sequestration, air depollution, and increased water quantity). These aspects converge on the common goal of ensuring quality of life and collective health for people amidst the turmoil of cities.
HealthClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceThe Need of Land for Peri-Urban Agricultural Production and Its Inclusion onto the National Public Agendas
2025Andrés Barsky · · Latin America
This chapter assesses the current state of threats to and measures to protect periurban agriculture around cities in Latin America. It highlights the social and spatial vulnerability of peri-urban agriculture and its increasing appearance on Latin American food and urbanistic agendas. Examples of strategies for the concrete management of peri-urban agriculture in Latin American cities include the institutionalization of relevant organizations, the enactment of specific laws, the implementation of programs for small-scale production, and the generation of territorial intervention instruments. The conclusion argues for the need to generate new public intervention instruments to preserve and design spaces of high productive and environmental value in periurban areas.
Peri-urban agriculturePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPeran Pemerintah dalam Mengimplementasikan Peningkatan Ketahanan Pangan Kota Tangerang
2025Ilham Prtama Putra, Naila Nur Aziza, Nasya Rafika Putri, Tsabitha Naura Kamila, Ghina Halwa Mufidah · Arus Jurnal Sosial dan Humaniora · Indonesia (Tangerang)
This study aimed to analyze the Tangerang City government's role in implementing food security improvement programs and identify supporting and inhibiting factors. The research focused on an urban farming program with a 1,000-hole hydroponic system. A descriptive qualitative approach was used, with data collected through literature study and policy document analysis. Results showed the Tangerang City government acts as a regulator, facilitator, and coordinator. Supporting factors included clear regulations, provision of production facilities and technical training, active community participation, cross-sector collaboration, and hydroponic technology innovation. However, inhibiting factors included limited land, technical difficulties in technology adoption, limited resources, and low community adaptation to new innovations.
Governance failurePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityChapter 7 Urban agriculture and water management circular solutions for urban landscapes
2025Robert C. Brears · · Global
This chapter examines urban agriculture's role in circular urban ecosystems, highlighting its contributions to food security, urban heat island reduction, and improved water management. It discusses various types of urban agriculture and their benefits, such as enhancing green spaces and fostering community building, and explores its integration into the circular economy. The chapter also covers closed-loop water systems and waste-to-resource initiatives, positioning urban agriculture as a nature-based solution that enhances urban resilience and sustainability.
Climate changeCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceOrganic cycleBusca por interlocuções entre Educação Ambiental e Agricultura Urbana
2025Paolo Martins, Rafael Nogueira Costa, Stephanie Di Chiara Salgado, Daniel Vieira Nunes, Celso Sánchez · Revista Sergipana de Educação Ambiental · Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)
This article presents a photographic narrative from research conducted with a network of farmers in the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region, Brazil. It highlights photography as a methodological pillar for understanding and communicating educational processes linked to social and environmental struggles. The study suggests a need to rethink environmental education's foundations and expand dialogue with marginalized communities to address socio-environmental complexity.
Food educationCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceAgricultura urbana e os objetivos de desenvolvimento sustentável em municípios da região metropolitana de Belém
2025Maria de Nazareth Oliveira Maciel, Herdjânia Veras de Lima, Daniel Pereira Pinheiro, Luann Yago Oliveira Maciel · Contribuciones a las Ciencias Sociales · Brazil (Belém)
This field research analyzed urban agriculture's contributions to 12 of 17 SDGs in Ananindeua, Belém, and Marituba, Pará, Brazil. A Likert scale questionnaire and participant observation were used with 120 agricultural producers. Multivariate Factor Analysis and Tukey's test (5%) showed Ananindeua had a higher factorial score, statistically differing from Belém but not Marituba. Producers in Ananindeua demonstrated a greater perception of sustainable cities, indicating urban agriculture's contributions to SDGs in all three municipalities, with Ananindeua showing greater effectiveness.
CommunityClimate changePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Farming Design Patterns in Landscape Architecture and the Influence of Marketing Innovation on Economic Sustainability in Malang City
2025Irawan Setyabudi, Eri Yusnita Arvianti, Retno Ayu Dewi Novita · Jurnal IPTEK · Indonesia (Malang)
This study analyzed the impact of marketing innovation on the economic sustainability of urban farming in Malang City. Using a quantitative approach, it involved 86 urban farming practitioners selected via purposive sampling, with product, price, and distribution innovation as independent variables and economic sustainability as the dependent variable. Multiple linear regression showed that the three independent variables partially and simultaneously had a positive and significant effect on urban farming's economic sustainability. Product innovation was the most dominant factor, and the regression model had an R² value of 0.713.
EconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityVIOLÊNCIA DOMÉSTICA E SEU IMPACTO NA SEGURANÇA ALIMENTAR DE MULHERES
2025Jassana Moreira Floriano, Rita de Cássia Ávila Pens · Revista Científica da Escola Estadual de Saúde Pública de Goiás *Cândido Santiago* · Global
Nutrition education workshops and the implementation of a community garden were conducted to promote food security and empowerment among women in situations of social vulnerability. In the workshops, participants learned to prepare healthy recipes using accessible ingredients, while the garden encouraged fresh food cultivation and strengthened food autonomy. Participants showed a high level of acceptance for the practices taught, and the workshops fostered knowledge exchange and strengthened community ties.
Food educationWelfareCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceGarden Of Well-Being: Pemberdayaan Karang Taruna Kelurahan Gebangsari dalam Meningkatkan Kesehatan Mental Melalui Urban Farming
2025Raffael Juan Bilyardo Alvares, Reni Lestari, Rinda Hayuanti, Risma Cahyaningtyas, Rizky Sekar Sari, Rofiqoh Nur Azizah, Rudi Purnomo, Salwa Latifah Putri, Selgi Mei Ariyani, Septi Restu Anggraini, Inayatul Khafidhoh · Wahana Dedikasi Jurnal PkM Ilmu Kependidikan · Indonesia
The "Garden of Well-Being" program was implemented in Karang Taruna Kelurahan Gebangsari, Indonesia, to build youth leadership capacity through an integrated approach of urban farming and psychosocial prevention. The program addressed food security and mental health issues among urban youth, offering mental health socialization, urban farming training, and entrepreneurship training. Participants showed positive responses, enthusiasm for urban farming, and new entrepreneurial initiatives.
CommunityHealthFood educationWelfareFood sovereignty & justicePeran Kuliah Kerja Nyata (KKN) dalam Sosialisasi dan Implementasi Teknologi Budidaya Ikan Lele Skala Mikro
2025Eka Pae · Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat Waradin · Indonesia (Candinegoro)
A Community Service Program (KKN) implemented in Candinegoro Village, Indonesia, focused on the socialisation and application of micro-scale catfish farming technology to support food security through city farming initiatives. This qualitative descriptive study used a participatory method, with students acting as facilitators, trainers, and companions for the community. The results showed a significant increase in community knowledge and practical skills in fish farming, alongside strengthened awareness of sustainable urban farming practices.
CommunityFood educationFood sovereignty & justiceLiving labs of agriculture in innovation districts
2025Laura Martins de Carvalho, Zilma Borges, Janaina Mitsue Kimpara · PARC Pesquisa em Arquitetura e Construção · Global
This case study analyzed two agricultural living labs, VivAgriLab in France and AgroLab Uniandes in Colombia, to understand their adaptation possibilities for Brazilian university campuses. VivAgriLab effectively integrates civil society with academic research for ecological and food transitions. AgroLab Uniandes facilitates knowledge integration and high-tech solutions, but raises concerns about accessibility and scalability for small-scale farmers, potentially widening the gap between advanced and traditional practices.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyClimate changeUrban Planning for Regional Food Equity
2025Sullivan, Miriam Caroline · DigitalCommons - CalPoly (California State Polytechnic University) · United States
This project explores how urban planners can create regional food equity, defined by six dimensions: nutritional adequacy, affordability, cultural relevance, social and spatial equity, and popular agency in the food system. It includes a research paper on historic context, current trends, and case studies, followed by guidance for policy and plan creation. The project also analyzes three food systems plans—San Diego (2024), Chicago (2010), and Austin-Travis County (2024)—evaluating them against the outlined criteria, and delves into urban agriculture and community gardens as methods for improving regional food equity.
PolicyFood sovereignty & justiceHealthEconomics"Buruan SAE" (Urban Farming) in Bandung as a Local Indigenous Initiative Rooted in Sundanese Culture to Support Urban Food Systems and Business Sectors
2025Pius Sugeng Prasetyo, Theresia Gunawan · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Indonesia (Bandung)
The Buruan SAE initiative in Bandung, Indonesia, integrates indigenous Sundanese practices with modern urban farming to strengthen urban food systems. This community-driven program uses organic methods and waste recycling, showing contributions to food security, improved nutrition, economic opportunities, and environmental benefits like reduced carbon footprints and enhanced biodiversity. The initiative also supports local businesses by supplying fresh produce.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceOrganic cycleClimate changeSustainable Foods and Consumption
2025Songül Kesen, Eda Elgin Kılıç · Özgür Yayınları eBooks · Global
Sustainable food is a concept integrating environmental, social, and economic dimensions to ensure food system sustainability. It aims to reduce environmental impacts, ensure food security, and promote healthy nutrition, often associated with plant-based diets. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) models have potential to strengthen local food systems and environmental sustainability by encouraging local community participation in agricultural production.
CSA & TeikeiFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeEconomicsCommunity farming in Northern Ireland: Definitions and impacts
2025Jonathan H. Hanson, C Lynn Collins, Tiziana O'Hara, Matthew Williams · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United Kingdom
This study explored community farming in Northern Ireland, defining it as a collaborative transformation process at the intersection of land, community, and enterprise. Using Social Return on Investment (SROI) methodology over two years, it quantified the cumulative impacts of nine diverse community farming projects. The overall SROI ratio was 3.52:1, with 90% of the value being social, 8% environmental, and 2% economic.
CommunityCSA & TeikeiFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCultivating a care-full urbanism: learning from land-based organizing in New Orleans
2025Maggie Hansen · Landscape Research · United States
This paper examines urban cultivation as a tool for sustained political engagement in New Orleans, focusing on four community-based initiatives active over the last ten years. Drawing on literature, mission statements, interviews, and site visits, it demonstrates the importance of engaging with local history, culture, and ecology in reshaping economic, social, and ecological systems through urban agriculture and stewardship.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsThe Pengembangan Desain Pemberdayaan Pemulung oleh Motivator Ketahanan Pangan dalam Program Pertanian Perkotaan di Yayasan Swara Peduli Indonesia Jakarta
2025PUTRI MAISAROH, Dede Kuswanda, Yana Sundayani · Jurnal Ilmiah Kebijakan dan Pelayanan Pekerjaan Sosial (Biyan) · Indonesia (Jakarta)
This qualitative study used Participatory Action Research (PAR) to develop and refine an empowerment design for scavengers in an urban agriculture program. Conducted at Yayasan Swara Peduli Indonesia in Jakarta, Indonesia, data was collected through Focus Group Discussions, semi-structured interviews, observation, and literature review, with primary data from foundation administrators, farmer group members, and food security motivators. The research found that the empowerment design can be implemented, and the presence of food security motivators can increase scavengers' consistency in maintaining the agricultural cycle sustainably, addressing challenges faced by the foundation.
WelfareFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityFood educationPeran Ibu-Ibu TP-PKK Desa Senggigi sebagai Agen Perubahan melalui Program Urban Farming Terintegrasi
2025Suprayanti Martia Dewi, Sri Maryanti, Sisca Cicilia, Kisman Kisman, Febrian Humaidi Sukmana, Dwi Noorma Putri, Reni Apriani · Jurnal Gema Ngabdi · Indonesia
This community service activity aimed to enhance the capacity and social role of Senggigi residents, especially the TP-PKK women of Senggigi Village, as agents of change through the implementation of urban farming based on an Integrated Farming System (IFS). Carried out in Senggigi Village, West Lombok Regency, Indonesia, activities included socialization, training in horticultural cultivation (eggplant, chili, tomato, water spinach, pakcoy), poultry raising, and catfish farming through budikdamber and independent ponds, accompanied by intensive mentoring. During the mentoring process, significant social transformation was observed, reflected in increased motivation, commitment, and solidarity among members, alongside the development of technical cultivation skills and the initiative of TP-PKK women in implementing urban farming activities to improve family food security.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareFood educationSpaces for Buen Vivir in the City? Urban Agroecology and Decolonial Processes in Bogotá
2025Birgit Hoinle · Global Environment · Colombia (Bogotá)
This study explores the relevance of Buen Vivir (good living) for urban spaces and its practical manifestations in urban-gardening contexts in Bogotá, Colombia. Based on eighteen months of fieldwork inspired by participatory action research, it shows how urban agroecological initiatives create spaces for Buen Vivir within urban areas. The study discusses the potential and limitations of such projects, which contribute to balanced nature-society relations and decolonise urban spaces.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyUrban–rural linkagePeningkatan Kesadaran Ketahanan Pangan Melalui Implementasi Urban farming pada Siswa SD Negeri Mekarsari, Jatinangor
2025Novi Mayasari, Indra Firmansyah, Muhammad Rifqi Ismiraj, Asri Wulansari · Farmers Journal of Community Services · Indonesia (Jatinangor)
This activity aimed to increase awareness of food security through the implementation of urban farming among 4th-grade students at Mekarsari State Elementary School in Jatinangor, Indonesia. It was conducted in three stages: education, hydroponic urban farming practice, and game-based evaluation. The results showed improved student understanding of food security and urban farming concepts, successful hydroponic practice, and 100% student satisfaction.
Food educationCommunityFood sovereignty & justice