Research & reports

Youko Yokokawa, 洋子 横川 · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan

This 1988 report describes changes in Tokyo's agricultural structure driven by urbanization alongside the state of urban residents' diets. Labor and farmland shifted from Tokyo's special wards to the Tama area, where intensive cultivation of fresh produce such as vegetables was concentrated, while in mountainous districts agriculture was combined with forestry. Cultivated land had shrunk by about 60% over the preceding 25 years, and the number of full-time farm households had fallen by 70%, while part-time farm households roughly doubled. Taking advantage of proximity to a large consumer market, 118 vegetable species were cultivated, with production of daikon radish, spinach, and komatsuna increasing year on year. Self-sufficiency rates for key products were 12.7% for vegetables, 7.2% for milk, 3.4% for eggs, and 2.4% for meat. In the urban diet, average nutrient requirements were largely met, though calcium was somewhat lacking and vitamins B1 and C slightly insufficient. Intake of beans, seafood, and vegetables was low by food group, and average daily salt intake was 13.4g, above the 10g target. Eating out and skipping meals were relatively uncommon overall, but skipping meals — especially breakfast — was more common among high-school-age students and older.

Yuzo Uchida · Journal of the City Planning Institute of Japan · Japan

This study aims to clarify the situation and types of community farms in Japan, their usage patterns, and their impact on the lives of urban residents. It notes the strong demand for community farms for cultivating vegetables and flowers among urban residents. Various types of community farms exist, including allotment gardens, Japanese Kleingartens, self-supplying community farms, and full-scale orchards in the countryside.

· Food and Nutrition Bulletin · Global

Urban cultivation is an innovative response by the urban poor to insufficient real income, viewed as a form of long-term investment. This investment requires a minimum threshold of predictability of return, and most households need seven to eleven years of urban residence to gain access to land. Variations in cultivation patterns result from differences in land access and the need to maximize the return on domestic labor time. Policy implications include encouraging cultivation, providing legal land titles for land access, and increasing the productivity of rainy-season gardens.

Bishwapriya Sanyal · Food and Nutrition Bulletin · Zambia (Lusaka)

Urban agriculture in Lusaka, Zambia, is an innovative response by the urban poor facing insufficient income. Low-income households view urban cultivation as a long-term investment, requiring permanent urban residence (7-11 years) and access to land to ensure a return. Variations in cultivation patterns result from relative differences in land access and the need to maximize the return on domestic labor time.

Bernard Hourcade · Revue Géographique de l Est · Iran (Tehran)

This research investigates the origins and current economy of the Anti-Alborz region, an arid mountain east of Tehran, Iran. Due to military compounds and royal hunting grounds, the expansion of Tehran has been artificially limited, leaving the Anti-Alborz as a remote area. In this region, urban, agricultural, and pastoral economies are growing in conflictual ways, indicating governance challenges in managing land use and development.

Abalimi Bezekhaya · Abalimi Bezekhaya · South Africa

The official site of Abalimi Bezekhaya, a non-profit founded in 1982 that provides urban agriculture training, affordable resources, irrigation and soil-building support, and market access in Khayelitsha and Nyanga, Cape Town. It states its Harvest of Hope programme generated R16 million in sales between 2008 and 2019, of which R10 million went directly to about 245 farmers (supporting 1,225 dependants) across roughly 70 gardens.

Rodale Institute · Rodale Institute · United States

A long-running comparative farming trial launched by Rodale Institute in 1981, comparing conventional (synthetic nitrogen fertilizer and herbicides), organic legume, and organic manure systems across 72 plots for over 40 years. In drought years, organic corn yields are reported to be 31% higher than conventional, and water infiltration rates are significantly faster under organic management.

· Nutrition & Food Science · Global

The Institute of Biology held a symposium to assess the value of vegetables for feeding people and livestock. The symposium considered the energy, labor, and monetary inputs required for vegetable production across various scales, from allotments to large market gardens. Discussions also included the role of traditional and unconventional animal species within vegetable growing systems.

Taizan Oishi, 堪山 大石 · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan

This study analyzed the transformation and reorganization processes of suburban agriculture and farmers in urbanizing areas, including "former farmer groups." It examined land conversion, changes in crop cultivation, farmer numbers, and agricultural employment. The research found that rental housing management is not economically viable, and that due to an abnormally high land price appreciation rate, the earlier rental housing management is undertaken, the greater the loss incurred, despite an observed increase in rental housing.

Steven L. Doud, Greg Pagano · HortScience · United States

Many American urban dwellers are rediscovering that gardens can provide inexpensive, high-quality food, recreation, and relaxation. This "green thumb boom" is particularly evident in the emergence of community garden projects in college communities, where students seek to supplement incomes and work with plants. While these projects vary in management philosophy and workload allocation, they share common goals of abundant food production and enjoyment for gardeners.

E. F. Schumacher · Blond & Briggs · United Kingdom

E.F. Schumacher's 1973 book challenges the mainstream "bigger is better" economic ethos, advocating small, "appropriate" technologies as an alternative. Its four parts cover the modern economy, resources, the developing world, and organization/ownership; in 1995 the Times Literary Supplement named it one of the 100 most influential books since World War II.

Jeff Garmany · The Journal of Modern African Studies · Africa

This article argues that many African countries, in their pursuit of rapid economic development, risk misaligning their strategies and priorities concerning the rural-urban and agricultural-industrial balance. It specifically advocates for increased research attention on traditional food farming, whether for subsistence or cash, which has been neglected despite its crucial and inevitable role in supporting growing populations over the long term.

Silverman D. P. · Central European History, Vol. 3, No. 1–2, pp. 112–139 · Germany

Examines the Weimar constitution's pledge of adequate housing (Article 155) and how chronic shortages and postwar upheaval left it unrealized, providing the institutional backdrop to settlement and housing policy.

BASF · BASF (corporate history chronology) · Germany

According to BASF's corporate history page, building on Fritz Haber's laboratory method, a BASF team led by Carl Bosch worked from 1908 to industrialize ammonia synthesis, and in 1913 the first ammonia synthesis plant went into operation at a newly built site in Oppau, north of Ludwigshafen. This made industrial fertilizer production possible, and the Haber-Bosch process is said to still secure food for billions of people today.

Wilbur S. Jackman · The Elementary School Teacher and Course of Study · Global

The school garden is a useful accessory for nature study from aesthetic, economic, or botanical viewpoints. While aesthetics offer strong attractions, the most important aspect is understanding plant habits and their adaptations to soil, light, heat, air, and other plants, as a garden cannot grow beautifully without this knowledge.