Research & reports

J. T. Roane · AAIHS (African American Intellectual History Society) — Black Perspectives · Cuba

Published on AAIHS's Black Perspectives blog on January 4, 2018, this article by J. T. Roane describes the Organopónico Vivero Alamar as 'founded in 1997 on ten and a half hectares of land,' framing Cuban urban agriculture as a response to food shortages and oil scarcity during the post-Soviet 'Special Period.' The author reports the average laborer age at the farm visited was 56, with the tour guide noting difficulty attracting younger workers. It describes methods including worm beds converting livestock waste to compost, strategic plant biodiversity for insect regulation, and integration of plants used in Santería practice, and positions Cuban organopónicos as an alternative to fossil-fuel-dependent U.S. agribusiness.

Jennifer Wilhelm, Richard G. Smith · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · Global

This 2017 global review analyzed 320 peer-reviewed papers on urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) published between 2000 and 2014, focusing on UPA's impact on ecosystem services (ES) and land sparing potential. The review found that while UPA research is growing, few studies (n=15) place UPA in the context of ES, and no studies explicitly quantify its land sparing potential. Additionally, few studies (n=19) quantify UPA's production potential, indicating a significant data gap.

Jana Spilková, Jiří Vágner · Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography · Czechia

This study examined the historical context, current spatial patterns, and recent trends of urban food gardens in Czechia using literature review, geographical mapping, and semi-structured interviews in Prague. It found a strong tradition of urban agriculture, with gardens concentrated in major cities and industrial areas. However, uncertainty regarding land tenure and long-term sustainability were identified as major obstacles for the future of allotment and community gardens.

Simone Tappert, Tanja Klöti, Matthias Drilling · Landscape and Urban Planning · Switzerland

A qualitative study conducted in the Swiss cities of Basle, Berne, Geneva, and Zurich analyzed the political negotiation processes of urban gardening within the compact city framework. Findings demonstrated that urban growth strategies, aiming for efficient and resource-saving reorganization of urban space, are discursively rationalizing current transformation processes. This has led to traditional forms of urban gardening being closed down, displaced to less significant locations for urban development plans, or spatially and functionally transformed, while new forms of urban gardening are emerging in inner-city areas.

Mastura Safayet, Md. Faqrul Arefin, Md. Musleh Uddin Hasan · Journal of Urban Management · Bangladesh (Dhaka)

This study explored the current practices and challenges of rooftop farming in Mirpur and Mohammadpur areas of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Researchers interviewed two practitioners and surveyed 60 non-practitioners. Findings indicate that rooftop farming can improve air quality, reduce atmospheric carbon, and lower stormwater management costs, with most non-practitioners willing to dedicate at least 50% of their roof space to it.

Filiz Çelik · Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology · Global

This study explains the emergence, design, maintenance, and importance of edible landscapes in urban environments. Edible landscaping integrates food plants as design features for both aesthetic value and consumption, aiming to reconnect people with local food systems. It encompasses a variety of garden types and scales but does not include food items produced for sale.

Emily S. Minor, Elsa C. Anderson, J. Amy Belaire, Megan Garfinkel, Alexis D. Smith · · Global

This chapter explores the benefits of green infrastructure networks for urban biodiversity and proposes strategies to enhance their extent, performance, and connectivity. It suggests that planting lower-maintenance vegetation in urban green spaces, including urban agriculture and cemeteries, can reduce costs and improve air quality while providing habitat. The concept of ecological land-use complementation is introduced, where clustered urban land uses synergistically support biodiversity.

Celile Özçiçek Dölekoğlu, Sema Gün · Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology · Global

Urban agriculture, practiced by 800 million people globally, offers economic, social, and environmental benefits but also carries risks and adverse effects. This study presents developments in urban agriculture in Turkey and worldwide, discussing all aspects of its effects and outcomes.

Ataur Rahman · Water · Global

This paper provides an overview of a special issue on rainwater harvesting (RWH), which has gained renewed attention as a sustainable development tool since the 1970s. The issue covers various aspects of RWH, including quantity, quality, economics, and state regulations, as well as its suitability to local conditions. Topics explored in the selected papers include regionalization of design curves, spatial technology, urban agriculture, arid-region water supply, multi-criteria analysis, and artificial neural networks.

Mariana Barbosa de Souza, Ana Claudia Guske · COLÓQUIO - Revista do Desenvolvimento Regional · Global

This study aimed to discuss the concept of urban agriculture from the perspectives of agroecology and organic agriculture. A theoretical review of key concepts such as urban and peri-urban agriculture, agroecology, and organic agriculture, along with an exploratory study, were conducted. Through a bibliographic and documentary survey, the research explored the possibility of urban agriculture, when associated with agroecology and organic agriculture, contributing to regional development.

J. Chan, Bryce DuBois, Kristine T. Nemec, Charles Francis, Kyle D. Hoagland · CABI eBooks · Global

This chapter examines community gardens in three distinct urban locations in the Global North through the lens of social-ecological resilience. Case studies focus on Vienna, Austria; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; and New York City post-Hurricane Sandy. These community gardens support vital social-ecological functions, ranging from generating local ecosystem services to cultivating community empowerment and bolstering food sovereignty, reflecting their local contexts.

Bruce Frayne, Jonathan Crush, Cameron McCordic · · Global

Building on research from Harare's urban food system, David W. Smith proposed a global agenda for urban food security research in 1998. He noted that many national food security plans inadequately address urban food systems by focusing almost exclusively on smallholder agriculture, and that coordinated policy reviews are overdue. Smith emphasized the need to examine individual and household food insecurity in cities and questioned the role of urban agriculture in mitigating it.

Consolata Angello · Lincoln (University of Nebraska) · Tanzania

This literature review summarizes research on urban agriculture and the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for accessing and disseminating livestock husbandry information in urban Tanzania. It examines urban agricultural practices, challenges of urban livestock keeping, and solutions, discussing ICT integration in agriculture globally, in Africa, and specifically in Tanzania. The review identifies gaps in the literature regarding urban livestock keepers' information needs and ICT use challenges.

Emily Holmes · · Global

This chapter explores the potential of community-based agriculture as a practice of peace and active non-violence. Community-based agriculture encompasses various methods of growing food for local communities, including urban community gardens, urban farms, and small, biodiverse rural farms. These forms of agriculture are distinguished from conventional, industrial, or monocultural practices by their commitment to sustainable and organic growing methods, and their dedication to local communities.

Britta Baumgarten · Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) · Portugal

In Portugal, the impact of the 2011 socio-economic crisis on alternative projects, including urban gardening groups, in both urban and rural areas was analyzed. The study used data from an analysis of internet pages and a questionnaire on the impact of the socio-economic crisis on Rede Convergir projects in 2015. The findings strengthen the argument that the crisis had an adverse effect on resilience projects, supported by case studies from other crisis-affected countries and empirical observations in Portugal.

Duncan Hilchey · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Global

This combined spring and summer issue of JAFSCD highlights the growing interest in food systems resilience, presenting various strategies such as supporting critical organizational and physical infrastructure along with social capital, incubating new farmers, protecting farm landscapes, using season-extending technology, and supporting labor. It also emphasizes adapting to climate change and creating stronger connections between farmers and residents in need who are in close geographic proximity. The issue includes columns on Latinx/Hispanic issues in food systems work, the role of "freedom farmers" in the civil rights movement, and the under-appreciated contribution of urban agriculture to communities.

Jackie W.Y. Ng · DR-NTU (Nanyang Technological University) · Singapore

The objective of this study is to propose water retention features to reduce peak urban runoff at source during storm events in an urbanized area. The report focuses on applications in a decentralized area with a centralized system. The three main proposed features are water towers, rooftop gardens (planter tanks), and permeable pavements, intended for implementation in residential housings such as HDB public housings. The study aims to determine how much water can be delayed during high rainfall, and computations and reasoning for these features are discussed.

Clement Anguh Nkwemoh, Mesmin Tchindjang, Roland Ngwatung Afungang · International Journal of Innovative Research and Development · Cameroon (Yaounde)

A study in Yaounde, Cameroon, investigated the impact of rapid urban expansion on vegetation cover using maps, images, questionnaires, and interviews. The findings revealed a significant depletion of flora due to settlement expansion. Forest degradation was attributed to the demand for construction materials, fuelwood, woodworking, and the need for space for urban agriculture, among other factors.

Miriam Bodino · PORTO Publications Open Repository TOrino (Politecnico di Torino) · Global

Given the clear limits to growth, this study argues for a better definition and application of sustainable development, particularly in urban areas. It proposes envisioning a de-growth society, emphasizing resilience, flexibility, and adaptability in urban regeneration. The use of Third Landscape, public spaces, and urban agriculture is suggested as a more sustainable approach to urban transformation.

Eugene Mohareb, Martin Heller, Paige J. Novak, Benjamin Goldstein, Xavier Fonoll, Lutgarde Raskin · Environmental Research Letters · Global

This literature review provided new insight into the energy implications of scaling up urban agriculture (UA) in cities in high-income countries. It noted that limited data quantify resource demand directly associated with UA systems, indicating the literature is not yet robust enough to make universal claims on benefits. Analyzing existing literature data and cases, the review proposed that energy efficiency gains could be realized by co-locating UA operations with waste streams (e.g., heat, CO2, greywater, wastewater, compost).

Daniel Balcero Benitez · · Colombia (Bogotá)

This study proposes a rururban landscape (urban-agricultural) for the Usme district in southern Bogotá. It is based on a model for ordering rururban fringes and sustainable occupation typologies for these territories, responding to expansive pressures from high environmental impact uses (mining, landfill) and urban growth on peasant territories. The proposal starts from the preservation and strengthening of the environment and current peasant ways of life.

Leslie McLees · CABI eBooks · Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)

This chapter examines open-space urban farms in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, using movement, flow, and intersection as heuristic devices to bridge analytical gaps between urban agriculture in the Global South and North. It focuses on the movements of farmers, their life trajectories, and how farms serve as nodes for social interactions, information exchange, and knowledge transfer for both farmers and non-farmers. The chapter aims to facilitate an understanding of urban agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa beyond poverty and marginalization.

Ilenia Pierantoni, Massimo Sargolini · Challenges in Sustainability · Global

This contribution examines the evolving relationship between urban and rural areas, emphasizing their increasing complexity and interdependence. It discusses how managing these interdependencies can solve problems, enhance economic performance, and improve quality of life in and around urban areas. Within this context, green infrastructures and urban agriculture practices are discussed, with strategies for their implementation at regional and local scales suggested.

Craig J. Pearson · · Global

This chapter addresses three aspects of agricultural biodiversity, primarily using examples from urban agriculture. It suggests viewing biodiversity as a component of land-use that contributes 'public value', rather than a suite of goals competing with food production. The chapter enumerates knowledge of land-use issues that preserve or improve agricultural biodiversity and discusses options for changing land-use to achieve this.

Rattan Lal · · Global

This chapter describes the nature, properties, restoration, and sustainable management of urban soils to enhance food security and environmental quality. It notes that urban ecosystems are rapidly expanding and changing, with urban soils often classified as Anthropic soils. Drastic human-induced disturbances to urban soils hinder ecosystem functions, but restoration strategies aim to create novel soil types that improve vegetative production, denature pollutants, reduce salinization, and strengthen biogeochemical and biogeophysical cycling.