Research & reports

R. E. Molenaar, Marcel Pleijte · · Netherlands

A Wageningen University Science Shop report examines measures to improve water management for the "duinlandjes", centuries-old allotment gardens in the dunes near Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands, that form part of the Zeesdorpenlandschap cultural heritage. Commissioned by the Duinlandjesvereniging de Noord association, it investigated sustainable solutions from sociocultural, hydrological and ecological perspectives. The duinlandjes are currently experiencing flooding that makes cultivation very challenging. A stakeholder analysis found that while collaboration between the association and drinking water company PWN has advanced, interactions among stakeholders remain fragmented, and it calls for the province of Noord-Holland to take an active coordinating role. The hydrological analysis identifies winter precipitation surplus as the main driver of rising groundwater, projecting that climate change will bring wetter winters and drier summers with greater groundwater fluctuation, though long-term groundwater trends remain uncertain while winter/spring water excess will probably continue. The ecological risk assessment highlights the vulnerability of surrounding dune habitats, noting that draining and diverting excess rainwater can cause habitat degradation and increased drought stress.

Herlyna Novasari Siahaan, Dilma’aarij Agustia, Chairia · Jurnal Abadimas Adi Buana · Indonesia

A community-service report on post-disaster recovery in Suka Damai village, Serdang Bedagai Regency, Indonesia, following repeated flooding that reduced agricultural production, household income and community health. Using a participatory approach combining a Climate Field School (SLI), bucket-based fish farming (budikdamber), urban farming and ecoprint training, the program evaluated 30 farmers from the Gapoktan Mekar farmer group with pre- and post-tests. Average scores rose from 58.6 to 78.9, a 34.6% increase, indicating improved knowledge and skills in climate-adaptive farm management. Budikdamber and urban farming were reported to improve household food security, while ecoprint training opened new environmentally friendly business opportunities for the local PKK (family welfare) group.

Daniel Etim Jacob, Imaobong Daniel Jacob, Koko Sunday Daniel, Pius Agaji Oko · Sustainable Food Connect · Global

A paper arguing that recreational planning in the Global South is constrained by Western models prioritizing ornamental aesthetics over local socio-ecological crises, producing metabolically inefficient and exclusionary landscapes, and proposing an "Agro-Blue Commons" (ABC) framework integrating food production, sustainable water management and communal leisure. The framework was tested through a qualitative meta-synthesis of four prototype cases in Lagos, Mumbai, Rajasthan and Nairobi, purposively sampled to represent diverse biomes and climate-vulnerable informal settlement types, evaluated with a Multi-Criteria Assessment focused on metabolic circularity, governance polycentricity and socio-spatial accessibility. Results show that integrating food, water and leisure together with polycentric stewardship increases urban resilience and reduces resource dependency, while the paper states that systemic change requires addressing institutional inertia and insecure land tenure to prevent speculative displacement of marginalized communities.

Muslik Muslik · RIGGS Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Business · Indonesia

A qualitative case study analyzing the role of local community police officers (Bhabinkamtibmas) in a food-security program in Magersari District, Mojokerto City, Indonesia, and the factors affecting its effectiveness. Citing land-use conversion, high market dependence and low resident participation in productive activities like urban farming as challenges to urban food security, the study collected data through in-depth interviews with 25 informants (officers, ward staff, community figures, farmer groups and related agencies), participatory observation of patrol ("sambang") and FKPM community-security-forum activities, and document review, analyzed using the Miles, Huberman and Saldana interactive model. Results show Magersari's community police performed four mutually reinforcing roles: preventive-social (early detection of food-related conflict), partnership facilitation (mediating access to seeds and fertilizer), motivator/social-change agent (humanistic approach), and security/stabilization (monitoring distribution). Obstacles included structural factors (role conflict from dual demands and limited personnel), socio-cultural factors (low urban resident enthusiasm) and economic pressure from daily livelihoods, addressed through participatory dialogue-based patrols, optimizing FKPM, collaboration with community leaders and the PKK women's group, and use of social media (WhatsApp, Instagram). The study concludes the officers' role has shown concrete contributions but requires stronger institutional support and structured cross-sector coordination.

Lloyd Chigusiwa, Asankha Pallegedara, Terrence Kairiza · Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics · Sub-Saharan Africa

Using four pooled annual cross-sectional surveys of Zimbabwean urban households from 2019 to 2023, this analysis applied an endogenous switching model with count outcome (ESMC), with propensity score matching as a secondary robustness check, to estimate the effect of urban agriculture on household dietary diversity. Large households, and those headed by women, older heads, or married couples living together, were more likely to practice urban agriculture; practicing urban agriculture increased the likelihood of greater dietary diversity, but this effect held only for the sub-population of households that did not receive support from rural relatives.

K. C. Sahu · International Journal of Latest Technology in Engineering Management & Applied Science · India

A study in Bhubaneswar, India — chosen because many farmers there grow vegetables on rooftops — analyzed the cost-benefit ratio of rooftop vegetable cultivation using compost, vermicompost, coco peat and organic fertilizers, combining experimental and survey methods. Its stated aim was to assess the economic benefits of rooftop vegetable growing for urban residents; the abstract gives no specific cost-benefit figures, stating only that urban residents can obtain fresh organic vegetables at marginal expense and that rising profit is said to increase the perception of rooftop farming among urban people.

Klara Muranyi, Ina Säumel, Donoso José, Edi Emilov Ivanov, Elena Heim, Sophia Kipp, Stephanie Ligan, Marisa Pettit, Thomas Wachtel, Anneli S. Karlsson, Bettina Schneider, Stephanie Degenhardt, Hilde Marie Herrebrøden, Inken Schmütz, Tina Hilbert, Sergio Torres Gimenez, Blanka Suler, Mollenhauer Mollenhauer, Vic Borrill, Ruth Smart, Antonia Torres, Martin Regelsberger, Latifa Bousselmı, Lamia Bouziri, Kai Gildhorn, Erwin Nolde, Katrin Bohn, Primož Banovec, Atanasova Natasa, Max Manderscheid, Milena Klimek, Lucia Alexandra Popartan, Kristin Reichborn‐Kjennerud, Sarah Noémie Plassnig, Joaquim Comas, Sebastian Eiter, Wendy Fjellstad, Nevelina Pachova, Aeden Ratcliffe, Zhifang Wang, Paula Firmbach, Hanna Burckhardt, Laura Martinez, Helen Gallis, Rutger Henneman, Nienke Bouwhuis, Caroline Zeevat, Paul de Graaf, Noel Arozarena Daza · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Europe

Deliverable D7.6, "Final ECS Curricula, Training Modules and Materials," published on Zenodo, is part of the EU Horizon 2020-funded EdiCitNet project (Edible Cities Network, 2018-2024). It compiles the curriculum for a free Massive Open Online Course, "Making Cities Edible: Cultivating Sustainable Urban Environment," covering Edible City Solutions (ECS) — an approach going beyond vertical gardens, rooftop farms, community kitchens and urban aquaponics to include biodiversity conservation, waste reduction, water recycling, social engagement and co-creation. The underlying ECS Knowledge Base was built through a co-creation process involving communities of knowledge and practice, and course content is organized into four fields: I) ECS Governance, II) Economic value of ECS, III) ECS as Ecological Systems, and IV) Socio-cultural impact of ECS. It targets initiatives, urban developers, small and medium-sized businesses and interested individuals, with the course led by a team of instructors with expertise in urban agriculture, sustainability and community development.

Aprilia Martika, Amelia Sari, Disti Macela Putri, Misbahul Munir · International Journal of Economics and Management Research · Indonesia (Pangkalpinang)

A qualitative case study of Pangkalpinang City, Bangka Belitung, Indonesia, examining urban farming as an adaptive strategy addressing food insecurity and unemployment in an urban area with limited agricultural land. Data were gathered through participatory observation, in-depth interviews and documentation, and analyzed thematically and via SWOT analysis. In Parit Lalang, urban farming was found predominantly on small home gardens and vacant lots using hydroponic and traditional methods, with participants mainly productive-age residents and housewives. The practice increased household food availability, reduced living costs and generated additional income, improving local economic resilience, but the study also reports persistent challenges of limited technical skills, financial constraints and inconsistent government support. It concludes that strengthening training programs, improving financial access and developing subdistrict pilot projects are needed to sustain urban farming as a food-security and community-empowerment strategy.

Patrick Sobotka · reposiTUm (TU Wien) · Austria

Set against growing urban populations, housing shortages, and ecological and social challenges, this TU Wien thesis is a design study exploring housing that supports urban agriculture through integrated vertical farming. Its aim was to develop a hybrid housing concept combining sustainable timber construction with vertical farming, using a modular timber structure intended to offer ecological benefits, short construction times, and the ability to add stories later without sealing new land. The project centers on compact apartments for young adults, students, and couples, drawing on literature review of sustainability, timber construction and vertical farming, plus analysis of selected reference projects, to produce a design concept. No quantitative evaluation results are reported.

Esteve Gaelle Giraud, Elora Bevacqua, Madeline Mercer, Nicholas Benard, Priya Nayak, Tawsha Trahan, Kathleen Merrigan · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States

This paper documents an early-stage Participatory Action Research (PAR) process to scale up urban agriculture in Tempe, Arizona, an arid, land-constrained city where four contiguous neighborhoods face high food insecurity and vulnerability. A transdisciplinary team of researchers, city staff and community-based organizations collaborated with residents to assess the state of urban agriculture, identify local priorities, and co-develop ten policy recommendations, through 86 food access surveys, mapping, practitioner interviews in Tempe and six other cities, and community workshops. Residents emphasized the need for urban agriculture spaces supporting food production, education, workforce development and community building, while limited funding, volunteer instability and poor communication of existing resources were identified as key barriers. Despite water scarcity and land pressures, the study argues that water-smart, strategically located urban agriculture can serve as resilience infrastructure addressing civic, environmental and social goals, and that participatory planning supported by trusted intermediaries can shape agendas before formal food policy structures exist, offering insights for other cities pursuing participatory food planning.

Eduardo Antonio CastroNemocon · Institutional Repository of the National University Open and Distance UNAD (Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia) · Colombia (Bogotá)

Focused on the UPZ 96 Lourdes area of the Santa Fe Tercera locality in Bogota, Colombia, this paper reports on an initiative that treats urban agriculture as a tool for building sustainable food systems. From an environmental standpoint, it advances a process of training and knowledge exchange using an agroecological approach in private spaces, generating self-supply and self-consumption of agricultural products and using household spaces to plant and harvest organic food free of fungicides that compromise food safety, aiming to prevent declines in quality of life and health problems for consumers. Drawing on a political ecology perspective, the initiative seeks policy directions and direct social action to improve the quality of food consumed in daily diets, prioritizing responsible environmental management and the practice and production of organic agricultural food in urban spaces — promoting healthy eating habits while culturally preserving knowledge exchange and ancestral planting, harvesting and consumption practices in a country whose historical character has been agricultural, and aiming to guarantee food sovereignty.

Hyun-Kyung Kang, Byungsook Choi · Korean Journal of Human Ecology · South Korea

This study analyzed remodeling characteristics, physical conditions and operational models across 22 housing complexes in seven countries to propose directions for enhancing communal facilities in South Korean public rental housing. International examples emphasized creating spaces for social integration, establishing community-linked welfare hubs, and developing tailored functions for specific groups such as youth and the elderly. In physical configuration, well-being-related spaces such as walking trails and community gardens were the most frequent, appearing in 67 cases, indicating strong demand for health and quality-of-life improvements. Operational programs were found to support individual health and culture activities, family care, and resident-led community initiatives, often under a partially fee-based system with limited public access. The study concluded that improving domestic communal facilities requires incorporating multi-purpose flexible spaces at the initial planning stage, converting ground-floor areas into accessible community hubs, activating underused spaces such as rooftops and corridors, and specializing welfare functions through integrated elderly healthcare and communal childcare facilities.

Lauren J Franks · FHSU Scholars Repository (Fort Hays State University) · United States (Kansas)

The Community Cultivation program, a grant proposal project focused on Hays, Kansas, in the United States, sets out a plan for how a community garden could improve access to healthy food in rural areas. Guided by the question of how community-based food initiatives can reduce nutrition-related disparities, the proposal responds to the HaysMed Community Health Needs Assessment, which identifies nutrition and fresh produce access as critical concerns for Ellis County. With an emphasis on food-insecure and low-income individuals, the planned garden aims to reduce health disparities tied to socioeconomic status and strengthen community connections by building gardening and cooking skills. It proposes a multi-phase implementation plan involving collaboration with sustainable landscapers, development of gardening infrastructure, and educational classes, with visitor logs and participant surveys planned to track access to fresh produce, garden usage and skills applied; data collection and analysis are planned to continue throughout implementation.

Thomas Anthony Pacheco · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · United States

This is a non-peer-reviewed, pedagogical guide, not an empirical study, that uses food insecurity and food deserts in Los Angeles County as a case study to translate sociological theories -- including Resource Mobilization Theory, Framing Theory, Legal Consciousness Theory, Collective Action Frames, and Political Process Theory -- into organizing strategies for activists and students. It sets out practical steps for securing funding, recruiting volunteers, framing injustice, engaging policymakers, and building interventions such as community gardens.

Kelly Johanna Molano Betin, Leo Danny Valencia Pinto · Ibero Ciencias - Revista Científica y Académica - ISSN 3072-7197 · Colombia

A mixed-methods, non-experimental descriptive study tested a school-based agroecology pedagogical strategy to strengthen food security at Institución Educativa Técnico General José Joaquín García, Sede 10 Peñolcitos, in Casabianca, Tolima, Colombia. Following a quantitative diagnostic questionnaire, a teaching sequence combining conceptual training, an agroecological school garden, and a healthy cooking workshop was implemented; students showed favorable preconceptions about agroecology, food security, and the garden but specific gaps in understanding its full scope beyond production, and the training activities narrowed those gaps.

Budi Hartono, Axel Giovanni, Muchammad Khusni Wafa, Mu'alfad Zulfikar Purwanto, Mirna Harsono · COMMUNITY Jurnal Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat · Indonesia

This is a community engagement program, not an outcomes study, aimed at micro-enterprises in food security and urban farming in Indonesia that face limited business management capacity, scarce resources, and insufficient technical knowledge. Partnering with Fita Farm for its expertise in integrated agriculture, the program delivers training, hands-on mentoring, and continuous evaluation toward goals of improved business management, increased income, and greater resilience, but the abstract does not report achieved results.

Melissa Caballes, Jose Mari S. Uy · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Philippines

At Quezon City University in the Philippines, researchers surveyed 250 entrepreneurship students selected through stratified random sampling, using a structured Google Form questionnaire, to investigate urban farming as a tool for cultivating innovation among students. The study concluded that embedding urban farming into entrepreneurship education provides a holistic framework for skill development while promoting environmental awareness, and recommended that academic institutions integrate urban farming into their curricula and build partnerships with community stakeholders.

Sasha Gillies-Lekakis, Heidi Zogbaum · International Journal of Cuban Studies · Cuba

Cuban historiography is typically divided into pre-1959 and post-1959 periods, but land-use practices show continuity across both. Two hundred years of export-oriented sugar planting left Cuba dependent on food imports, first from the United States and later the Soviet Union. After 1991, Cuba had to find ways to feed itself on land depleted by two centuries of monoculture. The introduction of permaculture — first developed in Australia and suited to urban agriculture — helped Cubans address some of these food supply problems, making Cuba a world leader in permaculture practice.

Katalin Horotán, Jana Táborská · Repository of the Academy's Library (Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) · Europe

Against the background of children's gradually weakening connection to nature amid spreading urban lifestyles and digitalization, this paper presents the concept of "accessible nature," which places direct, local experience of nature at the center of environmental education. The described program, "The World of Our Garden" (Kertünk világa), uses urban gardens as learning environments and offers modular activities grounded in experiential and inquiry-based learning. Through observation and hands-on activities, students gain insight into natural processes while developing scientific thinking, an emotional connection to nature, and cooperative skills. Using examples, the paper shows how a schoolyard or community garden in an urban setting can become a complex, motivating learning space for sustainability education.

Norlina Muhammad, Zanariah Kadir, Ismi Arif Ismail, Mohd Mursyid Arshad, Ahmad Aizuddin Md Rami · Pertanika Journal of professional Development and Continuing Education · Malaysia

This qualitative case study examines how employee competencies and organizational support shaped training transfer in the Sustainable Green Neighbourhood Garden Programme run by the Majlis Bandaraya Pasir Gudang (MBPG) local authority in Malaysia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six purposively selected employees across departments who participated directly in the three-month program, with data analyzed thematically. Well-structured program design, effective facilitation by agricultural and landscape officers, and organizational coordination supported learning transfer; participants reported gains in technical skills (planting, soil and fertilizer management), self-discipline, teamwork, confidence, motivation, and work attitude, along with strengthened interdepartmental collaboration and reduced work-related stress.

Julija Bakunowitsch · Urban Planning · Germany

This qualitative study examines a publicly funded urban gardening project in Dortmund, Germany, implemented as a labor-market activation measure on temporarily available land targeting employable welfare recipients. Drawing on interviews, participant observation, and document analysis, it combines the concept of "food justice" with valuation studies to analyze how labor, land, and exchange are valued in everyday practice. The findings reveal tensions between empowerment and dependency, care and control, and social recognition and material precarity: while participants experienced gardening as meaningful work and a source of social participation and belonging, these valuations remained bounded by welfare regulations, temporary land tenure, and charity-based food distribution. The study concludes that such temporary urban gardening projects function as sites of plural, negotiated valuation where justice is enacted only provisionally, through everyday practice, within the limits of welfare governance.

Ms. E. Indumathi, R. Ragavi, M. Sandhiya · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · United States

This article surveys initiatives that countries have developed over decades to address the impact of food waste on hunger, including food donation programs and partnerships between large grocery chains and local food banks. In the United States, such efforts are described as distributing food to roughly 37 million hungry Americans each year. Innovative approaches cited include establishing community gardens, expanding access to local farmers' markets, promoting purchase of local produce, and educating communities about the negative impacts of food waste. It highlights the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina (FBCE), which provides food assistance and training through more than 800 partner agencies (food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters), and Waste No Food, a platform connecting food donors (restaurants, caterers, grocery stores) with food rescue organizations while letting donors track their donations.

Galang Aulia Prasetya, Agus Yadi Ismail, Nurdin · Journal of Forestry And Environment · Indonesia

This study evaluates bird diversity and conservation status in the Tundagan Village Forest, Indonesia, identified as an important avian habitat. Using an exploration method with identification based on a Mackinnon bird list, the study analyzed diversity, evenness, and dominance indices, plus a one-way ANOVA testing differences among three land-cover types. Overall diversity across natural forest, pine forest, and community garden land covers fell in the moderate category, with evenness close to even in natural and pine forests but uneven in community gardens. The dominant species were Psilopogon australis in natural forest, Cinnyris ornatus in pine forest, and Lonchura leucogastroides in community gardens. Community conservation efforts use a zoning strategy distinguishing a main "prohibited forest" from secondary "baladan forest" designated for economic use.

M. M. S. Maake, C. A. Mbajiorgu, D. P. Malatji, E. L. Udeh, M. J. Mamashila, Noluyolo Nogemane, N. A. Sebola, Portia Mamothaladi Moshidi, S. Mbizeni, U. V. Ogugua, P. N. Kayoka-Kabongo, France Phiri · Discover Sustainability · South Africa

A survey of 61 participants (mostly women, aged 18-92, mean age 49) in the University of South Africa (UNISA) Community Engagement project in Katlehong township, Gauteng province, South Africa, was analyzed with SPSS descriptive statistics, Chi-square and Friedman tests. Most participants relied on government social grants and seasonal employment, and over 75% were engaged in agricultural activities (72.1% vegetable cultivation, 11.5% field crops, 9.8% poultry). Education, age and gender significantly influenced participation, and training preferences ranked animal production (layers and broilers, mean rank 2.39 and 2.55) and vegetable production (mean rank 1.36) highest.

Nur Choiro Siregar · Acceleration · Malaysia

Using a qualitative literature review of 24 scientific journal articles, this study examines the role of urban farming in strengthening family food resilience in Malaysia by integrating Islamic values, guided by Islamic principles and prior empirical findings. It reports that incorporating Islamic values into urban farming — aligned with concepts such as khalifah fil ard (stewardship), ishlah (improvement), and tawazun (balance) — is associated with greater fresh food availability, reduced household expenses, and increased environmental awareness. It notes that limited urban land availability drives reliance on imported food, and that limited technical knowledge further constrains effective use of small household spaces for urban farming.