Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
9074 results(165 / 363)
Decentralized Urban Farming Through Keyhole Garden: a Case Study with Circular Economy and Regenerative Perspective
2020Mohan S. V. · Materials Circular Economy · India
A case study treating urban organic waste as a resource in urban biocycles, presenting the keyhole garden as a practical decentralized urban-farming method integrating circular-economy and regenerative principles.
DIYCompostEvaluating the Thermal Behavior of a Sustainable Room and Roof Prototype Using Recycled Waste Materials
2020· Recycling · Global
Monitors a prototype room over a year with walls of soil-filled PET bottles and a roof of multiple reused-material layers, including a green roof of waste materials, soil and endemic plants, demonstrating good thermal performance.
DIYOrganic cyclePlacemaking in Action: Factors That Support or Obstruct the Development of Urban Community Gardens
2020· Sustainability · New Zealand; Germany
Using case studies in New Zealand and Germany, this study systematically analyzes the factors that support or obstruct the development of urban community gardens as placemaking.
CommunityPolicyConnecting Learning and Play in Farm-to-School Programs: Children's Culture, Local School Context and Nested Inequalities
2020· Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition · USA
A study of how farm-to-school educators combine education and play in a student-centered learning environment, considering children's culture, local school context, and nested inequalities.
Food educationCommunityExercise and Horticultural Programs for Older Adults with Depressive Symptoms and Memory Problems: A Randomized Controlled Trial
2020· Journal of Clinical Medicine · Japan
An RCT assigned 89 older adults with depressive symptoms and mild memory decline to exercise, horticultural, or control groups; the horticultural program comprised 20 weekly 90-minute sessions of field cultivation, growing, and harvesting.
ElderlyHealthEffects of Types of Horticultural Activity on the Physical and Mental State of Elderly Individuals
2020Tu P.-C., Cheng W.-C., Hou P.-C., Chang Y.-S. · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Taiwan
A study in Taiwan with 27 elderly participants (aged 60-76) evaluating four horticultural activities, measuring effects on salivary amylase activity, pulse rate, and mood (POMS), with artistic-creation and food-tasting types showing promise for relaxation and stress reduction.
ElderlyHealthUrbanization Affects Composition but Not Richness of Flower Visitors in the Yungas of Argentina
2020Amado De Santis A. A., Chacoff N. P. · Neotropical Entomology · Yungas, Argentina
Analysing citizen-science plant-flower-visitor interaction data along an urbanization gradient in the northern Argentinian Yungas, the study found urbanization alters community composition rather than species richness of flower visitors.
PollinatorsBiodiversityPeri-Urban Organic Agriculture and Short Food Supply Chains as Drivers for Strengthening City/Region Food Systems—Two Case Studies in Andalucia, Spain
2020Yacaman Ochoa C., Mataran Ruiz A., Mata Olmo R., Macias Figueroa A., Torres Rodriguez A. · Land · Andalucia, Spain
Two Andalusian case studies analysing how peri-urban organic agriculture and short food supply chains strengthen city/region food systems by shortening the chain and reducing handling stages and spoilage.
Food lossEconomicsUtilizing Anaerobic Digestates as Nutrient Solutions in Hydroponic Production Systems
2020Bergstrand K., Asp H., Hultberg M. · Sustainability · Sweden
Evaluates using nutrient-rich anaerobic digestate from urban food waste as a hydroponic nutrient solution, supporting a closed-loop approach to urban and peri-urban food production.
Food lossOrganic cycleUrban Food Waste: A Framework to Analyse Policies and Initiatives
2020Fattibene D., Recanati F., Dembska K., Antonelli M. · Resources · Europe (40 cities across 16 countries)
Presents a framework to assess urban food waste policies and initiatives across 40 cities in 16 European countries, linking policy types, intervention areas, and actors to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Food lossPolicyAssessing Human Health Risks from Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS)-Impacted Vegetable Consumption: A Tiered Modeling Approach
2020· Environmental Science & Technology · United States
Using a tiered model, the study shows that consuming vegetables grown in PFAS-impacted soil or irrigation water can be an important human exposure pathway, raising concern over produce from contaminated sites.
HealthMonitoring and mitigation of toxic heavy metals and arsenic accumulation in food crops: A case study of an urban community garden
2020Cooper A., Felix D., Alcantara F., Schroeder J. · Plant Direct · USA (San Diego)
At an urban community garden in San Diego, in-ground vegetables and fruit trees accumulated lead and arsenic, showing urban garden soils can contaminate food crops; raised beds with clean soil eliminated detectable contamination.
HealthCommunityUrban agriculture could provide 15% of food supply to Sydney, Australia, under expanded land use scenarios
2020· Land Use Policy · Sydney, Australia
Synthesizing measured yields with spatial analysis, the study finds urban agriculture could supply only about 15% of Sydney's total food (its entire vegetable demand) under the lower land-use scenario, rising to 34% at maximum, a reality check on the ceiling of feeding a city locally.
PolicyEconomicsThe tale of two community gardens: green aesthetics versus food justice in the big apple
2020· Agriculture and Human Values · New York City, USA
Contrasts two New York community gardens to reveal tensions between 'green aesthetics' and 'food justice,' arguing that an aesthetics/beautification orientation can align with gentrification and marginalize the needs of low-income communities of color.
CommunityPolicyNeighborhood Composition and Community Garden Locations: The Effect of Ethnicity, Income, and Education
2020Butterfield K. L. · Sociological Perspectives · USA
Analyzes how community garden locations relate to neighborhood composition, showing an uneven distribution in which gardens are not necessarily sited where most needed; ethnicity, income, and education shape access and can produce green-space inequity.
CommunityPolicyUrban food cultivation in the United Kingdom: Quantifying loss of allotment land and identifying potential for restoration
2020Dobson M., Edmondson J., Warren P. · Landscape and Urban Planning · United Kingdom
A GIS analysis of historic maps shows UK allotment land declined by about 65% from its peak to 2016. The loss is inequitable: the most deprived urban areas experienced eight times the level of allotment loss as the least deprived areas.
PolicyCommunityUrban agriculture: Declining opportunity and increasing demand—How observations from London, U.K., can inform effective response, strategy and policy on a wide scale
2020· Urban Forestry & Urban Greening · London, UK
In London, allotments comprise the largest area of urban agriculture yet provision is under threat and fails to meet demand. Despite well-documented benefits, the opportunity for urban food growing is declining under development pressure while demand rises.
PolicyCommunityEco-gentrification and who benefits from urban green amenities: NYC's high Line
2020· Landscape and Urban Planning · USA (New York City)
Empirical study of NYC's public High Line project showing housing values near the park rose 35% and rents ~68%, with parkgoers overwhelmingly white/tourist—evidence that a flagship public greening investment captured value for the affluent and failed its low-income host neighborhood.
PolicyEconomicsWelfareFood for the Cities Programme
2020FAO · Food and Agriculture Organization · Latin America and Africa
FAO Food for the Cities Programme pilot case studies in Latin America and Africa. Examines linkages between urban farmers, food banks, and school meals; sustainable food system development; institutional market connections. Demonstrates public procurement models supporting urban farmers.
PolicyCommunityQuantifying Nutrient Recovery in Urban Farming Systems: Circular Economy Applications
2020Chen, L., Robinson, P., Silva, A., Kumar, M. · PLOS ONE · Global
Study across 25 urban gardens in Asia, Africa, and Latin America tracking nutrient cycling. Urban farms recover 60-80% of nutrient inputs through composting versus 10% in conventional agriculture.
Organic cycleEconomicsIs greenery associated with mental health among residents of aged care facilities? A systematic search and narrative review
2020Alison Carver, Alanna Lorenzon, Jenny Veitch, Ashley Macleod, Takemi Sugiyama · Aging & Mental Health · Global
A narrative review that searched six databases through 2017 and identified nine studies on exposure to greenery — gardens and green space — and mental health among residents of aged care facilities. Seven of the nine reported favourable associations between garden use and outcomes such as quality of life, but most relied on observations by staff and family rather than validated mental health instruments. One study found a reduction in depression linked to garden participation, while another found no change in physiological stress. The authors conclude that more robust evidence based on valid and reliable mental health measures is needed.
ElderlyWelfareHealthUrban gardening and neglected and underutilized species in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
2020Manuela Alves da Cunha, Lidice Almeida Arlego Paraguassú, José Geraldo de Aquino Assis, Arthur Benjamin de Paula Carvalho Silva, Ryzia de Cassia Vieira Cardoso · Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine · Brazil (Salvador)
A city-wide mapping of active food gardens in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, followed by site visits and interviews with gardeners. Only 18 active food gardens could be located in the whole municipality; 17 took part (8 communal, 9 private). Gardeners averaged 55.76 years old and were 52.9% male overall, but women made up 87.5% of communal-garden gardeners and had higher education levels. For 52.9% of respondents the garden was their main source of income; 82.4% ate the produce, 70.6% also sold it and 47.1% donated. Fifty-nine neglected and underutilized species (NUS) were recorded, with 76.5% of respondents reporting they eat 19 of them. The gardens supply affordable food and food diversity without government support — but the very small absolute number of active gardens in a city of this size is equally part of the finding.
Heirloom & landraceBiodiversityCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceA Multi-Sectoral Approach Improves Early Child Development in a Disadvantaged Community in Peru: Role of Community Gardens, Nutrition Workshops and Enhanced Caregiver-Child Interaction: Project "Wawa Illari"
2020Doris González-Fernández, Ana Sofía Mazzini Salom, Fermina Herrera Bendezu, Sonia Huamán, Bertha Rojas Hernández, Illène Pevec, Eliana Mariana Galarza Izquierdo, Nicoletta Armstrong, Virginia Thomas, Sonia Vela Gonzáles, Carlos Gonzáles Saravia, Marilyn E. Scott, Kristine G. Koski · Frontiers in Public Health · Peru (Lima)
In peripheral settlements of the Pachacámac district of metropolitan Lima, Peru, community health promoters delivered a sequence of (1) home and community gardens, (2) 'conscious nutrition' and (3) parenting workshops (ICDP), comparing 113 children aged 0–3 in intervention communities with 127 in control communities at baseline, 8 and 12 months. The interventions significantly reduced the risk of food insecurity (adjusted risk ratio 0.20, 95% CI 0.08–0.51) and of language delay (0.39, 0.19–0.82), but did not significantly improve motor or social/cognitive delay. Multiple micronutrient supplement use lowered motor delay risk (0.12), while households with more pets had higher risk of motor delay (3.24), social/cognitive delay (2.72) and food insecurity (1.73). Because gardens were bundled with nutrition and parenting components, the contribution of the gardens alone cannot be isolated.
Limited or null effectHealthFood educationCommunityWelfareFood First: COVID-19 Outbreak and Cities Lockdown a Booster for a Wider Vision on Urban Agriculture
2020Giuseppe Pulighe, Flavio Lupia · Sustainability · Global
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the fragility of large cities to global risks and the importance of food availability. Border closures and movement restrictions increased food losses and export costs, particularly for perishable goods. This paper suggests fostering urban agriculture in developed countries with practices like vertical farming, hydroponics, and rooftop greenhouses to mitigate uncertainties from global systemic risks.
Food sovereignty & justiceClimate changePolicyDigital agricultureUrban Horticulture for Food Secure Cities through and beyond COVID-19
2020Muhammad Mumtaz Khan, Muhammad Tahir Akram, Rhonda Janke, Rashad Qadri, Abdullah M. Al‐Sadi, Aitazaz A. Farooque · Sustainability · Global
This study reviews contemporary urban horticulture, illustrating traditional and innovative developments, as a response to global concerns about food supply and environmental protection in urban settings, exacerbated by factors like population growth and the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights how current urban cropping systems can be enhanced with modern techniques like vertical gardening and hydroponics. These methods are presented as eco-friendly, energy-saving, and capable of ensuring consistent fresh food supplies and more sustainable agriculture.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityDIYClimate change