Research & reports

Lena Schmeiduch, Émile Thévenot · International Review of Education · Global

This study explored the potential for lifelong learning within sustainability-led initiatives, such as ecovillages and community-supported agriculture, through the theoretical lens of Noah Sobe's four pillars of lifelong education. While these initiatives offer opportunities to address sustainability-related challenges, their insular nature and limited accessibility have drawn criticism in the literature on sustainability transitions. The analysis suggests that these initiatives and lifelong learning agendas frequently converge in their framing of sustainability issues.

Khondokar H. Kabir, Jannatul Ferdows, Saifur Rahman, Ataharul Chowdhury, Md. Asaduzzaman Sarker, S.M. Asik Ullah, Mohammed Nasir Uddin, Mohammad Maruf Hasan · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · Bangladesh

An online survey of 120 rooftop gardeners in Bangladesh investigated the extent to which Facebook groups support information needs and enhance capacity. Findings indicate that information sharing in Facebook groups assists in planning, acquiring and utilizing resources, carrying out intercultural operations, and determining optimal harvesting and storage practices. Facebook can play a significant role in bridging the information gap among rooftop gardeners and enhancing their skills.

Sk. Md. Nur-E-Alam, Marcin Feltynowski, Md. Sekender Ali, Mohummed Shofi Ullah Mazumder, Fida Al Hasan · Acta Scientiarum Polonorum Administratio Locorum · Bangladesh (Dhaka)

This study in Dhaka, Bangladesh, aimed to explore the socio-economic characteristics and current knowledge of rooftop gardeners, and to evaluate factors contributing to their gardening knowledge. The research found that gardening space and media contact positively correlate with gardeners' existing knowledge. Access to diverse media can enhance understanding, and having gardening space facilitates technical knowledge sharing and community building among gardeners.

Antonio Andréa Belló, Aline Batch · Trees Forests and People · Syria (Aleppo)

This study documented 257 plant species in Aleppo's Central Public Park, Syria, through systematic field surveys and floristic analysis. Despite conflict, the park exhibited exceptional plant diversity, with Fabaceae, Asteraceae, and Poaceae being the most represented families. The findings revealed a dominance of herbaceous species and perennials, and identified five native gymnosperm trees and approximately 7% rare or underrepresented flora, underscoring the need for integrated management strategies.

Matteo Clementi, Valentina Dessì, Mariana Pereira Guimarães · TERRITORIO · Global

The bize_UrFarm research explores urban agriculture's potential to integrate into urban and building metabolism by utilizing water, soil, and waste, and to strengthen urban green infrastructure. This research introduces building surfaces as a resource for urban agriculture, challenging the previous view of them as impediments in urbanized contexts.

Katarína Slobodníková, Attila Tóth · Land · Slovakia

This study examined the approaches and methods of civic initiatives (CIs) implementing Green Infrastructure (GI) and Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs) in Slovakia. Analysis of seventeen case studies showed that many CIs engage in NBS activities such as creating or enhancing parks, green public spaces, and community gardens, and restoring natural and semi-natural areas. Knowledge creation and awareness-raising are also central strategies, with the transformation of derelict areas into multifunctional public spaces emerging as a notable practice.

Stefan Galley, Stefan Mann, Patrick Bottazzi · Societies · Switzerland

A survey of Swiss allotment garden (AG, n=201) and community-supported agriculture (CSA, n=250) members revealed how prosumers perceive the benefits of their activity and how these experiences shape their likelihood to continue. AGs enhance production-related individual benefits, while CSAs foster positive experiences around consumption activities. AG continuation is driven by experienced health and food-related benefits, whereas CSAs rely on the communal and organizational involvement of their members.

Nam-Gyeong Gim · Asia-pacific Journal of Convergent Research Interchange · Global

This study developed an efficient hydroponic smart-farm program for urban elementary school students, focusing on its applicability in a classroom environment. Through school environmental analysis and program development using household items and upcycled materials, the study confirmed that urban schools, despite operational disadvantages, have potential for small-scale smart-farm operation. The developed program demonstrated applicability with low-cost, recyclable materials.

Abella Alemany, Agèric, Casals Missio, Joan, Macarulla Martí, Marcel, Pintó Espín, Laia, González Atero, Ramiro, Arcas, Verónica, Gassó Domingo, Santiago, Gabarrell Durany, Xavier · UPCommons institutional repository (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya) · Global

Urban agriculture is gaining prominence globally for promoting environmental sustainability, food security, and social cohesion in cities. While urban cultivation is not new, a recent innovative approach involves integrating agriculture into urban infrastructure, particularly utilizing building rooftops as underutilized spaces with significant potential.

Susan Jagger · The Canadian Journal of Action Research · Global

This paper points out the limited research on the experiences of young learners in participatory action research (PAR) in environmental education. It shares the reflections of the Eco Research Organization, a group of grade six researchers, and their adult co-researcher, Susan Jagger, on their engagement in PAR in a longitudinal study of their school garden and nature in their community.

Blessing Nyamasoka‐Magonziwa, Esther Simango, Hatirarami Nezomba · Frontiers in Agronomy · Zimbabwe (Chitungwiza)

This study evaluated climate-smart crop production practices by urban farmers in Chitungwiza District, Zimbabwe, and their effects on household diets. Mixed methods research, including focus group discussions with four farmer groups and interviews with 107 households in 2022, classified only 23% of farmers as climate-smart. While climate-smart crop production positively influenced household diets, with climate-smart households having a significantly higher Household Dietary Diversity Score (3.3 vs. 2.9; p=0.02), there were no significant differences in maize yield between climate-smart and non-climate-smart farmers (2.10 t/ha vs. 2.27 t/ha, respectively, in the 2020/2021 season).

Bernd Bonfert · · Global

A brief reference entry describing community-supported agriculture (CSA) as a collaborative grassroots innovation in which farmers and consumers share the costs and outputs of food production. It states that by joining a CSA, consumers agree to cover the costs of a farming operation over a defined period, in exchange for a share of the harvest.

Dr. S.S. Uma Sundara Sood · INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND ANALYTICAL REVIEWS · Global

The abstract available for this record consists only of publication and indexing information for the journal (International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, IJRAR), including its ISSN numbers and listing bodies, and contains no description of the article's subject, methods, or findings.

Samuel Ikendi, Michael S. Retallick, Gail R. Nonnecke, Theressa N. Cooper, Francis Owusu · Journal of Agricultural Education · Global

A 2025 comparative study of alumni from Iowa State University (ISU) and Makerere University (MAK) who participated in a summer school garden service-learning program run through the Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in Uganda between 2006 and 2019. Grounded in intergroup contact theory, a self-administered questionnaire was sent to 274 alumni via Qualtrics with a 94.2% response rate, measuring change in self-perceived appreciation of differences (SAD) and awareness of structural inequalities (ASI). ISU alumni showed greater changes in knowledge, attitudes, and awareness than MAK alumni; race, ethnicity, and gender accounted for differences, with white and female ISU alumni showing greater changes than alumni of color and male alumni respectively, and binational housing arrangements also influenced the differences.

Xiulan Xie, Yaohua Zhai, Hao Cheng, Wenhua Wei, Maozhi Ren · Plant Physiology and Biochemistry · Global

This review examines sustainable production of paclitaxel, an anti-cancer compound derived from Taxus (yew) trees, in the context of urban agriculture. It notes that traditional extraction methods from Taxus are inefficient and destructive, risking extinction of the genus, and surveys research on biotechnological approaches to efficient, cost-effective paclitaxel biosynthesis. The review discusses strategies for industrial-scale production based on Taxus cell culture methods.

Sucipto, Dian Peniasiani · INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR · Global

Using a library research method reviewing existing literature on pedagogy, environmental education, and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), the role of teachers' pedagogical competence in the local content program Tatanen di Bale Atikan was examined for its effect on students' environmental character. Teachers were found to play a crucial role in integrating environmental values into lesson planning, teaching strategies, and evaluation, with hands-on activities such as planting, plant care, and school garden management improving students' ecological literacy and developing caring attitudes, responsibility, and sustainable habits; success depended on teacher role modeling, consistent habituation, and institutional school support, and the program's potential for wider replication faces challenges including limited facilities, teacher competence, and institutional support.

CiAuna Heard · Environmental Education Research · Global

Using the author's own course, "Race, Gender, and Environmental Justice," as a case study, this article argues that justice-oriented climate education is strengthened when rooted in Black ecofeminist pedagogy. Set against the context of Jesuit educational institutions' commitments to sustainability since Pope Francis's 2015 encyclical Laudato Si', it examines how Black ecofeminist pedagogy contributes to interrogating epistemological authority, developing structural analytical frameworks and embodied engagement with the lived world, arguing that it challenges Western Christian epistemological, methodological and political norms and pushes Jesuit environmental education toward a more critical stance on racial and gender justice.

Shahida Mohd Sharif, Izyan Ayuni Mohamad Selamat, Norsidah Ujang · Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology) · Malaysia

This study used a hermeneutic phenomenological approach supported by field observations to examine the lived experiences of long-term gardeners at the PPR Intan Baiduri public housing estate in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, exploring how grassroots gardening supports resilience, health and informal governance. It found that gardening provides retirees and low-income residents with routine, emotional wellbeing and opportunities for informal economic participation, that community gardens function as micro-level bioresource systems by repurposing reserve land, composting household waste and drawing on institutional collaborations with agencies such as DBKL and TNB, and that participants collectively organize planting cycles and maintain shared infrastructure while navigating labor constraints and fluctuating participation.

Zulma Lopez Reyes, Dalia Alshahrani, Jovana Čvorović, Mary May, Maged M. Saad · Frontiers for Young Minds · Global

An educational article on Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) describing how soil microbes act as natural fertilizers that improve soil quality and protect plants. The authors are researching how to use microbes to help plants grow in warmer climates, testing this work in school gardens where students learn about healthy soils and growing nutritious food using new technologies.

Angie Tatiana Ortega-Ramírez, Arley Lida Moreno, José Enrique Luna Correa, Miriam Reyes Tovar, Óscar Silva-Marrufo, Miriam América Caballero Olvera · Sustainability · Colombia (Bogotá)

A study designed and implemented a school garden at Carlos Albán Holguín school in Bogotá, Colombia, as a strategy to secure food for vulnerable communities and promote environmental education, structured in six stages including diagnosis, characterization, formulation and pilot validation. Surveys and checklists evaluated garden conditions and students' understanding of environmental practices. After implementation, 75% of students showed outstanding comprehension of sustainable agriculture and 80% effectively applied organic farming principles.

Siu Hou Chong, Paw Lan Tai, Chen Yee Teh, Siao Hoong Sam, Ning Hii, Jia Yi Tan, M D Isa M. Saffiuddin, Jia Hao Lau, Chee Yuan Ng, Chiou Woan Leng · World sustainability series · Malaysia

This is a case description of Koperasi Kongsi Selangor Berhad (Kongsi Co-op), a Malaysian consumer co-operative. The co-op connects local producers and consumers through community-supported agriculture and community-supported education, promoting organic farming, sustainable practices, ethical business, and lifelong learning. It reports having overcome financial and resource constraints by building an internal culture and network.

Robert C. Brears · Cambridge University Press eBooks · Global

A book chapter on circular urban agriculture, discussing strategies for sustainable food production in rapidly growing cities. It surveys urban farming methods including rooftop gardens, vertical farming, hydroponics and community gardens, framing resource efficiency — using waste streams, conserving water, and minimizing inputs like soil and fertilizer — as the core of the circular approach, and describes water conservation and recycling (drip irrigation, greywater reuse, rainwater harvesting) and nutrient recycling through biosolids as key components for improving soil quality and productivity.

Stefano Follesa, Leila Farahbakhsh, Xinxin Song · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Global

A paper examines urban agriculture as a process capable of promoting environmental sustainability, social inclusion and the circular economy, proposing ways to use and develop it. Through an interdisciplinary approach based on "demand maps," it presents an implementation model aligning users' needs with design solutions. Critical analysis of case studies identifies benefits including reducing urban heat islands, supporting biodiversity, enhancing food security, fostering social cohesion, and aiding the development of vulnerable communities. The guidelines presented aim to encourage the use of demand maps in urban decision-making processes to support participatory, inclusive and sustainable strategies.

Laura Patricia Mulazzi, Francisco Jose Pescio, María Amalia Lorda, Christophe Albaladejo, María Amalia Lorda, Laura Jiménez, Gastón D. Godoy · El Servicio de Difusión de la Creación Intelectual (National University of La Plata) · Argentina

This essay surveys urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) as it has developed across Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and Africa. It argues that in South American, Asian, and African countries, UPA is oriented mainly toward meeting the food and income-generation needs of poor and economically excluded populations, who use food production to reduce their socioeconomic vulnerability, whereas UPA in European and North American countries serves different ends tied more to leisure, quality of life, and recreation in public spaces.

Shikha Patel, Deepthi John, Ahmad Mohammad Ahmad, Raffaello Furlan, Rima J. Isaifan · Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (The) · Global

A 2025 study in the Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy used Onaiza, a low-rise mixed-use residential neighbourhood on Qatar's western coast representative of suburban Doha, as a case study to examine how urban agriculture could be integrated into land use policy as a climate-change mitigation strategy in Doha Municipality. Drawing on a literature review, examination of successful case studies, and expert interviews, it identified challenges and potential for permitting urban agriculture as a land use, then produced a design proposal amending land use policy through urban planning simulations, subsidies and other incentives. It starts from the premise that food systems, food security and urban agriculture are not yet well positioned within Qatar's existing land use policy, despite the country's vulnerability to food imports and to climate change.