Research & reports

Arnaldo Monteiro, Neusa Barbosa, Rosimeire Pereira, Josimar Cardoso · International Journal of Research in Agronomy · Brazil (São Paulo)

This 12-month study (March 2022-February 2023) at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, evaluated the productivity, water efficiency, and economic viability of a media-bed aquaponics system compared to conventional hydroponics and soil-based cultivation. Lettuce and basil were grown alongside Nile tilapia. Aquaponics used 78.2% less water than soil-based production and 22.1% less than hydroponics per kilogram of produce. Lettuce yields in aquaponics reached 4.83 kg/m², slightly below hydroponics (5.12 kg/m²) but well above soil cultivation (3.27 kg/m²), and the aquaponics unit achieved economic break-even at month 9 and returned a 14.3% annual profit margin.

Daniel Löschenbrand, Vanessa Giolai, Angelika Psenner · · Austria (Vienna)

The "Food Atlas Vienna" project was realized in the context of the Vienna Biennale 2021. This project aims to question the discipline of urban planning regarding the existing urban food system and regional cycles, combining spatial mapping with innovative design possibilities for a sustainable metropolitan region. Working with inhabitants at four different locations in Vienna, the project developed a new mindset and methods to make connections between food and urban morphology visible.

Martin Bailkey, Rosalind Greenstein · Urban agriculture · United States

This paper reviews “Farming Inside Cities: Entrepreneurial Urban Agriculture in the United States” (2000) by Jerry Kaufman and Martin Bailkey. This report was one of three concurrent research studies on for-market urban agriculture as a viable reuse of vacant land in major US cities. While its practical nature and description of urban agriculture's opportunities and challenges remain relevant today, it does not explicitly state the value of farming as a vehicle for social equity and food justice in urban communities of color.

Mohammed Elyaagoubi · African J of Economic and Sustainable Development · Morocco

This study investigates the decline of agricultural land in Guersif City, Morocco, due to rapid urbanization. Sociological surveys and technical data from 1954 and 2021 were used to identify and quantify the rate of agricultural land loss. The preservation of urban agriculture in Guersif faces a real challenge from other, more profitable activities.

Catherine Oliver · Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers · United Kingdom (London)

This paper examines urban chicken-keeping in London, where urban spaces are transformed to accommodate chickens. It argues that the human-imposed design of urban barnyards is often impractical for chickens, leading to lawns being torn up, plants demolished, and vegetable patches consumed. Additionally, chickens are vulnerable to local foxes, highlighting that chickens' behaviors and territoriality often overflow their assigned space, challenging human design intentions.

Wenli Dong, Gangjian Lin · Buildings · Global

This study established a hierarchically structured decision model for Urban Agriculture within Greyfield Regeneration Environments (UAGR) to improve project implementation. It identified 25 influencing factors, prioritized 11 using the Fuzzy Delphi method, and analyzed their interrelationships with an interpretative structural model based on expert questionnaires. The model was then applied to case studies in Shanghai and Hangzhou, providing practical guidance for urban agriculture development.

Sri Tuntung Pandangwati, Benjamin Cooke, Melissa Neave · Australian Geographer · Indonesia (Yogyakarta)

This paper examined the relevance of an Agroecological Transition for the Special Region of Yogyakarta (SRY), Indonesia, emphasizing farmers’ perspectives and experiences. Data were gathered from policy documents, field observations, and 34 semi-structured interviews with farmers. Findings indicated that although there is limited discourse about agroecology in current policies, some farmers and NGOs have developed agroecological niche innovations.

Muhammad Waseem Khan, WU Qun, Siqi Yan, Komal Bilal, Muhammad Bilawal Junaid, Wesam Atef Hatamleh · Journal of Urban Planning and Development · Global

This global study investigated the multifunctional role of land-use planning in peri-urban and urban agricultural drylands, using a survey of 680 participants and a structural equation model. Findings indicated that amenity, landscape and recreational value, and proximity significantly affect these areas. Conversely, large rural lots in China's Tianjin region negatively affected both the level of urbanization and urban agricultural drylands.

Aminkeng Lucienne Fuanyi, Tata Emmanuel Sunjo, Balgah Sounders · Environmental Management and Sustainable Development · Cameroon

This study analyzed the implications of spatio-temporal land use/land cover (LULC) dynamics on wetland ecosystem services in the coastal areas of Limbe I and III Municipality and Douala IV Municipality, Cameroon, from 1986 to 2022, using GIS techniques. Over 36 years, wetlands retreated by -0.2km² (-0.96%) in Limbe I & III and -0.48km² (-0.14%) in Douala IV, while built-up areas increased by 0.75km² (0.36%) and 1.63km² (0.45%) respectively. These LULC changes, based on wetland regulating services, exposed neighborhoods in Limbe I & III to flood vulnerability and identified two categories of vulnerable neighborhoods in Douala IV.

Anna M. Roodhof · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Netherlands

To map and analyze food forestry (FF) in the Netherlands, a survey of 109 participants and interviews with five experts were conducted, identifying 231 food forests established since 2017. The survey data indicates that while FF initiatives are diverse in goals, few focus on profitability. Practitioners are largely homogeneous, consisting of university-educated individuals aged 40 to 60.

John Wilkinson · Bristol University Press eBooks · Global

This book argues that the wave of agri-food innovations under review takes urban life, rather than rural production, as its point of departure, motivated by urban sensibilities like health, climate, and animal wellbeing, and existing urban food consumption practices. The two main innovations analyzed—climate-controlled agriculture and alternative proteins—can be integrated into the urban environment, radically reducing the agricultural footprint and environmental pressure. Combined with deindustrialization and energy transition, new food perspectives question the historical urbanization-agriculture relation, identifying varied food provision forms, often involving significant urban food production. A radical city-country separation occurred only in the early 20th century due to public hygiene, transport innovations, and the end of horse transport. Deindustrialization in the North and urban poverty in the South see urban agriculture reintroduced as a food security strategy. Urban designers envision food reintegration into the city, compatible with the innovations analyzed.

Yihang Hu, Junbiao Zhang, Yangmei Zeng, Jie Li · Land Degradation and Development · China

A study in Zhejiang Province, China, examined the impact of climate factors on agricultural production efficiency using a pooled OLS model. While precipitation production potential showed a significantly positive impact, the effects of temperature, evapotranspiration, and insolation were not significant or exhibited poor stability. Furthermore, the benefits of precipitation potential varied, with only a few cities experiencing significant improvements.

Jean de Dieu Minengu, Aiko Ikonso Mwengi, Romain Kawanga, Simon Mwengi, Oscar Mangunda Yama · Revue Africaine d’Environnement et d’Agriculture · Africa

Market gardening in Kinshasa's urban and peri-urban areas faces multiple constraints, including land insecurity, low natural soil fertility, the incidence of diseases and pests, weak technical support, climate hazards, poor input supply, and problematic marketing systems. These constraints limit yields in production sites and hinder the development of market gardening activities.

Godwin K. Naazie, Isaac Agyemang, Anthony Mwinilanaa Tampah-Naah · Discover Environment · Ghana

This study investigated climate change adaptation strategies among 191 urban crop and livestock farming households and 13 key informants in Ghana using mixed methods. Findings revealed a significant link between farmers' educational status, gender, and climate adaptation information sources. Strategies include cultivating improved crop varieties, rearing exotic animal breeds, and treating animals with vaccinations and chemicals, but access to agricultural extension services remains a primary challenge.

Mesut YILDIZ, Tayfun Özkaya · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Turkey

This participatory action research was conducted with five community-supported food groups formed by consumers in İzmir province, Turkey, and associations/groups producing wheat landraces in Çanakkale, Balıkesir, and Kars provinces. The research aimed to identify common problems that reduce the separation between wheat production and consumption and to determine how to increase the use of wheat landraces and their products.

Yessy Pristika Efendy, Hadi Suhardjono, Widiwurjani Widiwurjani · JURNAL AGROTROPIKA · Indonesia

This study investigated the optimal planting media composition and liquid organic fertilizer (LOF) concentration for pakcoy plants using a completely randomized design with two factors. The first factor included soil, compost, and goat manure in ratios of 1:1:1, 1:1:2, and 1:2:1, while the second factor involved LOF and urea concentrations at four levels. The combination of planting medium composition 1:1:2 and LOF concentration of 4 ml/liter water yielded the best results for all observed growth and production parameters.

Marthe L. Derkzen, Maitreyi Koduganti, Sheetal Patil, Parama Roy · · India (Bengaluru)

Bengaluru has transitioned from a "Garden City" to a "Global Technology Hub," resulting in food production being pushed out and productive lands converted to residential and commercial uses. This urbanization has led to rising land values, sharpening inequalities, and recurrent water insecurity. In response, new forms of urban farming, such as kitchen gardens and community farms, have emerged to mitigate space constraints and meet local food aspirations. This chapter will use participatory mapping, interviews, film, and photography to explore how Bengaluru residents from diverse backgrounds perceive food as cultural connections, community feelings, and environmental resilience.

Jinrong Tong, Dongsheng Feng, Xia Wang, Min Wang, Mei-Lian Chen, Yanfen Chen, Yingqing Ma, Bo Mei, R. Chen, Mengfeng Gao, Siwen Shen, Hongkang Wang, Weiyi Zhang · Heliyon · China (Shanghai)

A study investigated pesticide residues and dietary intake risk in 7028 vegetable samples grown under modern urban agriculture in Shanghai from 2018 to 2021, analyzing 68 types of pesticides. Pesticide residues were detected in 29.21% of samples, with 0.47% exceeding China's national maximum residue limits (MRLs). The target hazard quotient (THQ) and hazard index (HI) for detected pesticides were all less than 1, suggesting there may be no obvious health hazard for residents.

Shengyi Du, Katsuya Tanaka · Heliyon · China (Shanghai)

A discrete choice experiment with 756 Shanghai residents investigated preferences for urban agriculture (UA). Respondents generally supported UA, favoring facilities with environmentally friendly production, farming activities, and dining options, and preferring regularly scheduled educational activities. Residents preferred nearby UA facilities but not necessarily directly in front of them, with stronger preferences observed among highly educated populations, those with primary/secondary school students, and those with agricultural work experience.

Aristophane Djeufack Dongmo, Désiré Avom · Politics &amp Policy · Africa

This article examined the impact of urbanization and civil conflicts on food insecurity severity across 43 African countries from 2000 to 2020 using heterogeneous choice models. Findings revealed that both urbanization and civil conflict increase food insecurity, with a one-unit increase in urban growth rate raising the probability of high-risk food insecurity by over 0.6 times. The study recommends developing urban agriculture and controlling urbanization to mitigate food insecurity.

Matthew L. Richardson, John Taylor, Megan J. Thompson, Anusuya Rangarajan, Mamatha Hanumappa, Neith G. Little · PLoS ONE · United States (Northeastern United States)

This online survey of 394 urban growers, primarily in the Northeastern United States, profiled growers and assessed urban agriculture's state, identifying needs and challenges. Most growers were white (non-Hispanic), under 45, well-educated but without agriculture degrees. Urban agriculture was dominated by small non-profits and home/community gardens. A critical finding is that urban growers face diverse barriers, with the most common being land availability and long-term access in urban areas, and many reported low revenue or operating at a net loss.

Mary Mattingly · Intellect eBooks · Global

This essay shares two research practices stemming from the author's seven-year engagement with extractive supply chains for specific objects. Swale is a floating food forest that uses the common law of the waterways as a loophole to do what was illegal on common land, highlighting governance challenges within existing systems.

Anubhav Pradhan · South Asia Research · India

This article analyzes the recalibration of justice for agrarian communities along the Yamuna in Delhi. Following a 2015 ban on edible crop farming by India's apex environmental court, the Delhi Development Authority has conducted multiple demolition drives for nearly a decade to evict farmers and clear land for redevelopment. The ongoing contentions involving farmers, planning agencies, and the judiciary in this region are symptomatic of the erosion of social justice in urbanizing India.

Landon Yoder, Sarah P. Church, Kamebry Wagner · Society & Natural Resources · United States

This paper analyzed the role of watershed organizations in Iowa, USA, in addressing urban-agricultural conflicts stemming from fertilizer runoff and water quality impairment. Three focus group discussions with 14 watershed coordinators revealed that participant composition significantly impacts problem-solving. While joint urban-agricultural engagement strategies were limited, they showed promise in changing individual perspectives, suggesting that strategic targeting of participants is crucial for conflict resolution.

Nurul Ain Zafirah Nor Aizi, Kamisah Osman · International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development · Malaysia

This study evaluated the hydroponics knowledge of 200 Year 6 primary school students in Malaysia, with 100 from an urban school in Kuala Lumpur and 100 from a rural school in Negeri Sembilan. Using a 10-item Likert-scale questionnaire, urban students scored slightly higher (min = 2.97) than rural students (min = 2.70), indicating a comparable knowledge level. No significant correlation was found between hydroponic knowledge and parents' socioeconomic status.