Research & reports

D.C. Little, Stuart W. Bunting · CABI Publishing eBooks · Global

A review chapter surveys the concept, opportunities and constraints of urban aquaculture in South and Southeast Asia (SSEA), using the "extended metropolitan region" (EMR) and "waste economy" models to outline three development trajectories: opportunistic development within a changing aquatic landscape as urbanization proceeds, continuation of existing aquaculture in modified form as urbanization occurs around it, and strategic siting of new enterprises to exploit resources such as nutrients, markets or information. Urban aquaculture is described as providing benefits at household, local and municipal levels including waste disposal, food production, flood control, employment, environmental quality and recreation, while constraints include loss of suitable physical locations, changes in waste disposal practices, shifting attitudes and demand as urban areas grow more affluent, and vulnerability to contamination and theft due to the openness of aquatic systems.

陈璧显, 何正明 · 上海农村经济 · China

A report on preliminary investigation and policy recommendations concerning Wuxi City's (Jiangsu Province, China) "three concentrations" strategy, announced at an April 2005 rural work conference: concentrating agriculture into appropriately scaled operations within modern urban-agriculture planning zones, concentrating industry into development and industrial zones, and concentrating farmers into towns and communities (central villages). Positioned by the Wuxi municipal party committee and government as a key initiative and as a long-term strategy of industry feeding back into agriculture and cities supporting rural areas, the report states that each city, county and district was, at the time, steadily advancing the strategy based on prior practice.

Maija Heimo · Social & Cultural Geography · Colombia (Bogotá)

This is a notice of a doctoral dissertation completed at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, titled "A Political Ecology of Conservation: Peri-urban Agriculture and Urban Water Needs in Mexico City." The dissertation examines the cultural politics of peri-urban agriculture and urban water needs in Mexico City.

Louiza M. Boukharaeva, Gustavo Kauark Chianca, Marcel Marloie, Altair Toledo Machado, Cynthia Torres de Toledo Machado · Cadernos de Ciência & Tecnologia · Global

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) treats the development of urban agriculture as part of sustainable human development policy, as it proposed at the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in June 1996. This article analyzes urban agriculture in three cases: Russia, where it developed after World War II; France, representing Western European countries where the activity has been marginalized; and Brazil, where its development is a consequence of agricultural modernization that pushed people into cities. Surveys and a literature review show that urban agriculture has historically reduced the intensity of food crises and has contributed to feeding part of the population in normal periods, while also serving functions of pleasure and relaxation, therapy, and identity. It helps transmit cultural heritage and can be used educationally. Developing these functions requires both legislative action ensuring long-term access to land plots for all social groups and joint activity among multiple public and private participants.

Kazuyuki Kobayashi, Makoto Yokohari, Akinibu MURAKAMI, Takashi Watanabe · JOURNAL OF RURAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION · Asia

This study examined how the Kabuhayan sa Gulayan urban agriculture program in Metro Manila, Philippines -- started to improve the living conditions of the urban poor and reduce urban waste -- is implemented, focusing on the supportive roles of participants including the Department of Agriculture, the Municipal Agricultural Office, Barangays, and NGOs. It found that Barangays can support "selection of farmers" and "use of compost," attributing this to their small administrative scale, which allows them to adjust opinions with residents, and it concludes that Barangay participation in the program is important.

Samantha Langley-Turnbaugh, David E. Wilkinson, D. Rocque · Soil Survey Horizons · United States

This study characterized urban soils in a low-income neighborhood of Portland, Maine, that was heavily industrialized in the late 1800s, examining seven pedons for particle size, cation exchange capacity (CEC), base saturation, exchangeable bases, pH, and trace elements (Pb, Cr, Cu, Co, Cd, Ni, Zn, Hg, Ti, Zr). The soils contained numerous artifacts and showed a high degree of horizontal and vertical spatial variability; several trace elements were present at elevated levels, with lead (Pb) the dominant metal in surface horizons (600 mg/kg), and many metals correlated with each other and with iron and aluminum, and some with clay content and pH, though the study concludes that mapping soil units by specific trace element ranges would be difficult given the extreme variability observed.

PS van Heerden, Yali E. Woyessa, Etheresia Pretorius · Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir landbouvoorligting/South African journal of agricultural extension · South Africa

A study in the communal farming areas of the upper and middle Modder River Basin, South Africa, assessed the potential for adopting an infield rainwater harvesting (IRWH) technique developed by the Agricultural Research Council's Institute for Soil, Climate and Water. The technique significantly increased crop yield over conventional practice, and homestead-level adoption grew from six to more than 950 households. An estimated 80,667 hectares in the study area were suitable for IRWH, of which about 14,500 hectares lay in communal farming areas. A participatory field survey of 21 randomly selected villages found strong positive motivators, such as increased crop yield and household food availability, but also strong demotivators — high levels of poverty, limited family labor, lack of tools, and lack of fences around community gardens leading to theft and animal damage. These demotivators were judged strong enough to prevent significant expansion of IRWH beyond the homestead scale, and the expected impact on downstream water availability was therefore judged minimal.

· 法令（e-Gov法令検索・417AC1000000063） · Japan

The 2005 framework law promoting shokuiku (food and nutrition education) as a national movement. It assigns duties to national and local government, mandates the basic plan, and explicitly promotes hands-on agricultural experience — the policy basis for school gardens and experience farms.

Peter M. Philippi (Green Roof Service, LLC) · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · Germany

This paper, hosted by the U.S. EPA, introduces the German non-profit FLL's (founded 1975) 'Guideline for the Planning, Execution and Upkeep of Green-Roof Sites' (latest edition January 2002, English version 2004) to the American market. The guideline draws on the experience of roughly one billion square feet of green roofs built in Germany, and includes specific standards such as organic matter content limits for growing media (e.g. 6.0% by dry mass or less for intensive green roof media above a given density) and a root-penetration resistance test (revised to a two-year protocol in 1995, with about 70 membranes having passed it so far).

Madaleno I.M., Gurovich A. · Cities · Chile (Santiago)

Using periurban Santiago's La Pintana district as a case study, this paper demonstrates that the urban–rural dichotomy is inadequate for capturing agro-residential realities, where cooperative smallholder farming coexists with urban uses in what the authors call a living ecocity laboratory.

Leigh Holland · Local Environment · United Kingdom

This 2004 study in the United Kingdom analyzed the community garden movement through questionnaires and in-depth interviews. It found that community gardens, often in inner-city areas, serve diverse purposes including vegetation growing, permaculture, organic methods, health, education, and training. These gardens are strongly characterized by community participation and involvement, suggesting the movement could model local social, economic, and environmental policy implementation.

Lauren Baker · Geographical Review · Canada (Toronto)

Toronto's community gardens, numbering over 100, are sites of place-based politics linked to the community food-security movement. These gardens reflect the city's cultural landscape and serve as a strategy to regenerate the local food system and provide access to healthy, affordable food. Three case studies illustrate the complexities of "food citizenship" and the role gardeners play in transforming urban spaces.

Anne C. Bellows · Food and Foodways · Poland

Polish allotment gardeners collectively represent the largest land managers in Poland, with a formalized urban allotment food production system dating back to 1997. This system, combining local and national government policy with NGO management and private use, provides a model for food security and urban open space. However, this arrangement also creates ongoing tension among stakeholders and a contentious debate regarding the private and public uses of urban land.

Laura Lawson · Journal of Planning History · United States

This historical review of US community garden programs since the 1890s reveals an ambivalent relationship between community gardens and the planning profession. While praised for serving environmental, social, and individual objectives, community gardens are largely ignored in long-range planning due to being perceived as opportunistic and temporary. This highlights unresolved tensions between professional planning and civic concerns, and between comprehensive planning and local interventions.

Herbert Girardet · · Global

This book explores the concept of liveable cities for a sustainable world. Its chapters cover a range of topics including urban ecological aspects, the role of technology, globalization, transport, efficient water use, relearning urban agriculture, and building EcoPolis.

Rocío García Bustamante, John Butterworth, M. Flierman, Daniel Herbas, Melvin Hollander, S. van der Meer, P. Ravenstijn, Magaly Reynaga, Gustavo Zurita · · Bolivia (Tarata)

In 2002, Tarata, Cochabamba, Bolivia, experienced violent conflicts over the right to use water from the Laka Laka dam for urban agriculture. The dam was intended for large-scale irrigation and domestic use, but not urban productive uses, leading to disputes when the urban population sought water for homestead cultivation. Although 5% of the reservoir yield was allocated for urban supply, its poor quality prevented drinking use, prompting the community to organize for its use in irrigating small plots, despite opposition from irrigation farmers.

Fujio HIRATA · Journal of The Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture · Japan

This paper discusses the importance of not only conserving urban green spaces but also utilizing them to convert environmental resources into environmental assets. It emphasizes the need for role sharing and collaborative relationships between citizens and local governments to establish such utilization systems. Examples from Japan's 'Satoyama' conservation and Open Garden activities, along with U.S. community gardens, offer suggestions for developing these systems.

CAST · · United States

This comprehensive report by a twelve-member task force examines the changing role of agriculture in urban settings within historical and contemporary American society. It outlines geographic, demographic, and economic changes in rural and metropolitan life, considering policy issues such as land preservation, alternative market opportunities, sprawl, taxation, and food security. The report also presents research and educational challenges for higher education institutions.

Tanja Pless‐Mulloli, Vivienne S. Air, Catherine Vizard, Ian Singleton, D. L. Rimmer, Philip Hartley · Epidemiology · United Kingdom

A study in an urban, industrial allotment site in the UK's northeast assessed the potential for public health impact related to soil contamination by taking 86 soil samples and analyzing vegetables and eggs. All 18 initial soil samples exceeded UK guidelines for lead (median 869 mg/kg) and arsenic (median 40 mg/kg), and widespread contamination with PCDD/F was also found. Despite high soil contamination, the uptake of lead and arsenic into vegetables and eggs was low, and these were not deemed major exposure pathways.

Jianguo Dai · Journal of Shenzhen Polytechnic · China (Shenzhen)

Urban agriculture in Shenzhen faces problems including decreasing farmland, inadequate skilled farmers, poor disaster resistance, immature insurance, increasing contamination of water, soil, air, and agricultural products, and poor modern enterprise management. Strategies proposed for sustainable development include specific laws, pollution protection, education, research, technology application, industrial technology application, leisure agriculture development, and diversification.

Kenny Lynch · · United States

A 1992 survey by Bryant and Johnston in the US examined farming in the 'city's countryside'. The survey found that key concerns among farmers included changes in the local community, excessive traffic, issues of trespassing and vandalism, and complaints from non-farm neighbors. These findings indicate challenges in governance and community relations for peri-urban farmers.

Gang Kang · Journal of Chongqing Polytechnic College · China (Chongqing)

This article positions urban agriculture tourism as a new method for sustainable development in tourism, outlining the concepts and development of urban agriculture and urban agriculture tourism in Chongqing. It illustrates the advantages of urban agriculture tourism in Chongqing and presents four types of agricultural tourism development for the region. Based on this information, the article puts forward suggestions for developing urban agriculture tourism in Chongqing.

Jin Guo-feng · Nongye xiandaihua yanjiu · Global

This paper discusses urban agriculture, defining its concept and analyzing its types, features, and functions. It posits that with rapid urban development, the integration of city and countryside, along with urban agriculture, represents a trend in modern agriculture.

朱慧娟 · 浙江现代农业 · China

In recent years, Yinzhou District's agriculture has actively promoted the adjustment of its industrial structure and industrialization, achieving sustained and healthy development aimed at increasing agricultural efficiency and farmers' income. Following the conversion of Yinxian County into a district, administrative barriers with the Ningbo urban area were removed, facilitating the rational flow of production factors and opening new avenues for the district's socio-economic development. This has led to the emergence of numerous large-scale, high-grade leading agricultural enterprises.

Marc Lavergne · HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · Europe

While urbanization and agriculture often appear contradictory, the existence of urban agriculture (intra-urban and peri-urban) in the Mediterranean basin demonstrates that their relationship is not as clear-cut. Urban growth consumes agricultural land, and urban and rural worlds seem radically opposed in lifestyles and values. However, urban agriculture has forged complex relationships with the urban environment, involving both antagonisms and complementarities.