Research & reports

Yang Hai-juan · Nongye xiandaihua yanjiu · Global

This paper argues that urban agriculture has its own distinct resource base and functional requirements, and that the key to its development lies in harmonizing urban agricultural and non-agricultural activities in resource use and functional design. It outlines cultural, legal, technical and district-level harmonizing mechanisms intended to let urban agriculture make the best use of urban resources and meet city needs.

Mark Francis · Landscape Journal · United States (California)

Village Homes in California, United States, designed and developed by Michael and Judy Corbett in the 1970s, is a widely cited example of sustainable community design and landscape architecture, consisting of 242 single- and multi-family residences on sixty acres. Homes are planned as energy-conserving buildings arranged around common open space with play areas and shared gardens, and a sizable portion of the development is devoted to community open space, including orchards and vineyards, managed largely as edible landscape by residents themselves. Initially viewed by local planners and bankers as high-risk, the development is today one of the most desirable and economically successful in California. Following the Landscape Architecture Foundation's case-study format, the paper offers a critical review of the project's successes and limitations.

· Wikipédia (français) · France

This French Wikipedia article on shared/community gardens (jardin partagé) notes that Paris's first jardin partagé appeared in 2002, after which the City of Paris institutionalized the "Main Verte" (Green Hand) program, networking and supporting charter-signing garden associations under a unified framework. It also cites that, as of 2018, the national federation (FNJFC) united over 200 associations and 20,000 gardening families.

Rachel Slater · Development Southern Africa · South Africa

This study examined urban agriculture (UA) in Cape Town, South Africa, focusing on its contribution to low-income households. It found that UA's contribution to income generation and expenditure substitution is limited. However, UA is important to women in low-income households in ways less directly related to monetary gain, being used for empowerment, establishing social networks, symbolizing a sense of security, and encouraging community development.

Weiguo Gao · · China (Yuxi)

This abstract proposes that agricultural production activities in Yuxi should be integrated with urban economic activities centered in Kunming. The goal is to occupy the market, serve more people, establish regional comparative advantages, and build foundational elements for urbanization.

Hilda E. Kurtz · Urban Geography · United States (Minneapolis)

This paper examines the variations among community gardens in Minneapolis, Minnesota, suggesting they reflect differing interpretations of "community" and "garden" in urban settings. While community gardens are seen as responses to urban decay, the study highlights that issues of enclosure, inclusion, and exclusion are central to their function. Decisions regarding garden enclosure shape their role in urban neighborhoods, indicating potential limitations related to equity.

Huei-Hsuan Lin · Syracuse University Libraries (Syracuse University) · United States

This three-year qualitative study of an urban community garden in a mid-size city in upstate New York, United States, examined how women community gardeners perceive their participation. It found that the community garden, intended as a space for social change, paradoxically became a site of internal struggles among participants. Emancipatory efforts to build a less unequal society did not automatically result in an egalitarian space, as the process of community building by individuals with various social positions required arduous efforts and involved negotiation and confrontations, rather than simple unity.

Zhao Shu-mao · 系统科学与系统工程学报(英文版) · China (Kaifeng)

This paper discusses the structure and efficiency of agricultural land use in Kaifeng Suburban, China, based on system theory. It reveals current problems such as benefit deviation from resource allocation and distinguished unemployment. The study advances resolution measures for sustainable development, including farmland protection, ecological agriculture, sustainable land use, and decreased input of synthetic matter.

Camillus J. Sawio, Lori A. Spies, Djibril Doucouré · CABI Publishing eBooks · Africa

This chapter provides an overview of international efforts and initiatives to strengthen urban and periurban agriculture, with special reference to related networks in Africa.

LI Wei-jiang · Economic Geography · China (Shanghai)

This paper provides a preliminary discussion on the strategic key points for constructing modern urban agriculture in Shanghai. It examines four aspects: body-function transformation, structure adjustment, development organization, and spatial structure composition.

J.J. Tolron · HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · Europe

This article examines peri-urban agriculture, which is subject to land constraints imposed by nearby cities. Two case studies in the Mediterranean region illustrate that adaptations to the peri-urban context trigger radical changes in agricultural systems' functioning rationale, leading to sometimes paradoxical operations. The study emphasizes the diversifying effect on systems and the challenges linked to land management.

Robyn Lynn · ResearchOnline at James Cook University (James Cook University) · Global

This paper highlights the significance of urban food production, which has been historically neglected despite its potential to address issues of globalization, urbanization, and environmental degradation. It explores the relationship between cities, food production, and activism, noting a growing local food movement that resists global food discourses. The paper aims to identify issues within urban food production activism and its organizational aspects.

Moez Bouraoui, Pierre Donadieu, André Fleury · Cahiers Agricultures · Tunisia (Tunis)

In Tunis, the concept of public green spaces has not evolved much, and the risk of continuous urbanization is real, making agriculture not inherently sustainable between dynamic urbanization poles. However, new attitudes are emerging, with environmental concerns influencing public planning policies, and residential forms, recreational/cultural practices associated with agriculture, and new citizen interest in rural areas are appearing. These developments may signal the beginning of a new planning policy and the advent of urban agriculture in Tunis.

Frank Lohrberg · OPUS Publication Server of the University of Stuttgart (University of Stuttgart) · Global

This study argues that agricultural production forms near cities, often overlooked by municipal and environmental policy, are innovative, consumer-oriented, and economically efficient. It suggests that urban and and open space planning should abandon the prejudice that agriculture on the city outskirts is an outdated model. A differentiated view reveals an "urban" agriculture that is more vital than its rural counterpart and can provide important impulses for more sustainable cities and efficient planning.

黄大成 · 特区经济 · China (Zhuhai)

A favorable condition for urban agriculture development in Zhuhai City is the purchasing power of its citizens. According to expert analysis, the average annual income for Zhuhai city employees in 1997 was 12793 yuan (approximately 1505.05 USD), significantly exceeding the 500-800 USD per capita annual income considered the take-off period for tourism. A tourism bureau survey indicated that 29.44% of citizens were willing to spend under 100 yuan for a day trip, 43.51% between 100-200 yuan, and 14.11% between 200-300 yuan, which can meet the consumption demands of tourism and leisure-oriented urban agriculture projects targeting ordinary citizens.

CAST · · United States

This comprehensive report, written by a twelve-member task force, considers the changing role of agriculture in urban settings. The report frames "urban agriculture" within historical and contemporary American society, depicting geographic, demographic, and economic changes in rural and metropolitan life. Policy issues such as land preservation, alternative market opportunities, sprawl, taxation, and food security are examined.

Bu Miao · Journal of Zhangkai Aguotechaical College · Global

Urban agriculture aims to meet the needs of modernization and high-grade consumption in large central cities. Its establishment and development rely on creative, highly skilled personnel and scientific research from agricultural higher education and research organizations. Colleges and universities involved in urban agriculture education should establish appropriate specifications, patterns, and mechanisms for personnel cultivation, aligning with urban modernization demands for the industry's establishment, operation, and management.

Aleksandra Nowysz, Elżbieta Trocka-Leszczyńska · Acta Scientiarum Polonorum Architectura · Global

This paper addresses contemporary urban farming architecture, defined as urban spaces and structures located within cities and dedicated to growing edible plants. It aims to investigate designs that facilitate urban development integrating city life with food production, using literature review, case studies, project descriptions, and comparative analysis. The paper presents a typology of urban agriculture architecture along with selected examples of each type.

Rie Oba, Reiji Obase · Journal of The Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture · United Kingdom

This study examines Britain's allotment gardens, which have a long history and are frequently cited in Japan as a model for citizen farms (shimin nōen). Focusing on the late 19th to early 20th century, when urban allotments began spreading in the UK, the study systematically traces the transformation of allotments in relation to the social conditions of the time, and empirically analyzes the administrative decision-making behind establishing and abolishing allotments. The findings show that the functions allotments served differed according to social conditions, and that changes in those functions strongly influenced whether allotments still exist today; local authorities deciding on abolition were also found to weigh the relationship between an allotment's area and the location of open space.

National Park Service, City of Fresno · U.S. National Park Service · United States

The Fresno Sanitary Landfill (FSL) opened in 1937 and closed in 1987, and is described as the oldest 'true' sanitary landfill in the United States and the oldest compartmentalized municipal landfill in the western U.S. Under engineer Jean L. Vincenz, it was the first landfill to use the trench method and compaction, and became a model for modern sanitary landfills nationwide.

Stadt Leipzig, Amt für Stadterneuerung und Wohnungsbauförderung · Stadt Leipzig · Germany

The fifth booklet in a series published by the City of Leipzig's 'Careful Urban Renewal' pilot project, addressing vacant lots (Baulücken) created by wartime destruction and East German-era demolitions. It explains how a 'Gestattungsvereinbarung' (usage-permission agreement) between the city and private landowners enables temporary conversion of vacant lots into green space, play areas, or parking without affecting the underlying building rights.

Pothukuchi, K., Kaufman, J.L. · Journal of the American Planning Association 66(2), 113–124 · United States

Analyzes the historical and institutional reasons the planning field has treated the food system as a 'stranger', and argues for urban-rural food planning.

N. Hayashi, Tsuyoshi Takahashi · JOURNAL OF RURAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION · Global

A questionnaire survey focused on childhood perceptions of water edge use was conducted to derive a strategy for advanced utilization of irrigation ponds. Statistical analysis of residents' answers concluded that perceptions of playgrounds and agriculture are important in planning advanced utilization of irrigation ponds. Concrete tentative plans include environmental education and allotment gardens.

Carmen Egea Jiménez, Ana Fernández Zamora · Arqueología y Territorio Medieval · Spain (Granada)

This article re-evaluates the significance of Protection Catalogues in urban planning, highlighting their role not only as protection instruments but also in influencing urban decisions during the planning process. The "Catalogue of Urban Gardens of the Municipality of El Valle (Granada)" in Spain is used as a case study to illustrate this approach.

Yasunari Miyake, Yasuo Matsumoto · JOURNAL OF RURAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION · Japan (Kobe City)

This paper clarified the process of village reorganization in Matsumoto district, Kobe City, Japan, which began with an allotment garden in a suburban agricultural area. Five conditions were identified as crucial for the approval and promotion of this reorganization: the presence of proactive leaders, the effective role of land improvement projects, public relations to residents, an administrative promotion system, and the district's specific location and social conditions.