Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
5821 results(18 / 233)
Holistic and integrated life cycle sustainability assessment of community supported agriculture: A case study of school catering in Leipzig, Germany
2025Madeleine Pries, Walther Zeug, Daniela Thrän · Cleaner and Responsible Consumption · Germany (Leipzig)
A Holistic and Integrated Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (HILCSA) was applied to a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) initiative in Leipzig, Germany, supplying seven fruits and vegetables to schools, comparing it to a conventional food market. Based on 82 indicators, the CSA showed 63% fewer sustainability risks and a positive contribution to SDGs, with replacing conventional supply for 200 pupils avoiding 1 ton of CO2 equivalents annually. However, the CSA had significantly lower yields than conventional production, despite similar water, land, and energy uses per hectare, and spent mushroom substrate caused the highest upstream impacts.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsClimate changeSoil fertility mapping on Ficus trees for rehabilitation of degraded land in Kuningan Regency, Indonesia
2025Yayan Hendrayana, Agus Yadi Ismail, Handayani Handayani, Dede Kosasih, M. A. Romdona, Naufal Althaaf, Syifa Afidah Nurul Arifin · Brazilian Journal of Biology · Indonesia
This study analyzed soil fertility around Ficus trees in sand mining areas, community gardens, and secondary forests in Kuningan Regency, Indonesia. Soil fertility varied across locations, ranging from low to medium in sand mining areas and low to high in community gardens and secondary forests. Ficus benjamina and Ficus septica are recommended for land rehabilitation due to their adaptability and contributions to soil restoration.
CommunityOrganic cycleBiodiversityRestoration of Urban Gardening Practices in Lviv and Their Significance for the Unification of the City’s Community
2025Yaryna Onufriv, Halyna Lukashchuk · Środowisko Mieszkaniowe · Ukraine (Lviv)
In Lviv, Ukraine, urban gardening practices have a historical presence, with the "Nursery" project recently initiated by NGO 'Plato' at the historic Zalizna Voda Park nursery. Despite this, a portion of the historical greenhouses remains dilapidated. Students and teachers from Lviv Polytechnic National University developed a project to restore these greenhouses, aiming to create a modern ecological space. The development of urban gardening, involving the city community and internally displaced persons, is considered important for unification, psychological rehabilitation, and adaptation, requiring specific landscape architecture techniques and evidentiary studies.
CommunityPolicyReconstruction and Revitalization of the Allotment Gardens Network in Hungary
2025Tibor Farkas, Róbert Barna, Gábor Koncz · European Countryside · Hungary
Allotment gardens in Hungary play a significant role in agriculture, society, environmental preservation, household economy, and sustainable development. The Hungarian government's allotment garden development program in 2018, 2019, and 2021 received 540 applications, and this study assessed their current status, characteristics, results, impacts, and future needs through an online questionnaire administered in 148 settlements. The most important future goal for applicants was found to be the development of various infrastructures, such as roads and ditches, and the creation of public utilities, including electricity and water supply.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsClimate changeFeeding the green gentrification machine: urban agriculture and the barriers to a just ecological transition in Montréal, Québec
2025Christina Frendo · Urban Geography · Canada (Montréal)
This study analyzed how urban agriculture contributes to green gentrification in Montréal. Based on interviews with planners, developers, and community actors, and discourse analysis of municipal policy documents, it showed that ecological initiatives are prioritized over housing, and sustainability fixes reconcile progressive rhetoric with growth imperatives, leading to policy trade-offs that undermine housing affordability. These findings reveal how progressive governments reproduce structural injustices through their ecological transition agendas within the context of a housing crisis.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceEfectividad del Huerto Urbano: Un Enfoque para el Bienestar de los Adultos Mayores Urban Garden Effectiveness: An Approach to the Well-being of Older Adults
2025Marisol Silva-Vera, María de Jesús Jiménez González, Laura Varela Almanza · JÓVENES EN LA CIENCIA · Mexico
A quasi-experimental study in Mexico with 21 adults over 65 evaluated a community urban garden intervention for nutritional status. Participants showed increased nutrition knowledge, a 47.7% rise in vegetable intake, and a 23.8% increase in physical activity. However, anthropometric variables did not show significant differences, indicating limited impact on physical measurements despite positive changes in knowledge and habits.
Limited or null effectElderlyHealthFood educationCommunityUrban foraging behavior in public green spaces: a case study of Nanjing’s central urban area
2025Xiang Zhou, Nan Wang, Jiaying Shi, Michael Hensel · Humanities and Social Sciences Communications · China (Nanjing)
A study of urban foraging behavior in Nanjing's central urban area, China, revealed significant enthusiasm among residents, linking personal childhood experiences to their foraging motivations. However, environmental pollution was identified as a critical barrier to these activities.
Contamination & food safetyCommunityHealthFood educationBiodiversityFrom knowledge to action: understanding coordination practices in community-led urban sustainability projects
2025Néstor Nova, Leidy Johana Palma Huertas, Nestor Nova · Open MIND · Colombia (Bogotá)
This study explores how community-based initiatives coordinate knowledge and collective action in urban agriculture and organic waste management in Bogotá, Colombia.
CommunityOrganic cycleExamining inclusive governance of community gardens: lessons from European cities
2025Patricia Abrantes, Luís Moreno, Maria Lucinda Fonseca, Burcu Borhan Türeli, Christos Stergiadis, Gábor Szüdi, Martin Felix Gajdusek, Carolin V. Zorell · City and Environment Interactions · Europe
This study examined how governance influences inclusion and long-term viability in seven community gardens in Portugal, Türkiye, Austria, Hungary, and Greece. Using a qualitative comparative design with 65 semi-structured interviews and policy analysis, findings showed that community gardens with stronger relational and procedural governance demonstrate higher levels of inclusion, particularly for women, migrants, and low-income residents. However, weak vertical policy integration across local, national, and European levels in most cases limits their broader systemic impact.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareAsyl, Gemüse und Nachhaltigkeit: Urban Gardening in einer Unterkunft für geflüchtete Menschen
2025Juliane Forßmann, Simon Goebel · Zeitschrift für Flüchtlingsforschung · Germany
An urban gardening project in a residential facility for up to 230 refugees in Germany aims to counteract precarious living conditions. While the garden offers a low-threshold space for knowledge exchange on resource-saving cultivation, biodiversity, and health promotion, this paper also reflects on the project's limits.
Limited or null effectCommunityWelfareHealthBiodiversityFood educationClimate changeIdentification of Urban Farming Potential Areas using Geographic Information System in Sario District, Manado City
2025Melisa Todingan, Sandra Pakasi, Valentine Lasut · Jurnal Agroekoteknologi Terapan · Indonesia (Manado City)
A spatial analysis method was used to identify and classify the potential of yard land for urban farming development in Sario Subdistrict, Manado City, Indonesia. By applying overlay techniques on datasets including residential buildings, land parcels, land use, and administrative boundaries, verified with Google Earth, 3,019 land units with a total potential area of 47.43 hectares were identified. These were categorized into high potential (>50 m²) at approximately 93.53%, moderate potential (10–50 m²) at approximately 6.37%, and marginal potential (<10 m²) at approximately 0.11%, indicating substantial opportunities for household-based agriculture.
PolicyCommunityAnalisis Insight Instagram sebagai Media Pemberdayaan Digital pada Komunitas Pertanian Perkotaan
2025Fadhil Ahla Firdaus, Siti Nurlaela, Mastur Mastur · Journal of Agribusiness Science and Rural Development · Global
This qualitative descriptive study analyzed Instagram insights for the @great.andgreen account from November 20, 2023, to April 28, 2025, to understand its role in digital empowerment for urban farming communities. The account showed positive growth with 1,335 followers, 130,413 impressions, and 18,991 reach, primarily among 18-24 year olds. Content interaction reached 2,215, indicating potential for expanding influence beyond main followers.
Digital agricultureCommunityEntrepreneurial Potential of Urban and Peri-Urban Agri Enterprises: A Multidimensional Analysis
2025N Suhana, Smitha Baby · Archives of Current Research International · India
This study in the Central region of Kerala, India, assessed the entrepreneurial potential of urban and peri-urban agri-enterprises across multiple dimensions. Using Principal Component Analysis, it identified strategic growth orientation and green innovation as key pillars, with marketing competence being the most significant dimension and ecological sustainability having the least impact. The Entrepreneurial Potential Index (EPI) showed that 66% of enterprises had a medium potential, and value-addition firms had the highest EPI, while aquaponics had the lowest.
EconomicsPeri-urban agricultureClimate changeCommunitySafety in a person-centred, garden-based art therapy group for people with dementia
2025Jenny Clarke, A Crosbie, K Green · International Journal of Art Therapy · Global
This practice paper describes an ongoing, weekly garden-based art therapy group for people with dementia, facilitated in a community garden. Using a person-centred approach, the facilitators explored factors contributing to psychological safety, drawing on client feedback, artwork, and observations. Findings indicated that the non-clinical garden setting provided calming effects, inspiration, and focus, while the person-centred approach fostered expression, communication, and feelings of value and success, despite some challenges inherent to the outdoor environment.
CommunityHealthElderlyConsumer segmentation and participation drivers in community-supported agriculture: A choice experiment and partial least squares structural equation modelling approach
2025Sota Takagi, Miki Saijo, T. Ohashi · International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science · Japan
This study identified potential Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) participants in Japan and validated existing theories on CSA participation through a quantitative analysis of 2484 Japanese consumers using choice experiments and Latent Class Analysis. Five distinct consumer segments were identified, with "Food Education and Learning Opportunities" and "Contribution to Environmental and Social Issues" being key drivers for participation across all segments. Factors related to "Variety of Ingredients" were less influential.
CSA & TeikeiFood educationCommunityClimate changeKajian Implementasi dan Manfaat Pertanian Perkotaan pada Kelompok Tani di Kota Bogor
2025Sukma Aprilia Islami, Tati Budiarti, Afra Donatha Nimia Makalew · Jurnal Penyuluhan · Indonesia (Bogor)
A study surveyed 40 farmer groups in Bogor City, Indonesia, to assess their perceptions of urban agriculture implementation, benefits, constraints, and sustainability. Findings indicated that urban agriculture in Bogor is generally practiced on limited land, primarily producing vegetables, with implementation efforts rated good (index 0.80) and constraints moderate (index 0.53). Farmer groups strongly perceived the benefits of urban agriculture (index 0.84), especially in social aspects like education and social interaction. The sustainability of urban agriculture was rated good (index 0.76).
CommunityFood educationEconomicsClimate changeMotivene for kommunal politikk for urbant landbruk: erfaringer fra Norges største byområder
2025Inger‐Lise Saglie · · Norway
This chapter investigates the motivations for urban agriculture policies in three Norwegian cities: Oslo, Bergen, and Trondheim. Five categories of motivations were identified: urban "green" development (environmental friendliness, biodiversity), food production and alternative food systems (linking to peri-urban agriculture), provision of social meeting places and community building, municipal welfare services (work training, integration, health promotion), and active citizenship and co-creation of city development. While motivations were similar across cities, their emphasis varied.
PolicyCommunityBiodiversityWelfareThe Fight to End Food Insecurity Through Community Gardens and the Spaces They Create
2025Stonebraker, Richard · Maryland Shared Open Access Repository (USMAI Consortium) · United States (Maryland)
This study in a Maryland county, United States, explored the role of community gardens in addressing food insecurity, fostering social interactions, and providing education. Through interviews, sentence completion, and a focus group with 16 participants from two gardens, findings showed gardens offer fresh produce, a sense of belonging, collaboration, and cultural exchange. Participants emphasized the need for more food preservation education and broader inclusion within these dynamic spaces.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityFood educationAgrotourism Development Strategy Through SWOT Analysis in Agro Edukasi Wisata Ragunan
2025Rezka Fedrina, Farah Kesya Saira, Muhammad Arif Wicaksono · JELAJAH Journal of Tourism and Hospitality · Indonesia
This descriptive qualitative study used SWOT analysis to examine challenges at Agro Edukasi Wisata (AEW) Ragunan, an urban agro-tourism destination in Indonesia. It found strengths in institutional support and a unique urban farming education concept, but weaknesses in limited infrastructure and marketing. The research concluded that strategic development should focus on optimizing educational potential, improving facilities, enhancing digital promotions, and fostering collaboration.
Food educationCommunityFood sovereignty & justicePlanning and evaluation of rooftop garden designs: A survey-based assessment study at faculty of Agriculture
2025Ahmed Abdelnaby, A. Meawad, A. Gendy, M. Abdelkader · Ornamental Horticulture · Egypt
This study, conducted in 2022-2023 at Zagazig University, Egypt, proposed and evaluated three rooftop garden designs for a college campus using 3D software, with assessments from specialists and users. Results indicated that 100% of specialists and 91.7% of users preferred flowering herbaceous plants, while trees and palms were preferred by 60% of specialists and 48.6% of users. Overall satisfaction with proposed designs for human senses ranged from 69.4% to 75.7%, and agreement on suitable recreational areas ranged from 65.8% to 78.4% among users.
DIYCommunityEstrategias de alimentación sostenible de los mercados de Madrid. Implicaciones urbanas
2025María Antonia Fernández Nieto, Jose Rodriguez, Jorge Gallego Sánchez-Torija · ZARCH · Spain (Madrid)
This article examines how Madrid's municipal markets are adopting new strategies linked to sustainable food systems in response to competition from supermarkets and online commerce. It highlights how citizen movements and municipal policies, including urban gardens and agroecological cooperatives, are fostering circular economies, responsible consumption, and urban resilience. The research positions markets as social mediators that connect diverse actors and balance economic interests with collective benefits, serving as instruments for regenerative urbanism and food equity.
PolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsOptimalisasi Pengelolaan Sampah Organik Rumah Tangga melalui Penerapan Teknologi Rumah Maggot di Kelurahan Maleer Kota Bandung
2025Candra Mecca Sufyana, Sani Fitriyani, Muhammad Prakarsa Al Qadr Saleh, Adhita Arif Setyawan, Syarif Hidayatulloh, Muhammad Rizky Fitrohanapiah, Tantri Dwiyanti · PADMA · Indonesia (Bandung City)
This community service project in Maleer Village, Bandung City, Indonesia, addresses household organic waste issues by introducing Black Soldier Fly (BSF) maggot house technology. The project aims to optimize organic waste management, reduce waste volume, and empower the community through education and practical skills in BSF maggot cultivation. Expected outcomes include increased community knowledge and skills, the establishment of a self-operating maggot house unit, and the production of maggot products for animal feed and compost for urban farming.
Organic cycleCommunityIMPACTO DE LA AGRICULTURA URBANA EN LA CONVIVENCIA ESCOLAR Y EN EL APRENDIZAJE DE LOS ESTUDIANTES
2025Dairo Mojica-García, Marly Lorena Páez-Manosalva · DIALÉCTICA · Global
This essay explores the impact of urban agriculture cultivation on school coexistence and student learning. It addresses issues of poor school climate, including disrespect, bullying, cyberbullying, and disinterest in learning. The essay finds that urban agriculture helps students practically understand classroom concepts and encourages environmental care, collaborative work, and teamwork, thereby contributing to healthy school coexistence and learning.
Food educationCommunityA typology of community garden in terms of location and shape in urban spaces
2025Agnieszka Dudzińska-Jarmolińska · Bulletin of Geography Socio-economic series · United States, Europe
This paper aims to present the author's spatial typology of community gardens by defining their spatial characteristics, forms of development, and socio-cultural context in urban spaces. Based on field research conducted in three U.S. cities and three European cities, it was determined that community gardens can be classified into six distinct spatial types.
CommunityUrban–rural linkageAgroforestry systems in Italian urban planning
2025Marco Focacci, Isabella De Meo, Alessandro Paletto, Fabio Salbitano · Agroforestry Systems · Italy
A study analyzed urban plans, national laws, and regional legislation in Italy, along with interviews with decision-makers, to examine the occurrence of Urban and Peri-urban Agroforestry (UPAF). Findings showed that 4 out of 140 Italian cities intentionally included agroforestry in voluntary green plans, and 12 cities had incidental UPAF elements in compulsory documents. This indicates agroforestry is present but not widely incorporated, with grass-root organizations and knowledge hubs being crucial for its promotion.
PolicyPeri-urban agricultureClimate changeCommunity