Research & reports

R. Deiny Mardian, Suhartati Agoes, Erby Virta Joseph Paays, Abi Falaki, Nur Hudantomo · · Indonesia

For urban residents growing plants as a hobby, an automated irrigation system was developed that activates a water pump based on soil moisture readings and refills a water tank automatically when its level drops to a minimum threshold, monitored and controlled remotely via a dedicated Android smartphone application. The application's performance was evaluated by measuring its response time over a 4G cellular network, which ranged from approximately 4 to 9 seconds.

VIPARIS · VIPARIS · France

Official news article from venue operator VIPARIS describing Nature Urbaine, a 14,000 m² urban rooftop farm atop Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. It produces about 200 kg of fruit and vegetables per day, promotes short-circuit local distribution, and reuses urban resources such as unused space, organic waste, and waste heat. Open to visitors on Monday and Saturday mornings.

Joana Castellar, Carlos Alberto Arias, Pedro N. Carvalho, Martina Rysulová, Joan Canals, Gabriel Pérez, Montserrat Bosch González, Jordi Farreras Morató · Desalination and Water Treatment · Global

The WETWALL design concept proposes a unique ecotechnology for secondary wastewater treatment at an urban scale, integrating constructed wetlands and modular living walls into a modular living wall hybrid flow. This article reviews existing living walls treating wastewater, focusing on nitrate and phosphate removal, and presents the WETWALL concept, including component selection (plants, substrate) and operational strategies. It also discusses potential interactions with the urban environment, aiming to substantiate WETWALL's potential as an innovative urban wastewater treatment.

Agatino Rizzo, Marcus Sandberg, Tim Johansson, Johan Wenngren · Diva portal (Dalarna University Library) · Global

This project aimed to explore the smart integration of food production in cold urban environments and to sketch an intelligent platform to guide a comprehensive, city-wide approach to urban farming in winter cities. The challenge involved integrating large databases related to energy consumption, building performance and size, and solar radiation, to visualize data in an easily understandable manner for city stakeholders.

Peio López-Iturri, Mikel Celaya-Echarri, Leyre Azpilicueta, Erik Aguirre, José Javier Astráin, Jesús Villadangos, Francisco Falcone · Sensors · Global

An autonomous Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) system combined with MySchoolGardenApp was deployed in an orchard in a primary schoolyard for integration into educational activities. Built with EnOcean's energy harvesting modules, the system provides students with parameter observation, data analysis, and processing capabilities. Preliminary trials demonstrated the platform's feasibility as an educational resource in schools, applicable to natural science course content, technological skill development, and extending monitoring capabilities.

Wiwandari Handayani, Prihadi Nugroho, Dini Oktaviani Hapsari · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Indonesia (Semarang)

This study used descriptive and spatial analyses with secondary and primary data to assess the potential and co-benefits of urban farming in Semarang City, Indonesia. It identified two types of urban farming: conventional approaches in the city outskirts and hydroponic or limited-space methods in the city center. The study found various potentials, including vegetables, cassava, sugarcane, durian, and mushrooms, and noted co-benefits across environmental, economic, social, health, education, and tourism aspects.

Amit Salunke, Ms. Shradha Shinde, Ms. Aishwarya Tone · International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology · Global

A web and Android e-Community Supported Agriculture (e-CSA) system was developed using the software development life cycle. A survey on the impact of local agricultural products through this application indicated benefits for both customers and farmers. Customers gain fair prices, fresh organic products, and access to rare items, while farmers can increase sales, minimize loss, and improve transportation control, contributing to local economic growth.

Joseph González, Itza Morales, Alain Cuenca García, Vladimir Villarreal · Revista de Iniciación Científica · Global

An electronic system was developed to create a controlled environment for urban garden seedbeds within a small greenhouse. This system uses humidity and temperature sensors connected to an Arduino UNO microcontroller, managed by the FreeRTOS real-time operating system. It generates the necessary environmental conditions, including irrigation, heating, and ventilation, to ensure proper seed germination and seedling growth, thereby preventing losses and production delays.

B. Lee, Seong-Woo Nam, Young-Hyeon Kim · Journal of the Urban Design Institute of Korea Urban Design · South Korea

This study aimed to establish concepts for introducing smart city facilities in existing urban areas and systematic maintenance plans for smartifying existing urban facilities in Gamcheon2-Dong, Busan, South Korea. Based on field surveys and resident demand surveys, it proposed smartification and networking of facilities connecting public spaces, and smartification of public/welfare facilities and resident-led projects like urban agriculture to enhance efficiency and promote profitable ventures. Legal improvements were also suggested, including exceptions to area regulations and modularization of smart city facilities, to facilitate their integration with urban regeneration projects.

Vika Adriati Praditriyani · Visualita Jurnal Online Desain Komunikasi Visual · Indonesia (Bandung)

This research designed and tested a mobile application to support urban agriculture activities in Bandung, Indonesia. Targeting community members aged 18-30 with environmental interests, the app provided content on urban agriculture concepts, utilizing narrow land for productive green spaces, and plant care information. Testing showed that most users found a flexible digital medium helpful and necessary for maximizing urban agriculture activities in the city.

Doni Kurniawan, Y Yaddarabullah, Galih Suprayitno · Proceeding of The URECOL · Indonesia

This study implemented an IoT-based drip irrigation system for urban farming. Trial results showed that the system saved 40% of water used for plant irrigation by automatically dispensing the necessary amount. It also allowed real-time monitoring and control of plants via smartphone.

Amitrajeet A. Batabyal, Karima Kourtit, Peter Nijkamp · Munich Personal RePEc Archive (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich) · Global

This study uses a dynamic model to analyze the growth effects of new agricultural technology adoption in rural-urban settings. It determines the steady-state growth rate of agricultural output per worker in rural regions and defines an urban-to-rural agricultural technology knowledge ratio to compute the urban region's growth rate. The analysis also examines the ratio of agricultural output per worker between urban and rural regions at balanced growth and discusses policy implications.

김정식, 한미영 · · South Korea

This study examined the suitability of urban agriculture expert training programs in South Korea, surveying students in Daejeon in 2018. Over 60% of students viewed experts as knowledge transmitters, with most motivated by qualification acquisition. While major city programs focused on basic cultivation, the study concluded that current curricula are insufficient for future urban agriculture trends. It recommended adding programs on urban community understanding, industrialization, cooperative agriculture, and farm management.

Sabine O’Hara, Dwane Jones, Harris B. Trobman · Advances in higher education and professional development book series · United States

The Landgrant College of the University of the District of Columbia operates urban food hubs as the only exclusively urban land-grant university in the United States. These hubs utilize bio-intensive hydroponic and aquaponic systems and green roofs to maximize productivity in small urban spaces, and kitchens serve as business incubators and training facilities. They also promote waste and water reuse through composting, rainwater capture, and green infrastructure, offering training, wellness, and leadership opportunities to UDC students and DC residents.

Eduardo Vergara Pérez, Alfredo Viuda López, Israel Acuña Galván · Boletín Científico INVESTIGIUM de la Escuela Superior de Tizayuca · Mexico

This study developed a semi-automatic monitoring and control system for a 4.5 m² community garden in an urban area of Mexico, using a mid-range embedded system to control physical growing variables and communicating wirelessly with a server for highly portable data storage, querying and control via a web page, applied to the organopónico (organic-substrate intensive) cultivation technique. The system proved functional for legume and solanaceous crop species, yielding produce within a time frame comparable to commercial growing methods.

Peter Lyle, Jaz Hee-jeong Choi, Marcus Foth · Multimodal Technologies and Interaction · Australia

A design and pilot study (Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, 2018) presents QuickTales, a mobile storytelling platform built from design patterns derived from prior studies with residential gardeners and gardening communities in a large Australian city, intended to let urban gardeners share gardening experiences. The pilot evaluation is reported to provide initial insights into using storytelling in this context; the paper does not state quantitative outcomes and instead proposes directions for further design-pattern development.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) · FAO Agroecology Knowledge Hub · United Kingdom

A FAO Agroecology Knowledge Hub profile of Farm Hack, a community-led approach to developing, modifying and sharing designs for farm tools, machinery and other innovations, emphasizing farmer-to-farmer learning and platforms for collective 'hacking'. The first Farm Hack was started by The Greenhorns in the U.S.A. and has since been taken up in the U.K. It typically involves two complementary components: web-based and events.

Chris McGivern, Shuttleworth Foundation Team · Shuttleworth Foundation · United States

A Shuttleworth Foundation interview article (dated 24 December 2018) with Rory Aronson, founder of FarmBot, describing how he joined the Shuttleworth Fellowship in 2014 to work on FarmBot full-time and his commitment to open-source principles. He states Facebook videos of FarmBot were shared over 200 million times, preorders exceeded $1 million in the first two months after launch, and the latest manufacturing run completed 500 units.

Georgia Pollard, James Ward, Barbara A Koth · Horticulturae · Australia (Adelaide)

A study in Adelaide, Australia, investigated the social acceptance of aquaponics and its role in urban food planning through focus groups and interviews with urban food opinion leaders and local government officials. Most participants were unfamiliar with aquaponics, and perceived negatives received more attention than benefits. Urban growers' views on overcomplicated urban food planning aligned with mixed policy responses from local government areas towards urban agriculture, indicating a lack of consistent governance.

Consolata Angello · Lincoln (University of Nebraska) · Tanzania

This literature review summarizes research on urban agriculture and the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for accessing and disseminating livestock husbandry information in urban Tanzania. It examines urban agricultural practices, challenges of urban livestock keeping, and solutions, discussing ICT integration in agriculture globally, in Africa, and specifically in Tanzania. The review identifies gaps in the literature regarding urban livestock keepers' information needs and ICT use challenges.

Sunil Goria, Sanjay K. Bihani, K. L. Mahawar · · India

This paper discusses the current status of rural and urban agriculture in India, along with the Indian agriculture extension system and its activities. It explores the use of various digital media, including social media and web/app-based services, advocating for the development of urban agriculture in India through digital media and empowering farmer communities to achieve SDGs.

Jimoh Gbadamosi, Peter Kolawole · Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies · Nigeria

This paper reviews machinery and equipment developed for future farmers and encourages the adoption of urban farming as a way for city dwellers to produce more food using technology. It recognizes the activities of smallholder farmers, who are Nigeria's main food producers, and the absence of large-scale farmers who produce raw materials for factories. The paper emphasizes the role of modern technology in increasing farm product by small-scale farmers and the benefits from innovations that will enable farmers to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges.

Kharen Viviana Pinilla Guerrero · Revista de Geografia · Colombia (Bogotá)

This paper presents the origin, background, theoretical bases, operational tools, and projection possibilities of the real-time mapping platform "agroecobogota.crowdmap.com" for urban agriculture experiences in Bogotá and its surroundings, Colombia. The initiative, active from 2014 to 2016, was driven by university students and sustained by citizen participation, but has not received direct institutional support.

Rosalina Almendras · Language arts journal of Michigan · Canada

This project, part of ‘Empowering Growth’, partnered with the Ottawa Juvenile Detention Center (OCJDC) to build a community garden and assess information technology (IT) for improving gardening outcomes. It evaluated available technological tools for gardening and proposed developing a custom web-based garden application for OCJDC, offering planning and tracking capabilities. A prototype of the application was designed to identify specific needs of residents and staff.

Rosa Jacob Chilundo, Paulo César Marques de Carvalho, Mário Diniz, Adriano Bezerra · Renewable Energy and Power Quality Journal · Brazil

This paper analyzed the technical and financial feasibility of a stand-alone photovoltaic powered irrigation system applied to a familiar production unit in Brazil. The system was installed at the Center for Teaching and Research in Urban Agriculture (NEPAU) on the PICI campus of the Federal University of Ceará, occupying 134 m² with a 3534-liter water reservoir, a 12 VDC pump motor, and a 135 Wp photovoltaic module. Efficiencies for the photovoltaic module, pump, and global set were 8.4%, 42%, and 3.5% respectively, with an assumed service life of 25 years and capital return after 9.3 years.