Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
2530 results(18 / 102)
Urban Farming and Food Security Nexus for Food Sovereignty and Food System Planning: The Case of a Highly Urbanized City in Metro Manila, Philippines
2025Sheila Uside Alumasa, Dina Cartagena Magnaye · International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science · Philippines (Metro Manila)
A case study evaluated a nearly decade-old urban farming program in a highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines. The study revealed that vulnerable families depend on urban farming for daily food and alternative employment opportunities. However, a lack of land ownership or tenure rights for urban farming exacerbates food insecurity, hinders access to affordable food, and impedes innovation within the urban farming system.
Food sovereignty & justiceWelfareCommunityEconomicsPolicyBuilding a more sustainable food system in Colombia: a role for nutrition professionals
2025Christine McCullum-Gómez, Yuri Milena Castillo Quiroga, Monica Diaz-Beltran · Academia Nutrition and Dietetics · Colombia
This article describes multiple efforts to facilitate the transition to a more sustainable food system in Colombia. Public health nutrition professionals can increase food security, build food sovereignty, and facilitate this transition through community food gardening and peri-urban and urban agriculture projects, food waste reduction programs, and sustainable menu projects incorporating indigenous, native, and local foods. Such projects should be participatory and tailored to meet the needs of stakeholders in the different regions of Colombia.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityPeri-urban agricultureHealthURBAN AGRICULTURE AS A PLATFORM OF EVERYDAY GOVERNANCE : Case Studies of Policy and Practice in Three South Korean Community Gardens
2025Ilana Herold, Buhm Soon Park · International Journal of Urban and Regional Research · South Korea (Daejeon)
Ethnographic case studies of three urban community gardens in Daejeon, South Korea, illustrated how urban agriculture (UA) serves as a platform for civil society groups, national government, and local governments to advance their political and sociocultural goals. The study argued that while national UA legislation was passed to advance top-down sustainable development goals, local actors challenge the functions of UA and ideas of expertise through their practice.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban African food systems as sites of challenges and opportunities for household food equity and resilience
2025Corrie Hannah, Jordan Blekking, Julia Davies, Jane Battersby, Allan Chilenga, Dorcas Kabuya, Percy Toriro · Ecology and Society · Zambia
This empirical case study examined how the COVID-19 pandemic affected urban food systems (UFS) in 14 Zambian cities, using household survey data from 2019, 2020, and 2021. Descriptive and regression analyses assessed household food sourcing, including urban agriculture. Households from diverse socioeconomic quartiles faced similar food security challenges but coped differently based on capacities and resources, indicating a lack of equitable outcomes. Smaller and remote cities sourced food from open-air markets, vendors, and urban agriculture, while more connected cities used local shops.
Equity & displacementFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageEconomicsClimate changeCommunityPatios Productivos y Seguridad Alimentaria en la Comunidad Afrodescendiente del Barrio Olaya Herrera, en Cartagena, Colombia
2025Carlos Eduardo Torres Acosta, Enrique Manuel Acuña Hernández, Elizabeth Ramírez-Llerena · BUIYYA TIERRA · Colombia (Cartagena)
In Cartagena, Colombia, the Granitos de Paz Foundation implements an urban agriculture program called "productive patios." This initiative allows vulnerable communities, such as those in the Olaya Herrera neighborhood, to access production systems and improve their quality of life by producing organic products. These organic products are in demand by hotels and restaurants in the city, potentially generating additional income for families in extremely poor areas. The program introduces an economic model to combat extreme poverty in vulnerable communities and contributes to environmental conservation.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicyTransformando desde los intersticios: huertos urbanos comunitarios ante la crisis ecosocial
2025Sara Sama Acedo, David Berná Serna, Patricia Homs Ramírez de la Piscina · Etnografica · Spain (Madrid)
This paper analyzes the case of community urban gardens in Madrid integrated into the Municipal Program of Community Urban Gardens. These initiatives are situated in the interstices between community management and public institutional management, generating new demands on the management of urban green commons and enabling forms of shared governance. The study reveals that these gardens face the challenge of maintaining themselves as transformative spaces without being absorbed by commercial logics or marginalized into welfare-oriented or community volunteer spaces.
Governance failureCommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyCommunity Readiness for Agro Living Lab (ALL) Projects: Factors Influencing Engagement of Young Urban Residents
2025Wojciech Sroka, Karol Król, Jakub Kulesza, Marcin Stanuch, Sławomir Lisek · Agriculture · Poland (Kraków)
This study analyzed factors influencing young urban residents' readiness to participate in agro living lab (ALL) projects in Kraków, Poland. Based on a literature review and a survey among university students, it found that readiness to engage in ALL projects is strongly associated with respondents’ field of study, interests, individual experiences, positive attitudes toward urban agriculture, and personal relationships with farmers.
CommunityFood educationFood sovereignty & justicePractising sustainable food consumption through the lived experiences of Guangzhou's foodscape
2025Alex Hughes, Shuru Zhong, Mike Crang, Guojun Zeng, Fernando Fastoso, Héctor González‐Jiménez, Bob Doherty · · China (Guangzhou)
This chapter demonstrates how residents in Guangzhou practice sustainable food consumption. Consumption in Guangzhou occurs through a foodscape where modern digitized supermarkets and food delivery services operate alongside traditional wet markets, emerging alternative markets, and a growing restaurant sector. Ordinary food consumption with sustainability implications takes place through interconnected fields including the pursuit of food freshness, valuing cultural heritage, memory and place, health considerations, emerging connections with Alternative Food Networks, food fashions and digital influence, and urban food production.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsHealthCommunityUrban food forests: Seeing the fruit for the trees - A systematic quantitative literature review and emerging research gaps
2025H.J. Thwaites, Jungho Suh, G.M. Coote, Melissa Nursey‐Bray, Timothy R. Cavagnaro, M.J. Salomon · Journal of Cleaner Production · Global
This systematic quantitative literature review explores urban food forests, defined as woody food-producing species in urban landscapes, identifying their realized and potential impacts across ecosystem services, food security, health, society, and culture. The research found that urban food forests are highly valued for providing local foods and medicine, as well as regulating services, and contribute to biodiversity, economic and social inclusivity, and human well-being. The review highlights urban planning and design as a central research theme and identifies a need for more quantitative research and integration into local legislation.
BiodiversityClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceHealthRedefining the nutrition paradigm for a sustainable future: the meating point for a harmonious coexistence
2025Daniel Borer, Daniel Fuller, Manjit Singh Sandhu, Duy‐Tung Bui · Social Responsibility Journal · Global
This conceptual paper introduces the Pancentric Nutrition Paradigm, an interdisciplinary framework integrating human nutrition, environmental sustainability, animal welfare, and societal considerations for global food systems. It identifies four strategies for sustainable food systems: implementing urban agriculture and agro-zoos, introducing a meat carbon tax (€0.10 per kg CO2e), promoting ostrich farming, and developing policy pathways. The study suggests the pancentric approach can harmonize competing interests in food systems.
HealthClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageUrban Agriculture as a Catalyst for Food Security and Sustainability in Ghana's Rapidly Urbanizing Cities
2025Christian Kofi Sarpong, Romanus Dogkubong Dinye, Alex Donbeinaa, Vera Nyarko Amoako · Asian Journal of Agricultural and Horticultural Research · Ghana
This study assessed the role of urban agriculture in Ghanaian cities through a systematic literature review of publications from 2000 to 2024. Urban agriculture was found to significantly contribute to food security, nutrition, and income, and to bolster environmental sustainability. However, challenges such as land tenure insecurity, unsafe irrigation practices, weak institutional support, and limited policy integration persist.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeEconomicsHealthOrganic cyclePolicyCommunityGermination and propagation of sweetgrass ( Anthoxanthum nitens (Weber) Y. Schouten & Veldkamp [Poaceae]) for growing in Mi’kmaq community gardens
2025Rachel A. Kendall, John A Francis, Mathew R. Vankoughnett · Native Plants Journal · Canada
This study assessed sweetgrass germination and propagation for Mi’kmaq community gardens, testing seed storage, additives, dormancy methods, and seedling outplanting. Removing seed coverings and soaking seeds increased germination success up to 46%, while cold storage, biological additives, and growth enhancers showed no improvement. Organic fertilizer (7-5-0) enhanced rhizome development, synthetic fertilizer (20-20-20) led to taller leaves, and both increased leaf count.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceBiodiversityTowards urban food system transformation in South Africa
2025Emmanuel Ndhlovu · Discover Sustainability · South Africa
This article critically analyzed food system policies and actions in four South African cities, drawing from grey and academic documents. It found that the government is failing to achieve food security, with approximately 58 million people facing food insecurity in 2023. The study concludes that transforming South African food systems requires coherent policies, shortened supply chains, integration of food into urban planning, and increased support for farmers, among other actions.
Governance failurePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsUrban–rural linkageLe péri-urbain en Afrique : une agriculture en marge ?
2025Paule Moustier, Jacques Pagès · HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · Africa
This study examined peri-urban agriculture in Africa, identifying it as a significant income and food source for the urban poor, but subject to constraints, primarily land pressure. Analysis of the vegetable supply chain in Brazzaville showed rural and peri-urban areas are complementary, with different types of vegetables originating from each. Land constraints, transport, access to inputs, and technical assistance are crucial factors determining production location. Historical analysis invalidates hypotheses of linear decline or development through intensification for peri-urban agriculture.
Economic viabilityPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageOptimizing Investments in Alternative Water Infrastructure for Urban Food Production in Water Stressed Cities
2025Qing Zhong, Daoqin Tong, Courtney Crosson, Yinan Zhang, Rashi Bhushan · Water Resources Research · United States
This study developed a spatial optimization model to identify investment strategies for deploying rainwater harvesting (RWH) and reclaimed water systems to expand urban food production in water-stressed cities. Applied to Tucson, Arizona, the model showed that 72%–96% of investment was allocated to rainwater tanks, though RWH contributed only 18%–27% of total food production. The results indicated that expanding the reclaimed water network was more effective and cost-efficient for urban food production compared to implementing rainwater tanks.
Climate changeEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceImpact of municipal wastewater use on urban and peri‑urban agricultural productivity: the endogenous treatment-effects approach
2025Mohammed Abdulai, Mohammed Tanko, Alhassan Andani · World Development Sustainability · Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou)
This study empirically investigated the link between municipal wastewater (MWW) use and vegetable productivity among 416 vegetable farmers in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, using survey data. It was found that MWW use alone is associated with a higher value of vegetable output, but regulation through contacts with extension agents reduces the agronomic and economic benefits of using MWW for irrigation.
Peri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceHealthEconomicsClimate changeEconomic and Environmental Tradeoffs in Cultivating Short Food Supply Chains With Urban Indoor Agriculture
2025Joseph Seong, H. Christopher Peterson, Simone Valle de Souza · Agribusiness · Global
This study evaluated the economic and environmental sustainability potential of urban indoor agriculture (IA) using a multi-objective optimization model (IA-MOO) integrating a bioeconomic model for lettuce production. Results indicated that earnings before taxes (EBT) and energy use efficiency (EUE) are generally not conflicting objectives, except for a short production schedule frame.
Economic viabilityEconomicsClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceDigital agricultureImpulsores e inhibidores de la agricultura urbana a partir de una aproximación diacrónica desde 1821 hasta 2023: el caso de Xalapa (Veracruz, México)
2025Juan Camilo Fontalvo-Buelvas, María Teresa Pulido Silva, Miguel Ángel Escalona Aguilar, Raúl Romero Ramírez · Memorias · Mexico (Xalapa)
This diachronic study analyzed the drivers and inhibitors of urban agriculture in Xalapa, Mexico, through a historical tracing from 1821 to 2023. Drivers included rural immigration, academia, and government programs, while inhibitors were identified as diversification of trades, ejido laws, remittances, health policies, and food markets.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageOpen access article under the CC–BY-SA license. Copy right © 2025, Dharmawati et al., 3610 PENDAMPINGAN PENGOLAHAN KECAP BERBAHAN DASAR DAGING ITIK DI KELOMPOK WANITA TANI NUSA INDAH KELURAHAN SUNGAI TIUNG KECAMATAN CEMPAKA BANJARBARU
2025Siti Dharmawati, Aam Gunawan, Sugiarti Sugiarti · Jurnal Abdi Insani · Indonesia
A community service program in Banjarbaru City, Indonesia, aimed to empower 22 women farmers from the Nusa Indah Women Farmers Group to diversify duck meat products into duck soy sauce. The program, part of an urban farming initiative, involved technical guidance, outreach, and practical training. Participation was high, with 100% attendance and over 70% active engagement. While 68.19%-100% understood the material, only 27.27% expressed a strong desire to develop and market the product. Organoleptic tests showed positive feedback on the soy sauce's color, aroma, and taste.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justicePolicyFrom Survival to Solidarity: Reclaiming Santiago’s Streets and Plazas Through Food, Care, and Collective Resistance in <i>Ollas Comunes</i>
2025Francisco García, Francisco Vergara‐Perucich · Urban Planning · Chile (Santiago)
This article examines how "ollas comunes" (community-led survival kitchens) in Santiago, Chile, contest the dominant logic of neoliberal governance and ownership within public space. Emerging during the 2019 social revolt and amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic to address food insecurity, these initiatives reclaim streets as arenas of collective care, mobility, and embodied everyday democracy by providing free communal meals. Based on qualitative data from interviews, focus groups, and participant observations, findings demonstrate that cooking and eating in the street transform physical streetscapes and mobility patterns, producing emergent publics, meanings, and solidarities.
CommunityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Planning Policies and Architectural Design for Sustainable Food Security: A Case Study of Smart Cities in Indonesia
2025Rafi Haikal, Thoriqi Firdaus, Herdis Herdiansyah, Rizqi Shafira Chairunnisa · Sustainability · Indonesia
This study investigated the relationship between urban planning policies and architectural design in fostering sustainable food systems in 75 smart cities in Indonesia, using a mixed-methods approach. Key findings revealed that food security is significantly undermined by the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP), indicating distributional inequalities, high food expenditure, and a lack of clean water. Conversely, access to electricity improves resilience.
Equity & displacementPolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceFramework SolAgro para una agricultura urbana escalable y soberana desde el desarrollo sostenible.
2025Rodríguez Taboada, Sanyi · Figshare · Cuba
The SolAgro Framework is an integrated agricultural engineering project by SolAgro SRL, designed for urban farms of 1 to 3 hectares in Cuba. It integrates functional agroecology, open technologies, renewable energy, and local manufacturing to create autonomous nodes of resilience. The project aims for economic returns within 12 months and social returns through youth training, consolidating technological and community sovereignty.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityEconomicsDigital agricultureClimate changeGerakan GERAKAN TANAM CABAI UNTUK PENINGKATAN PRODUKSI PANGAN DI KELURAHAN BUMI NYIUR KECAMATAN WANEA KOTA MANADO
2025Citra Dusun, Magie M. Kapojos, Mervina Rondonuwu, Christine Lomo, Rinny Lontoh, Filan Mandang, Yuannita Aida · Jurnal Pengabdian Ibnu Sina · Indonesia (Manado)
A program in Manado, Indonesia, aimed to enhance food security and self-reliance by promoting chili cultivation in home gardens through socialization, counseling, and seed distribution. While it provided positive economic impacts, the program faced challenges including limited access to agricultural inputs and post-program plant maintenance. Further research and continued mentoring were recommended to evaluate its effectiveness and maximize impact.
Limited or null effectCommunityFood educationFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsSustainable entrepreneurship: Insight from a case study of hydroponic business in Urban Indonesia
2025Glenn P Ardede, Rosdiana Sijabat, Rizaldi Parani, Jacob Donald Tan · International Journal of Innovative Research and Scientific Studies · Indonesia (Jakarta)
A multiple-case study examined sustainable entrepreneurship (SE) among hydroponic entrepreneurs in the Jakarta urban region of Indonesia (Jabodetabek). Data was collected through in-depth interviews, field observations, and documentation. Findings indicate that SE emerges from personally meaningful concerns and evolves through adaptive, relational practices shaped by local conditions, with sustainability represented as a contextual response rather than a premeditated strategy.
EconomicsDigital agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Gardening in Latin America and Panama: A New Strategy for Conservation
2025Belma Soto-Fernández, Lurys Bourdett-Stanziola · Asian Journal of Agricultural and Horticultural Research · Latin America
A documentary review on the importance of urban gardening in Latin America revealed that urban gardening, when approached through the lens of agrobiodiversity, has become a key strategy for safe food production and environmental sustainability. However, it was found that several Latin American countries lack clear and established laws to regulate this activity. Preliminary evidence of rotavirus was detected in fresh vegetables from an urban garden in Panama, indicating that urban gardens can become infection foci capable of causing diseases of public health and veterinary importance.
Governance failureCommunityBiodiversityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthEconomicsPolicy