Research & reports

Jasna Grabić, Milica Vranešević, Pavel Benka, Srđan Šeremešić, M. Meseldzija · Sustainability · Europe

In Vojvodina Province, northern Serbia — a rural region where 70% of the territory has been converted to arable land — researchers used QGIS to map areas suitable for implementing Nature-based Solutions (NbS), drawing on CORINE Land Cover, OpenStreetMap, data from the Institute for Nature Conservation of Vojvodina Province, and the EUNIS platform. The area suitable for NbS totaled 1,183,228 ha, or 55.74% of the province, with organic and regenerative agriculture projected to increase by up to 5%. Grazing was identified and mapped as a desirable grassland management option, potentially practicable on nearly 10% of the territory.

V J Valli Sri · International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology · Japan

A paper proposes a soilless rooftop urban farming model for Japan, a space-constrained country, using climate-resilient Ragi (finger millet) and Pearl Millet grown in grow bags, combined with rainwater harvesting, QR-code traceability, and biofortified microgreens. The model incorporates recent epigenetic findings linking environmental stress to heritable gene expression to improve stress tolerance without genetic modification, and is described as youth-friendly, scalable, and aligned with organic farming principles.

Fetty Dwi Rahmayanti, Andi Gunawan, Anas Miftah Fauzi, Edi Santosa · Journal of Tropical Crop Science · Indonesia

A study of East Jakarta, Indonesia, one of the cities where urban farming practices have been implemented, analyzed environmental risk control for sustainable urban agriculture development in 2025. Environmental risks caused by biotic and abiotic factors were identified across 17 question categories and assessed on low, medium and high risk scales. Air dust was found to carry the highest risk among the biotic and abiotic factors examined. Respondents were found to have reasonably effective knowledge of environmental risks, but the study concluded that deeper understanding and increased knowledge are needed to achieve sustainable urban agriculture.

Camila Urbina Lavajos, Oscar Vargas Chozo · Devenir - Revista de estudios sobre patrimonio edificado · Peru

A qualitative, descriptive study of the Tumino ravine in Moyobamba, Peru, examined the degradation of its evolving cultural landscape caused by inappropriate land use and informal settlement. Results showed 41% of the ravine area under conservation while another 41% faced unsustainable uses such as dumping and drainage discharge, with landscape fragmentation found to be affecting ecological connectivity and biodiversity. In response, the study proposes a system of ecological patches including urban gardens, green corridors, paths, boardwalks, viewpoints, wetlands and urban lagoons.

Sumit Vij, Vishal Narain · Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Water · Global

This review addresses a knowledge gap on how peri-urban residents in Asia and Africa adapt to the impacts of urbanization and climate change on water security. As rural-urban boundaries rapidly blur in the global South, peri-urban spaces are characterized by weakening access to water resources, depleting common property institutions and poor civic engagement, and the review presents the persistent marginalization of peri-urban residents from a water security perspective, while also showing that they do develop adaptation measures. Existing literature is found to focus primarily on (1) increased vulnerability of peri-urban agriculture and allied sectors, (2) barriers and enablers to water-security-related adaptation planning, and (3) justice in peri-urban areas, and the review calls for further study of emerging cooperation and collective action that could reduce conflicts between peri-urban and urban inhabitants and improve water security.

Vidjinnagni Vinasse Ametooyona Azagoun, Kossi Komi, Djigbo Félicien Badou, Expédit Vissin, Komi Sélom Klassou · Geographies · Africa

Drawing on socio-economic, techno-agronomic, and perceptual data collected from 369 growers in the Grand Nokoué region of Benin, this study combined multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) with ascending hierarchical analysis (AHA), confirmed by K-means partitioning, to identify profiles of climatic vulnerability among urban market gardeners. Three distinct vulnerability groups were identified, differing in socioeconomic, technical, and territorial characteristics and in their exposure to flooding, drought, and dry spells. The most vulnerable farmers were disproportionately young women with low incomes, limited access to land, and reliance on manual irrigation in flood-prone areas. The findings point to an uneven distribution of adaptive capacity and a need for public policies tailored to strengthen the resilience of small-scale, low-income, and land-insecure urban farmers who are exposed to these climate-related risks.

Robert C. Brears · Cambridge University Press eBooks · Global

A book chapter on circular urban agriculture, discussing strategies for sustainable food production in rapidly growing cities. It surveys urban farming methods including rooftop gardens, vertical farming, hydroponics and community gardens, framing resource efficiency — using waste streams, conserving water, and minimizing inputs like soil and fertilizer — as the core of the circular approach, and describes water conservation and recycling (drip irrigation, greywater reuse, rainwater harvesting) and nutrient recycling through biosolids as key components for improving soil quality and productivity.

Dinesh Kumar, Abhishek Ranjan, Mahendra Sharma, Sanoj Kumar, Vishnu Ji Awasthi, Anshu Kumari, Ramesh Kumar Sahni, Ananya Rai, Krishna Murari, Shilpi Kumari, S. Paswan, Kushwaha Abhijeet · Journal of Scientific Research and Reports · India

A trial at the College of Agricultural Engineering, Ara, Bihar, India (November 2024-March 2025) used a randomized block design with six replications to test drip irrigation on Indra capsicum (Capsicum annuum L.) grown on a rooftop. Drip irrigation produced greater plant height, more leaves and flowers, an average of 21.3 fruits per plant, fruit length of 67.2 mm, fruit weight of 79.81 g and yield of 3.52 kg/plant, while saving about 75-80% of water compared with conventional irrigation at a water-use efficiency of 9.2 kg/m³, and yield increased 10-15% over yields typically observed with traditional irrigation methods.

Anthony Steven, Iriani Atrika, Doris Febriyanti, Siti Zubaidah · Government & Resilience · Indonesia (Palembang)

This case study examines collaborative governance between local authorities and community stakeholders in Palembang, Indonesia, a low-lying delta city on the Musi River facing recurrent flooding, food insecurity and disrupted supply chains driven by urban expansion, poor drainage infrastructure and climate-related rainfall variability. It analyzes local policy responses, community-led initiatives such as floating vegetable gardens, and urban farming on flood-resilient land, finding that while municipal disaster agencies provide early warning and evacuation support, food access and distribution during floods are primarily sustained by grassroots networks and community-organized food banks.

Rattan Lal · CABI eBooks · Global

A chapter discussing soil scientist Rattan Lal's synthesis of spirituality and philosophy, drawn from Sanskrit/Vedic teachings passed down by his grandmother, with soil science. It traces the historical development of soil and plant science disciplines and states that more change may occur between 2020 and 2050 than in the preceding 10 millennia, listing carbon farming, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, soil-less urban farming and sky farming as future agricultural practices, and noting that the UN Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals depend on soil protection, restoration and management.

Stefano Follesa, Leila Farahbakhsh, Xinxin Song · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Global

A paper examines urban agriculture as a process capable of promoting environmental sustainability, social inclusion and the circular economy, proposing ways to use and develop it. Through an interdisciplinary approach based on "demand maps," it presents an implementation model aligning users' needs with design solutions. Critical analysis of case studies identifies benefits including reducing urban heat islands, supporting biodiversity, enhancing food security, fostering social cohesion, and aiding the development of vulnerable communities. The guidelines presented aim to encourage the use of demand maps in urban decision-making processes to support participatory, inclusive and sustainable strategies.

Anna Stage (17743305), Marie Caroline Vermund (11075551), Mads Bølling (6661577), Camilla Roed Otte (21175813), Alberte Laura Oest Müllertz (21175816), Peter Bentsen (3527732), Glen Nielsen (10468844), Peter Elsborg (8894495) · Figshare · Denmark

A study protocol describes FoodACT, a multimethod, quasi-experimental investigation of the existing Danish school garden program Gardens to Bellies (GtB) and its effects on children's food literacy (FL), climate change literacy (CCL), school motivation (SM) and physical activity (PA), preregistered on ClinicalTrials.gov (#NCT05839080). The study covers six GtB locations across Region Zealand and Region of Southern Denmark, recruiting approximately 1,600 fourth-grade GtB pupils as the intervention group and approximately 1,600 fourth-grade pupils from non-GtB schools as controls. Pupils grow, prepare and cook food across eight garden sessions; FL, CCL and SM are measured via pre- and post-intervention surveys, PA via accelerometry, and acute SM via text-message surveys, alongside semi-structured and focus-group interviews with garden facilitators and pupils on implementation and mechanisms.

Florence Rezende Leite, Maria Lúcia Pereira Antunes, Diogo Aparecido Lopes Silva · Sustainable Production and Consumption · Global

A life cycle assessment (LCA) comparing the environmental performance of a conventional ceramic roof (CR) and a modular green roof (GR) planted with the edible species Pereskia aculeata. Primary data came from experimental GR prototypes monitored for one year, including irrigation volumes, plant development and rainwater retention across 50 rainfall events; secondary data were modeled from the ecoinvent database and literature. The analysis had three stages: comparing CR and GR construction and first-year use, sensitivity/uncertainty analysis of alternative GR materials, and a 30-year projection of use-phase impacts. In stage one, GR outperformed CR in 11 of 14 impact categories, with total normalized impacts 13% lower; 80% of CR's impact came from ceramic tile production, while in GR polymer components dominated, with polypropylene accounting for 82% of fossil depletion and polyester for 95% of ozone depletion. Substituting alternative polymers for the module and filter layers cut marine and freshwater ecotoxicity by over 70%. The optimized GR scenario had 71% lower normalized impacts than CR and outperformed it in 13 of 14 categories, with the 30-year projection confirming GR's continued advantage.

Shikha Patel, Deepthi John, Ahmad Mohammad Ahmad, Raffaello Furlan, Rima J. Isaifan · Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (The) · Global

A 2025 study in the Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy used Onaiza, a low-rise mixed-use residential neighbourhood on Qatar's western coast representative of suburban Doha, as a case study to examine how urban agriculture could be integrated into land use policy as a climate-change mitigation strategy in Doha Municipality. Drawing on a literature review, examination of successful case studies, and expert interviews, it identified challenges and potential for permitting urban agriculture as a land use, then produced a design proposal amending land use policy through urban planning simulations, subsidies and other incentives. It starts from the premise that food systems, food security and urban agriculture are not yet well positioned within Qatar's existing land use policy, despite the country's vulnerability to food imports and to climate change.

Nazmul Haque, Ranjan Roy, Abdullah All Imtiaz, Rafio Rahmatullah, Ronzon Chandra Das, S.M. Abdul Gani, Md. Shamsuzzoha, Kamrun Nahar Sheuly, Khalid Syfullah, Akther Banu · International Journal of Agricultural Extension · Bangladesh

A study of 105 climate-smart agriculture (CSA)-practicing farmers in Chuadanga district, southwestern Bangladesh, using structured face-to-face interviews. Multiple regression analysis in SPSS (version 20) across eleven variables found that education level, organizational participation, ICT access and positive attitudes toward CSA significantly influenced adoption, while farm size and access to finance had comparatively less impact. The model explained 47.7% of the variance in CSA adoption.

Md. Maruf Billah, Al Muzahid, Md. Nasrul Millat, Mohammad Mahmudur Rahman‬ · Journal of Environmental Science Health & Sustainability · Bangladesh

A structured face-to-face survey of 200 randomly selected residents in Bangladesh, conducted in 2024 and analyzed with SPSS version 29, examined perceptions of urban agriculture. 34.5% of respondents fell into the early-adopter category; rooftop gardening was the most widely adopted practice (93.5%), followed by homestead gardens (80%) and container gardens (66.5%). 94.5% perceived urban agriculture as contributing medium to high to environmental sustainability, and 92.5% saw reduced cost of living as its main benefit. Innovativeness, training exposure, extension access, media contact, education, group membership and market access were identified as adoption factors, while 89% of respondents reported facing medium to high constraints to adoption.

Andreas Wesener, Matt Morris · · Global

This chapter examines urban gardening in Christchurch, New Zealand, since the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes through the lens of resilience — disaster resilience, community resilience, food resilience, and the broader notion of urban resilience. After discussing post-earthquake urban gardening projects in Christchurch, it shows that notions of food resilience are contextually interwoven with the region's earthquake disaster history. It finds, however, that recent initiatives show discussions of food resilience have broadened to become inclusive of a range of environmental, socio-economic, and cultural challenges, with Christchurch's urban gardens becoming part of a wider resilience narrative responding to more diverse crisis scenarios. The chapter argues that this broadening of discussion and focus creates new opportunities — including new funding avenues, research, and strategic investment — for urban gardening.

Endalkachew Getu, Bereket Ayenew, Kanchan Singh, Mitiku Adisu Worku · Frontiers in Climate · Ethiopia

A random-sample survey of 364 urban farmers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, grounded in protection motivation theory (PMT), used structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze relationships among nine constructs. Selecting new crop varieties, water management practices, adjusting sowing dates and planting drought-resistant crops were identified as the main adaptation practices. Perception of climate change indicators, perceived effects, incentives, subjective norms, adaptation efficacy and self-efficacy positively and significantly influenced farmers' intention to adapt, whereas farmers exposed to maladaptive behaviors showed lower intention to adapt. The survey recommended strengthening local institutions, farmer training, climate information dissemination such as early warning systems, access to extension services, and access to finance.

Bharti Gautam, Neha Negi, J. Mohan, Babita Bharti, Amit Kumar, Ridhima Arya · International Journal of Advanced Biochemistry Research · Global

A review paper surveying sustainable urban agriculture and gardening practices against a backdrop of rapid urbanization linked to climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. It covers composting, rainwater harvesting, rooftop gardening, hydroponics, aquaponics, and vertical farming, and discusses the role of integrated pest management, smart irrigation systems, and urban agroforestry. The review states that integrating nature-based solutions — urban farms, vertical gardens, and green roofs — into the urban landscape can lessen environmental problems such as poor air quality, flooding, and the urban heat island effect, and that urban horticulture plays an important role in food security, biodiversity, and environmental sustainability.

V. S. Manivasagam, G. V. Saai Shreyaa, Shriienidhie Ganesh · Computational Urban Science · India

This study built a geospatial framework using open-access geospatial datasets to assess the economic feasibility of rooftop gardening, rainwater harvesting, and photovoltaic installations across 368,748 rooftops in Coimbatore, India. Projected revenue estimates were ₹28.58 billion for photovoltaic systems, ₹15.79 billion for rooftop gardens, and ₹0.34 billion for rainwater harvesting; a crop-specific analysis found chillies the most profitable rooftop crop, with potential revenue of ₹38.51 billion, and coriander the least profitable at ₹4.57 billion.

Yu Huan, Steffen Nijhuis, Nico Tillie · Journal of Cleaner Production · Europe

Using Rotterdam as a case study, researchers combined machine-learning suitability modeling (XGBoost with SHAP), deep-learning land-use simulation, and monetary ecosystem-service valuation to compare three scenarios for 2030 and 2050: business-as-usual, suitability-based autonomous transformation, and a suitability-based landscape-approach transformation. Suitability-guided scenarios outperformed business-as-usual, with the landscape-approach scenario producing the most stable multi-decadal outcomes for regulating and cultural services, but provisioning services could plateau or decline when ecological protection constraints limited intensive production.

Karen Botes, Christina Breed · Land · South Africa

In the Melusi informal settlement of Tshwane, South Africa, researchers used a mixed-methods approach -- semi-structured questionnaires, focus group interviews, and photo-elicitation, analyzed with SPSS and Atlas.ti -- to examine socio-cultural perceptions of modular living wall systems planted with African vegetables as a way to enhance household food security. Key barriers to urban agriculture identified included high maintenance costs, pest control problems, spatial constraints, exposure to extreme weather, and limited access to water and fertilizer, while the community supported living walls with African vegetable crops for their space-saving and biophilic value, with success depending on low-tech, cost-effective, modular systems built from recycled materials using nutrient-dense, compact crops.

Wen‐Pei Sung, Ming-Cheng Liao, Hsian-Ling Peng, Chung-Tien Huang, Yun-Jung Chuang, J Wang · Sustainability · Global

Against a backdrop of intensifying urban heat island effects and residents' mental health problems amid urbanization, this study examined the impact of an Urban Food Forest Program on urban environmental comfort, heat island mitigation, and the mental health of middle-aged and elderly residents. Using on-site field measurements and questionnaire surveys, it analyzed the environmental comfort of green spaces in urban heat island hotspots and assessed participants' mental health. The Urban Food Forest Program significantly reduced surrounding environmental temperature, with an average cooling effect of 2.4°C particularly in soil areas, and reduced heat island intensity in the surrounding area by 15%. In the mental health survey, male participants scored significantly higher than female participants (p = 0.017), and middle-aged and elderly participants who took part more than five times per week scored 17% higher, significantly better, than low-frequency participants. The study notes that its relatively small sample size and limited observation period may affect the generalizability of its findings, and that it focused on one specific urban area that may not represent the broader urban context.

Xintao Lin, Jianping Qian, Jian Chen, Qiangyi Yu, Liangzhi You, Qian Chen, Jiali Li, Pengnan Xiao, Jingyi Jiang · Resources Environment and Sustainability · China

A study of Beijing and Shanghai, China (2025) modeled decarbonization from adjusting the local-sourcing share of seven perishable food categories — vegetables, poultry, aquatic products, beef, and lamb among them — incorporating both production and cold-chain logistics emissions across multiple localization scenarios. Each 1% increase in localization of vegetables, poultry, and aquatic products cut 2020 emissions by 0.4-1.9 tCO2e, while the same 1% increase for beef and lamb raised emissions by 0.2-2.9 tCO2e; localization reduced the cold-chain emission share for every food category. A constrained "balancing strategy" cut 2020 emissions by about 0.76 MtCO2e (5%) in Beijing and 0.44 MtCO2e (2%) in Shanghai, and an unconstrained scenario maximizing urban agriculture use achieved 3-4 times more reduction. Under a business-as-usual projection, the strategy was estimated to offset over 90% of Beijing's added emissions by 2035, with a further 0.44 MtCO2e reduction possible in Shanghai. The findings indicate that importing more carbon-intensive ruminant meat while reallocating urban resources toward vegetables, poultry, and aquatic products could produce more sustainable food supplies in megacities.

Aparadh Vt, V. Bhagyashree, Ms. Suman P. Meghwal, Ms. Safiya M. Raeen · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Global

This review outlines hydroponics — soilless cultivation that feeds plant roots directly with nutrient-supplemented water, often using inert media such as perlite or coco coir. It states hydroponic systems use about 90% less water than conventional agriculture and describes applications for home and commercial urban growing in areas with limited arable land, as well as potential future use in inhospitable environments such as Mars or the Moon. It also notes the method is resource-intensive, requiring specific investment and expertise, and is not suitable for all crop types.