Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
161 results(2 / 7)
Biophilic Architecture of the 21st Century as an Immersive Art: New Urban Atmospheres
2025Renata Jóźwik · Arts · Poland
This article analyzes how biophilic architecture employs immersive strategies to transform buildings into environments that support sensory, behavioral, and social practices. It analyzes projects such as the Rooftop Garden—Warsaw University Library, Musée du quai Branly, and apartment buildings Bosco Verticale, and proposes a Multi-criteria Method for Assessing Architectural Immersiveness (MMAAI). Findings indicate that the integration of nature, technology, and spatial narrative enables architecture to act as a mediator between humans and the environment, generating new qualities of spatial experience in the Anthropocene epoch.
BiodiversityHealthClimate changeCan school gardens contribute to resilient communities from a scientific and eco-social perspective in early childhood education?
2025Lourdes Aragón Núñez, Beatriz Erdozain Manzano · Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education · Spain
Diagnostic research using a questionnaire with 45 closed-ended and 9 open-ended questions was conducted in 21 urban schools in Spain that use gardens in early childhood education. The study assessed the resilience level of school gardens across environmental, economic, social, and curriculum dimensions. Results indicate school gardens are valuable for transforming urban environments and creating resilient communities, generally showing a medium level of resilience, with weaknesses identified in environmental and social dimensions.
Food educationCommunityClimate changeBiodiversityGrowing vegetables: A gateway to biodiversity in domestic gardens?
2025Blanche Collard, Quentin Dutertre, Emmanuelle Baudry · Landscape and Urban Planning · France
This study investigated the relationship between vegetable growing and biodiversity conservation in domestic gardens in France, using a nationwide online survey and ecological monitoring in a suburban area near Paris. 67% of surveyed gardeners nationwide had a vegetable garden, and no significant conflict was found between vegetable production and biodiversity conservation. Instead, synergies emerged, particularly in the stronger commitment of vegetable gardeners to their gardens, wild species, and nature, and in practices like more frequent planting.
BiodiversityDIYUrban–rural linkagePlanting futures: School-based food forests and their contribution to holistic education for sustainable development
2025Julia Gobs · GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society · Germany
This study investigated the school-based food forest project at Chestnut School in Northern Germany, using interviews and participatory methods framed by the Whole School Approach. School-based food forests contribute to holistic education for sustainable development by offering interdisciplinary, hands-on learning environments. They promote systemic thinking, agency, and self-efficacy, fostering human-nature connections, critical thinking, and sustainable food practices.
Food educationBiodiversityCommunityClimate changeTHE WILD IN THE CITY: DIFFERENT CONCEPTS AND THEIR ROLE IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN COMMUNITY GARDENS OF GOUTTE D'OR DISTRICT OF PARIS.
2025Marina Abrão Ballak Dias · Revista Andaluza de Antropología · France (Paris)
This article explored how different conceptions of human-nature relationships shaped practices in two community gardens in Paris's Goutte d’Or neighborhood. Conceptions grounded in a human–nature divide prevailed, leading to a conservationist approach. Practices stemming from this perspective were found to be in constant tension with garden goals like increasing urban biodiversity and human socialization.
Governance failureCommunityBiodiversityPolicyLandrace in situ (on-farm) conservation: European Union achievements
2024Raggi L., Spataro G., Tiranti D., Negri V. · Biodiversity and Conservation 33:2709-2738 · Europe
Reviews the status of on-farm landrace conservation in the EU, including the materials conserved, who maintains them and why, and EU policies governing the commercialization of landrace seeds.
Heirloom & landraceBiodiversityPolicyCommunityUrbanization reduces Orthoptera diversity and changes community structure towards mobile species
2024Pernat N., Buchholz S., Schirmel J. · Insect Conservation and Diversity · Germany (Berlin)
Sampled 42 dry grasslands in Berlin along urbanisation and connectivity gradients, finding urbanisation the main driver reducing Orthoptera richness and functional diversity and filtering communities toward mobile species.
BiodiversityAssessment and Monitoring of Local Climate Regulation in Cities by Green Infrastructure—A National Ecosystem Service Indicator for Germany
2024· Land · Germany
Presents a national ecosystem-service indicator for Germany to assess and monitor local climate regulation provided by urban green infrastructure.
BiodiversityPolicyHealthThe food-water-climate nexus of green infrastructure: Examining ecosystem services trade-offs of peri-urban agriculture
2024Ricard Segura, Johannes Langemeyer, Alba Badía, Sergi Ventura, Jaime Vila-Traver, Gara Villalba · The Science of The Total Environment · Spain (Barcelona)
A study in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, Spain, investigated the impacts of peri-urban agricultural expansion on the food-water-climate nexus using urban metabolism and atmospheric-biosphere models across four land-use scenarios. While expansion increased food production and irrigation water requirements, replacing natural non-forested and forest areas for peri-urban agriculture was predicted to reduce net ecosystem productivity by up to 18.5% and total carbon stocks by 3.3%. Irrigated peri-urban agriculture potentially reduced near-surface temperatures by 0.7°C, though reductions in the densest urban areas were minimal.
Environmental trade-offsPeri-urban agricultureClimate changeBiodiversityFood sovereignty & justiceGrowing gardens into neighborhoods through transdisciplinary research
2024Monika Egerer, Susan Karlebowski, David Schoo, Ulrike Sturm · Urban forestry & urban greening · Germany
This communication article presents a transdisciplinary research concept focused on developing, implementing, and testing biodiversity conservation interventions in urban community gardens in Berlin and Munich, Germany. The research aims to promote insect diversity with gardeners and neighborhood residents, engaging civil society and city actors to support biodiversity-based urban greening. It outlines participatory methods and experiences in translating research into practice, highlighting the role of city residents in implementing biodiversity interventions.
CommunityBiodiversityPollinatorsFood educationAn informal and transformative learning environment: The case of ODTÜ Bostan community garden in Turkey
2024Ayşe Kaplan Sarısaltık, Ufuk Sarısaltık · Cleaner and Responsible Consumption · Turkey
This qualitative study explored the role of ODTÜ Bostan, a community garden at the Middle East Technical University in Turkey, in promoting sustainability education, ecology, and food consumption practices. Operating for ten years, the garden not only enhances participants' sustainability competencies but also serves as an educational laboratory, demonstrating the potential of community gardens to address global challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss. The research employed autoethnography, thematic analysis of eight semi-structured interviews, and content analysis of archival data.
CommunityFood educationBiodiversityClimate changeOrganic cycleFlower richness is key to pollinator abundance: The role of garden features in cities
2024Astrid E. Neumann, Felix Conitz, Susan Karlebowski, Ulrike Sturm, Julia M. Schmack, Monika Egerer · Basic and Applied Ecology · Germany (Munich)
This study recorded garden features and pollinators in 33 urban community gardens in Munich and Berlin, Germany, over two summer seasons to understand their impact on pollinator abundance. Findings showed that in more urbanized gardens, flower richness and bare substrate were less prevalent. Flower richness positively correlated with overall pollinator abundance, richness, and diversity, while landscape imperviousness negatively correlated with hoverfly and beetle abundances.
CommunityBiodiversityPollinatorsPotential Economic and Ecosystem Performances of Some Mediterranean Fruit Plants in an Urban Context
2024Desirée Muscas, Silvia Marrapodi, Chiara Proietti, Luigia Ruga, Fabio Orlandi, Marco Fornaciari · Sustainability · Italy
A study in an urban area of central Italy evaluated the potential productive, ecosystem, and economic contributions of fruit tree species for a food forest. Using a web app for simulation, Ficus carica and Morus nigra showed good potential fruit production of 1300 kg and 865 kg, and CO2 storage of 2.5 and 1.5 tons, respectively. Morus nigra demonstrated the highest economic value over a 50-year period, estimated at approximately 6000 USD with an average price of 7 USD/kg, and edible food forests were found to improve urban ecosystem biodiversity.
EconomicsBiodiversityClimate changeCommunityPollution gradients shape microbial communities associated with Ae. albopictus larval habitats in urban community gardens
2024Pénélope Duval, Edwige Martin, Laurent Vallon, Pierre Antonelli, Maxime Girard, Aymeric Signoret, Patricia Luis, Danis Abrouk, Laure Wiest, Aurélie Fildier, Christelle Bonnefoy, Patrick Jame, Erik Bonjour, Amélie Cantarel, Jonathan Gervaix, Emmanuelle Vulliet, Rémy Cazabet, Guillaume Minard, Claire Valiente Moro · FEMS Microbiology Ecology · France
A study conducted in French community gardens investigated whether pollution gradients influence the water microbial composition of Aedes albopictus larval habitats. The physicochemical and microbial compositions of noncolonized and colonized waters did not significantly differ, with the exception of N2O and CH4 concentrations, which were higher in noncolonized water samples. The microbial composition of larval habitats covaried differentially along the pollution gradients according to colonization status.
CommunityBiodiversityHealthOverlooked and misunderstood: how urban community gardeners perceive social wasps and their ecosystem functions
2024Julia M. Schmack, Monika Egerer, Susan Karlebowski, Astrid E. Neumann, Ulrike Sturm · Journal of Insect Conservation · Germany
A survey was conducted in urban community gardens in Berlin and Munich, Germany, to assess perceptions of social wasps and their ecosystem functions. Gardeners rated wasps as the least beneficial insect for urban gardens among other insect taxa, and predation was perceived as a negative function in insects and spiders. Knowledge of wasp ecology was positively associated with respondents' willingness to share gardens with wasps, suggesting negative perceptions are likely driven by a lack of knowledge and negative emotions.
CommunityBiodiversityPollinatorsDancing with foxes: More‐than‐human design in ‘the chicken city’
2024Catherine Oliver · Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers · United Kingdom (London)
This paper examines urban chicken-keeping in London, where urban spaces are transformed to accommodate chickens. It argues that the human-imposed design of urban barnyards is often impractical for chickens, leading to lawns being torn up, plants demolished, and vegetable patches consumed. Additionally, chickens are vulnerable to local foxes, highlighting that chickens' behaviors and territoriality often overflow their assigned space, challenging human design intentions.
Environmental trade-offsCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceBiodiversityUrban–rural linkageMethodological rift: Applying infrastructure activism's ‘skin in the game’ embodied art research methods to urban green infrastructure planning
2024Debra Solomon, Maria Kaïka · Environment and Planning E Nature and Space · Europe
This article explores the extent to which applying embodied, ‘skin in the game’ methods used in infrastructure activism (a contemporary art practice) can expand the toolkit of methods in action research on urban green infrastructure planning. It focuses on two cases of infrastructure activism: the Amsterdam Zuidoost Food Forest (VBAZO) in Amsterdam's South East, and the KRATER project in Ljubljana's city centre. Through discussing these projects, the article explores embodied research practices developed by infrastructure activists to change urban green infrastructures and researcher-actors’ perspectives.
PolicyCommunityBiodiversityAgro-Food Supply Chains in Peri-Urban Agricultural Areas: Do They Contribute to Preserve Local Biodiversity? The Case of Baix Llobregat Agrarian Park
2024Jon Marín, Teresa Garnatje, Joan Vallès · Sustainability · Spain (Barcelona)
This study investigated whether agro-food supply chains in peri-urban agricultural areas contribute to preserving local biodiversity, using the Baix Llobregat Agrarian Park in Spain as a case study. Analysis of different food retailers revealed variations in plant diversity, origin, and seasonality. Farmers' markets were found to exhibit higher intraspecific diversity, contributing to local agrobiodiversity conservation.
Peri-urban agricultureBiodiversityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCrop–pollinator interactions in urban and peri-urban farms in the United Kingdom
2023Nicholls E., Griffiths-Lee J., Basu P., Chatterjee S., Goulson D. · Plants, People, Planet · United Kingdom
Study of crop-pollinator interactions in UK urban and peri-urban farms, quantifying ecosystem services provided by pollinators in city farming systems.
PollinatorsBiodiversityCommunityHolistic wild bee management in urban spaces
2023· Frontiers in Sustainable Cities · Germany (Freising)
Developed a holistic assessment of bee and flowering-plant diversity in the medium-sized city of Freising using citizen science, identifying 22 bee-diversity hotspots and evaluating planted flower patches as stepping stones for oligolectic bees.
PollinatorsBiodiversityPolicyVegetation complexity and nesting resource availability predict bee diversity and functional traits in community gardens
2023Felderhoff J. · Ecological Applications · Germany (Berlin)
Documented 26 genera and 102 bee species across 18 Berlin community gardens, finding that higher plant species richness and greater deadwood amounts increased wild bee species number and functional diversity.
PollinatorsBiodiversityThe degree of urbanisation reduces wild bee and butterfly diversity and alters the patterns of flower-visitation in urban dry grasslands
2023Herrmann J., Buchholz S., Theodorou P. · Scientific Reports · Germany
In German urban dry grasslands, examined effects of local habitat quality, urbanisation (impervious surfaces), and 3D connectivity on flower visitors; bee and butterfly species richness declined with increasing impervious surface.
PollinatorsBiodiversityDrivers of cultivated and wild plant pollination in urban agroecosystems
2023Nguyen H., Schmack J., Egerer M. · Basic and Applied Ecology · Germany (Munich)
Conducted a pollination-exclusion experiment with two cultivated and two wild plant species across 13 Munich community gardens, finding cultivated-plant fruit and seed mass positively correlated with temperature and pollinator diversity.
PollinatorsBiodiversityAllotment Garden Products as Contribution to Sustainable and Resilient Cities: An Analysis in Leipzig, Germany
2023Schäfer, Kleemann, Spyra · Sustainability · Germany (Leipzig)
Analyzes allotment garden products in Leipzig and their contribution to sustainable and resilient cities.
CommunityBiodiversityEconomicsAllotments for all? Social–environmental values of urban gardens for gardeners and the public in cities: The example of Berlin, Germany
2023Haase · People and Nature · Germany (Berlin)
Assesses the social–environmental values of urban gardens for both gardeners and the wider public, using Berlin as an example.
CommunityBiodiversityWelfare