Research & reports

Becky Griffin · Journal of Extension · United States

A report on the University of Georgia Extension's multitiered approach to supporting school gardens, developed to assist educators with no horticultural experience while making efficient use of Extension agents' time and resources. The approach combines a beginning-steps publication, hands-on garden training, and school garden associations, and is reported to have produced more sustainable school gardens with reduced frustration for both school gardeners and Extension agents.

Jennifer M. Kreslake · Health Equity · United States

An online survey of 605 residents in California (Los Angeles/Orange), Florida (Miami-Dade/Broward), and Arizona (Maricopa) counties, conducted in July 2018, used multivariable ordered logistic regression to test whether perceived importance of local climate change adaptation and mitigation measures differed by social and medical factors, controlling for age, political party, and county. Lower income was associated with higher perceived importance of improved emergency alerts, government-subsidized air conditioners and energy-efficient appliances, strengthening buildings against extreme weather, greenhouse gas regulation, "cooling" urban planning technologies, and expanding community gardens and local agriculture. Black respondents rated evacuation services for those with financial barriers, subsidized appliance costs, and government communication about climate impacts as significantly more important than non-Black, non-Hispanic respondents, while Hispanic respondents rated several measures, including improved emergency alerts, as significantly more important than non-Hispanic respondents.

Duren, R.M., et al. · Nature · United States

Using an airborne imaging spectrometer to survey more than 272,000 infrastructure elements, this study measured methane point-source emissions across California. Net methane point-source emissions were estimated at 0.618 teragrams per year (95% CI 0.523-0.725), equivalent to 34-46% of the state's total methane inventory. Ten percent of point sources contributed roughly 60% of point-source emissions, with landfills accounting for 41% of point-source emissions, dairies 26%, and oil and gas 26%.

NYC Department of Buildings · NYC Department of Buildings · United States

Per an NYC Department of Buildings service notice, beginning November 15, 2019, new buildings and buildings undergoing a complete roof deck or assembly replacement must provide a sustainable roofing zone covering 100% of the roof. That zone must include a solar photovoltaic system generating at least 4kW, a green roof system, or a combination of both.

Rachel Wimpee · Rockefeller Archive Center (RE:source) · United States

Published 1 November 2019, tracing the Ford Foundation's 1968 experiment in Program-Related Investments — $10 million authorised by its board — in the context of civil-rights-era support for Black entrepreneurship. It lent $500,000 to Leon Sullivan's Progress Plaza shopping centre in Philadelphia and generated a multiplier of roughly five dollars of outside investment for each Ford dollar. Yet some businesses failed and doubts surfaced early about whether foundations had the financial expertise required, raising the question of whether philanthropy should work inside the existing economic system or challenge it more directly.

Nadal A., Cerón-Palma I., García-Gómez C., Pérez-Sánchez M., Rodríguez-Labajos B., Cuerva E., Josa A., Rieradevall J. · Land Use Policy 76:719-734 · Mexico

Through interviews with 65 stakeholders in Mérida's social housing, this study analyzes social perceptions of urban agriculture in low-income Latin American settings, exploring its potential for safe, nutritious food supply and social benefits.

Nathan McClintock · Geography Compass · United States

This review proposes that the lens of "racial capitalism" can illuminate the contradictory motivations and outcomes of urban agriculture (UA). It examines how UA can contribute to racial Othering, the racialization of space, and dispossession on the one hand, while enabling struggles of resistance and self-determination on the other. The author uses this framework to address how settler-colonial logics persist in the contemporary North American city.

Linda J. Young, Michael Hyman, Barbara R. Rater · Journal of Official Statistics · United States (Baltimore)

This pilot study explored a big-data approach to building a list frame for enumerating urban agriculture, which is challenging because urban agricultural holdings tend to be small, diverse, dispersed and transient. Conducted by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service in the City of Baltimore, it identified areas of potential agricultural activity by gathering web-based information (permits, Facebook and Twitter feeds, interest groups) and then verified a sample via in-person survey. The paper presents the pilot results and discusses lessons learned and next steps.

McClintock N. · Annals of the American Association of Geographers · USA

Demonstrates how urban agriculture becomes entangled in eco-gentrification, arguing that eco-gentrification is not merely a side effect of an urban sustainability fix but is central to how racial capitalism operates through green urbanization.

Egerer M., Fairbairn M. · Geoforum · California, USA

Under rapid urbanization on California's central coast, social tensions permeate garden boundaries and shape internal relations. Conflicts over membership rules, resource management, and theft of produce erode community cohesion within the gardens.

Calancie Larissa, Allen Nicole E., Ng Shu Wen, Weiner Bryan J., Ward Dianne S., Ware William B., Ammerman Alice S. · American Journal of Community Psychology · USA

Quantitatively evaluates US food policy councils, modelling links between council characteristics and policy activity. Reveals many councils have limited capacity and achieve modest policy engagement, identifying structural weaknesses that constrain their effectiveness as governance bodies.

Jeremy Németh, Alessandro Rigolon · Cities · USA (Chicago, The 606)

Case study of Chicago's publicly-backed 606 greenway showing how reliance on park nonprofits to deliver large green-infrastructure projects accelerates environmental gentrification: the governance model disclaims responsibility for the displacement it causes.

Nathan McClintock, Christiana Miewald, Eugene McCann · · North America

This chapter explores urban agriculture (UA) as fundamentally political practices, examining its role in neoliberal governance and sustainability policy-making, and as an object of contestation. It relates UA motivations and practices to processes of urbanization and political economic restructuring. The chapter highlights that UA is a site of political contestation, arising from broader political economic shifts.

Juliana Maantay, Andrew Maroko · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · United States (New York City)

This study examined whether proximity to community gardens in less affluent neighborhoods is associated with an increased likelihood of gentrification, using Brooklyn, New York as a case study. Employing GIS and spatial analysis, the results suggest that proximity to community gardens is associated with significant increases in per capita income over a five-year period. This indicates that environmental improvements, such as community gardens, may paradoxically spur gentrification and the displacement of existing lower-income residents, raising concerns for environmental justice.

Naomi Robert, Kent Mullinix · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Canada

This study assessed Official Community Plans (OCPs) from 61 municipalities in British Columbia, Canada, to identify focal points and gaps in local government food system planning. It found that policies addressing food access and urban agriculture were most prevalent, but recognition of Indigenous foodways was scarce. Gaps were identified in post-production capacity, waste management, and environmental stewardship, suggesting a need for coordinated policy efforts beyond urban agriculture.

Zsofia Mendly‐Zambo, Dennis Raphael · Social Policy and Society · Canada

Household food insecurity (HFI) affects over 1.7 million Canadian households, yet government action to address it has been remarkably limited. Non-governmental efforts like food banks and community gardens have depoliticized HFI, complicating solutions. The study argues that the critical materialist political economy discourse, which is least considered, best explains HFI in Canada and offers the most effective response.

Shannon Donovan · Case Studies in the Environment · United States (Anchorage)

A multi-faceted needs assessment, including a community survey, stakeholder workshop, and key informant interviews, was conducted in Anchorage, Alaska, to explore the strategic expansion of its community garden system. The study found that demand for community gardens far outweighs supply. To sustainably meet diverse needs, expansion efforts should focus on accessible locations, gardener capacity building, and strengthening partnerships.

Daniela Adil Oliveira de Almeida, Gabriel Mattos Ornelas, Melissa Luciana de Araújo, Luisa Melgaço Ferreira Jorge Marques, Camila Marina Teixeira Ferreira, Victor Gabriel de Souza Lima, Patricia Cristina Coutinho Nardini, Rodrigo Pinto da Matta Machado, Heloísa Soares de Moura Costa · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Brazil

The process of systematizing the experience of AUÊ!, the Urban Agriculture Study Group at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, helped to record and critically reflect on the group's trajectory. This systematization made it possible to identify the qualities, potentialities, and gaps in the group's performance.

Sonya Sachdeva, Marla R. Emery, Patrick T. Hurley · Society & Natural Resources · United States

This paper investigated how wild food foraging is framed in print and digital news media and how these depictions varied over a 15-year period including the Great Recession, using automated content analysis. Results showed that prevalent framings represented foraging as either a self-provisioning practice or a source of luxury commodities and experiences, with economic uncertainty appearing to affect the frequency of each framing by news media sources. These distinct framings may influence future regulatory landscapes of foraging.

Natalia Matesanz Ventura · · United States (New York City)

This article examines over fifty self-managed community gardens in Loisaida, New York, which form an informal network combining "affection" and "dissidence" to create "affect-dent" spaces. These gardens, established since the 1960s, reconfigure public space by opposing administration, the real-estate market, media invasion, and the appropriation of public space by the private sector. The study highlights how these spaces challenge dominant power structures and serve as a reference in contemporary architecture of the common.

Stephanie Wagner · Syracuse University Libraries (Syracuse University) · United States (Syracuse)

This project explores Syracuse, NY's food environment and socio-economic issues pertaining to lack of food accessibility. It examines the existing network of Syracuse Grows community gardens, how architecture can intervene within it, and the architect's role in improving the local food environment. The goal of architectural interventions is to provide the community with a platform to kick start a larger change in the urban and socioeconomic fabrics of the city.

Daniel Calbino, I. Borges, Luis Antonio Andrade Rosas, C.T. Abreu, Fernanda Anziliero Gonçalves · COLÓQUIO - Revista do Desenvolvimento Regional · Brazil

This case study in Sete Lagoas, Brazil, discusses the advances and challenges of agroecological urban community gardens, which have a history of approximately 33 years. Research findings indicate that public policy enables income generation for producers, increased supply, and food security in the region. However, the study highlights the need for greater support to address producers' limited technical knowledge and the importance of more supportive interpersonal relationships.

Silverio Hernández Moreno, José Antonio Hernández Moreno, Bianca G. Alcaraz Vargas · Cuadernos de Vivienda y Urbanismo · Mexico

This article proposes an urban cluster for planning low-carbon cities in Mexico, drawing on environmental design models for buildings and smart city planning strategies integrating urban and rural land uses. It suggests allocating areas for urban agriculture and alternative energy generation, in addition to housing, commerce, and green spaces. The cluster design is concluded to function as an urban design pattern, useful for smart city planning, and a reference point for planning "ruracities."

Kaitlyn Lawrence · Digital Commons - Ursinus (Ursinus College) · United States (Philadelphia)

This study aims to understand urban farming in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by investigating who farms as a business, what they grow, their methods, and reasons for involvement. Recognizing that the U.S. Department of Agriculture does not track urban farmers, the research intends to develop an understanding of the collective identity of Philadelphia's urban farmers to help them better serve their communities.

Brian Elliott · Environmental Ethics · United States

This paper argues that Portland, Oregon's thriving urban agriculture scene, despite its reputation for sustainability, should be viewed as an adjunct to advanced neoliberal urban governance rather than a resistance movement against it. It critiques recent case studies that suggest the social sustainability of urban agriculture remains an open question, asserting that this view lacks a critical urban geography perspective. The study concludes that urban agriculture in Portland, on the whole, contributes to uneven development and gentrification.