Research & reports

Seitz B., Buchholz S., Kowarik I., Herrmann J., Neuerburg L., Wendler J., Winker L., Egerer M. · Urban Ecosystems, 25(3):927-939 · Germany (Berlin)

A survey of cultivated and spontaneously occurring wild plants in 18 community gardens across metropolitan Berlin, classifying each species as native or non-native. It found that gardens host many plant species — especially wild ones, including some endangered natives — regardless of surrounding urbanization, and that more cultivated species co-occur with more wild species (land sharing). The authors argue urban gardens can be sites of 'reconciliation ecology' that combine food production with conservation of native and wild flora.

Grodzicki T., Jankiewicz M. · PLoS ONE (PMC8812895) · Europe

A quantitative analysis of how the EU Common Agricultural Policy affects rural employment, GDP and poverty in the Baltic states, showing that higher rural employment promotes rural economic growth.

Michael Carriere, David Schalliol · Journal of Urban History · United States (Milwaukee)

This historical essay documents the history of urban agriculture in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, complicating the "declensionist" narrative of the twentieth-century U.S. city. It argues that food production played a significant and often overlooked role in Milwaukee's economic, social, and spatial development, even during industrial expansion. The authors show that urban agriculture remained a viable tool for urban redevelopment, used by both public- and private-sector actors well into the twenty-first century.

· Frontiers in Microbiology · Germany (Berlin)

Investigated how soil microbial communities shift along an urban gradient in Berlin, highlighting that microbial communities inhabiting urban soils govern nutrient cycling and support of plant communities.

Schittko C. · Journal of Ecology · Germany (Berlin)

Shows that biodiversity maintains soil multifunctionality and soil organic carbon in novel urban ecosystems studied in Berlin.

· Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Germany (Upper Rhine)

A comparative case study of food policy councils in the Upper-Rhine region (including Germany), examining opportunities and challenges for food system sustainability and food democracy.

Rüschhoff J., Hubatsch C., Priess J., Scholten T., Egli L. · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · Germany (Leipzig)

A Leipzig case study assessing food self-sufficiency potential, finding that combining organic agriculture, reduced food loss, and a more plant-based diet could reach a mean self-sufficiency level of about 95%.

Dominici L., Comino E., Torpy F., Irga P. · Plants · Italy / Australia

An exploratory review of vertical greening system designs from scientific literature and community/commercial solutions, defining eight design models via six structural criteria and interviewing seven community garden groups to guide low-cost, small-scale DIY systems.

Puig F., Rodríguez Díaz J.A., Soriano M.A. · Agronomy · Spain

Develops a low-cost, open-source IoT platform for smart irrigation that supports many sensors and can be easily integrated with other platforms.

Wood C.J., Polley M., Barton J.L., Wicks C.L. · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · United Kingdom

Interviews with 13 stakeholders (social prescribing link workers and garden staff) and focus groups with 20 garden members examined how therapeutic community gardening supports mental health through nature engagement, hope, and social support, and identified barriers to referral and attendance.

Moore E.J., Thew M. · British Journal of Occupational Therapy · United Kingdom

Semi-structured online interviews with six care leavers aged 18-24 explored their experiences of a socially prescribed community allotment gardening group, yielding themes of social belonging, a safe space, achievement, and the facilitatory aspects of nature.

· Sustainability · Italy

A case-studies analysis examining the development of sustainable social farming in Italy, addressing social inclusion and the training and employment of disadvantaged people.

· Sustainability · Italy

A study of social farming in North-Eastern Italy from the farmers' perspective, examining challenges and prospects with a focus on the social and work inclusion of disadvantaged people.

Ducasse V., Capowiez Y., Peigne J. · Agronomy for Sustainable Development · France (review)

Reviews the suitability of vermicomposting the organic fraction of municipal solid waste, the quality of the resulting vermicompost, and its impact on crops and soil.

· ChemPlusChem · France (Nice)

Mapping airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urban Nice, the study documented PAH uptake by crops grown in the city, showing urban air pollution can contaminate produce.

Lawrence D. Harder, Ronald M. Miksha · Oecologia · Germany (Munich)

A re-analysis of the observations behind Renner et al. (2021), which had concluded that an increase in managed honey bee hives between 2019 and 2020 intensified competition with non-Apis bees in the Munich Botanic Garden, Germany. The comment shows that the change in hive numbers did not statistically alter honey bee visitation to 29 plant species either within or between years, so the shift in the proportion of non-Apis bees among visitors is better explained as a response to reduced overall floral resource availability in 2020. The claim that urban beekeeping suppresses native pollinators is therefore supported by some observational studies and contested by re-analyses that find the statistical basis insufficient.

Angelica Mendoza Beltrán, Kelzy Jepsen, Martí Rufí-Salís, Sergi Ventura, Cristina Madrid‐López, Gara Villalba · The Science of The Total Environment · Spain (Barcelona)

This study mapped N2O emissions from peri-urban agriculture in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB), Spain. Researchers spatially distributed factors like crop type, fertilizer use, and irrigation, creating N2O emission maps using crop-specific and Tier 1 IPCC emission factors (EFs). The study found that Tier 1 IPCC EFs estimated 15% more emissions (7718 kg N2O-N year−1) than crop-specific EFs (6533 kg N2O-N year−1) for the entire AMB, indicating higher emissions for rainfed crops with Tier 1 EFs and for irrigated horticultural crops with crop-specific EFs. The mapping helps evaluate spatial variability of key factors but carries uncertainties due to downscaling regional data.

Adelina Court, Aileen Kelly, Michael Hardman · Cogent Social Sciences · United Kingdom (Greater Manchester)

This paper explores the need for innovation in urban green infrastructure, focusing on enabling urban food growing in cities. It reviews current policy tools and presents a case study of a multifunctional forest school in Salford, UK, which enables larger-scale farming in a deprived area. The study, conducted by a multidisciplinary team, also proposes a visual methodology framework for future replication.

Wim van Dijk, J.E. Jansma, J. Broeze, J.J.R. Groot · · Netherlands (Amsterdam)

This chapter focuses on regional resourcefulness for food systems, arguing that urban areas are vital for closing nutrient loops to prevent resource depletion. Two case studies in the Metropolitan Region of Amsterdam (MRA) discuss phosphorus (P) flows, exploring the potential of a circular food system in Almere and quantifying actual P-flows across the MRA. The chapter concludes that a circular City Region Food System is technically feasible but requires a fundamental shift in the organization of food and waste systems.

Elizabeth Regier, Walter McDonald · Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment · United States (Milwaukee)

This study monitored two bioswales treating runoff from an urban farm in Milwaukee, WI, United States, to assess their hydrologic and water quality performance. The bioswales effectively reduced runoff volume, peak flows, total phosphorus, and high concentrations of total suspended solids (TSS >25 mg/L), achieving a median 98% load reduction across all pollutants. However, they showed mixed results in reducing total nitrogen concentrations and TSS at low influent concentrations (≤25 mg/L).

Pénélope Duval, Claire Valiente Moro, Christina Aschan-Leygonie · Parasites & Vectors · France

A KAP survey conducted in community gardens in France showed that attitudes, more than knowledge, influence community gardeners' protective practices against the Asian tiger mosquito. All participating gardeners were concerned about the Asian tiger mosquito and motivated to incorporate control methods, but perceived mosquitoes as nuisances rather than disease vector species. This survey reveals a lack of knowledge and awareness of good practices for efficient control of the Asian tiger mosquito in green urban areas.

Rhys Furlong, Caroline Harvey, Fiona Holland, Jenny Hallam · NECTAR - Northampton Electronic Collection of Thesis and Research (University of Northampton) · United Kingdom (Nottingham)

Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with allotment gardeners from low-income areas of Nottingham, UK, 12 months after they began their tenancy at St Ann's allotments. This interview data was used for an interpretative phenomenological analysis published in "Cities and Health." Due to ethical and commercial issues, the data underpinning this publication is not openly available.

Yunus KÖLEOĞLU, Ali SEYYAR, Mehmet AYSOY · Hak İş Uluslararası Emek ve Toplum Dergisi · Europe

This paper discusses the meaning and role of social solidarity in modern societies, based on Emile Durkheim's theory of social solidarity, focusing on solidarity-based agricultural cooperatives as alternative economic models against capitalist/liberal systems. The paper demonstrates that modern societies can successfully present solidarity-based alternative economic models, aligned with the spirit of social innovation, as a reaction to traditional capitalist production systems amidst eroding solidarity norms. Characteristics of solidarity agricultural cooperatives operating in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) are introduced, confirming Durkheim's thesis that social solidarity can emerge through collective movements even within a capitalist-liberal system.

Riccardο Petrini, Lisa Ghezzi, Simone Arrighi, Lisa Genovesi, Chiara Frassi, Luca Pandolfi · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Italy (Tuscany)

Trace elements were measured in soil and groundwater in the Fornaci di Barga urban area, Tuscany, Italy. Results indicate that Cu, Zn, and Cd are the main contaminants in surface soil, likely originating from airborne particulate matter deposition from metallurgical activity. Risk assessment considering soil ingestion and dermal contact exposure routes revealed that the cadmium Hazard Quotient approaches unity for children, and the cadmium risk-based concentration is only slightly lower than the maximum concentration measured in soil.

Maddy Power · Policy Press eBooks · United Kingdom

In the UK, food banks and other food aid providers expanded significantly in parallel with welfare reforms and benefit cuts initiated after 2010. This contemporary phenomenon occurred within a historical context of long-standing community-based responses to poverty and hunger in the UK.