Research & reports

Selda Cansu TEMEL · GRID - Architecture Planning and Design Journal · Turkey

This study analyzed the planning and design criteria of public primary school gardens in Üsküdar district, Istanbul, Turkey, to determine their proficiency levels against national, international, and academic standards. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, including on-site observation, the research identified architectural disadvantages and inadequacies in the school gardens. The findings indicate deficiencies in the current state of these outdoor recreation areas.

Tezcan Mert-Cakal, Mara Miele · Agriculture and Human Values · United Kingdom (Wales)

This article examines Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) projects in Wales as social innovation, exploring their emergence, innovative role, and transformative potential. Based on qualitative data from four different CSA case studies in Wales, the research showed that Welsh CSA cases play distinctive roles in the social economy, satisfying needs for ecologically sound and ethically produced food and empowering individuals at a micro level. However, the paper argues that for CSA initiatives to become 'workable utopias', they need to overcome barriers preventing replication, participation in macro-level policies, and scaling up, particularly concerning economic sustainability and resilience on a small scale.

J.E. Jansma, Sidrig Wertheim-Heck · · Netherlands

This paper explores how urban planning practices can integrate urban agriculture in peri-urban zones, despite its current marginalization in such areas. It analyzes the planning practices of Almere, a Dutch city that has fully integrated urban agriculture into its new urban area, Oosterwold. The study reflects on how cities can sustainably feed urban populations.

Irene Antoni-Komar, Christine Lenz · · Germany

This chapter discusses community building in sustainable food initiatives in Germany. Empirical data was collected through semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and action research with 27 practitioners from local food enterprises and initiatives, while quantitative data was gathered from surveys of members and customers. Findings indicate how participation in transformative enterprises is based on new forms of creative doing and collaboration, along with associated barriers and opportunities.

Marie Diekmann · Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung · Germany

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is an innovative form of direct cooperation where farmers and consumers share costs, products, responsibilities, and risks. A research project conducted in Germany from 2015 to 2018 aimed to contribute to the limited knowledge on CSA as an alternative niche strategy for agricultural businesses. This paper presents the central results of that project.

Paulien C. H. van de Vlasakker, E.J. Veen · Sustainability · Netherlands (Velp)

This study investigated high-tech indoor gardening practices in four nursing homes in Velp, Netherlands, using qualitative and quantitative methods including site visits, employee surveys, and interviews with residents and decision-makers. It found that indoor gardens integrated gardening and harvest into cooking, transforming residents' eating practices and increasing their appreciation for fresh vegetables. Successful integration was linked to employees' gardening/cooking competences, enjoyment, and easy garden accessibility.

Ornela María Muñoz Millet, Antonio Yepes Jiménez · · Spain

A school in Spain implemented composting of organic waste from its canteen for use in an ecological school garden, with support from the AGROA school composting program and the Aguilas City Council. The entire educational community participates, from canteen staff separating waste, to the janitor transporting it, and teachers and students organizing it for compost and using it as fertilizer. This practice serves as a didactic resource for developing environmental attitudes and sustainable habits.

Andrea Baier, Christa Müller · · Germany

This chapter discusses the results of semi-structured face-to-face interviews conducted in 2016 with activists in three urban community gardens in Bremen, Cologne, and Kassel, Germany. The study focused on the relationship between urban projects and municipal administrations. It showed that initiatives taken by grassroots activists to form collaborations with administrative actors are limited, though the traditional role of citizens can be extended in new local partnerships.

Silvio Cristiano, Marco Auriemma, P Cacciari, Manola Cervesato, Domenico Maffeo, Paola Malgaretto, Francesco Nordio · · Italy

This case study describes an ongoing community-supported agriculture (CSA) project in the urban-rural sprawl between Venice and Treviso, Italy. Farmers and consumers co-design and co-manage food provisioning and crop planning, sharing risks, avoiding food waste, and addressing financial barriers. The project aims to meet community food requirements while addressing economic, environmental, and social aspects, presenting feasible paths for sustainable transition.

Jeroen Schütt, Bas Amelung · · Europe

This research, conducted by the Science Shop of Wageningen University and Research, estimated the monetary value of ecosystem services in the Lutkemeerpolder, Amsterdam, which is slated for conversion into a business park. The study identified food production, air purification, recreation, and the effect of greenery on housing prices as key services, valuing them at 1.5 to 8.6 million euros per year. These ecosystem service values were not considered in the original decision-making twenty years ago, leading to a recommendation to reconsider the development plan.

Luca Sára Bródy, Mandy de Wilde · Local Environment · Netherlands (Amsterdam)

Based on a qualitative study of 19 community gardening projects in Amsterdam, this research argues that community gardens function as “controlled space.” Various institutional governance actors, including local government, welfare organizations, green NGOs, and housing associations, exert varied levels of influence and control over the gardens. These relations both impair and enable the civic participation of gardeners, the inclusive potential of gardens, and an alternative, local food provision and distribution.

Maria Vasile, Cristina Grasseni · Anthrovision · Italy

This study investigated urban gardening in Turin, Italy, using ethnography, historical analysis, and photography. In post-industrial, multicultural Turin, the hegemonic power of aesthetic assumptions about the urban green illuminated the dialectic of gentrification vis-à-vis socioeconomic and cultural diversity. It highlighted that the homogeneity of an aesthetic regime contrasts with the diverse 'skilled visions' of social actors, leading to restraining effects on participatory governance.

Esther Sanyé‐Mengual, Kathrin Specht, Jan Vávra, Martina Artmann, Francesco Orsini, Giorgio Gianquinto · Sustainability · Italy (Bologna)

This study compared perceptions of urban agriculture (UA) ecosystem services (ESs) among different societal groups in Bologna, Italy, namely UA project leaders, stakeholders, and the general public, with 406 individuals evaluating 25 ESs via a standardized Likert-scale survey. Statistical analysis indicated that the general public and UA stakeholders agreed on the high relevance of socio-cultural ESs, while provisioning ESs were considered less significant. This study reveals a lower perception of provisioning ESs from urban agriculture.

Sam Ramsden · Voluntary Sector Review · United Kingdom

This article explored an externally funded charity-led project in a deprived area of the UK, implementing urban agriculture, community gardening, and household energy activities. The project successfully engaged marginalized people, who strongly voiced outcomes including reduced isolation, improved mental health, and increased resilience and self-reliance. Environmental outcomes were less tangible but included improvements to the local environment and reduced energy usage. However, after the funding finished, marginalized participants were vulnerable to outcomes not being sustained in the long term.

Ewa Kacprzak, Barbara Maćkiewicz, Magdalena Szczepańska · Ruch Prawniczy Ekonomiczny i Socjologiczny · Germany, Poland

This study compared legal regulations for allotment gardening in Germany and Poland. Through analysis of legal acts, field research, and structured interviews, it was found that some provisions of legal acts in both countries are not strictly adhered to by users. In Poland, unclear provisions regarding crop cultivation have led to the replacement of the farming function by recreational and residential uses.

Ryad Bouzouidja, Béatrice Bechet, Jitka Hanzlíková, Michal Sněhota, Cécile Le Guern, Hervé Capiaux, Liliane Jean‐Soro, Rémy Claverie, Sophie Joimel, Christophe Schwartz, René Guénon, Flóra Szkordilisz, Barnabas Körmöndi, Marjorie Musy, Patrice Cannavo, Thierry Lebeau · Journal of Soils and Sediments · Europe

A simplified methodology for assessing soil quality in nature-based solutions (NBS) was tested in Nantes, Nancy, and Bustehrad, focusing on former market gardening areas (FMG), green roofs (GR), and urban allotment gardens (UAG). While FMG and UAGs showed soil fertility equivalent to cultivated soils, FMG soil quality was significantly impacted by pesticide residues and trace metals from former agricultural practices. Data indicated that 12 of 14 FMG plots were classified as altered or very altered soils regarding molecular biomass.

Poppy Nicol, Alice Taherzadeh · Sustainability · United Kingdom (Wales)

This article explores the potential of cooperative working methods to scale out sustainable and just food systems in Wales. Based on interviews with stakeholders in Wales and international case studies, it identifies opportunities and challenges. Findings suggest that cooperative and community-based approaches, including CSA and food hubs, have the potential for sustainable food production and distribution, emphasizing the importance of capacity building and community participation.

Udo Weilacher · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Europe

This chapter discusses the historical perception of gardens and gardening in urban contexts, noting that from the mid-19th century, ornamental gardens were often questioned by architects and urban planners. Leading 20th-century European landscape architects criticized gardening as neither artistic nor scientific. However, in the 21st century, gardens, particularly urban gardening, have seen a renaissance as a living component of the 'network metropolis', suggesting that the fundamental principles of garden thinking remain relevant.

Justyna Mokras-Grabowska · Miscellanea Geographica · Poland

Allotment gardening (AGs) in Europe, including Poland, is a tradition stemming from rapid urban industrialization, now emphasizing community, social, ecological, creative, and entertainment functions beyond economic and recreational roles. The Polish Allotment Association undertakes numerous initiatives, such as the "Open Social Programme of Allotment Gardens Development," to protect AGs from liquidation and promote their use for public and non-public purposes. This program redefines the perception of AGs in Poland and contributes to their infrastructural development.

Lexi Earl, Pat Thomson · · United Kingdom (midlands in England)

This chapter examines a school garden with farm elements at a primary school in a deprived market town in the midlands of England, established as part of an 'eco-school' initiative driven by the former head teacher. The garden included various spaces like a farm, raised beds, a pond, and a herb garden, used for science learning and natural exploration. However, the study notes that the impetus for outdoor learning diminished after the initiating head teacher departed, as school priorities shifted due to other pressures.

John H. McKendrick, Jed Graham · ResearchOnline · United Kingdom

This report presents the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit's (SPIRU) review of the volunteer work undertaken with Belville Community Garden Trust during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 (mid-March onwards).

B.H.M. Elands, Bianca Ambrose‐Oji, Annegret Haase, Karin Peters · · Europe

A book chapter examining how citizen engagement with urban green space in European cities addresses the needs of increasingly diverse urban populations, focusing on three forms of engagement: recreation, community gardening, and community-led nature management. Gardening and community-led nature management were found to strengthen existing friendships and build new ones - including across culturally diverse groups - more often than park recreation does. The chapter also notes that addressing cultural diversity can create spaces of exclusion, where one group's use of space excludes others.

J.E. Jansma, Sigrid Wertheim‐Heck · Landscape and Urban Planning · Netherlands

A study of the Dutch city of Almere examining, through a social practice perspective, how planning practices came to fully integrate urban agriculture into a new urban area called Oosterwold. Analysing meanings, materials, and competences across four periods over 55 years of planning history, the study finds that agriculture has been part of Almere's planning since the city's inception, yet it took 55 years for hybrid urban-rural planning practices that fully integrate agriculture to emerge. The case also shows that this integration required interdisciplinary, unconventional operation and leadership, stretching the professional domain of urban planning.

Benjamin Hennchen, Michael Pregernig · Sustainability · Europe

This study systematically analyzed how joint practices of gardening, cooking, and eating together are organized in five urban food initiatives — such as community-supported agriculture, urban gardening, food sharing, and community kitchens — in two smaller cities in southern Germany. Data were gathered through qualitative methods including interviewing, participatory observation, and document analysis, covering five dimensions: institutional integration, recruiting mechanisms, goal-setting, time management, and types of knowledge. Based on these dimensions, the results portray two distinctive organizational profiles among the urban food initiatives, and the article concludes with a reflection on how local governments could support food initiatives and contribute to sustainable urban food systems.

Jan Hassink, Angela Moriggi, Saverio Senni, Elisabeth Hense, Dries de Moor · · Europe

A 2020 paper uses care ethics as an analytical tool to examine caring, regenerative agricultural and food practices, including community supported agriculture, urban agriculture, care and social farming, and organic and biodynamic farming. Drawing on empirical cases in the Netherlands and Italy guided by social justice, cooperation, respectful relationships, inclusion, and education, it describes how care for the community, vulnerable citizens, the environment, farm animals, and food is practiced. It identifies challenges farmers face around access to land, budgets, and dealing with the conventional system, and poses as an open question the extent to which such caring practices can influence dominant agricultural and food systems.