Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
3241 results(21 / 130)
Assessing environmental sustainability by combining product service systems and life cycle perspective: A case study of hydroponic urban farming models in India
2024Paturu P., Varadarajan S. · Science of The Total Environment · India
Combines product-service-systems thinking and life-cycle assessment to compare the environmental impacts of hydroponic urban-farming business models (greenhouse, indoor, cabinet selling with remote monitoring) for lettuce production in Tamil Nadu, India.
EconomicsOrganic cycleSustainability assessments of commercial urban agriculture – a scoping review
2024Milestad R., de Jong A., Bustamante M. J., Molin E., Martin M., Malone Friedman C. · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Global
A scoping review of sustainability assessments of commercial urban agriculture, finding that just under half address economic sustainability and frequently note difficult profitability, systematizing the evidence base for evaluating business-run urban farming.
EconomicsResource Orchestration in Cross-Sector Partnerships for Systemic Change: A Longitudinal Study of Urban Food Assistance
2024Bartezzaghi G., Garrone P., Rizzuni A., Melacini M., Perego A. · Business & Society · Italy
A longitudinal action-research study of a cross-sector partnership delivering urban food assistance, showing how resource orchestration by public, corporate, and nonprofit actors spurs phases of systemic change in the urban food system.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyUrban agriculture as an evolved sustainable urban livelihood: evidence from Kampala city, Uganda
2024Kwiringira J., Mohling E.W.P., Mathias A., Ariho P., Mugisha J., Zakumumpa H., Rujumba J., Tumwebaze I.K. · Agriculture & Food Security 13:53 · Uganda
This study analyzes urban agriculture in Kampala as a dynamic, evolved livelihood strategy attracting both the urban poor and other groups, contributing to job creation, poverty alleviation, and household food security.
EconomicsWelfareCommunity都市的土地利用の手法としての市民農園の展開可能性
2024新田 直人, 谷口 守 · 土木学会論文集 80巻11号 論文ID:23-00303 · Japan
Through multiple regression on fees at growing corporate-run kitchen gardens in metropolitan areas, this paper shows pricing reflects urban land-use factors such as rail access, distance from city center, and surrounding population, discussing expansion potential for private rooftop and non-farmland farms.
EconomicsPolicyCommunity企業の農業参入と都市農業ビジネス
2024佐藤 光泰 · NOMURA Food & Agri Business Review Vol.14 · Japan
A Nomura Securities Food & Agri Business white paper presenting revenue simulations and cross-sell strategies for rental-farm businesses as urban agriculture entry opportunities for real estate and service firms, discussing private developer kitchen-garden business models.
EconomicsPolicyCommunityポスト2022年の都市農地
2024一般財団法人都市農地活用支援センター · 都市農地活用支援センター 事例集 · Japan
A 2024 casebook on urban farmland use after the 2022 productive-green-area milestone, compiling 40 national examples including UR housing-district Kleingarten, rooftop farms, and private vacant-land community gardens, organizing latest private developer and corporate entry trends.
PolicyCommunityEconomics川崎市市民農園事業実施要綱
2024川崎市 · 川崎市 行政規程・実施要綱 · Japan
Kawasaki's implementation guidelines for city-established and city-managed citizen farms, defining land leasing under the Special Farmland Lease Act, plot recruitment and use conditions as the official basis for municipally operated rental gardens.
PolicyCommunityEconomics横浜都市農業推進プラン2024-2028
2024横浜市 環境創造局 · 横浜市 都市農業振興基本法に基づく地方計画 · Japan
Yokohama's latest five-year local plan under the Urban Agriculture Promotion Act, organising policies for sustainable farming, farmland preservation, citizen farms, harvest experiences and local consumption building on Midori Up and Megumi-no-Sato programmes.
PolicyCommunityFood educationBiodiversityEconomicsUrban greening in Dhaka: Assessing rooftop agriculture suitability using GIS and MCDM techniques
2024Sultana N., Sharifi A., Haque M.N., Aghaloo K. · Journal of Environmental Management · Bangladesh (Dhaka)
GIS and multi-criteria analysis of Dhaka classified 9% of city area as highly suitable and 68% as suitable for rooftop agriculture, using seven criteria including building age, height, rooftop size, and water availability.
PolicyEconomicsAssessing climate vulnerabilities of urban food systems and institutional responses: the case of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
2024Maphosa M., Moyo P. · Frontiers in Sustainable Cities · Zimbabwe (Bulawayo)
This study evaluated climate vulnerability in Bulawayo's urban food system and found that the city's 2007 urban agriculture policy lacks climate change provisions, institutional coordination is weak, and extension services are severely understaffed, though NGO-led innovations and national conservation agriculture programs offer promising pathways for resilience.
PolicyFood educationCommunityEconomicsUrban farming system and food security in sub‐Saharan Africa: Analysis of the current status and challenges
2024Kiribou et al. · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · Africa
2024 research analyzing urban farming systems' role in sub-Saharan African food security, income generation, and employment creation, examining environmental, economic, and social benefits.
EconomicsUrban vertical farming: innovation for food security and social impact?
2024· Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B · Global
2024 comprehensive review of 151 scientific publications on urban vertical farming, examining its potential for food security and social impact through novel technology and social entrepreneurial innovation.
EconomicsEnergy Efficiency of Glasshouses and Plant Factories for Sustainable Urban Farming in the Desert Southwest of the United States of America
2024Md Azad, Nazim Gruda, Most Naznin · Horticulturae · United States (Desert Southwest)
This review assesses how controlled-environment agriculture—controlled glasshouses and building-integrated plant factories—can be sustained in the desert southwest of the United States by evaluating their energy and water efficiency. It reports that roughly 50% of operational energy costs in controlled glasshouses go to cooling, while 25–30% of energy costs in building-integrated plant factories go to artificial lighting. It notes that aeroponic building-integrated plant factories showed superior water and energy efficiency, and that integrating photovoltaic solar energy can significantly reduce energy costs for urban farming.
EconomicsRacial equity and the USDA's Office of Urban Agriculture granting program and urban offices
2024Kristin Reynolds, Cédric Gottfried, Tamarra Thomas · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · United States
This policy brief reports findings from a study examining, through a racial-equity lens, the rollout of the USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production established by the 2018 farm bill. Drawing on national surveys, interviews in New York City and Atlanta, GIS mapping, and policy review, it situates the provisions within the USDA's history of discrimination and offers policy recommendations for engaging socially disadvantaged urban farmers.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsScalability of Urban Agriculture
2024Kristin Jones · Enquiry The ARCC Journal for Architectural Research · United States (Chicago)
Taking Alfred Caldwell's mid-century vision of small-scale farming as social empowerment as its starting point, this study examines three distinct urban farming approaches in Chicago—spanning raised-bed farming, aquaponics, hydroponics, and permaculture across a nonprofit, a community group, and a private entrepreneur—to assess their scalability and broader societal and environmental impact. It identifies numerous opportunities for scaling up and concludes that a multi-faceted, multi-scalar framework is needed to grow urban agriculture within resilient cities.
EconomicsCommunityPolicySustainable agriculture impacts in urban settings make the case for federal investments [Policy brief]
2024Hagan Capnerhurst, Hannah Quigley, Jake Hawes · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · United States
This policy brief examines the challenges facing urban agriculture in U.S. cities—scant funding, insecure land tenure, and environmental pollution—and profiles the USDA's emerging Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production as a support apparatus. It calls for consistent, permanent federal funding outside the annual budget process to enable tailored technical assistance, reformed grant initiatives, and expanded data collection.
PolicyEconomicsThe Impact of Urban–Rural Integration on Food Security: Evidence from Provincial Panel Data in China
2024· Sustainability · China
Uses provincial panel data to analyze how urban–rural integration affects food security across China.
PolicyEconomicsAssessing the Sustainability of Urban Agriculture in Shanghai's Nine Agriculture Districts: A Decadal Analysis (2010–2020)
2024· Agriculture · China (Shanghai)
Assesses the sustainability of urban agriculture across Shanghai's nine agriculture districts (2010–2020) using a triple-bottom-line framework, finding overall gains but declining economic sustainability.
PolicyEconomicsAchieving coordinated development of multi-functional urban agriculture in Xiamen, China
2024· Sustainable Cities and Society · China (Xiamen)
Builds a framework to evaluate, diagnose, and optimize multi-functional urban agriculture in Xiamen, China, finding strong social but weak ecological functions.
PolicyEconomicsUrban rooftops for food and energy in China
2024· Nature Cities · China
A study evaluating the potential of urban rooftops in China for both food production and energy generation.
PolicyEconomicsGermany: Urban Farming as an Innovation and Application Environment of an Agile Start-Up Mindset
2024· Springer (book chapter) · Germany
A book chapter framing urban farming in Germany as an innovation and application environment for an agile start-up mindset, discussing entrepreneurial urban agriculture ventures.
EconomicsDIYMapping municipal food supply: A longitudinal-spatial case study in Southern Germany
2024Mager · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · Germany (Southern Germany)
A longitudinal-spatial case study mapping municipal food supply in Southern Germany.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityIntegration of IoT in Small-Scale Aquaponics to Enhance Efficiency and Profitability: A Systematic Review
2024· Animals · Global
A systematic review arguing that integrating IoT into small-scale aquaponics enhances efficiency and profitability by optimizing resource use and monitoring water quality.
DIYEconomicsAssessment of Low-Cost and Higher-End Soil Moisture Sensors across Various Moisture Ranges and Soil Textures
2024· Sensors · Global
Compares the accuracy of low-cost versus higher-end soil moisture sensors across various moisture ranges and soil textures, showing that adding an ADS1115 converter improves the error of low-cost sensors.
DIYEconomics