Research & reports

Ana Cristina Torres, Anne Caroline Prévot, Sophie Nadot · Letras Verdes Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios Socioambientales · France (Paris)

A study of 9 Parisian community gardens revealed the limitations of the dominant approach in conservation sciences and urban planning, which seeks to halt environmental deterioration by establishing an ethical basis of attitudes deemed appropriate for conserving a particular nature, by limiting human-nature interaction. Considering citizen subjectivities, the study offers perspectives to nourish conservation sciences and rethink cities.

Solange Hernandez · International Review of Administrative Sciences · France

This case study in the urban community of Pays d’Aubagne et de l’Etoile, France, over 25 years, aimed to understand paradoxical territorial management practices in peri-urban agriculture. Based on quantitative analyses of qualitative data, the study demonstrated the relevance of these management practices in action, but identified paradoxes as a recurring source of tension and deadlock in territorial public administration. The research proposes managerial tools applicable in the framework of public action in peri-urban agriculture.

Elke Rogge, Eva Kerselaers, Charlotte Prové · · Europe

This study explores opportunities and challenges for peri-urban agriculture, examining envisioning processes in Ghent and Kortrijk, Belgium, initiated by local authorities. Results indicate that pressure on farmland is a key issue in both contexts. Multifunctionality is complex in practice and governance, and successful envisioning processes require clear objectives, defined study areas, policy support, strong leadership, and reliable data.

Leonardo Boganini, Chiara Casazza · · Italy

The ongoing Ur.C.A. research project in Italy's Tuscany region aims to identify the possibilities of integrating agriculture into urban settlements, especially brownfield sites and marginal areas, utilizing hydroponic technologies. The project analyzes the potential for requalification of these urban contexts through urban agriculture, focusing on legislative and technological feasibility. It seeks to develop an innovative hydroponic growth cell system suitable for urban unused areas, integrating renewable energy and rainwater collection.

Wanda Kononowicz, Katarzyna Gryniewicz-Balińska · Digital library of Zielona Gora (University of Zielona Góra) · Poland

This paper describes the historical development of allotment gardens in Wrocław, Poland, from the mid-nineteenth century. It notes the emergence of various types, including rented gardens, gardens for the poor or factory workers, school gardens, Schreber gardens, and "war" vegetable gardens cultivated between 1914-1918.

Xavier Recasens Gracia, María José Prados Velasco, Óscar Alfranca · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Spain

This study comparatively analyzed the relationships between the economic activity of urban farms and agricultural protection systems in the metropolitan areas of Barcelona and Seville. It investigated the business management and commercial aspects of urban agriculture, and how it is conditioned by urban planning and Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) decisions. Based on the CANVAS Business Model and quantification of benefits, the results demonstrated that urban agriculture is multifunctional and can contribute to business profits.

Luca Salvati, Pere Serra, Serena Rugiero, Alberto Sabbi · Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia · Europe

This article discusses the relationship between landscape and peri-urban agriculture and the implications of sustainable land management for fringe land quality. It proposes a framework to evaluate the latent nexus between agro-forest systems and human settlements in southern Europe. Eco-sustainable planning integrated with multifaceted research and policy dimensions is a relevant approach to urban fringe sustainability. Permanent assessment of these factors allows for the implementation of different development scenarios.

Andrew Sleight · · United Kingdom

The Midlothian Community Hospital Garden achieved significant success, thanks to funding provided by the Tyne Esk LEADER.

Giulio Senes, Natalia Fumagalli, P. Ferrario, Daniele Gariboldi, Roberto Rovelli · Journal of Agricultural Engineering · Italy (Milano)

A study was conducted in 133 municipalities of the metropolitan area of Milano (excluding Milano city) to evaluate the presence of Municipal Community Gardens (MCGs) and define criteria for new MCG settlements. The study found that 59 municipalities had MCGs, with an average area per capita of 0.68 sq.m (excluding an outlier), and most MCGs were located in urban or suburban areas. Criteria proposed for identifying suitable areas for new MCGs included proximity to road networks within residential areas, suitable land use, and not high land capability, leading to the identification of the number and area of MCGs to be realized and their potentially suitable sites in each municipality.

Beatriz Pineda Revilla, A.J.J. van der Valk · Urban Agriculture Magazine · Netherlands

This article examines the role of a participatory agent, a civil servant in Amsterdam East, Netherlands, whose primary task is to bridge the interests of citizens and local government within a community garden. The study focuses on citizen-led initiatives in Dutch cities.

Charlotte Prové, Joost Dessein, Michiel De Krom · Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) · Belgium; Poland

A study evaluating urban agriculture in Belgium and Poland argues that current governance approaches fail to reflect the importance of local context. The authors found that considering city-specific factors is crucial for urban agriculture to reach its full potential. They recommend a broader policymaking strategy that acknowledges benefits beyond food production.

· · Italy

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) document from 2004 recognized the strategic value of peri-urban agriculture, describing these areas as complex territories with important economic, environmental, and social roles. The document also noted that peri-urban areas may include less favored areas, entitling local farmers to additional indemnity for natural or environmental limitations.

Elifnaz Durusoy · MEGARON / Yıldız Technical University Faculty of Architecture E-Journal · Turkey (Istanbul)

The Yedikule Urban Gardens in Istanbul were studied as an example where cultural conservation and social inclusion have been challenged by economic development due to the growth of urban development. This study emphasizes both destruction and development within the context of physical, natural, economic, and social change. It demonstrates the hardships faced when attempting to sustain urban gardens during periods of urban growth.

Richard Almenius · · United Kingdom

A 2016 urban planning thesis on London, United Kingdom. It states that London imports 80 percent of its food, much of it from abroad over long distances ("food miles"), raising sustainability concerns and contributing to road freight congestion and pollution in the inner city. The thesis proposes redeveloping the brownfield land of Greenwich Peninsula in south-east London — near the Millennium Dome, the Thames, and underground access — by combining rooftop and courtyard urban farming with large-scale food production in a converted former industrial building, presented as a pilot project for a sustainable way of living in London beyond meeting housing needs alone.

Alexandra Doernberg, Ingo Zasada, Katarzyna Bruszewska, Björn Skoczowski, Annette Piorr · Sustainability · Germany

A 2016 study applies a food systems approach to examine the potential and limits of regional organic food supply in the Berlin Metropolitan Region (BMR), Germany. Using an analytical framework built from the literature and qualitative interviews plus a stakeholder workshop on two alternative food network types — organic community supported agriculture (CSA) and organic retail trade — it finds that demand for regional organic food exceeds regional supply, while identifying obstacles including limited access to land, rising rental prices, insufficient processing capacity, and an unsupportive political environment for organic farming.

Wanda Kononowicz, Katarzyna Gryniewicz-Balińska · Civil And Environmental Engineering Reports · Poland

This paper traces the history of allotment gardens in Wrocław, Poland, alongside changing socio-economic conditions from the mid-nineteenth century onward. They began as rented plots for the poor and factory workers, then in the early twentieth century expanded to include school gardens and Schreber gardens with shared common areas as part of Dr. Schreber's educational health program; "war" vegetable gardens were widely cultivated from 1914 to 1918; allotments were systematically integrated into the city plan as permanent urban greenery elements in the 1920s; and during the 1930s economic crisis, allotments with garden houses were adapted as housing for the unemployed and homeless. The paper describes Wrocław's allotment gardens as cultural heritage with historical, social, recreational, economic and compositional value, noting that while Western Europe is seeing a renaissance of the allotment idea, Poland shows a tendency to eliminate them from urban landscapes.

Susan Noori, Mary Benson, B J Gawryszewska, Michael Hardman, Kadri Kasemets, Maria Partalidou, Tarmo Pikner, Krista Willman · · Europe

A sociological essay addresses the sparse sociological literature on allotment gardens as 'lived places,' exploring how social relations, experiences, meanings, and a sense of place develop and become visible within gardens. It argues that allotment gardens offer people the opportunity to engage creatively in place-making and that this active engagement drives the social process of place-making, taking the Pispala allotment garden in Tampere, Finland, as an example of an urban nature area experienced as an extremely socially meaningful place, and discusses urban livability and place-making in relation to people's connections to rurality and nature, along with the permeable, transient boundaries and sense of community that develop within shared spaces where individual plots are leased.

Özge Yalçıner Ercoşkun · · Turkey

Building on the observation that rapid urban transformation in Turkish cities has neglected and damaged local values in recent years, this paper examines traditional Turkish cities across different bio-regions under sustainable planning and design principles within an eco-cultural logic framework. Key themes are land use, accessibility, open and green space, production, water management, social cohesion, and traditional architecture, and the paper lists compact urban layout, mixed land use, pedestrian-prioritized street patterns, climate-friendly design, water and stormwater management, open-green space systems, and urban agriculture as sustainable urban planning and design principles.

Luca Salvati · · Europe

Land-use change in southern Europe was assessed through a case study of the Athens metropolitan region, Greece, analyzing the spatial distribution of built-up areas, cropland and forests together with demographic and socioeconomic indicators across alternating expansion waves over the past 50 years. Per-capita built-up area was higher during the "dispersed" urbanization wave than the "compact" one, but cropland was the land-use class most vulnerable to urbanization, with a high rate of conversion from forest to cropland — later abandoned and finally developed — observed since the early 1990s. This process was linked to land fragmentation and soil degradation driven by illegal housing and real estate speculation.

Efrat Eizenberg, Simone Tappert, Nicola Thomas, Andis Zīlāns, Kristine Abolina, Theodosia Anthopoulou, Jevgenijs Duboks · · Europe

A book chapter examines the changes and challenges facing allotment gardens in European cities from the perspective of urban political economy, reading these new urban configurations within the macro-framework of capitalism and governability. It traces past and current processes of urban change through the economic, political and spatial lens of the "entrepreneurial city," discusses the impact of urban restructuring on allotment gardens' structure, operation and meaning, and states that political and spatial restructuring in the entrepreneurial city has been accompanied by a sharpening of social and economic inequalities within cities.

Javier Pérez-Lara, Antonio J. Matas, Miguel Angel Quesada-Felice · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Spain

Set within the growth of urban horticulture across Andalusia, Spain, over the past decade, this study characterizes the current state of urban gardens in Málaga and describes their strengths and weaknesses. In Málaga, especially over the last five years, the initiative grew from a convergence of factors—an opportunity for urban land reuse following the real estate bubble collapse, municipal need to maintain vacant lots combined with available economic resources through institutional support (the PROTEJA plan), and pressure from citizen groups linked to the 15M movement (such as the "Huerto del Caminito")—producing a diversity of garden types and management modes ranging from more institutional to more communal and self-managed, which led to the establishment of the Málaga Urban Gardens Network (RHUMA).

· Wikipédia (français) · France

This French Wikipedia article on urban agriculture (agriculture urbaine) describes the Parisculteurs program, launched by the City of Paris in 2016, which inventories greenable spaces (walls, basements, rooftops, flat land) and runs annual project calls (appels à projets) to accelerate urban farming installations. The article does not give detailed statistics such as budget figures or the number of selected projects.

Ville de Paris · Ville de Paris (Parisculteurs) · France

This official overview page for Paris's Parisculteurs urban-agriculture program states it launched in 2016 with a charter targeting 100 hectares of urban farming; the program has since realized nearly 36 hectares across more than 70 projects (with a similar number in development). A 2013 study by APUR (the Paris urban planning agency) confirmed rooftop agriculture potential, and by 2014 about 11 hectares were already used for urban agriculture, only 0.3 of which were on building structures. Around thirty public and private partners and 14 local authorities currently participate.

Resilient Cities Network · Resilient Cities Network · France

Article from the Resilient Cities Network describing Parisculteurs, the urban-agriculture support programme launched by the City of Paris in 2016. The '100 Hectares' charter has 82 partner organizations, and more than 50 projects have been realized with an equal number under development. Goals cited include shortening food supply chains, strengthening community cohesion, promoting healthy eating, food security, and ecosystem services.

République française · Légifrance (République française) · France

This is the official text of France's food waste law, promulgated on 11 February 2016. It establishes a priority order for combating food waste: prevention first, then donation or transformation of consumable unsold food, followed by use as animal feed, then composting or energy recovery. Food retailers above a certain size are prohibited from deliberately rendering consumable unsold food unfit for consumption and must offer donation agreements to accredited charities, with a €3,750 fine for deliberate destruction of consumable unsold food.