Research & reports

윤혜경, 이연숙, 이홍성 · 한국생태환경건축학회 학술발표대회 논문집 · Global

This study investigates the utility of "Health Community Farming Gardens" within apartment buildings in Korea, aiming to present a realistic and effective apartment floor plan that enhances residents' health. Through a literature review of green infrastructure and urban farming, the research confirms that green infrastructure and urban farming revitalize apartment culture, effectively address ecosystem deterioration, and foster a green cultural spread within resident communities. The study emphasizes the innovation of integrating farming gardens into apartment buildings to maintain residents' holistic health.

John Merson, Roger Attwater, Peter Ampt, Howard G. Wildman, Rosalie Chapple · International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability · Australia

This paper presents an overview of a four-year project examining the western edge of the Sydney basin in Australia — historically a major source of fruit and vegetables for Sydney markets — where rapid urban development expansion has caused a significant reduction in the number of small farms and market gardens. Urban and peri-urban agriculture in the region also serves as an important buffer between urban development and the neighboring Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, with urban expansion and economies of scale identified as contributing to the decline of urban agriculture. The project explored options for supporting these vulnerable farming communities in terms of regulatory factors and economic and environmental sustainability, and investigated the role of agri-industries as landscape buffers to the neighboring World Heritage Area in relation to resilience, communities of practice, and ecosystem services. Working with targeted representative landholders, the study developed tools including an integrated bio-system approach using organic waste conversion and landscape function analysis to help address erosion, nutrient loss, and inefficient water management.

Buchmann C. · Human Ecology · Cuba (Trinidad de Cuba)

Using ethnobotanical fieldwork in Trinidad de Cuba, this study shows how home gardens serve as the most adaptable local land resource, with garden composition and management adapting in response to major events such as the Soviet collapse, bolstering household food security and social-ecological resilience.

Veronica Gaylie · · Global

This book chronicles the establishment of a campus learning garden involving student teachers and environmental education students. Despite starting with no funding, the project resulted in a transformation of attitudes towards nature, community, and the learning process. The book examines this process through metaphors of the garden as environment, community, and transformation, bridging theory and practice for ecology-centered teaching.

Karin Ahrné, Jan Bengtsson, Thomas Elmqvist · PLoS ONE · Sweden (Stockholm)

This study investigated bumble bees in allotment gardens along an urbanization gradient from inner Stockholm to rural areas. Findings showed that bumble bee diversity decreased with increasing urbanization, from approximately eight species in rural areas to five to six species in urban allotment gardens. Higher variability in the abundance of certain species in the most urban areas suggested a potentially weaker reliability of the pollination ecosystem service in areas strongly influenced by human activity.

Yu Chen, Wong Nyuk Hien · Advances in Building Energy Research · Global

This chapter reviews three major types of urban greenery: public green areas, rooftop gardens, and vertical landscaping, from systematic and thermal benefit perspectives. It synthesizes worldwide research on these types of urban greenery and provides general guidelines for strategic landscaping in cities.

Pernilla Ouis, Ebba Lisberg Jensen · Malmö University Publications (Malmö University) · Sweden (Malmö)

This article examines the cultural parallelism between biological and cultural diversity as manifested in allotment garden areas in Malmö, Sweden, from a historical perspective. Using empirical data from interviews with allotment gardeners of different ethnic origins across Malmö, it shows how people bring their old plants and exchange varieties and species. This practice is argued to sometimes enhance contact and integration, and other times symbolize difference, contact with the country of origin, or ethnic identity.

Eric G. Strauss · Cities and the Environment · Global

This issue of CATE is dedicated to the theme of urban pollinators in relation to community gardens, addressing a gap in knowledge regarding pollinator ecology in urban landscapes. It notes that while pollinators' roles in agricultural systems are well-studied, their impact in community gardens is less understood. Six papers in this issue explore these questions, aiming to provide a foundation for understanding urban pollinators and guiding future research and management.

Xing Dong · China Environmental Protection Industry · Global

This paper introduces basic knowledge of rooftop gardens and discusses their various environmental benefits.

Marielle Dubbeling, Laura Bracalenti, Laura Lagorio · Open House International · Argentina (Rosario)

In Rosario, Argentina, city planners and university staff collaborated with two low-income communities to design and implement a multifunctional neighborhood park, public square, and road reserve for urban agriculture. A step-by-step participatory design process was followed. This participatory design contributed to improving socio-economic and environmental conditions in the city.

Ana Puertas, L Hidalgo-Díaz · Revista de Protección Vegetal · Cuba

An experiment in Cuba investigated the effect of different organic fertilizers on the establishment of the biological control agent Pochonia chlamydosporia var. catenulata in the substrate and rhizosphere of tomato plants. High colonization levels of the substrate and tomato roots were observed across all treatments using soil, cattle manure, and worm humus in various proportions. Results indicated a tendency for higher root colonization values in organic fertilizers and proportions that allowed medium or lower substrate colonization. Both organic fertilizers can be used to support the application of P. chlamydosporia var. catenulata in urban agriculture.

Stefan Dongus, Dickson Nyika, Khadija Kannady, Deo Mtasiwa, Hassan Mshinda, Laura Gosoniu, Axel Drescher, Ulrike Fillinger, Marcel Tanner, Gerry F. Killeen, Márcia C. Castro · Geospatial health · Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)

A cross-sectional survey in urban Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, investigated the influence of agricultural and geographical features on Anopheles larvae presence. The study found that agricultural areas, covering over 5% of the 16.8 km2 study area, had a 1.7 times higher proportion of habitats containing Anopheles larvae compared to other areas. However, breeding sites originating from urban agriculture accounted for less than a fifth of all malaria vector breeding sites in the city.

WU Yun-fe · Shanxi Architecture · Global

This paper demonstrates the benefits of rooftop gardens for improving living conditions in response to urban environmental problems, detailing nine aspects. These benefits include mitigating the heat island effect, increasing urban green spaces, and purifying city air. The paper also offers recommendations for the development of rooftop gardens.

Stephan Barthel, Carl Folke, Johan Colding · · Sweden (Stockholm)

This thesis investigated how social-ecological features influence ecosystem service (ES) generation through case studies in Stockholm, Sweden. Findings indicated that urban ES flows are products of co-evolutionary processes, requiring governance to consider historical rights and diverse actor groups. Informally managed allotment gardens showed higher pollinator abundance compared to other urban green spaces, and social-ecological memory among gardeners was found to retain and transmit practices linked to ES generation. The study concluded that sustaining urban ES depends on management practices by people and local communities of ecosystem practice.

Henrik Ernstson, Stephan Barthel, Erik Andersson, Sara Borgström · · Sweden (Stockholm)

This thesis investigates social-ecological features shaping the generation of ecosystem services (ES) in the urban landscape of Stockholm, Sweden. Through interdisciplinary case studies, it showed that informally managed allotment gardens have a higher abundance of pollinators, and voluntary actor groups motivated by a sense-of-place support ES generation. Social-ecological memory among allotment gardeners retains and transmits practices linked to ES, suggesting that sustaining urban ES requires considering historical property rights, diverse actor groups, and local communities of ecosystem practice.

Christine King · Systems Research and Behavioral Science · Global

This paper explores how agri-ecological systems such as Organic Agriculture, Biodynamics, CSA, Permaculture, Farmers Markets, and Community Gardens contribute to agri-ecological and community resilience. These systems contribute to more sustainable and resilient communities through community development processes like relationship building, genuine participation, inclusiveness, resource mobilization, and creating space for knowledge sharing. The paper compares ecological systems models to agri-ecological systems and suggests how ecological systems theories might contribute to the future of community-based agri-ecological resilience.

Emily Brady · Ethics Place & Environment · Global

This article explores whether environmental and land art-making encourages positive aesthetic-moral relationships between nature and humans. It critically examines a particular type of aesthetic objection to these artworks and defends the work of Robert Smithson and Andy Goldsworthy, among others, against this charge. It is argued that some forms of environmental and land art show "aesthetic regard" for nature, rather than constituting an "aesthetic affront" to nature.

S Fjell · Rainwater and Urban Design · Global

This paper presents the concepts of "Cool Streets," "Green Streets," and "Water Wise Streets" to mitigate urban heat islands and create sustainable urban environments. Cool Streets reduce heat absorption, Green Streets promote improved air quality, stormwater management, and urban agriculture through vegetation. These multidisciplinary design approaches can achieve cost-effective Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) outcomes, and the concept has been implemented in Pentridge Village, Coburg, Victoria, Australia.

Zhu Xiao-yong · Journal of Jinling Institute of Technology · Global

This article discusses the use of new plant species in urban greening and gardening, highlighting their contribution to biodiversity and urban ecological construction. It summarizes the main problems associated with their application, elaborates on their uses and principles, and proposes solutions and measures for their effective integration.

Anna Jørgensen, Marian Tylecote · Landscape Research · Global

This paper explores the origins of ambivalent responses to contemporary urban landscapes, proposing that post-modern wilderness can be found in urban interstices. These include woodlands, abandoned allotments, river corridors, and derelict sites where spontaneous vegetation growth occurs. Such interstitial wilderness landscapes are identified as having important functions and being rich in meaning, with implications for understanding nature-human relationships and for urban landscape planning.

María de los A Pino, Loracnis Hernández, María E Dominí, Arturo Ocampo Ramírez, Z. Terán, Eduardo Calves · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cuba

This study in San José de las Lajas and Arroyo Naranjo, Cuba, aimed to assess if participatory variety selection and farmer experimentation could introduce, adopt, and disseminate plant biodiversity in urban banana cultivation. Results demonstrated the potential of participatory methodologies to introduce and adopt materials from an agrobiodiversity fair, with selection differences based on criteria and municipal contexts. This provided initial evidence for such urban cultivation experiences.

Valeria Olivera · · Cuba (City of the Havana)

This study surveyed producers in urban and peri-urban agriculture settings in Cuba to identify low-growing plant species commonly used for hedges in agroforestry systems. The surveys revealed 13 species across 9 families utilized as hedges. In the City of Havana, Marpacifco (Hibiscus rosasinensis), Bugambilia (Bougainvillea glabra), and Muralla (Murraya paniculata) were most frequently used, while in rural areas, Cardona (Euphorbia lactea), Tuna (Opuntia dillenii), and Itamo real (Pedilanthus tithymaloides) were more common.

Loracnis Hernández, María de los A Pino, Elein Terry · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cuba (San José de las Lajas)

This study in San José de las Lajas, La Habana province, aimed to apply participatory methodologies to support traditional extension methods in urban agriculture and address farmers' problems with access to seed diversity and management knowledge. Three Agrobiodiversity fairs allowed producers to select preferred varieties of plantain, tomato, chili, and pepper, with FIAT-01 plantain, Amalia tomato, and Comandante Largo pepper being highly selected. A second stage focused on farmer schools and peasant experimentation for beans, which increased varietal diversity and promoted the dissemination and adoption of new varieties.

Loracnis Hernández · Cultivos Tropicales · Cuba

This study reviews the emergence and development of urban agriculture worldwide and in Cuba, aiming to solve problems related to increasing quality of life and food security in growing cities. It also delves into participatory methodologies to characterize and train rural communities on topics related to the technological management of their productive systems and how to enhance the use of agricultural biodiversity.

Christine King · Proceedings of the 50th Annual Meeting of the ISSS - 2006, Sonoma, CA, USA · Global

This paper reports on research exploring how alternative agricultural approaches, such as Organic Agriculture, Biodynamics, Permaculture, CSAs, Farmers Markets, and Community Gardens, contribute to more resilient agri-ecological systems and communities. These systems are reviewed in relation to key concepts from ecological systems thinking, including ecological resilience, biodiversity, and holism. The paper discusses how these systems contribute to more sustainable and resilient communities through community development processes like relationship building, genuine participation, inclusiveness, resource mobilization, and creating space for knowledge sharing.