Research & reports

Phạm Trung Kiên, Liliane Jean-Soro, Huong Le Thi Thu, Bernard De-Gouvello, Béatrice Bechet · Earth Environmental Sustainability · Global

Arguing that existing "Water-Energy-Food" nexus thinking fails to capture the complexity of urban nature-based solutions such as urban gardens, this perspective paper proposes a "Food-Water-Soil (FWS) nexus" framework analyzed through the dual lens of ecosystem services (ES) and ecosystem disservices (EDS), which arise together with ES rather than as mere byproducts. It positions ES and EDS as the core mediating functions that define a system's potential and limits, and conceptualizes soil as a "living infrastructure" whose management-driven dynamic properties govern the trade-offs and synergies between food production and water dynamics.

Hedwig Ajeng Grahani · GeoEco · Indonesia

A 2024 systematic survey of 217 urban farming households in Yogyakarta City, Indonesia, used Stata 19 for hypothesis testing and SPSS 27 for descriptive statistics, running a multiple linear regression of net urban farming income against 22 variables covering sociodemographics, farm structure, input management, biotic stress and institutional support (R2 = 0.7448). Eleven variables had a significant effect, with farm size the most favorable factor, followed by financial support, seed subsidies and technical aid; gender and family size also showed positive effects. Crop type correlated negatively with income, and biotic stress — particularly pest type and severity — substantially reduced income, while training and market access were not statistically significant.

Abdullah Abdullah, Abdul Haris, Andi Wisneni, Annas Boceng, Maemuna Nontji, Anwar Robbo, Muhammad Munawir Syarif · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Indonesia (Makassar)

A study in Makassar City, Indonesia, evaluated the multidimensional sustainability of urban agriculture (UA) through expert discussions and semi-structured interviews with 23 purposively selected stakeholders including academics, practitioners, urban planners, legislators and government officials. A Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) approach compared sustainability indices from two previous studies, supplemented by prospective and interdependence analyses to identify key leverage factors. Results showed the overall sustainability status of UA in Makassar during 2016-2020 remained "less sustainable," with a multidimensional sustainability index of 43.02%; the ecological (51.84%) and technological (65.09%) dimensions improved to moderately sustainable status, while the economic (46.15%), social (49.81%) and institutional (39.20%) dimensions showed declining sustainability performance. The study proposes three policy directions: strengthening UA planning and management systems, improving institutional coordination among stakeholders, and expanding UA's socio-economic and environmental functions.

Kulesh Bhandari · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · India

In the Santhal Pargana region of Jharkhand, India (the districts of Dumka, Godda, Sahebganj, Pakur, Jamtara and Deoghar), community surveys, field walks and ethnobotanical interviews with Santhal and other tribal communities documented 54 species of wild edible and medicinal plants. Each species is recorded with local names in Santali and Hindi, plant parts used and field observation notes, and classified as wild food, medicinal, or both. The work was carried out under the Wild Food Forests Tribal in Jharkhand project, supported by The Pollination Project (USA), and states that the region's ethnobotanical diversity remains underrepresented in formal scientific literature.

Kate Holbrook · Digital Commons - RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) · United States

The American public library, described as a "palace for the people," was established as a free, democratic haven for the public's literary and educational needs, and has since expanded its services beyond book access to include tool rentals, warming centers, postal services, and more. Building on the public library's identity as a democratic commons, this study proposes a physical expansion of the Boston Public Library into Copley Square. Drawing on the library's autonomous architectural language, the proposal extends its social and educational services through the lens of food systems, allowing patrons to take part in the production, processing, and output of urban agriculture.

Amelia L. Abrie, Benjamin Coetzer · The American Biology Teacher · South Africa

This intervention, piloted with a group of biology teachers from Gauteng Province, South Africa, used the mobile plant-identification app Pl@ntNet to address the widely documented problem of low plant awareness among teachers and, by extension, students. It began with a workshop on why lack of plant awareness matters, then introduced teachers to Pl@ntNet — which identifies plants in three simple steps — through a plant hunt in the school garden to reinforce learning. Teachers reported more positive perceptions of teaching plant-related topics after the intervention. Challenges identified included the availability of internet data, limited biodiversity in school gardens, time constraints, and discipline issues with learners.

Wibowo Heru Prasetiyo, Dasim Budimansyah · jurnal pendidikan humaniora · Indonesia

A qualitative case study of the citizen gardening community Bandung Berkebun in Bandung, Indonesia, examined the development of environmentally conscious citizens through programs including urban farming, an urban farming school, street urban farming, and urban campus initiatives. Based on interviews, observation, and document study with community members, the community succeeded in intensifying urban farming as an environmentally conscious lifestyle in Bandung, and from a civic education standpoint this built civic virtue through participation in environmental conservation.

Nahide AYDIN MARAL, Pınar AYDIN ÇAYCIOĞLU, Hasan MARAL · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Global

This conceptual paper proposes a framework for using medicinal and aromatic plants in preschool education, arguing that their volatile compounds add olfactory stimulation to visual and tactile input and may support attention, emotional memory and environmental awareness given the link between the olfactory and limbic systems. It recommends selecting non-toxic, low-allergenic species for school gardens or mini plant areas, growing annual aromatic species from seed so children can observe life cycles, using observation, description and drawing activities, and controlling the duration and intensity of exposure. No empirical data are reported.

Dewi Ratna Nurhayati, Efi Nikmatu Sholihah, Siti Aulida Fajri, Andini Desi Sawitri · Jurnal Masyarakat Madani Indonesia · Indonesia

A one-month community-service program in Gulon RT 01 RW 19, Kelurahan Jebres, Surakarta, Indonesia, addressed underused home-yard land and limited vegetable-cultivation knowledge by delivering outreach, hands-on training and mentoring to 15 participants in growing bird's-eye chili using simple growing media. Participation, understanding and skills in productive use of yard land increased; most participants applied the techniques independently and reported healthy plant growth with harvest potential, and the activity was reported to reduce household spending and raise awareness of food security.

Meron Worku, Michelle Holdsworth, Marie T. Ruel, Ana Irache, Kaleab Baye, M Catherine Spires, Nicolas Bricas, Rebecca Pradeilles · Maternal and Child Nutrition · Africa

A Photovoice study in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, had women of reproductive age photograph challenges to healthy diets for themselves and their children under five, then discussed the images in five focus groups (n=31 women) split by lower and higher socioeconomic status, analyzed with hybrid deductive-inductive thematic coding. Financial and physical barriers to accessing healthy food, time constraints and perceived poor food safety were major shared contributors to poor diets; lower-SES women also cited limited nutrition knowledge, inadequate family support and poor home food environments, while higher-SES women cited unhealthy food preferences combined with easy access to and aggressive promotion of unhealthy foods. Proposed solutions included government-level measures (job creation, nutrition education, affordable healthy food, household infrastructure investment, expanded childcare, restrictions on unhealthy-food promotion) and societal-level measures (gender equality, community-based loan schemes, and support for urban agriculture).

Rattan Lal · · Global

A book chapter addresses rising food and nutritional insecurity from rapid urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and elsewhere, noting that 55% of the world population currently lives in cities, projected to reach 70% by 2050. It states that as much as 10-20% of food consumed could be grown within city limits, but that careful planning is needed to reduce risks from soil contamination, plastic pollution, and reuse of grey/black water and city-waste compost. It identifies rooftop gardens, multistory glass buildings, and soil-less methods such as aquaculture, hydroponics and aeroponics as modern forms of urban agriculture, and discusses barriers including land tenure and research priorities for scaling up.

Crystal Victoria Olin · Journal of urban regeneration and renewal · New Zealand

A paper examines Wellington, the capital of Aotearoa New Zealand, and its Town Belt, a green belt paradigmatic of 19th-century planning ideals that has shaped the city's urban form. It argues that this enduring ring of public green space can mask significant gaps in equitable, everyday access to green space within the compact urban area it encircles, with steep terrain and peripheral location limiting everyday use for residents who are less affluent or mobile. It also notes that the city's colonial history has obscured Māori sites of significance, including historic streams — such as Waimapihi — that once flowed from the area now known as the Town Belt but have since been piped and diverted underground. The paper discusses the Town Belt's colonial legacies and Waimapihi to illustrate the limits of protection at the margins and of symbolic recognition within the core, and considers two emerging responses at public housing sites — an Indigenous-led community garden and the planned Frederick Street Park — as responses to the need to retrofit existing spaces in densifying centres and improve accessibility, quality and everyday use. It situates Wellington within debates on shifting from green belts to connected green and blue infrastructure networks, arguing that edge protection must be complemented by sustained, equitable and culturally informed investment integrating natural and built environments to support accessibility, resilience and quality of urban living.

Sri Widayanti, Mirza Andrian Syah, Nia Amalia · Nusantara Science and Technology Proceedings · Indonesia (Surabaya)

A study examines factors influencing the sustainability of Gallus gallus domesticus (chicken) farming at Jago Karah Farm Community (JKF), one of the urban farming enterprises in Surabaya, Indonesia, which faces complex challenges including limited land and waste management issues, high feed costs and limited production capacity, members leaving the community, underused technology, and institutional aspects needing strengthening. Conducted in February-March 2025 using a saturated sample of all 30 farmer members of JKF, data were collected through field observations and questionnaire-based interviews and analyzed with multiple linear regression in SPSS. Results show that ecological, economic, social, technological and institutional factors simultaneously had a positive and significant effect on farm sustainability, with an explanatory contribution of 99.7%. Partially, the social factor had the greatest influence, followed by technology, institutions, economy and ecology.

Mugabo Kalisa G. · Idosr Journal of Computer and Applied Sciences. · Sub-Saharan Africa

A review article addresses how, in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where malaria transmission is increasing in urban and peri-urban areas due to rapid urbanization and inadequate infrastructure, urban agriculture — a vital livelihood strategy in peri-urban SSA — often intersects with poor water management practices, creating favorable breeding grounds for malaria vectors, particularly Anopheles mosquitoes. It examines the complex relationship between urban agriculture, water management and mosquito breeding in peri-urban areas, including how irrigation systems, water storage and waste management contribute to malaria transmission, and discusses the implications for malaria control. It also reviews emerging technologies such as remote sensing, GIS and mobile health platforms that can enhance mosquito surveillance and community involvement, and calls for a multi-sectoral approach spanning urban planning, vector control and community-based interventions, along with sustainable urban agricultural practices to mitigate malaria risks in SSA.

Adnan Sirage Ali · Discover Public Health · Ethiopia

A comparative cross-sectional study of 315 urban vegetable-farming households along the Akaki Rivers in Ethiopia used structured questionnaires, multivariable logistic regression, multilevel mixed-effects models and bootstrapped mediation analysis. Two-week diarrhea prevalence was 11.4% (36/315) among children and 8.7% among adults; in this cross-sectional design, which cannot establish causality, wastewater irrigation was associated with more than double the odds of diarrhea (AOR=2.10, 95% CI 1.30-3.40), frequent contact with irrigation water with 80% higher odds (AOR=1.80), and regular raw-vegetable consumption with 60% higher odds (AOR=1.60). Handwashing with soap (57% risk reduction), bathing after farm work (41% reduction) and household water treatment (45% reduction, AOR=0.55) were protective, clustering by irrigation site was modest (ICC about 6%), and hygiene practices mediated 28% of the exposure-outcome relationship.

Wiwin Yuliani, Novia Indah Lestari, Bayu Mahendra, Putri Wening Ratrinia, Lisa Astria Milasari · Abdibaraya Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat · Indonesia

A community service program in a residential area of Tasikmalaya, Indonesia, addressed accumulating household organic waste by training residents to convert kitchen waste into liquid organic fertilizer (LOF) at home. Thirty participants, housewives and environmental cadres, took part in situation analysis, socialization on the economic value of waste, technical training in LOF production, and assisted fermentation using an EM4 bioactivator, with knowledge and skills measured before and after. Participants' knowledge rose from 35% to 95%, technical skill from 10% to 85%, and awareness of waste's economic value from 20% to 90%, and participants reported being able to produce LOF independently to support small-scale urban farming on limited land.

Sonia, Malti, Lavi Sharma · Journal of Science Innovations and Nature of Earth · India

A bird community survey around the town border and surrounding agricultural land of Baraut, Baghpat District, western Uttar Pradesh, India, used point-count arrays and random line transects across four habitat types: agricultural, woodland/orchard, urban and wetland. After filtering out domesticated livestock and urban feral populations from 21 field surveys, the study identified 16 "true wild" bird species spanning 10 orders and 15 families, with Passeriformes dominant at 43.75% (n=7) while the other nine orders each accounted for 6.25% (n=1) with no species shared across them. Foraging guild composition was 37.50% generalist omnivores (n=6), 26.25% carnivores (n=4), 18.75% insectivores (n=3), 12.50% frugivores (n=2) and 6.25% granivores (n=1). Habitat affinity was highest for agricultural farmland (37.50%, n=6), followed by woodland/orchard (25.00%, n=4), with urban and wetland tied at 18.75% (n=3) each. All species recorded are classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

R. E. Molenaar, Marcel Pleijte · · Netherlands

A Wageningen University Science Shop report examines measures to improve water management for the "duinlandjes", centuries-old allotment gardens in the dunes near Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands, that form part of the Zeesdorpenlandschap cultural heritage. Commissioned by the Duinlandjesvereniging de Noord association, it investigated sustainable solutions from sociocultural, hydrological and ecological perspectives. The duinlandjes are currently experiencing flooding that makes cultivation very challenging. A stakeholder analysis found that while collaboration between the association and drinking water company PWN has advanced, interactions among stakeholders remain fragmented, and it calls for the province of Noord-Holland to take an active coordinating role. The hydrological analysis identifies winter precipitation surplus as the main driver of rising groundwater, projecting that climate change will bring wetter winters and drier summers with greater groundwater fluctuation, though long-term groundwater trends remain uncertain while winter/spring water excess will probably continue. The ecological risk assessment highlights the vulnerability of surrounding dune habitats, noting that draining and diverting excess rainwater can cause habitat degradation and increased drought stress.

Joan Casanelles-Abella, Monika Egerer · Frontiers in Sustainable Cities · Global

A perspective article discusses biodiversity conservation in cities as often afflicted by "suboptimal" situations where human needs and nature's needs are imbalanced or in conflict. In human-dominated landscapes, land use intensification often replaces large habitat patches critical for metapopulation stability with smaller, isolated patches, a pattern Island Biogeography Theory predicts will reduce biodiversity; this may be most extreme in cities experiencing rapid population growth and infrastructure densification, where small urban green spaces, balconies, home and allotment gardens, small forest patches and green walls, become the primary compensatory interventions for retaining habitat. However, under certain conservation frameworks (land-sparing vs. land-sharing, the SLOSS debate), such small, scattered urban green spaces may be predicted to produce suboptimal or even detrimental biodiversity outcomes if their size and isolation prevent them from sustaining viable population sizes. The article notes this "ecology of suboptimals" framing risks a futile perspective on nature conservation in densifying cities, while also considering how rethinking urban environments in light of this situation might be approached.

Herlyna Novasari Siahaan, Dilma’aarij Agustia, Chairia · Jurnal Abadimas Adi Buana · Indonesia

A community-service report on post-disaster recovery in Suka Damai village, Serdang Bedagai Regency, Indonesia, following repeated flooding that reduced agricultural production, household income and community health. Using a participatory approach combining a Climate Field School (SLI), bucket-based fish farming (budikdamber), urban farming and ecoprint training, the program evaluated 30 farmers from the Gapoktan Mekar farmer group with pre- and post-tests. Average scores rose from 58.6 to 78.9, a 34.6% increase, indicating improved knowledge and skills in climate-adaptive farm management. Budikdamber and urban farming were reported to improve household food security, while ecoprint training opened new environmentally friendly business opportunities for the local PKK (family welfare) group.

Daniel Etim Jacob, Imaobong Daniel Jacob, Koko Sunday Daniel, Pius Agaji Oko · Sustainable Food Connect · Global

A paper arguing that recreational planning in the Global South is constrained by Western models prioritizing ornamental aesthetics over local socio-ecological crises, producing metabolically inefficient and exclusionary landscapes, and proposing an "Agro-Blue Commons" (ABC) framework integrating food production, sustainable water management and communal leisure. The framework was tested through a qualitative meta-synthesis of four prototype cases in Lagos, Mumbai, Rajasthan and Nairobi, purposively sampled to represent diverse biomes and climate-vulnerable informal settlement types, evaluated with a Multi-Criteria Assessment focused on metabolic circularity, governance polycentricity and socio-spatial accessibility. Results show that integrating food, water and leisure together with polycentric stewardship increases urban resilience and reduces resource dependency, while the paper states that systemic change requires addressing institutional inertia and insecure land tenure to prevent speculative displacement of marginalized communities.

Muslik Muslik · RIGGS Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Business · Indonesia

A qualitative case study analyzing the role of local community police officers (Bhabinkamtibmas) in a food-security program in Magersari District, Mojokerto City, Indonesia, and the factors affecting its effectiveness. Citing land-use conversion, high market dependence and low resident participation in productive activities like urban farming as challenges to urban food security, the study collected data through in-depth interviews with 25 informants (officers, ward staff, community figures, farmer groups and related agencies), participatory observation of patrol ("sambang") and FKPM community-security-forum activities, and document review, analyzed using the Miles, Huberman and Saldana interactive model. Results show Magersari's community police performed four mutually reinforcing roles: preventive-social (early detection of food-related conflict), partnership facilitation (mediating access to seeds and fertilizer), motivator/social-change agent (humanistic approach), and security/stabilization (monitoring distribution). Obstacles included structural factors (role conflict from dual demands and limited personnel), socio-cultural factors (low urban resident enthusiasm) and economic pressure from daily livelihoods, addressed through participatory dialogue-based patrols, optimizing FKPM, collaboration with community leaders and the PKK women's group, and use of social media (WhatsApp, Instagram). The study concludes the officers' role has shown concrete contributions but requires stronger institutional support and structured cross-sector coordination.

Lloyd Chigusiwa, Asankha Pallegedara, Terrence Kairiza · Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics · Sub-Saharan Africa

Using four pooled annual cross-sectional surveys of Zimbabwean urban households from 2019 to 2023, this analysis applied an endogenous switching model with count outcome (ESMC), with propensity score matching as a secondary robustness check, to estimate the effect of urban agriculture on household dietary diversity. Large households, and those headed by women, older heads, or married couples living together, were more likely to practice urban agriculture; practicing urban agriculture increased the likelihood of greater dietary diversity, but this effect held only for the sub-population of households that did not receive support from rural relatives.

K. C. Sahu · International Journal of Latest Technology in Engineering Management & Applied Science · India

A study in Bhubaneswar, India — chosen because many farmers there grow vegetables on rooftops — analyzed the cost-benefit ratio of rooftop vegetable cultivation using compost, vermicompost, coco peat and organic fertilizers, combining experimental and survey methods. Its stated aim was to assess the economic benefits of rooftop vegetable growing for urban residents; the abstract gives no specific cost-benefit figures, stating only that urban residents can obtain fresh organic vegetables at marginal expense and that rising profit is said to increase the perception of rooftop farming among urban people.

Klara Muranyi, Ina Säumel, Donoso José, Edi Emilov Ivanov, Elena Heim, Sophia Kipp, Stephanie Ligan, Marisa Pettit, Thomas Wachtel, Anneli S. Karlsson, Bettina Schneider, Stephanie Degenhardt, Hilde Marie Herrebrøden, Inken Schmütz, Tina Hilbert, Sergio Torres Gimenez, Blanka Suler, Mollenhauer Mollenhauer, Vic Borrill, Ruth Smart, Antonia Torres, Martin Regelsberger, Latifa Bousselmı, Lamia Bouziri, Kai Gildhorn, Erwin Nolde, Katrin Bohn, Primož Banovec, Atanasova Natasa, Max Manderscheid, Milena Klimek, Lucia Alexandra Popartan, Kristin Reichborn‐Kjennerud, Sarah Noémie Plassnig, Joaquim Comas, Sebastian Eiter, Wendy Fjellstad, Nevelina Pachova, Aeden Ratcliffe, Zhifang Wang, Paula Firmbach, Hanna Burckhardt, Laura Martinez, Helen Gallis, Rutger Henneman, Nienke Bouwhuis, Caroline Zeevat, Paul de Graaf, Noel Arozarena Daza · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Europe

Deliverable D7.6, "Final ECS Curricula, Training Modules and Materials," published on Zenodo, is part of the EU Horizon 2020-funded EdiCitNet project (Edible Cities Network, 2018-2024). It compiles the curriculum for a free Massive Open Online Course, "Making Cities Edible: Cultivating Sustainable Urban Environment," covering Edible City Solutions (ECS) — an approach going beyond vertical gardens, rooftop farms, community kitchens and urban aquaponics to include biodiversity conservation, waste reduction, water recycling, social engagement and co-creation. The underlying ECS Knowledge Base was built through a co-creation process involving communities of knowledge and practice, and course content is organized into four fields: I) ECS Governance, II) Economic value of ECS, III) ECS as Ecological Systems, and IV) Socio-cultural impact of ECS. It targets initiatives, urban developers, small and medium-sized businesses and interested individuals, with the course led by a team of instructors with expertise in urban agriculture, sustainability and community development.