Research & reports

C.F.A. van Wesenbeeck, Valentijn Venus, M.A. Keyzer, B. Wesselman, D. Asare Kye · · Africa

This study examined two tomato production areas in Burkina Faso with potential for counter-seasonal production aimed at Ghanaian urban markets, identifying the main obstacles to developing a horticultural supply chain: the monopsony power of Ghanaian traders and insufficient road quality causing high mechanical-damage losses in transport. Using a spatial-temporal simulation model to assess transport effects on tomato quality, the study found refrigerated transport is not a necessary condition for successful trade, since climate conditions alone do not severely harm quality, and concluded that regional diversification of exports offers Burkina Faso producers the best opportunities for improving their position in the chain, given the persistent trader monopsony and infrastructure constraints.

Yuanchi Zhao · TigerPrints (Clemson University) · United States

A study proposing a new framework for designing privately owned public spaces (POPS) in mid-sized U.S. cities, noting that while POPS are established in large cities such as New York, San Francisco and Seattle, they remain uncommon in mid-sized ones. Drawing on case studies of 15 POPS in New York City, it identifies factors important to POPS development and produces design guidelines, which it then applies to a design example in downtown Greenville, South Carolina. The authors report that the results indicate the framework is feasible for mid-sized-city application.

Javier Calatrava Requena, Requena, Javier Calatrava · Revista española de estudios agrosociales y pesqueros/Revista española de estudios agrosociales y pesqueros · Spain

Against a backdrop of rising interest in urban farming in both developing and industrialized countries, this study analyzes the Urban Agglomeration of Granada, Spain, as an example of intercalated farming areas existing within an urban ecosystem. It notes conceptual confusion around urban agriculture often causes errors in calculating environmental sustainability indicators based on green-space density, because some agricultural activities clearly carried out within the urban ecosystem are not counted as "urban." The Granada case analysis showed inaccuracies in the use of conventional "greening" indicators based on urban green density, and the study concludes that strong institutionalized protection is needed for these intercalated agro-urban spaces.

Frederick Brokaw, Cierra Ford, Yiannis Kaparos, Patrick Schenkenberg, Ann Marie Votta · Digital WPI · United States

A project in East Kensington, Philadelphia, proposed a memorial community garden to the city to commemorate two firefighters who died there and to support community development. The project produced a design blueprint and cost assessment for the garden, framing it as a proposal that could positively affect residents and the environment by converting the vacant space into a green alternative. No implementation outcomes or measured effects are reported.

Workineh Ayenew · Developing Country Studies · Ethiopia

A study of 50 women selected by systematic sampling in Arba Minch town, Ethiopia, used logistic regression (maximum likelihood estimation) to examine determinants of women's saving behavior. Education attainment and age showed a negative influence on saving, but this was not statistically significant. Ownership of urban agriculture and income level had a significant positive effect on saving behavior, while access to credit and family size had a significant negative influence. Goodness-of-fit tests confirmed the model fit the data, and a robust heteroscedasticity test found no problems with model specification.

Saverio Miccoli, Fabrizio Finucci, Rocco Murro · Sustainability · Global

Focused on cities such as Detroit, Seattle, San Francisco, London, and Paris that have undergone regeneration since the 2007 economic crisis, this paper proposes planning methods for an organized, multifunctional "agro-urban system" incorporating urban agriculture (UA). It presents a "deliberative monetary appraisal" methodology combining economic valuation based on hypothetical scenarios with direct, inclusive, dialogic approaches, offering an overview of UA's characteristics and problems, methodological elements for planning an agro-urban system, and guidelines for a deliberative appraisal procedure; the paper does not report an empirical application of the method.

Matthew J. Hoffmann · Loyola eCommons (Loyola University of Chicago) · United States

A study of Chicago, United States, examines the experiences and perspectives of low-wage earners, job trainees, and Black youth participating in various urban sustainable development initiatives — including those tied to local food and urban agriculture. It notes that popular accounts of sustainability efforts have largely reflected the perspective of white, middle-class, college-educated volunteers and social entrepreneurs, and argues that such initiatives have historically benefited white middle-class people while sustainable development has in fact reproduced and worsened existing inequality for poor people of color. The study aims to inform debates in urban and environmental sociology about achieving more equitable distributions of power.

Meanwhile Foundation · Meanwhile Foundation (UK) · Global

The 'meanwhile lease' lets landlords grant short-term use to voluntary groups while keeping ownership and the right to recover the site; an intermediary provides standard contracts and insurance to make interim use legal and smooth.

Pautasso M., Aistara G., Barnaud A., Caillon S., Clouvel P., Coomes O.T. · Agronomy for Sustainable Development · Global

Reviews concepts, methods, and challenges for understanding farmer seed exchange networks, central to conserving landraces and sustaining agrobiodiversity through informal social and ecological seed systems worldwide.

Henderson S. R. · Peter Lang (Studies in Modern European History, vol. 64) · Germany

A comprehensive history of Ernst May's New Frankfurt initiative within the Weimar context, covering housing settlements, construction and material innovations, the parks-and-garden-colony program, the Frankfurt Kitchen, and reforms in schools and medical facilities.

Migge L., Haney D. H. · Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection (Ex Horto series); Harvard University Press · Germany

An annotated English translation (edited and introduced by David H. Haney) of Migge's foundational 1913 treatise, presenting the primary source for his social and productive garden theory, from urban parks to housing settlements with allotment gardens.

Gallaher C. M., Kerr J. M., Njenga M., Karanja N. K., WinklerPrins A. M. G. A. · Agriculture and Human Values 30(3):389-404 · Kenya

Studying sack gardening in Nairobi's Kibera slums, this paper shows vegetable production enhances household food security and, especially for households farming in groups, builds social capital among the urban poor.

Barnidge E. K., Hipp P. R., Estlund A., Duggan K., Barnhart K. J., Brownson R. C. · International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 10:128 · United States

Survey study in rural Missouri. Community garden participants were significantly more likely than non-participants to eat fruit 2+ times and vegetables 3+ times daily after adjustment (OR=2.76).

Matejowsky T. · Locale: The Australasian-Pacific Journal of Regional Food Studies · Philippines (Urdaneta City, Pangasinan)

This ethnographic case study examines Urdaneta City's backyard and community gardening program launched in 2009 to address food insecurity and household self-sufficiency in a provincial Philippine city. It analyzes the interplay between municipal government objectives and citizens' subsistence and economic needs.

Sotamenou J., Parrot L. · International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability · Cameroon (Yaoundé, Bafoussam)

A survey of 242 urban farmers in Yaoundé and Bafoussam found that 36% adopted compost (alone or mixed with inorganic fertilizers), with compost uptake driven by fertilizer expenditure, vegetable production scale, land ownership, and farm distance. The study provides policy insights for sustainable soil management in Cameroonian urban agriculture.

Paul Joseph Draus, Juliette Roddy, Anthony McDuffie · Urban Studies · United States (Detroit)

Based on 20 qualitative interviews with people working or living in a heavily depopulated section of Detroit slated for an urban agriculture project, this paper examines residents' views of the project, which proposes using vacant land and marginalized residents to produce marketable products. Most respondents had little hope for neighborhood improvement and few expectations that urban agriculture would change daily life, viewing some efforts with suspicion. Drawing on concepts of advanced marginality and neighborhood effects, the authors argue idealistic urban agriculture efforts must do more to engage residents and address legacies of displacement.

Lauren Bugdalski, Lawrence D. Lemke, Shawn P. McElmurry · Risk Analysis · United States (Detroit, MI)

This study examined small-scale spatial variability of soil lead within a 15 × 30 m urban community garden plot on two adjacent residential lots in Detroit, Michigan, analyzing 80 samples for total, fine-fraction, and bioaccessible lead. Concentrations varied at 1–10 m scales with a hot spot exceeding 400 ppm, and Monte Carlo simulations showed that increasing sample numbers reduces the chance of missing hot spots while compositing reduces overestimation of the mean. The authors suggest US EPA sampling objectives and guidelines should be reconsidered for reclaimed city lots where soil lead is nonuniform.

Hoover B. · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · USA

Argues that urban agriculture, largely championed by a middle-class white populace, creates 'white spaces' within Black and Latino places, overlooking the practice's historical roots in those communities and producing exclusion.

八木洋憲 · 農村計画学会誌 · Japan (Tokyo)

A 2013 empirical analysis of how location shapes demand for 'experience farms' (taiken nouen, farmer-led pay-to-participate allotments) in Tokyo, Japan, combining a user survey with small-area census statistics (Journal of Rural Planning Association 32, Special Issue, pp. 323–328). Most users lived within 2 km of the plot, and roughly 0.5% of residents within 250 m became users. Nearby competing experience farms reduced demand at more distant sites, whereas adjacent conventional allotment gardens showed no competitive relationship. For an operator this means the catchment is narrow and neighbouring facilities of the same type divide the same demand, so siting largely determines whether the operation works. The paper does not analyse fees or profit and loss.

Yves Cabannes, Isabel María Raposo · City · Europe

This paper conducted a comparative analysis of peri-urban agriculture in Lisbon and London to assess its contribution to migrant social inclusion and urban biodiversity. The study found that social inclusion patterns are city-specific; for example, Cape Verdean urban farming communities in Lisbon strengthen community bonds but do not necessarily lead to better integration into wider Portuguese society. Migrant urban farmers contribute to broadening biodiversity, primarily in Lisbon and to a lesser extent in London.

In Kwon Park, Patricia Ciorici · International Journal of Urban Sciences · United States (Philadelphia)

This study in Philadelphia, United States, identified determinants of vacant lot conversion into community gardens using a logit model. Data on lot attributes were collected from the Philadelphia Neighbourhood Information System and a city-wide survey. The results indicate that neighborhood characteristics like poverty level, educational attainment, zoning, and owner occupancy, along with parcel characteristics such as ownership and topography, significantly impact the conversion.

David Adams, Michael Hardman · Urban Studies · United Kingdom

This paper uses ethnographic data from 'F Troop', a guerrilla gardening group in an English midland city, to re-examine urban guerrilla gardening practices. It argues that these practices may not be as "resistant" or "celebratory" as often suggested in existing literature. The study highlights that the social backgrounds and motivations of participants, along with their relationships with other users of the space, are important but largely unacknowledged aspects of guerrilla gardening.

Sam E. Wortman, Sarah Taylor Lovell · Journal of Environmental Quality · United States

This review paper characterized the limited state of scientific knowledge regarding abiotic environmental factors threatening the growth of urban agriculture in the United States. It identified challenges influencing urban cropping systems, including soil contamination and remediation, atmospheric pollutants and altered climatic conditions, and water management, sources, and safety. The development of a science-based approach in these areas is noted as essential for the economic and environmental sustainability of urban agriculture.

Sarah James · Geographical Research · Australia (Sydney)

This paper examined the failure of Sydney's 'green zones' farmland protection policies, which were abandoned due to protests. The failure was attributed to a lack of consultation with Sydney's diverse small-scale farmers, rather than a rejection of farmland protection itself. Farmer interviews suggested that a bottom-up policy-making approach would have been more successful in maintaining farming in peri-urban areas.

Christine Moon, Rachel Spinelli · DigitalCommons - CalPoly (California State Polytechnic University) · United States (California)

This project proposes to examine the relationship between school garden initiatives and the socioeconomic status of the community in California, United States. It plans to compare five elementary schools, using Pacheco Elementary School as a model, to explore how socioeconomic factors affect the success of garden projects and their community contributions. The study aims to address these research questions through comparative analysis.