Research & reports

Yuan Ping-ping · Anhui nongye kexue · China

This literature review elaborated on the promotion of harmonious interpersonal interactions in allotment community gardens from three perspectives: improving interactions among family members, different families participating in the garden, and members of a wider community outside the garden. With China's rapid industrialization and urbanization, allotment community gardens, as a form of agriculture and recreation, are stated to help solve problems in interpersonal interactions, curb social estrangement, and promote a harmonious society by positively affecting interpersonal interactions.

Richard V. Tyson · Proceedings of the Florida State Horticultural Society · United States

Orange County, FL, with a population of 1.2 million, is rapidly urbanizing. In 1998, 20,000 acres of local vegetable production ceased due to concerns about phosphorus-laden water discharges into Lake Apopka, shifting the county from a net exporter to an importer of vegetables. The Urban Farming Extension Education Program aims to identify, demonstrate, and encourage the adoption of sustainable agricultural production methods usable in and around urban centers to leverage local markets.

Soraya Pourjavid, Hassan Sadighi, Hossein Shabanali Fami · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Iran (Tehran)

This study identified constraints affecting urban agriculture in Tehran, Iran, by surveying 320 city dwellers across 22 municipal districts. The most important constraints identified were "high start-up costs" and "lack of knowledge among managers and authorities." Factor analysis revealed seven factors explaining 67.36% of the variance, including financial-economic and technical aspects.

Yue Guan · Beijing Linye Daxue xuebao · China (Beijing)

This paper analyzes the business strategy of allot gardens in Beijing, which face difficulties despite their recent growth. Based on a field survey of 11 allot gardens, the study uses SWOT analysis and the AHP model to quantitatively assess internal and external operating environments and propose business strategies.

Kirstie Cadger, Thembela Kepe · Development in Practice · Botswana

Challenges facing community garden initiatives among the San of Botswana were analyzed through semi-structured interviews and participant observation in two San communities. The study found that the failure of the gardens related to how the San are treated and how they view their situation as destitute people. Forced resettlement, historical livelihood disruption, and government and NGO policies of development through welfare neglecting genuine empowerment were concluded to be responsible for the limited success of the community gardens.

Wakuru Magigi · Journal of Environmental Protection · Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)

This paper explores Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, demonstrating that urban agriculture provides urban ecosystem services and contributes to environmental sustainability. The study highlights the interconnections of environmental justice, urban ecosystem services, and climate change, which influence land governance and productivity. It suggests that with increasing population, a clear spatial land use planning and management strategy is required to enhance food systems and urban environmental sustainability in rapidly urbanizing cities.

邰杰, 汤洪泉, 曹晋, 陆韡 · Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Sunyatseni · Global

This study interpreted the guiding principles, development strategies, and design methods of urban agriculture landscapes outside China, drawing from conceptual definitions, international practices, and case insights. The analysis aims to provide a reference for open space planning and green infrastructure construction during China's rapid urbanization. It concludes that urban agriculture holds significant potential across various aspects, including urban ecology and form, food security and supply, natural education, and job opportunities.

Marta Bobowski · Facta Simonidis · Germany

This article addresses the phenomenon of urban gardening, with a specific focus on Germany. Part I defines and categorizes the main forms of non-economically motivated gardening in urban public space, outlining its core attributes and historical background. Part II indicates how the culture of a historical period affects the shape of green areas and clarifies the correlation between urban gardening and present political, social, and ecological discourses.

Richard Blaustein · BioScience · Global

This article discusses how cities globally are revitalizing urban biodiversity through various efforts, including watershed restoration, green infrastructure, and reintroducing native species. It highlights the concept of "biophilic cities" by Timothy Beatley, which integrates nature into urban design for social and health benefits. The Cities for Life Summit in October 2012, attended by over 500 people including mayors, further boosted urban biodiversity initiatives by showcasing the Cities and Biodiversity Outlook report.

Alyssa M Boyle · Scholarship @ Claremont (The Claremont Colleges) · Global

This thesis discusses the importance of school gardens, highlighting the industrialized food system and "Nature Deficit Disorder" in children as two environmental and societal problems. School gardens are presented as an effective tool to address these issues. A how-to manual for implementing such projects in schools and sample lesson plans for use with the garden across the curriculum are also provided.

Bertram C. Bruce, Naomi Bloch · Education and Culture · Global

This paper develops a philosophical basis for community inquiry, drawing from pragmatist theory. It applies this framework to a case study of community inquiry within an urban agriculture project. The example demonstrates how learning can occur both inside and outside school settings, fostering a stronger connection between education and community life.

원선이 · 한국화예디자인학연구 · South Korea

The Gyeonggi-do Agricultural Research & Extension Services in South Korea created a vegetable garden to provide urban agriculture activists with rational methods for rooftop garden creation and crop cultivation guidelines. Over two years, 201 plant materials were collected and studied, with 170 ultimately selected. Selected edible plants included 48 vegetable species, 9 fruit tree species, and 11 field crop species, while ornamental plants included 40 flower species, 23 herb species, 16 sedum and sedge species, and 23 woody species. Four planting models—box, tunnel, wall, and mobile box types—were also developed based on the growth characteristics and uses of the collected plant materials.

Josiah Taru, Hardlife Stephen Basure · Russian Journal of Agricultural and Socio-Economic Sciences · Zimbabwe (Harare)

This study applied Norman Long's interface analysis to understand the causes of conflicts and struggles among urban agriculture (UA) actors in Kuwadzana Extension, Harare. Intensified competition for scarce land and water escalated conflicts, particularly in off-plot agriculture due to its contentious nature outside institutional frameworks. Actors with different power bases used them to dispossess and marginalize others. Conflict resolution mechanisms (mediation, litigation, conciliation) often lacked legal binding or institutional backing, tending to generate more disputes.

A. Bryan Endres, Rachel Armstrong · · United States

This article discusses Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and 'community labor,' where customers participate in food production on farms. It highlights a paradox: traditional employment law, envisioning autonomous competition, makes little room for these novel relationships, potentially undermining CSA values and limiting its viability and growth. The authors suggest that employment law should develop a more nuanced view of relationships in the CSA context, supporting mutual gain and shared values over competition-based rules.

David Aftandilian, Lyn Dart · Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship · United States

This article presents approaches for using garden-based service-learning to promote food justice, educate undergraduate students, and strengthen campus-community ties. It discusses three interdisciplinary service-learning projects: the Fairmount Community Garden, the North Side Garden Survey, and the Como Community Garden. The authors evaluate the success of their approaches using multiple measures and identify benefits for undergraduates, community partners, communities served by the gardens, educators, and their university.

Weiping Chen · British Food Journal · China (Beijing)

This research conceptualized and validated a construct of perceived value in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and investigated its influence on consumer satisfaction and loyalty. The study used a sample of 198 consumers from five CSA farms in Beijing, China, applying partial least squares (PLS) for analysis. Findings indicate that perceived value in CSA is a formative, multi-dimensional, third-order construct, with a direct positive effect on consumer loyalty and an indirect effect mediated by consumer satisfaction.

Priyanie Amerasinghe, Olufunke Cofie, Theophilus O. Larbi, Pay Drechsel, Amerasinghe, Priyanie, Cofie, Olufunke, Larbi, T. O., Drechsel, Pay · · Global

This multi-city study applied a Multi-stakeholder Policy Formulation and Action Planning approach to influence urban agriculture policies in three African and two Asian countries. While the approach was successful and yielded remarkable outcomes, it also indicated areas for improvement in its application. The study found significant regional differences in achieving policy change, necessitating careful consideration for maximizing returns on investment in impact pathway facilitation.

Kyle Clark, Kimberly A. Nicholas · Landscape Ecology · United States (Burlington, Vermont)

This study proposes "urban food forestry" (UFF), combining urban agriculture, urban forestry, and agroforestry, to enhance urban sustainability and food security. It analyzed 37 urban food tree initiatives, finding 73% performed only one activity (planting, mapping, or harvesting) and 8% performed all three. An analysis of 30 urban forestry master plans showed only 13% included human food security objectives. A case study in Burlington, Vermont, estimated that planting Malus domestica in public spaces could meet 108% of the city's daily fruit intake under the most ambitious scenario. The study identified 70 potential food tree species for temperate urban environments, with 30 deemed highly suitable.

Amaya Valero, Sergio Nicolás · · Colombia (Bogotá)

This research analyzes the impact of participatory agroecological farming practices in an urban context, focusing on the integration of organic farming components into educational settings. The case study examines the Jardin la Paz in Bogotá, Colombia, where urban agriculture is developed by children, youth, teachers, and parents on available land. This initiative utilizes urban subsoil properties to produce food, combining rural practices adapted to the urban ecosystem through local and inter-institutional efforts.

김재연, 김윤수, 이연숙 · · Korea

This study identified 39 evaluation items to measure the effects of community gardens in Korea, categorizing them into five broad areas: eco-environmental, production and economic, physical, psychological, and social effects, further subdivided into 12 types. The research involved literature reviews of domestic and international documents and case studies of domestic sites.

김현주 · 한국실과교육학회지 · Korea

This study aimed to understand the current status of children's dietary education in Korea and explore the applicability of taste education through case studies from other countries. It analyzed the 2007 and 2009 revised elementary school practical arts curricula and prior research, examining cases from Japan, Italy, and France. While taste education is not systematically integrated into Korea's formal curriculum, it is expanding through educational farms and organic school meals, and the study concluded that a shift towards taste education is necessary to achieve dietary education goals.

Jamie M. Bouvier · Maine law review · United States

This essay argues that urban agricultural practices, such as growing food or raising animals, are symbolic acts that communicate viewpoints and support for the "Food Movement." It asserts that these acts, as symbolic expressions, deserve protection under the First Amendment. The article examines the Food Movement as a social and political movement, how urban homesteading practices symbolize it, and the application of First Amendment principles to these practices.

卓也 林 · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan (Inagi City)

This study examined the management characteristics of direct farm sales outlets and the role of agriculture in urban areas, using pear farmers in Inagi City, Tokyo, as an example. Field surveys confirmed a decrease in pear picking activities and a high ratio of direct sales and home delivery. While familiarity with agriculture has increased due to farmers' cooperation in agricultural experience learning and the establishment of many community gardens, a limitation was identified: to convey the value of urban agriculture to those with low interest, the enhancement of pear picking, allowing easy interaction with farmers on farmland, is required.

Yuki Kato · Sociological Inquiry · United States (New Orleans)

This case study of a community-supported agriculture (CSA) organization in New Orleans focused on the lack of participation by local residents in the CSA market despite its intentions. Interview and ethnographic observation data indicated a general consensus on economic constraints, while some non-resident supporters attributed the issue to a lack of knowledge about the food system. Residents, however, pointed to spatial and sociocultural barriers, including produce selection, purchase options, market access convenience, and the race-related historical and spatial context of the market's location, making the market less accessible to them.

Naomi Hill · Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) · United States (Chicago)

This study investigated the effects of community gardens in impoverished inner-city African-American neighborhoods in Chicago. The research focused on five themes: how community gardens are created, their mission, motivations for involvement, contributions to individuals and the overall community, and envisioned futures. Results indicated that community gardens are established through collective efforts by community members and maintained through active participation and ongoing recruitment.