Research & reports

Jacob Wood, Caroline Wong, Swathi Paturi · eTropic electronic journal of studies in the tropics · Singapore

This research examines urban farming, specifically vertical farming methods, in Singapore. Despite substantial public and private investment in R&D for high-tech, high-yielding vertical farms, Singapore faces a highly constrained urban environment where land scarcity is exacerbated by a complex regulatory land use framework.

Ali Keyvanfar, Arezou Shafaghat, Tan Sze Inn, Sapura Mohamad · DigitalCommons - Kennesaw State University (Kennesaw State University) · Malaysia

This research developed the Sustainable Urban Farming Index Assessment (SUFIA) Model to quantify and evaluate the performance of urban farms' sustainable food production. Applying a critical literature review and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), the model identified reducing air pollution, soil health and water cleaning, and food sovereignty as critical for food productivity. When implemented at Zenxin Organic Farm in Malaysia for validation, the farm earned a Grade C, indicating it is a usable urban farm but requires substantial improvements in areas such as soil health, water cleaning, site design, and community environment.

Е. В. Малыш · Economics and Management · Global

This study aimed to propose methods for developing urban agricultural production in a large industrial city, based on green economy principles, to strengthen food security and improve food supply. Using general scientific methods, comparison, systems analysis, and monographic methods, the study described a strategic project for green development of urban agricultural systems. The findings suggest that green development mechanisms can foster city self-sufficiency in organic and safe products, short supply chains, and green urban agriculture.

Olga Vincent, Giuseppe Feola · Journal of Rural Studies · Global

This paper proposes and illustrates a framework for recognizing capitalist, alternative capitalist, and non-capitalist configurations in agri-food systems. Informed by poststructuralist theories, the framework includes dimensions such as ontology, economic relations, relation with the State, and knowledge. Its application to Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) cases shows the coexistence of capitalist, alternative-capitalist, or non-capitalist elements within CSA initiatives.

Wellbrock Wanja, Daniela Ludin, Ludwig Lisa N, Kristina Muhlfeld, Wolfgang Gerstlberger · Journal of Applied and Physical Sciences · Global

This paper examines whether Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a solution to the dilemma of farmers needing to operate both economically and sustainably. Through an expert interview and a survey of members, the study identifies problems in the realization of a CSA and provides possible solutions.

Thomas Gilardi · Geography Notebooks · Argentina

In the Bonearense region, urban expansion is encroaching on fertile plains, impacting territorial characteristics. While urban and peri-urban agriculture contributes to food sustenance for the AMBA population, it has not been sufficiently recognized for green area recovery, organic waste recycling, and wastewater management. Regional authorities have begun to acknowledge urban agriculture's role in combating urban poverty, but local economic development faces challenges in mediating food security and recreational services amidst pressures from urban real estate and agro-industrial production.

Rebecca Leigh Rutt · Journal of Political Ecology · Denmark (Copenhagen)

Ethnographic research on a small rooftop garden in Copenhagen, Denmark, explored how urban farming initiatives interact with neoliberal trends. The study found that communal, eco-social urban farming endeavors are entangled in the city's neoliberal turn, with formalization processes and austerity measures both nurturing and endangering these initiatives. Neoliberal labor, food systems, and housing policies are shown to subvert convivial urban farming efforts.

Ferne Edwards, Anitra Nelson · · Global

This chapter suggests future research directions in food for degrowth studies, drawing from a collection of case studies and critiques. It offers transdisciplinary theoretical and practical approaches and key research questions, covering topics like household self-provisioning, collective endeavors, networks, and degrowth perspectives on the circular economy and food waste. The chapter proposes research questions related to accessibility, visibility, temporality, spatiality, and various measures.

Pooja Bhatt, Sonika Sharma · · Global

Microgreen farming is presented as a popular method for income generation in urban agriculture. It is characterized by high nutrient density, a fast turnaround time (10-14 days after germination), year-round cultivation, minimal resource requirements (seeds, soil, water, trays), and a high yield-to-space ratio. Prices for microgreens range from INR 150-250 per 50 grams, indicating good market value for urban farmers.

Sagnik Sinha Roy · · Sweden (Uppsala)

This paper states that urban agriculture (UA) can be a sustainable solution to the severe vulnerabilities climate change has caused for the global food production system.

David Acevedo · Syracuse University Libraries (Syracuse University) · Guatemala

This thesis explores how architecture can have greater agency in unifying people, especially distraught communities, by utilizing food and its inherent social properties. Guatemala is chosen as the zone of exploration for implementing such a collaboration at a ceremonial scale. The approach combines techniques from ecologically efficient urban food production, intimate domestic food consumption, and ceremonial food preparation to create a new edible landscape of socially sustaining architecture.

Mariarosaria Savarese, Kerry Chamberlain, Guendalina Graffigna · Sustainability · New Zealand

This qualitative study explored how Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms in New Zealand create value for sustainability practices from both farmer and consumer perspectives. The research, conducted using focused ethnography, found that CSA is a complex concept involving active consumer participation in economic, social, and environmental values. These interconnected values foster an ecosystem where sustainable food practices are promoted through a "learning by doing" process.

Sandesh Thapa, Anjal Nainabasti, Sashila Acharya, Neha Rai, Rakshya Bhandari · International Journal of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology · Nepal (Kathmandu)

A key informant survey of 52 respondents was conducted in Kathmandu, Nepal, to assess the current status of rooftop gardening. All respondents expressed positive views on rooftop gardening, with rooftop farms covering 5-13% of the area. Significant monetary soft benefits were identified for food production, air quality, stormwater retention, and carbon sequestration. However, traditional methods using plastic bags, pots, and styrofoam were employed for garden maintenance. Constraints were recorded regarding rooftop farming establishment and continuation, indicating a need for proper training for efficient management.

Beatriz Giobellina · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Global

This chapter explores the concept of green roofs as an innovation for sustainability in housing, cities, and territories, particularly in the context of global challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic. It suggests revisiting ideas linking environment, development, urban agriculture, and self-sufficiency gardens to address climate change, food security, and health. This chapter is part of the book "Green Infrastructures: from territory to habitable roof."

Nadia Johanisova, Lucie Sovová, Eva Fraňková · Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · Czech Republic

This chapter examines eco-social enterprises in the Czech Republic, a post-socialist country, using a five-dimensional framework to expand the EU social enterprise definition. The framework includes criteria such as other-than-profit goals, using profits for nature and community, democratic governance, rootedness in place, and non-market production. Research identified a heterogeneous group of entities, including organic farms and community gardens, shaped by varied traditions and ideologies.

Jiwon Park, Mi‐Ae Jeong · Journal of people, plants, and environment · Global

An analysis of 63 Korean and 90 overseas articles on urban gardens compared the types of physical and social benefits provided by gardens in urban areas. Community gardens were the most significant type in both Korea and overseas. Due to narrow urban structures, Korea focused on using rooftop, wall, and alley spaces, while overseas focused on promoting health and reducing food inequality through larger allotment and kitchen gardens. Urban gardens were found to have a positive effect on urban biodiversity, providing comprehensive environmental (37.73%) and social (62.27%) benefits.

Solon Alberto Calero Cruz, Carmen Cecilia Rivera Gómez · Repositorio Digital Universidad Autonoma de Occidente · Colombia (Cali)

This chapter discusses practical urban agriculture approaches to food sovereignty in Cali, Colombia, focusing on five food production and distribution spheres. It examines how participatory communication influences social change and urban sustainability by analyzing how approaches emphasize or de-emphasize culturally situated experiences. The study summarized the outcomes of an intercultural collective convened to discuss communication processes linked to food production and distribution, aiming to understand the most prominent subjectivities.

Anita Pinheiro, Madhav Govind · Journal of Scientometric Research · Global

This scientometric analysis explored global research trends in urban agriculture from 2004-2018 using articles from the SCOPUS database. Research attention significantly increased from 2013, predominantly in the Global North, focusing on food security, sustainability, and community gardening within Social Sciences. The study found very little research in urban agriculture policy and governance.

Jefry Joel López Acevedo · REICE Revista Electrónica de Investigación en Ciencias Económicas · Nicaragua

A 2019 case study at the Rubén Darío educational center in Nicaragua investigated the operation of a school garden, its production, connection to food and nutritional security, and its use as a pedagogical tool in primary education. The garden facilitated food availability, access, and consumption, with harvests complementing school snacks. Furthermore, 100% of primary school teachers utilized the school garden as a pedagogical tool, allowing students to apply theory to practice.

Silvana Nicola, A. Ferrante, Giacomo Cocetta, Roberta Bulgari, Carlo Nicoletto, Paolo Sambo, Andrea Ertani · Bulletin of University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca Horticulture · Global

The Covid-19 pandemic revealed the vulnerability of the agrifood system, with lockdowns disrupting long-distance fresh vegetable supply chains and causing dramatic declines in local market sales. While purchases concentrated in supermarkets, increasing crowding risks, gardening can increase opportunities for local and fresh food availability. Scaling up local food production is important to enhance community resilience.

Betty T Izumi, Allea Martin, Teresa Garvin, Cesar Higgins Tejera, Sylvia Ness, Katy Pranian, Lauren Lubowicki · PubMed · Global

This study evaluated the preliminary effectiveness of "CSA Partnerships for Health," a 23-week grant-subsidized Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, in improving dietary behaviors, self-efficacy to eat vegetables, food security, and overall health among 48 safety-net clinic patients. This single-group pretest-posttest study utilized interviewer-administered surveys. Statistically significant differences between post-intervention and pre-intervention values were observed for several outcomes, including vegetable intake, orange vegetable intake, eating habits, food security, ability to afford healthy meals, and general health status.

Debra J. Davidson · International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food · Global

This study assessed the multiple emergent effects of urban agriculture activities through an extensive, interdisciplinary literature review to discuss its disruptive potential. It suggests that producing food in cities is not inherently transformative in itself, but the potential and observed new forms of social engagement emerging in many contexts can create institutional conditions that may disrupt conventional agri-food systems by building social capital as much as physical capital.

Kate Gardner Burt, Gail Mayer, Rachel Paul · Local Environment · Global

A systematic review analyzed 277 community gardening articles to assess outcomes of community garden participation related to food justice, synthesizing 31 studies. Many positive impacts were indicated across seven social and dietary outcomes. Community garden participation was positively correlated with community connectedness, but evidence demonstrating diet improvement was neutral. Methodological rigor in study design and lack of participant racial/ethnic and socioeconomic diversity were common issues, leaving the effectiveness of community gardening as a strategy for a more equitable food system unclear.

Djeugap Guedia Amélie Mermoze, Aristide Yemmafouo · European Scientific Journal ESJ · Cameroon

From April to August 2019, surveys (100 questionnaires per city) and interviews (25 per city) were conducted in Dschang, Mbouda, and Foumbot, three medium-sized cities in West Cameroon, to examine the daily practices of urban livestock farming. Findings showed that an average of 60% of city dwellers in these cities engage in livestock farming for commercial reasons, primarily encouraged by their urban conditions. While livestock farming is mostly a secondary activity (87%), professionals make significant investments, and space availability remains a major limiting factor for market growth.

Sandesh Thapa, Rakshya Bhandari, Anjal Nainabasti · Ecofeminism and Climate Change · Nepal

A random sampling survey in Dhulikhel, Kavrepalanchok district, Nepal, found that while all respondents perceived rooftop farming as beneficial, many could not practice it due to constraints like fear of roof damage. Practicing farmers also faced difficulties managing rooftop gardens due to a lack of proper knowledge and reliance on non-recyclable planting materials.