Research & reports

Josue Bejarano Chumacero, Manuel Horacio Jiménez Huamán · AGRO - ECOLÓGICA · Bolivia

This study reviewed 16 research papers on urban agriculture conducted at the Aranjuez Occupational Therapy Farm in Sucre, Bolivia, between 2016 and 2020. The review focused on agroecological practices in horticulture (37%), cereals and forages (31%), fruit growing (19%), and livestock production and soil improvement (13%). Findings indicate these practices contribute to local food security and sustainable agroecological approaches, with harvested products used by the therapy center itself. The study also highlighted both advances and limitations in adopting sustainable agricultural technologies in urban and peri-urban settings.

Ebenezer Osei Jones, G. Henneh, Enoch Kwame Tham-Agyekum, Fred Ankuyi, Pascal Benson Atiglah, P.A. Abowen · SVU-International Journal of Agricultural Sciences · Ghana (Mampong)

This study investigated the adoption of carrot cultivation practices in urban areas and their impact on sustainable livelihoods, surveying 384 carrot farmers in the Mampong municipality, Ghana. Farmer training showed a significant positive influence on farmers' ability to obtain seeds from reliable sources and measure planting depth. Regression analysis revealed that post-harvest practices and distance to market significantly predict the sustainable livelihoods of the farmers.

Bacha Nesrine, Hadj Mohamed Naima · International Journal of Innovative Technologies in Social Science · Algeria (Algiers)

Algerian cities face uncontrolled urbanization, with Algiers experiencing a reduction in agricultural area per inhabitant from 0.82 hectares in 1962 to 0.18 hectares in 2010. This study, using historical analyses, interviews, and field observations, assessed the integration of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in Delly Ibrahim to restore ecological and economic balance and enhance local food security. Findings indicate that UPA can play a crucial role in mitigating negative urbanization effects by preserving agricultural land, ensuring secure local food supplies, and promoting environmentally friendly development.

Adriana de Paula Cavalcante Fraga, Ana Moraes Coelho, José Geraldo Barreto Monteiro de Andrade, Jéssica Castro Chryssafidis, Maíra Bombachini Silva, Maria Luiza Sevilha Seraphico de Assis Carvalho, Mariana Nicolletti, Nathan Debortoli, Samuel Santos de Souza Pinto · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil

This study identified and analyzed the perceived benefits of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) among participants in four Brazilian territories: Distrito Federal, Manaus/AM, Natal/RN, and Osasco/SP. Using a mixed methodological approach, the research revealed a wide diversity of benefits, including food production, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and health and well-being promotion. The findings highlight UPA's potential to address typical urban problems and suggest opportunities for integrating these benefits into public policies, requiring appropriate governance arrangements.

Jungho Suh, A. W. Graham · Community Development · Australia (South Australia)

This study explores the agri-social characteristics of "Grow Free," a grassroots initiative in South Australia that promotes sharing free seeds, seedlings, fruits, and vegetables, which grew to approximately 230 participants by 2022. Based on 50 survey responses and 17 interviews, the research found that diverse non-governmental organizations and residential households participate, with many households also linked to other grassroots initiatives. Grow Free facilitates collaborative food production and consumption at a local scale, fostering community building and resilience through food sharing.

Dr. Nadeem Aslam · Frontiers in Agriculture · Global

This paper explores the future of urban agriculture, focusing on vertical farming as a promising innovation that uses controlled environments to grow crops in stacked layers. It examines the potential benefits, technological advancements, and challenges of vertical farming. The analysis suggests that vertical farming could reshape urban food systems, enhance sustainability, and contribute to urban resilience.

Diana Carolina Martínez Quiroga, Juan Carlos Barrientos Fuentes, Cristian Fernando Camargo Muñoz · Magazine Portal Bibliotech Digital (Universidad Nacional de Colombia) · Colombia (Bogotá)

This study identified and analyzed the determinants of urban agriculture product commercialization, using the Mhuysqa indigenous cabildo of Bosa in Bogotá, Colombia, as a case study. Data were collected through documentary research, garden observations, surveys of 33 gardeners, and interviews with four experts. Results showed that urban agriculture in the cabildo is multifunctional, with a low surplus for sale (< 30%). Key determinants of commercialization included objective setting and fulfillment, supply volume, quality, and frequency, specialized technical production capacities, product presentation and freshness, collection and transport costs, payment methods, and fixed buyers, with the cabildo's explicit intention to market surplus products being a crucial factor.

Ayşen Çerşil, Esin Kömez Dağlıoğlu · İDEALKENT · Turkey

This study examines urban gardening as a form of food commoning, focusing on collective food production in urban gardens. It explores the role of common spaces and the social dynamics of urban gardening groups for urban food production, using the METU Garden (ODTÜ Bostanı) as a case study. The research aims to relate the social structures and spatial qualities of METU Garden to food commons theories and frameworks.

Fabián Adolfo Aguilera-Martínez, Fabián Alonso Sarmiento-Valdés, Juan José Castiblanco-Prieto · Ediciones Comunicación Científica eBooks · Colombia (Bogotá)

This 2024 interdisciplinary study examined transformation dynamics in urban fringe territories, focusing on Bogotá, Colombia, with cases in Guatemala and Costa Rica. Using participatory methodologies, it identified community participation, environmental management, territorial planning, and social empowerment as key transformative elements. Community workshops and projects like "Nuestra Casa, Nuestra Huerta" demonstrated the importance of collaborative design, public space recovery, and urban agriculture for sustainable urban fringe transformation.

Amanda Silva Almeida, Antônio Ananias Nogueira Netto · Espaço em Revista · Brazil

This 2024 study in Goiatuba, Brazil, investigated the spatial configuration and manifestations of rurality, analyzing the implications of rural modernization. Using bibliographic research, secondary data analysis, field work with interviews, and participant observation, it found a high presence of rural elements in Goiatuba, including urban agriculture, traditional foods, and animal husbandry, which are important for local identity. The study also noted the municipality's economic importance in the agrarian sector, particularly sugar-energy, with a significant flow of workers between city and countryside.

Jeffrey Chiwuikem Chiaka, Gengyuan Liu, Hui Li, Wen Zhang, Mingwan Wu, Zhaoman Huo, F. Gonella · Environmental and Sustainability Indicators · Sub-Saharan Africa

This study evaluated land cover change and its drivers using spatial and statistical analysis in 22 designated protected areas (PAs) across the tropical coastal regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Results indicated that food production is prevalent in these protected areas regardless of their designation, and forest loss occurred in most PAs, suggesting weak conservation. Population density was the most significant driver of land cover change, and only 15 out of 22 protected areas showed an increase in their total ecosystem service value.

Mariana Sanchez Salvador · · Portugal (Lisbon)

This paper examines the historical evolution and current state of Lisbon's foodscape. Historically, Lisbon possessed large agricultural spaces and a tight-knit food network, but nowadays, food has largely disappeared from the public realm. Mapping past and present urban food assets is key to providing a comprehensive portrait of Lisbon's foodscape and its potential for solutions.

Micaela F. Lipman, Marcia Caton Campbell · Urban agriculture · United States (Wisconsin)

This chapter examines local government food systems policy and planning in Madison and Dane County, Wisconsin. Despite a history of regulatory innovation in urban agriculture, the city and county have been slow to address food injustices in local food systems planning and policy development. The study highlights local government collaboration with the nonprofit sector and how codification of goals supports or hinders urban agriculture.

Gustavo Nagib · Atlantis highlights in social sciences, education and humanities/Atlantis Highlights in Social Sciences, Education and Humanities · Global

This qualitative study, conducted between 2016 and 2022 in São Paulo, Paris, and Lausanne, explored the relationship between urban agriculture, activism, and the right to the city. It found a convergence between discourse and practice in intraurban horticulture, emphasizing public space reappropriation, social bond strengthening, urban biodiversity promotion, and a new city-nature relationship. Community gardens in all three cities serve as hubs of collective experience, offering a critique of contemporary cities and an alternative to urban life.

Yuxin Bao, M.K. Leung, Dicken Poon, Changying Xiang · Journal of Building Engineering · Hong Kong

This article discusses the technical feasibility and design strategies for integrating high-rise residential buildings with urban agriculture in Hong Kong, using the “Green Tower Hong Kong” architectural design competition as a case study. A resilient residential high-rise building integrated with shared gardens and greenhouses was proposed for the Kwun Tong Center site. The final design can provide apartments for 2500 individuals, produce 340,750 kg of vegetables with 156% self-sufficiency, and generate 1,080,000 kWh of electricity annually.

Claudinei da Silva [UNESP] Pereira, Antonio Nivaldo [UNESP] Hespanhol · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Europe

This article analyzes agriculture practiced in European cities and their surroundings, tracing its evolution from an essential food security practice in early cities to its decline after the First Industrial Revolution. It examines how the expansion of urbanization and structural transformations of the capitalist economy from the 19th century led to the reduction or disappearance of urban agriculture in major European cities. This shift resulted in a specialized food market supplied by distant producers, highlighting the changing relationship between agriculture, urban morphology, the labor market, and food supply.

Nour Alkhaja, Khaled Alawadi, Kholoud Almemari, Ghalya Alshehhi · Progress in Planning · Global

This literature review of 51 articles examines how urban agriculture (UA) is practiced, institutionalized, and sustained, focusing on governance. It identifies consistent challenges such as discord between civil and municipal actors, contextual factors hindering supportive policies, and urban densification encroaching on UA land. These issues lead to informal or constrained UA practices and tenure insecurity.

Lesli Hoey · Urban agriculture · Global

This paper highlights that urban agriculture (UA) serves as a vital lifeline for food and income security for many urban growers in the Global South. However, it notes that many governments in the Global South actively resist UA in the name of "modernization," and by promoting supermarkets and restricting informal food markets, they potentially undermine the positive impacts of UA on urban food security and poverty.

Géant Basimine Chuma, Jean M. Mondo, Adrien Byamungu Ndeko, Etienne M. Akuzibwe, Espoir Mukengere Bagula, Gustave Nachigera Mushagalusa · Discover Sustainability · Democratic Republic of Congo (Bukavu City)

This study investigated the quantity, composition, and disposal practices of domestic waste in Bukavu City, Eastern D.R. Congo. Findings revealed significant challenges in waste management infrastructure and practices, showing that approximately 5% of waste undergoes composting, while 10% is used as livestock feed, 66% incinerated, and 17% buried. Waste management is primarily handled by children (82%), with very limited involvement from non-governmental organizations.

Rodrigo Rossi Morelato · MEDIACIONES · Brazil

This article addresses the communication practices of agroecological-based social movements in Rio de Janeiro, correlating them with theories of communication for social change. Based on extensive participatory research with the Rio de Janeiro Urban Agriculture Network (Rede CAU), it concludes that agroecology is capable of promoting processes of citizenship and social change through popular communication.

Victoria Sachsé · Développement durable et territoires · Italy

This study explored two shared gardens in Rome and Strasbourg using qualitative research (participant observation and interviews) to highlight the diversity of political cultures animating these spaces. The garden in Rome showed a dynamic of public space appropriation, partly in conflict with local institutions, expressing the right to the city. In contrast, the Strasbourg garden revealed a dynamic of alliance between the association and institutions through the creation of a permaculture shared garden.

Shawn A. Trivette, Shannon McCarragher · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · United States (New England)

This paper examined three types of locally oriented Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) in southern New England and their spatial alignment with demographic factors. The findings indicate that pay-as-you-go operations are more prevalent in predominantly White areas and, to some extent, higher-income areas. Box share arrangements (community-supported agricultures) showed stronger associations with educational attainment. The study concludes that local food availability is a systematically uneven phenomenon, varying with both outlet type and social characteristics.

Mohammed Bouguelaa · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Global

This literature review analyzes the role of social innovation in confronting challenges posed by COVID-19 quarantine measures. Through a systematic review of articles, reports, and case studies, the paper explores the conceptual framework and theoretical perspectives of social innovation. It identifies and analyzes initiatives such as alternative food networks and urban agriculture, highlighting their effectiveness in mitigating adverse effects of quarantine and promoting community resilience.

Paula Restrepo · · Colombia (Medellín)

As part of the Red de Huerteros Medellín (RHM) collective, urban agriculture in Medellín was mapped to identify its features and problems. A main problem found was a poor or non-existent connection between urban farmers and key organizations like seed keepers. Few urban farmers had knowledge about the ecopolitical implications of the seed business, and even fewer obtained seeds from seed keepers or showed consideration for their labor.

Michael Tuffour, George Owusu, Daniel Bruce Sarpong · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · Ghana

This study investigated the effects of urbanization on urban vegetable farmers' adaptation in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), Ghana, using an exploratory sequential mixed method. Qualitative data involved 29 farmers from 10 farm sites, and quantitative data involved 251 farmers from 16 farm sites. Changes perceived by farmers included climate, land scarcity, increased population, and lifestyle dynamics, with population increase negatively resulting in polluted streams and farmer evictions due to land scarcity. Farmers adapted by using multiple water sources, intensification, and relocating to cheap lands.