Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
2056 results(27 / 83)
Urban gardening in Ho Chi Minh City: class, food safety concerns, and the crisis of confidence in farming
2022Faltmann N.K. · Food, Culture and Society · Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City)
Qualitative research in Ho Chi Minh City finds that a widespread crisis of confidence in the food system—driven by fears of agrochemical contamination—is the primary motivation for urban gardening, with practices varying by class position.
HealthCommunityPolicyHomegardens as Sustainable Urban Agroforestry Systems to Promote Household Well-Being in Kandy, Sri Lanka
2022Jayakody S.K., Basu M. · Blue-Green Infrastructure Across Asian Countries (Springer Singapore), pp. 223–249 · Sri Lanka (Kandy)
This book chapter examines how traditional homegardens in the Kandy District function as integrated urban agroforestry systems supporting biodiversity conservation, physical exercise, and mental health, while noting that increasing urbanization threatens their long-term sustainability.
BiodiversityHealthCommunityWelfareA sustainable pathway towards prioritization of multifunctional benefits in urban agriculture contributing to shrinking cities in developing countries — An empirical case of Sri Lanka
2022Wadumestrige Dona C.T.G., Mohan G., Fukushi K. · Current Research in Environmental Sustainability · Sri Lanka (Colombo)
A perception survey of 402 small-scale farmers in Colombo District found positive attitudes toward the social, economic, and environmental benefits of urban agriculture, with environmental benefits rated highest, supporting home and community gardens as viable open-space management strategies for shrinking cities.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityHealthEnsuring Urban Food Security in Malaysia during the COVID-19 Pandemic—Is Urban Farming the Answer? A Review
2022Murdad R., Muhiddin M., Osman W.H., Tajidin N.E., Haida Z., Awang A., Jalloh M.B. · Sustainability (MDPI), Vol. 14, No. 7, Article 4155 · Malaysia
This review examines how COVID-19 disrupted Malaysia's fresh food supply chain and argues that urban farming approaches—including community gardens, vertical farming, and hydroponics—can meaningfully strengthen urban food security for Malaysian households.
CommunityPolicyHealthEconomicsEffect of horticultural therapy on apathy in nursing home residents with dementia: a pilot randomized controlled trial
2022Yang Y., Kwan R.Y.C., Zhai H.M., Xiong Y., Zhao T., Fang K.L., Zhang H.Q. · Aging & Mental Health, 26(4):745-753 · China
A pilot randomized controlled trial allocating 32 nursing home residents with dementia to horticultural therapy or control. Post-intervention, between-group differences in apathy (Apathy Evaluation Scale) and cognition (MMSE) were statistically significant, indicating horticultural therapy may improve apathy in older people with dementia. It supports embedding gardening in elderly welfare and dementia-care programmes.
ElderlyWelfareHealthCommunity Supported Agriculture, Human Capital, and Community Health
2022Celina L. Martinez, Daisy Rosero, Tammy Thomas, Francisco Soto Mas · Health Promotion Practice · United States (New Mexico)
This qualitative study assessed how community-supported agriculture (CSA) contributes to human capital and addresses social determinants of health in central and northern New Mexico, using questionnaires with 13 purposively sampled CSAs (8 responded). The responding CSAs reported activities such as training, job creation, education, access to healthy food, food security, health education, social connections, and food justice. The authors argue public health should support CSA and generate evidence on its health and social benefits.
CommunityHealthEconomicsHeavy Metal Pollution and Health Risk Assessment of Vegetable-Soil Systems of Facilities Irrigated with Wastewater in Northern China
2022· International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · China (Shenyang)
A study of heavy metal distribution and migration in vegetable-soil systems in a wastewater-irrigated area near Shenyang, northern China, assessing health risks across exposure pathways.
HealthThe More Natural the Window, the Healthier the Isolated People—A Pathway Analysis in Xi'an, China, during the COVID-19 Pandemic
2022· International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · China (Xi'an)
Pathway analysis of home-isolated residents in Xi'an during COVID-19, linking exposure to natural window views and plants with fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms.
HealthWelfarePhysically apart but socially connected: Lessons in social resilience from community gardening during the COVID-19 pandemic
2022· Landscape and Urban Planning · Canada (Edmonton)
A survey of 90 Edmonton community gardens; gardeners missed social events like pot-lucks and harvest fests yet reported that gardens provided social resilience during the pandemic.
CommunityHealthTherapeutic Community Gardening as a Green Social Prescription for Mental Ill-Health: Impact, Barriers, and Facilitators from the Perspective of Multiple Stakeholders
2022Wood C.J., Polley M., Barton J.L., Wicks C.L. · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · United Kingdom
Interviews with 13 stakeholders (social prescribing link workers and garden staff) and focus groups with 20 garden members examined how therapeutic community gardening supports mental health through nature engagement, hope, and social support, and identified barriers to referral and attendance.
HealthWelfareCommunityExploring the perspectives of 'young adults' (18–24) who have been in formal care and their experiences of attending a socially prescribed community allotment gardening group
2022Moore E.J., Thew M. · British Journal of Occupational Therapy · United Kingdom
Semi-structured online interviews with six care leavers aged 18-24 explored their experiences of a socially prescribed community allotment gardening group, yielding themes of social belonging, a safe space, achievement, and the facilitatory aspects of nature.
WelfareHealthCommunityHorticultural Therapy for Improving the Work Performance and Interpersonal Relationships of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities
2022· International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · South Korea
A study examining horticultural therapy to improve the work performance and interpersonal relationships of persons with intellectual disabilities, reporting improvements in interpersonal negotiation strategies, adaptive behaviors, and physical abilities for work.
WelfareHealthTherapeutic gardening program effects on mental health and well-being of older adults
2022· International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · South Korea
A study conducted in Korea from June to November 2021, delivering a 30-session therapeutic gardening program to 111 participants to examine effects on mental health and well-being of older adults.
ElderlyHealthAir Mapping of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Their Uptake by Crops in the Urban Area of Nice, France
2022· ChemPlusChem · France (Nice)
Mapping airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urban Nice, the study documented PAH uptake by crops grown in the city, showing urban air pollution can contaminate produce.
HealthHorticultural therapy for general health in the older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis
2022Wang, Z., Zhang, Y., Lu, S., Tan, L., Guo, W., Lown, M., Hu, X., Liu, J. · PLOS ONE · Global
A meta-analysis synthesizing RCTs and cohort studies on horticultural therapy, a form of social prescribing, for adults over 60. It indicates horticultural therapy can benefit older adults' general physical and mental health.
ElderlyHealthWelfareEcosystem services of urban agriculture and prospects for scaling up production: A study of Detroit
2022Joshua Newell, Alec Foster, Mariel Borgman, Sara Meerow · Cities · United States (Detroit)
A study in Detroit's Lower Eastside (~15 sq. miles) examined the spatial extent, characteristics, and residents' perceptions of urban gardens using spatial analysis and interviews. Gardens covered less than 1% of vacant land and were often ephemeral. Primary obstacles to scaling up urban agriculture in Detroit include uncertainty over land tenure, environmental pollutants, potential ecosystem disservices, and a lack of government support and capital investment.
Governance failureCommunityBiodiversityPolicyEconomicsClimate changeHealthCultivating sustainable and healthy cities: A systematic literature review of the outcomes of urban and peri-urban agriculture
2022Nitya Rao, Sheetal Patil, Chandni Singh, Parama Roy, Charles Pryor, Prathigna Poonacha, Mariam Genes · Sustainable Cities and Society · Global
This systematic literature review analyzed 320 articles quantitatively and 86 qualitatively from a total of 4029, examining outcomes of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) on sustainability and wellbeing. The review confirmed an exponential increase in UPA literature since 2015 and a regional bias towards the Global North. It identified six thematic outcomes across environmental, economic, and social sustainability pillars, with environmental sustainability being most discussed and gender and social differentiation least represented.
Peri-urban agricultureHealthEconomicsPolicyClimate changeBuilding community (gardens) on university campuses: masterplanning green-infrastructure for a post-COVID moment
2022Rachael Walshe, Lisa Law · Landscape Research · Australia
This study explored how university masterplans in Australian universities express the benefits of campus community gardens as green community spaces and how they might better aid universities in achieving strategic missions, using a multiple case-study methodology. By comparing dominant themes in community garden literature with the visions of campus masterplans, the research aimed to understand how community gardens might be better positioned as tools for place and community building. The results provided a finer-grained understanding of green infrastructure in campus master planning for a post-COVID-19 moment.
CommunityPolicyHealthA review on urban agriculture: technology, socio-economy, and policy
2022Grace Ning Yuan, Gian Powell B. Marquez, Haoran Deng, Anastasiia Iu, Melisa Fabella, Reginald B. Salonga, Fitrio Ashardiono, Joyce A. Cartagena · Heliyon · Global
This review examined urban agriculture (UA) across technology, socio-economy, and policy, noting that supporting UA expansion in cities is challenging due to its poor economic profitability. The study highlighted UA's value beyond profitability, including social, health and well-being, disaster risk reduction, and environmental benefits. It also presented advancements in UA technologies and plant biotechnology as potential solutions for increasing the future profitability of commercial UA.
Economic viabilityEconomicsPolicyHealthClimate changeDigital agricultureOptimizing the co-benefits of food desert and urban heat mitigation through community garden planning
2022Yujia Zhang, Jordan P. Smith, Daoqin Tong, B. L. Turner · Landscape and Urban Planning · United States (Phoenix)
A model was developed to optimize the co-benefits of food desert and urban heat mitigation through community garden planning, applied to over 5,000 vacant parcels in the Phoenix metro-area, USA. The study found that the optimal number and locations of community gardens needed for different mitigation goals can vary significantly. The existing 76 community gardens were mostly clustered around urban cores, leaving two-thirds of the metro-area underserved, but spatially optimized siting could double the co-benefits gained and cover more high-need neighborhoods.
CommunityHealthClimate changePolicyHortas urbanas – História, Classificação, Benefícios e Perspectivas.
2022Marc François Richter, Luiza Vigne Bennedetti, Bruna Raquel Rodrigues Teixeira, Maico Ismael Klein, Angélica Gomes Florczak dos Santos · Confins · Brazil
This study mapped the concepts and benefits of urban gardens globally and in Brazil, presenting the history of urban agriculture and its modalities. A systematic literature review via Portal periódicos da CAPES corroborated various social, environmental, and economic advantages. In recent decades, Brazil has implemented federal, state, and municipal policies to support community garden projects, aiming to reduce poverty and ensure food security.
CommunityHealthEconomicsPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceOn eating’s pleasure of women of low-income socioeconomic status in Petare, Caracas, Venezuela
2022Marianella Herrera‐Cuenca · Anales Venezolanos de Nutrición · Venezuela (Caracas)
This study investigated preferred foods and dishes, willingness to grow ingredients, and ideal cooking choices among 18 pregnant and lactating women and community workers in low-income settings in Eastern Caracas, Venezuela, in June 2022. Focus group interviews revealed that traditional Venezuelan complex dishes were absent, replaced by basic or internationally referenced foods accessible to the community. The findings suggest a potential compromise to the culinary memories of future generations.
CommunityWelfareHealthThe extinction of experience and (re-)cultivating wellbeing and sustainability through garden-based learning
2022Donald Gray · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Global
A 2022 paper examined the role of school gardens in addressing children and young people's decreasing experiences with natural environments, increasing mental health concerns, and growing worries about global environmental problems. Drawing on three initiatives from an original pilot school garden program, the paper presents evidence that garden-based learning can positively contribute to improved health and wellbeing, learning, and environmental awareness.
Food educationHealthBiodiversityCommunityFarming on Top: Rooftop Agriculture for Healthy Cities
2022Elisa Appolloni, Giorgio Gianquinto · Frontiers for Young Minds · Global
Rooftop agriculture, a form of urban agriculture where food is grown on buildings, is presented as a solution to urban food insecurity and environmental protection. This practice offers benefits such as reducing urban heat, decreasing urban poverty, fostering socialization, and benefiting buildings. Rooftop agriculture is gaining global popularity due to these advantages.
Food sovereignty & justiceClimate changeHealthCommunitySeeds and the city: a review of municipal home food gardening programs in Canada in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
2022Janet Music, Lisa Mullins, Sylvain Charlebois, Charlotte Large, Kydra Mayhew · Humanities and Social Sciences Communications · Canada
This study compared 19 municipal urban home food gardening programs in Canada in 2020, which provided free gardening supplies and instructions. It found a complicated relationship between municipalities, gardening programs, and food security, and determined that gardening somewhat alleviated social and emotional challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, municipalities are limited in their policy capacities to adequately address food insecurity in Canada.
Governance failurePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityHealth