Research & reports

Mykl Nelson, Gwynne Mhuireach, Gail A. Langellotto · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (Oregon)

To characterize residential-scale urban agriculture soils, the authors sampled 27 residential vegetable gardens in two western Oregon cities, distinguishing in-ground beds from raised beds. They found these soils frequently exceeded recommended ranges for many fertility parameters—likely due to routine overapplication of compost, amendments, and fertilizers—with raised beds significantly higher than in-ground beds in carbon/nitrogen ratio, active carbon, and sulfur.

Kirti Das, Anu Ramaswami · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · United States

Based on a survey of 6,152 representative urbanites in three US cities, this paper analyzes the demographics of agricultural gardeners and the types of gardening practiced. It finds low engagement in community gardening (~2%) versus household gardening (~27%), that household gardening was dominated by higher-income White males, and that community gardening was more diverse but too low in participation to scale benefits—underscoring the need for data on who gardens to design equitable urban agriculture.

Joshua Earl Arnold · Insects · United States (California)

Over two growing seasons, this study sampled brassica crops at urban agriculture sites spanning a gradient of surrounding landscape imperviousness, size, and management to assess parasitic Hymenoptera abundance, richness, and parasitism of the cabbage aphid. On-farm agroecological practices—mulch coverage, floral richness, and crop-plant richness—and larger on-farm noncrop area increased parasitoid abundance, and greater crop-plant richness raised aphid parasitism, supporting the enemies hypothesis in urban agroecosystems.

Domenic Vitiello · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · United States

Using mixed methods, this article traces the evolution of urban agriculture practice, support, and policy in Philadelphia and Chicago since the 1990s, contrasting cities that treat farming and gardening as public goods with those seeking economic and redevelopment gains. It finds that while both cities became prominent urban farming centers, Chicago increasingly treated urban agriculture as a public good whereas its status in Philadelphia remained contested and unstable.

María Teresa Gómez-Villarino, Teresa Briz · California Agriculture · United States (Berkeley)

This study examined urban gardens in Berkeley, California, and Madrid, Spain, to observe how agroecological principles—efficient, sustainable use of local resources and inputs—are practiced. It reports that gardens using good ecological practices provide a wide range of ecosystem services, including cultural services such as places to socialize, and can serve as model urban agricultural centers contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Alexandra Niedzwiecki, Norah Kates, Sally Brown, Kristen McIvor · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (Tacoma)

This study surveyed 66 community gardens (1,960 plots) in the nonprofit Harvest Pierce County program in Tacoma and Pierce County, Washington, which provides gardeners with land, soil testing, clean soil, compost, water, and education. It found gardens were well-used across the program (mean use intensity 2.26 on a 0–3 scale), with larger gardens and plots used more intensively, and gardens well distributed across income, population density, and racial identity—suggesting the resource-provision model is inclusive.

Sinan Kordon, Patrick A. Miller, Cermetrius L. Bohannon · Land · United States (Roanoke)

This study used a scene-rating survey in Roanoke, Virginia, to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of four groups (community gardeners, community-and-home gardeners, home gardeners, and non-gardeners) toward community gardens. Analysis identified seven dimensions important to preferences—including gathering/seating, plots with and without boundaries, focal points, garden entrance, untidy space, and composting structures—with significant group differences on all but "gathering and seating," yielding design recommendations to reduce opposition and support long-term garden survival.

Parvathy Binoy · Human Geography · United States (Saint Paul)

Drawing on ethnographic and visual documentation of the Aurora Saint Anthony Peace Garden in Saint Paul's historic Black neighborhood of Rondo, this article argues that the elder-led Urban Farmer Garden Alliance and its community garden sustain an intimacy of Black food sovereignty amid gentrification. It contends the gardens work to restore collective Black connection to land and food disrupted by urban renewal and a lack of affordable food access.

Eiji Toda, Edward Lowe · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · United States (Orange County, California)

This study reports six case studies of community gardens in southern Orange County, California, asking how garden governance and an overarching garden ethos are elaborated. It finds gardens manifest one of three governance approaches—anarchic, democratic, or corporate—and two value frameworks (a community-oriented ethos and an individualistic ethos), arguing postsuburban gardens may address perceived shortcomings of postsuburban regions.

Celina 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.

· Journal of Food Processing and Preservation · Brazil

Designs, constructs, and applies a low-cost solar dryer, studying the drying kinetics of araticum fruit pulp. Demonstrates a self-built, inexpensive dryer for preserving and adding value to produce.

· SOIL · United States

Describes an underground, wireless, open-source, low-cost system using LoRa to monitor soil oxygen, temperature, and moisture; the logging, power, and communication components cost about USD 150, much cheaper than commercial solutions.

Kim J.Y., Abdel-Haleem H., Luo Z., Szczepanek A. · Smart Agricultural Technology · United States

Develops a portable high-throughput phenotyping system using a microcontroller and a Raspberry Pi single-board computer, extended with soil moisture monitoring and water-pump control for automated irrigation using open-source electronics.

· 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.

Joshua 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.

Yujia 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.

Marc 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.

Janet 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.

Saria Lofton, Marjorie Kersten, Nanyombi Lubimbi, Angela Odoms‐Young · Journal of Community Practice · United States

This study used Chaskin’s relational framework to describe community capacity-building efforts to enhance urban agriculture in predominantly Black communities. Strategies identified for community capacity building in urban agriculture included building on existing resources, community engagement, expanding organizational capacity, identifying threats, and identifying ideal solutions. These strategies were identified by urban farmers, gardeners, and advocates to strengthen local control of the food environment through sustainable urban agriculture.

Tapan S. Parikh, Sara Perl Egendorf, Isaiah Murray, Ali Jamali, Bryan Yee, Sammi Lin, Kendra Cooper-Smith, Brendan Parker, Koron Smiley, Jenny Kao‐Kniffin · Frontiers in Sustainable Cities · United States

This study described the development of virtual reality (VR) platforms to support farmer knowledge transfer and innovation in urban agriculture in the U.S. The platform features a VR model of an organic farm in New York City, detailing farm operations and offering opportunities to integrate educational materials and personal narratives. VR has the potential to accelerate innovations in food justice by transcending the physical constraints of traditional agricultural extension.

Carmen Carrión · Digital Archive @ GSU · United States

This dissertation explored school gardens as an out-of-classroom setting for students to learn and develop their understanding of scientific inquiry and practices. The study found that school gardens can foster learners' abilities to construct real-life associations with science content through engagement, free exploration, and scientific investigation. This research also created curriculum and assessment tools for use in conjunction with school garden settings.

Catherine Campbell, Jorge Ruiz‐Menjivar, Alia DeLong · HortTechnology · United States (Florida)

This research characterized commercial urban agriculture (CUA) operations in Florida, United States, and explored urban farmers' perceptions of needs, barriers, and opportunities for CUA development. A cluster analysis identified three distinct groups of urban farmers with differing perceptions of barriers, opportunities, and informational needs. The study notes that the U.S. Department of Agriculture Census of Agriculture does not report data on CUA operations, limiting knowledge about their status, including barriers to business operations and profitability.

Avi Friedman · · Canada (Montreal)

This chapter explores how food production can initiate change at the neighborhood level and how using native flora in landscaping decreases water consumption and benefits local biodiversity. The Benny Farm Project in Montreal, Canada, is presented as an example of a highly productive urban agriculture undertaking.

Julie Cornfield, Harmonii Odinga, Jaleh Kermani, Katherine P. Theall, M. Pia Chaparro · American Journal of Health Promotion · United States (New Orleans)

An environmental assessment of 10 community gardens and interviews with 20 community members and administrators in New Orleans, Louisiana, explored factors affecting garden use. Gardens scored high in design and cleanliness but low in accessibility and information availability. While community members perceived gardens could increase fresh food access, administrators believed gardens could not produce enough food for community-wide impact, emphasizing social benefits instead.

Julio C. Zambrano-Gutiérrez, Laura Silvia Valente de Macedo, Marc Eric Barda Picavet, José A. Puppim de Oliveira · Environmental Management · Brazil (Florianópolis)

This study used pattern matching to contrast identity theory with original data from 7 individuals participating in waste management and urban agriculture collaboration in Florianópolis, Brazil. Findings showed that as the collaboration evolved, individual participants in municipal government transitioned between roles, affecting their influence based on "integrator" or "segmenter" styles. The success of the collaboration after institutionalization depended on individual transition style and the power of municipal agents to influence it.