Research & reports

Yuliia V. Medvedeva, Анатолій Кучер, Joanna Lipsa, Maria Hełdak · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Europe

A study assessed the safety of apples sampled across different functional zones of Kharkiv, Ukraine — from industrial areas to school gardens — for consumption. Heavy metal levels exceeded maximum allowable limits in apple samples from all sampling sites, with lead 11.47 to 38.86 times and cadmium 1.76 to 5.68 times the FAO/EU norms; the most contaminated samples came from residential areas, partly due to significant land pollution from various waste types. Hazard index (HI) values varied by age group: 24.37-70.11 for children aged 1-6, 10.28-29.59 for children aged 7-16, and 0.88-2.53 for adults aged 18-65. Non-carcinogenic risks were linked to disorders of the immune, blood, urinary, and nervous systems and to liver and kidney function, and the total carcinogenic risk from eating the apples exceeded the permissible level.

Carolina Neto Henriques, Teresa Costa Pinto, Pedro Costa, Teresa Marat-Mendes · Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) · Europe

A study of initiatives transforming the food system at both municipal and civil-society level in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA), Portugal, aimed to characterize these initiatives, examine how they are proposing new food planning agendas, and draw lessons for future planning policy. Its method compared a scenario from a 2014 questionnaire of planning officials with the discourses of 80 public- and civil-society-sector initiatives surveyed in 2019, using an analytical framework grounded in the FAO and RUAF (Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security) recommendations.

Alicja Kolasa-Więcek, Dariusz Suszanowicz · Environmental Science and Pollution Research · Europe

This study conducted field tests on model roofs and GIS-based building potential analysis in two districts of Opole, Poland, proposing a methodology to forecast reduction in rainwater drainage load from green roof deployment. Rainfall up to 5 mm/day is completely retained by both intensive and extensive roofs, and about 44% of torrential rainfall is retained. The runoff reduction coefficient is 0.63 for extensive roofs and 0.74 for intensive roofs; installing green roofs on 25% of suitable buildings is estimated to reduce drainage load enough to prevent localized flooding.

Sovová L., Veen E.J. · Sustainability (MDPI), 12(12):5134 · Europe

A comparative study of food self-provisioning in allotment gardens in the Netherlands and Czechia, drawing on social practice theory. It argues self-provisioning is neither merely a poverty response nor a trend, holding significant potential for food provisioning that can be supported within alternative food networks and urban sustainability frameworks.

Daniels B., Jedamski J., Ottermanns R., Ross-Nickoll M. · PLOS ONE, 15(7):e0235492 · Europe

A study of pollinator diversity and plant-pollinator interactions in urban green spaces in Germany. Urban community gardens hosted significantly higher pollinator abundance than other park types, comparable to rural reference sites, showing that near-natural design and management, floral diversity, and even small green patches can make cities pollinator habitat.

Staudenmaier P. · German Studies Review, Vol. 43, No. 2, pp. 271–290 · Germany

Reexamines the ostensibly green facets of Nazism through the 'landscape advocates' led by Alwin Seifert from 1934 to 1945, assessing environmental concerns in regime public works and their ideological limits.

Tharrey M., Sachs A., Perignon M., Simon C., Mejean C., Litt J., Darmon N. · BMC Public Health · France (Montpellier)

A quasi-experimental study in Greater Montpellier comparing 66 new community garden participants with 66 matched controls found no significant shifts toward more sustainable lifestyles (diet, physical activity, well-being) after one year of garden participation.

Theodorou P., Radzevičiūtė R., Lentendu G., Kahnt B., Husemann M., Bleidorn C., Settele J., Schweiger O., Grosse I., Wubet T., Murray T.E., Paxton R.J. · Nature Communications, 11:576 · Germany

A replicated experiment contrasting Central European cities with neighbouring rural sites, finding cities have lower overall insect richness (e.g. flies, butterflies) but higher bee species richness, flower-visitation rates and pollination than the countryside. It shows urban floral resources support bees while cautioning that not all insects benefit, informing the design of pollinator conservation in urban green spaces and gardens.

David R Beam, Aniko Szabo, Jared Olson, Lawrence Hoffman, Kirsten M M Beyer · Injury Prevention · United States (Milwaukee)

Using a quasi-experimental difference-in-differences design, this study compared 53 vacant lots converted into community gardens with 159 matched control lots to assess effects on police-reported theft, violent, and nuisance crime in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It found violent and nuisance crime rates were lower near the garden-conversion lots, with the most consistent reductions in violent crime within 250 m (about 3.7%–6.4%), while no substantial effect was seen for theft.

Richter S., Haase D., Thestorf K., Makki M. · Urban Forestry & Urban Greening · Germany (Berlin)

First study combining soil and tree carbon stocks for Berlin to estimate its carbon storage potential, finding soils account for more than two-thirds of the city's stored organic carbon.

Artmann M., Sartison K., Vávra J. · Journal of Cleaner Production · Germany

Proposes a conceptual multi-dimensional framework positioning the edible city as a nature-based solution for sustainability transformation, tested on a German case study.

Sartison K., Artmann M. · Urban Forestry & Urban Greening · Germany

An explorative study of urban food production in German cities, examining edible cities as a nature-based solution and the drivers and constraints of implementation.

Sieveking A., Schomerus C.-T. · Natur und Recht · Germany

Discusses the establishment of food policy councils (Ernährungsräte) in Germany as an advisory-council instrument for a food-system transition.

Bruni C., Akyol Ç., Cipolletta G., Eusebi A.L., Caniani D., Masi S., Colón J., Fatone F. · Sustainability · Italy

Reviews Italian legislation and implemented projects on decentralized community composting, arguing Italy can serve as a model for Mediterranean countries building decentralized composting programs.

Lobillo-Eguíbar J., Fernández-Cabanás V.M., Bermejo L.A., Pérez-Urrestarazu L. · Agronomy · Spain

Two small-scale aquaponic systems, self-built from cheap and easy-to-obtain materials based on FAO models, were monitored for a year to assess their economic sustainability for self-production.

· Agronomy · United Kingdom

Assesses waste almond shells and a recycled plastic drainage plank as sustainable hydroponic media alternatives to perlite, evaluating physicochemical properties and lettuce germination and greenhouse growth.

· Sustainability · New Zealand; Germany

Using case studies in New Zealand and Germany, this study systematically analyzes the factors that support or obstruct the development of urban community gardens as placemaking.

Yacaman Ochoa C., Mataran Ruiz A., Mata Olmo R., Macias Figueroa A., Torres Rodriguez A. · Land · Andalucia, Spain

Two Andalusian case studies analysing how peri-urban organic agriculture and short food supply chains strengthen city/region food systems by shortening the chain and reducing handling stages and spoilage.

Fattibene D., Recanati F., Dembska K., Antonelli M. · Resources · Europe (40 cities across 16 countries)

Presents a framework to assess urban food waste policies and initiatives across 40 cities in 16 European countries, linking policy types, intervention areas, and actors to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Dobson M., Edmondson J., Warren P. · Landscape and Urban Planning · United Kingdom

A GIS analysis of historic maps shows UK allotment land declined by about 65% from its peak to 2016. The loss is inequitable: the most deprived urban areas experienced eight times the level of allotment loss as the least deprived areas.

· Urban Forestry & Urban Greening · London, UK

In London, allotments comprise the largest area of urban agriculture yet provision is under threat and fails to meet demand. Despite well-documented benefits, the opportunity for urban food growing is declining under development pressure while demand rises.

Panagiota Kotsila, Isabelle Anguelovski, Francesc Baró, Johannes Langemeyer, Filka Sekulova, James J. Connolly · Environment and Planning E Nature and Space · Spain (Barcelona)

This paper analyzes nature-based solutions (NBS) as discursive tools that create an inviting space for nature's neoliberalization processes, examining two city-initiated projects in Barcelona, Spain: the Passeig de Sant Joan green corridor and the Espai Germanetes community garden. The study found that urban nature can serve elite economic players at the expense of widespread socio-ecological benefits. It also noted that outcomes regarding neoliberalism and its contestation were very distinct between the two projects due to different forms of governance.

Annemarie Tabea Rost, Victoria Liste, Corinna Seidel, Lea Matscheroth, Marco Otto, Fred Meier, Daniel Fenner · Atmosphere · Germany (Berlin)

This study measured nocturnal air temperatures in 13 allotment garden complexes (AGCs) during the summer of 2018 in Berlin, Germany, comparing them to measurements in densely built-up urban areas, two large inner-city parks, and rural areas. On average, the assessed AGCs were 2.7 K cooler at night than urban areas, and most investigated AGCs (11/13) showed a larger mean nocturnal air temperature difference than urban parks. The nocturnal air temperature difference decreased significantly as the floor space index around AGCs increased, and shape complexity showed a significant positive correlation, while AGC size and distance to the city center significantly decreased with increasing nocturnal air temperature difference.

Christine Aubry, Anne Cécile Daniel, Baptiste Grard, Agnès Lelièvre, Nathalie Frascaria‐Lacoste, Claire Chenu · · France

Urban micro-farms in France are intermediate forms between community gardens and recognized vegetable farms, limited in number and too heterogeneous for a unique typology. This study developed an original reading grid, inspired by agricultural sustainability assessment tools, to understand their functioning. The 18-month participatory research included numerous producer surveys, follow-ups, and field data collection on production, costs, revenue, and working time.

Remedios Larrubia Vargas, Juan José Natera Rivas, David Carruana-Herrera · Boletín de la Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles · Spain

This research investigated urban gardens in the city of Málaga as a strategy for urban transition towards sustainability. It identified 19 urban gardens promoted by both public and private entities and analyzed them based on interviews with their promoters regarding their operation, users' socioeconomic characteristics, management, motivations, and existing typology. The results highlight the diversity of projects and the benefits they provide for users' personal development, family economy, and the urban environment.