Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
8239 results(3 / 330)
Barriers to urban agriculture in Africa: a bibliometric and content co-occurrence analysis of the literature
2026hawamkwela@yahoo.com MKWELA, Emiliana Assenga · Cogent Food & Agriculture · Africa
A bibliometric analysis of 504 journal publications from January 2020 to December 2024 and a content co-occurrence analysis were conducted to understand barriers to urban agriculture in Africa. Four research clusters emerged, including 'policy neglect or opposition in urban agriculture'. Content analysis revealed that vegetable production in urban agriculture is negatively affected by wastewater use, heavy metal contaminated soil, limited access to productive factors, and policy neglect or opposition.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityPemberdayaan Masyarakat Dalam Penggunaan Artificial Intelligence Aktivitas Urban Farming Di Kelurahan Semanan, Provinsi DKI Jakarta
2026Jatayu Hadi Prakoso, Bayquni Bayquni, Indriati Yulistiani, Aurin Katerina Herlin, Nadhira Nadhira, Aulia Sahara, Alfiansyah Alfiansyah, Doni Romdoni, Steafian Lie · KOMUNITA Jurnal Pengabdian dan Pemberdayaan Masyarakat · Indonesia (Jakarta)
A community service program in Semanan Urban Village, DKI Jakarta, aimed to enhance residents' capacity for AI-based urban farming to strengthen food security, digital literacy, and community empowerment. Activities included socialization, training, technology implementation, mentoring, and evaluation. The program successfully improved community knowledge and technical skills in urban agriculture through AI technologies like soil sensors and automated irrigation, increased digital literacy, and strengthened program sustainability through continuous mentoring and community building.
CommunityDigital agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceMapping the InvisibleLandscape of Pesticides andAdjuvants in Peri-Urban Agricultural Waterways of the Megacity Shanghai
2026L Cao, Jingsheng Wang, Yanbin Zhao (1549129), Shuping Zheng, Ruike Pan, Ruiqi An (19738761), Xuhui Yue, Yifan Wang (380120), Jianan Li (290570), Yan Liu (25061), Jie Wang (16762), Peng Wang (34436), Yangmei Mo, Ning Pan (186987), H. Z. Shi, Jiayin Dai (218672), Kun Zhang (108291) · Figshare · China (Shanghai)
An integrated assessment of agrochemical contamination in Shanghai's peri-urban agricultural surface waters across 193 sites revealed exceptionally high chemical diversity and mixture complexity. 91 pesticides and 263 formulation adjuvants were widely detected, with adjuvants showing comparable detection frequencies and response intensities to pesticides, indicating they are a major, underappreciated component of agrochemical pollution. In vivo zebrafish embryo assays showed that representative pesticides and adjuvants induced adverse developmental effects at environmentally relevant concentrations, identifying peri-urban agriculture as a critical source of complex agrochemicals.
Contamination & food safetyPeri-urban agricultureHealthDifferentiated Design Strategies and Sustainable Benefit Evaluation of Urban Agriculture in Urban Residential Areas Based on Cluster Analysis
2026惟科 李, Haotian Zhang, Xiaoying Ding · Sustainability · China (Tianjin)
This study used the K-means clustering algorithm to classify residential areas in Nankai District of Tianjin, China. It proposed differentiated strategies for integrating spatial elements and management mechanisms of urban agriculture in these residential areas and quantitatively assessed the sustainable benefits of updated urban agriculture. The results indicate that differentiated urban agriculture updates in four types of residential areas can significantly improve their sustainable benefits.
Food sovereignty & justiceHealthCommunityPolicyUrban liveability, health and wellbeing are intricately linked to large, quality, biodiverse green spaces, not densification
2026Charlie M. Shackleton, Nanamhla Gwedla, Jessica P. R. Thorn · Frontiers in Sustainable Cities · Global
This article discusses the long-standing debate on whether cities can be both dense and green, noting that some cities have achieved both. It questions whether densification is the sole driver of declines in urban green space and proposes deepening the debate by considering eight other dimensions of urban greening. The article also mentions compact urban greening forms like vertical gardens and green roofs, but states that most are poor surrogates for large, connected, biodiverse green spaces.
BiodiversityHealthPolicyConstruction of a Virtual Sensor-Driven Digital Twin System for Plant Growth Monitoring on Rooftop Farms
2026Shaojin Zheng, Heng Zhang, L L Li · Buildings · China (Xiamen)
This study proposed and validated a virtual sensor-driven digital twin system for monitoring plant growth on rooftop farms, using a rooftop tomato case in Xiamen, China. The system integrates environmental data acquisition, LSTM–DSSAT model prediction, database storage, and 3D visualization. The coupled Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) weather prediction model and Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) crop growth model achieved high predictive accuracy for leaf area index (R2=0.9814) and aboveground biomass (R2=0.9966), supporting 7-day forecasts for phenology and yield.
Digital agricultureBiodiversityCommunityClimate changeCase study on biological and chemical soil properties during the transition from intensive agriculture to an organic food forest
2026Hermann Ketterl, Tobias Heinrich · Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Regensburg (OTH Regensburg) · Global
This case study monitors soil properties as a function of time since conversion from intensive agriculture to an organic food forest, which was planted in several sections over five years. Classical soil microscopy was used to assess bacterial and fungal abundance, and the resulting videos were analyzed using image analysis.
Organic cycleBiodiversityCommunityWhose fruits, whose labour? Negotiating community and care-work in urban orchards and food forests
2026Anastasia Luise Gramatakos, Catherine Phillips, Andrea Rawluk · Local Environment · Australia (Melbourne)
This ethnographic fieldwork, conducted across three community-led urban food forest sites in Naarm/Melbourne, examined the everyday labors, relations, and tensions involved in caring for urban food-producing trees. The study found that participants grapple with significant tensions, particularly in open-access sites lacking fences, gates, or formal membership, highlighting the evolving and imperfect nature of commoning practices rather than a fixed ideal.
Governance failureCommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyIntegrating vertical farming with vertical housing in hot-arid contexts: a socio-spatial, technical, and VR-based design strategy in the UAE
2026Khaled Galal Ahmed, Neveen Hamza, Alaa Omar Kordi, Omar Sherzad M. Shareef, Alaa Badawi, Aliaa Safwat, Nicolas Monje Mejia · Frontiers in Sustainable Cities · United Arab Emirates
This study investigated integrating vertical farming into Emirati vertical public housing in Sharjah, UAE, to reinterpret traditional outdoor living spaces. Researchers developed three vertical farming scenarios and evaluated them with 30 Emirati prospective users (aged 20–23) via immersive virtual reality and semi-structured interviews. Findings indicated that user acceptance was influenced by socio-spatial, cultural, and practical factors, with the Mixed Vertical Farming scenario receiving the strongest support.
CommunityDigital agriculturePolicyMembangun Masyarakat Sehat Dan Lingkungan Bersih: Pelaksanaan Kkn Tematik Universitas Dehasen Periode 6 Di Kelurahan Betungan Rt 28 Rw 02
2026Jeki Putra Jaya, Sari Putri Dewi, Cici Hidayatullah, Anwar Fuadi Lubis, Triyogi Prabowo, Ferawati Royani, Feby Elra Perdima, Asnawati Asnawati · Jurnal Karya Nyata Pengabdian · Indonesia
A community service program in RT 28 RW 02 Betungan Subdistrict and Sumber Jaya Betungan, Indonesia, addressed issues of limited green spaces, low waste management awareness, and lack of health activities. Solutions included planting medicinal plants, group exercise, providing waste bins, establishing reading corners, and developing a community garden. The program resulted in increased public awareness of environmental cleanliness and healthy lifestyles, improved literacy access, and stronger community participation.
CommunityHealthFood educationBiodiversityThe Role of the Srikandi Tani 09 Women Farmers Group in Fulfilling the Right to a Healthy Environment
2026Nurdiyana Diyana, Suanto Suanto, Roni Rustandi, Trisakti Handayani, Sri Rumiati · JUSTISI · Indonesia
This qualitative descriptive study in South Tangerang City, Indonesia, analyzed the role of the Srikandi Tani 09 Women Farmers Group (KWT) in realizing the right to a healthy environment. Based on interviews, observations, and documentation from five active members, findings indicate KWT Srikandi Tani 09 actively raises environmental awareness, manages limited land for urban agriculture, and processes organic waste. Success factors include participatory leadership and collaboration, while challenges involve limited land, funding, and public awareness.
CommunityOrganic cyclePolicyWelfareTerritorializing food systems through pedagogical broadening: the case of Voll Farm
2026Beste Sabir, Heidi Vinge, Adam Calo · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Norway (Trondheim)
This paper examines how Voll Farm, a municipally supported green urban competence center in Trondheim, Norway, adopted pedagogical broadening strategies to operationalize territorialized food policies. Based on 18 months of qualitative fieldwork, the findings indicate that multifunctional farms can facilitate knowledge exchange and praxis-based learning between grassroots initiatives and policy landscapes, fostering civic empowerment and system awareness. Voll Farm's practices, such as community-supported agriculture and school gardening, make sustainable food production visible and inform municipal urban agriculture strategies.
Food educationPolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceBuilding Capacity for Food Justice: The Multifaceted Benefits of an Urban Home Gardening Intervention
2026Taylor Swenski, Jocelyn Smith Carter, Marjorie Kersten, Elizabeth Berkeley, K. Varner, Howard Rosing · Ecology of Food and Nutrition · United States (Chicago)
The "Grow Your Groceries Home Garden" intervention program, implemented in Chicago, United States in 2022, aimed to improve food access in food-insecure communities. A longitudinal investigation over two annual cycles surveyed 46 participants, complemented by focus groups with 9 participants, to evaluate food access, cost savings, health, and socioemotional outcomes. While results on improved gardening confidence over time emerged non-significant, participants reported increased food access, cost savings, healthier eating, stress reduction, and strengthened relational bonds.
Limited or null effectHealthWelfareCommunityFood educationHeavy metal accumulation in Amaranthus hybridus and Ocimum gratissimum cultivated on automobile workshop soils in Ekiti Nigeria and associated human health risks
2026Amos Tomiwa Afolabi, Bridget O. Odiyi, Oluwasheun Johannah Ojeniyi · Discover Soil. · Nigeria (Ado-Ekiti)
A study in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria, investigated heavy metal accumulation in Amaranthus hybridus and Ocimum gratissimum grown on soils from two automobile workshops. A. hybridus accumulated higher metal concentrations than O. gratissimum, with stems showing greater accumulation than leaves. While non-carcinogenic and total cancer risks were within acceptable limits, children showed higher vulnerability, indicating that continuous monitoring and soil remediation are essential for sustainable urban agriculture in these contaminated areas.
Contamination & food safetyHealthOpportunities and Constraints for the Development of CSA in Poland in the Context of Agricultural and Rural Transformation
2026Magdalena Raftowicz, Mirosław Struś · · Poland
This theoretical study analyzes the potentials and barriers to the development of Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Poland, drawing on existing research. It identifies key barriers to CSA development, including financial, legal, organizational, and social factors, which originate from both farmers and consumers. The ongoing land ownership concentration in Poland, fostering industrial agriculture, is contrary to sustainable development and EU agricultural policy, posing a significant barrier to CSA development, particularly for farmers.
Governance failureCSA & TeikeiEconomicsPolicyCommunityHORTA COMUNITARIA RESH
2026Cláudio Yuri Rodrigues da Silva, Danilo de Souza Sobreira Filho, Leonardo de Mendonça · Revista Brasileira de Cannabis · Brazil
The "Horta Terapêutica Integrada a Atividades Sensoriais e Ecopsicologia" project by Brazil's Association for Socio-Historical Reparation (RESH) aims to address structural social and environmental problems such as food insecurity, social exclusion, and the psychosocial impacts of social vulnerability. This project proposes establishing a RESH Community Garden of approximately 150 m² for organic and medicinal food production, aiming to promote food sovereignty, social justice, and a culture of care benefiting mental health. Its methodology is based on agroecological practices, sensory activities, and ecopsychology principles, inspired by the Manguinhos Community Garden's consolidated experience.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthWelfarePengembangan Urban Farming Komunal sebagai Strategi Ketahanan Pangan di Kawasan Metropolitan Surabaya (Lokasi: RW 02 Kelurahan Jepara, Kecamatan Bubutan, Kota Surabaya, Jawa Timur)
2026Shafira Aulia Rosyida Irawan, Anoraga Jatayu, Khanaya Fairuz Shiba, Alyssa Lola Eldiana, Gerriscka Rivandani Putri, Anastasya Fitri Violeta, Indira Ariq Hutomo, M. Aditya Rahman, Alya Shoraya Maharani · Sewagati · Indonesia (Surabaya)
This community service program in RW 02 Jepara Village, Surabaya, Indonesia, addressed limited green space and high food dependency by developing communal urban farming. Through participatory approaches including FGDs, limited-land cultivation training, and educational activities for children, the program utilized yards and narrow spaces with polybags for food crops. It demonstrated the effectiveness of using non-productive spaces, contributing to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities), and mitigating negative urbanization impacts.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceFood educationPemberdayaan Urban Farming melalui Desain Kemasan Produk Berbasis Digital Canva di Kelurahan Kalisegoro
2026Fika Ulfa Widowati · Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat Nusantara (JPMN) · Indonesia
This study aimed to empower the community of Kalisegoro Village by integrating digital technology into urban agricultural innovation. Through socialization, digital literacy training, and Canva-based packaging design workshops involving 14 students and 50 residents, the program significantly improved technical cultivation skills and visual branding abilities. The use of Canva enhanced access to professional design, increasing the competitiveness and sales value of local products.
CommunityEconomicsDigital agricultureUrban Agriculture as a Survival Strategy: Food Security, Inequality, and Community Development in Enugu State, Nigeria
2026Oshaba Patience Chizoba, Chinedu Augustine Igwenagu · Path of Science · Nigeria
A survey of 222 households and interviews in Enugu State, Nigeria, showed that urban agriculture (UA) is a critical coping strategy for food availability. However, UA perpetuates gendered inequalities as a "patriarchal bargain," where women's expanded reproductive labor does not necessarily lead to improved economic empowerment. Furthermore, UA strongly promotes bonding social capital but does not foster bridging social capital with formal institutions, thereby undermining its transformative potential.
Equity & displacementFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityWelfareEconomicsAgricultural Functions of Town in Conditions of Low Indicators of Natural Resource Potential
2026A. I. Danshin · Geografičeskaâ sreda i živye sistemy · Russia
This study aimed to identify the agricultural functions of small towns, including their role in providing additional income, in regions bordering Belarus with low natural resource potential and living standards. The current state of agricultural production in small towns was studied based on systematic observations and statistical information verified during 2023–2024 expeditionary studies. Findings revealed that residents use personal utility plots due to traditions, low incomes, insufficient store assortments, and to assist children in other regions.
EconomicsWelfareDIYSchool gardens as socio-ecological learning systems: supporting adolescent food security and resilience
2026L. Lue, K. Reis, H. Kanasa, S. Rutherford, C. Desha · Environmental Education Research · Global
A review of 22 studies (2001-2024) across six countries, primarily the US and Canada, examined how high school garden programs support adolescent food security and resilience. Findings indicated contributions across multiple socio-ecological levels, but uneven implementation significantly constrained their overall impact. Specifically, opportunities for shared decision-making were limited, and short-term, inconsistent support for policy, funding, and governance structures restricted long-term effectiveness.
Limited or null effectFood educationHealthCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEnjeux environnementaux de l'introduction prospective de l'intelligence artificielle dans l'agriculture périurbaine de Kinshasa
2026Patrick Lubavu Kyamasa, Pascal Tshisuaka Kalombo, Aimée Mahamba Iyanabita, John Mbuyi Kamuena · European Scientific Journal ESJ · Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa)
This study examined environmental, technological, and socio-economic determinants influencing the ecological viability of AI integration in Kinshasa's peri-urban agriculture, which faces threats like soil degradation and inadequate infrastructure. A field survey of 411 farmers in the Kimwenza area found 86.13% viewed AI positively despite major structural constraints, including lack of electricity (78.83%) and digital illiteracy (54.99%). The study highlights the current lack of anticipatory public policies to address these constraints for a sustainable digital transformation.
Governance failureDigital agricultureClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsTOMAT in advance
2026Nele Buyst · Environmental Philosophy · Global
This article conceptually analyzes TOMAT, a community garden project organized by an educational institution, arguing for it as an "infrastructure of reciprocity." It focuses on how TOMAT enacts the (eco)feminist concept of "interdependency" and challenges the dominant relation to land as property, replacing it with a relation of belonging.
CommunityFood educationPolicyDesign and Implementation of an Autonomous IoT-Based Irrigation System for Water Optimization in Peri-Urban Agriculture: Case Study of Green Village (DRC)
2026Kadima Muamba Donatien, Kabaubabo Kalombo Jean- Jacques, Mavula Kikwe Alexis, Kako Gbolo Etienne · International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology (IJISRT) · Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa)
Peri-urban agriculture in the Democratic Republic of Congo heavily relies on natural rainfall, leading to yield decreases of up to 50% and a lengthening of the crop cycle from 21 to 45 days during the dry season. This study proposes the design and implementation of an autonomous IoT-based irrigation system to optimize water use at Green Village, Kinshasa. The proposed solution aims to enable real-time adaptive irrigation, reducing water loss and stabilizing production.
Limited or null effectDigital agriculturePeri-urban agricultureClimate changeEconomicsUrban Food Security: Instalasi Bottle Aquaponics untuk Mewujudkan Ketahanan Pangan Berkelanjutan
2026Anang Kistyanto, Febrika Yogie Hermanto, Amirusholihin Amirusholihin, Muhammad Fajar Wahyudi Rahman, Restu Eri Adinata · SEMANGGI Jurnal Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat · Global
This study empirically demonstrated an integrative model combining low-cost bottle aquaponics, experiential learning, and educational tourism (eduwisata) as a community-based diffusion platform. Findings revealed that simple, highly replicable systems significantly enhanced food literacy, technical capability, and adoption intention, while eduwisata accelerated diffusion beyond initial participants.
Food educationCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceDigital agriculture