Research & reports

Sartor, Iriana, Paccillo, Giovanna, Banham, Rebecca, Ezzy, Douglas · Conicet · Global

This chapter explores the politics of nonreligion, with gardens and gardening functioning as practices illustrating how lifestances can be structural, collectivist, relational, and radical. Data from Brazil and Argentina are used to frame political, educational, and activist elements of gardening worldwide. The chapter demonstrates how the politics of community gardening can constructively contribute to positive political engagement and community building.

H.J. Thwaites, Jungho Suh, G.M. Coote, Melissa Nursey‐Bray, Timothy R. Cavagnaro, M.J. Salomon · Journal of Cleaner Production · Global

This systematic quantitative literature review explores urban food forests, defined as woody food-producing species in urban landscapes, identifying their realized and potential impacts across ecosystem services, food security, health, society, and culture. The research found that urban food forests are highly valued for providing local foods and medicine, as well as regulating services, and contribute to biodiversity, economic and social inclusivity, and human well-being. The review highlights urban planning and design as a central research theme and identifies a need for more quantitative research and integration into local legislation.

Daniel Borer, Daniel Fuller, Manjit Singh Sandhu, Duy‐Tung Bui · Social Responsibility Journal · Global

This conceptual paper introduces the Pancentric Nutrition Paradigm, an interdisciplinary framework integrating human nutrition, environmental sustainability, animal welfare, and societal considerations for global food systems. It identifies four strategies for sustainable food systems: implementing urban agriculture and agro-zoos, introducing a meat carbon tax (€0.10 per kg CO2e), promoting ostrich farming, and developing policy pathways. The study suggests the pancentric approach can harmonize competing interests in food systems.

Amon Abraham, Andrew G. Mtewa, Chimwemwe Chiutula, Richard Lizwe Steven Mvula, Alfred Maluwa, Fasil Ejigu Eregno, John Njalam’mano · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Malawi (Blantyre)

This cross-sectional study in Blantyre, Malawi, characterized antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) prevalence in 35 samples from five livestock farms, including manure, soil, and vegetables. It found high contamination, with Escherichia coli dominating pig manure (52%) and farm soil (35%), and Klebsiella pneumoniae contaminating all sample types (up to 67% in home soils, 60% in vegetables). All manure isolates showed sulfamethoxazole–trimethoprim resistance, and vegetables exhibited severe multidrug resistance, including 100% E. coli resistance to gentamicin. Composting for ≤6 weeks did not eliminate ARBs, indicating manure-amended farms are AMR reservoirs.

Zafar Tabrez · Discover Food · Global

Urban agriculture contributes to urban sustainability by supporting food production, income generation, waste recycling, preventing urban sprawl, preserving biodiversity, and enhancing resilience and local economies. Achieving sustainable implementation requires integrating urban farming into urban planning processes and developing specific policies. Incorporating urban gardening into urban planning and strengthening it with policies enhances its sustainability, improves food security, raises awareness, reduces poverty, and improves food systems. Additionally, urban gardens mitigate urban heat islands, waste, and air pollution, improve health, and foster social connections, with organic agriculture boosting biodiversity and urban food production reducing CO2 emissions.

E.N. Jenkins, John M. Galbraith, Anna Paltseva · SOIL · Global

This study conducted a literature review of 84 publications to evaluate the accuracy, precision, and practicality of Portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) as a tool for analyzing heavy metal contamination in urban soils. Urban soils often face contamination with heavy metals like lead and arsenic, and PXRF was shown to achieve reliable accuracy when properly calibrated. PXRF emerges as a viable method for assessing urban soil contamination.

Christian Kofi Sarpong, Romanus Dogkubong Dinye, Alex Donbeinaa, Vera Nyarko Amoako · Asian Journal of Agricultural and Horticultural Research · Ghana

This study assessed the role of urban agriculture in Ghanaian cities through a systematic literature review of publications from 2000 to 2024. Urban agriculture was found to significantly contribute to food security, nutrition, and income, and to bolster environmental sustainability. However, challenges such as land tenure insecurity, unsafe irrigation practices, weak institutional support, and limited policy integration persist.

Anwesha Chatterjee, Proma Ghosh, Bastian Winkler, V Vijayaragavan, Sanjit Debnath, Jedrzej Cichocki, Marielle Trenkner, Bilitis Vanicela, Christoph Riethmueller, Monte Walz, Suhrid Chandra, Harshata Pal · Scientia Horticulturae · Global

This in-depth review explores the integration of hydroponics cultivation systems, reinforcing bioeconomy and sustainable agricultural growth. Hydroponics is a promising urban farming approach due to its high resource-use and land-use efficiency, enabling year-round production of high-quality fresh foods with less water, nutrients, and pesticides compared to soil-based methods. Recent studies focus on optimizing hydroponics for biofortification in indoor cultivation and integrating municipal wastewater treatment for nutrient and water recovery.

Sukanta Kumar Sarangi, Rajeeb K. Mohanty, Sukham Munilkumar, Jitendra Kumar Sundaray · · Global

This chapter presents new and innovative Integrated Farming System (IFS) models designed to meet future generations' needs, considering constraints on land, water, and energy. Described models include three-dimensional farming, aquapod farming, vertical farming, aquaponics, and hydroponics. The chapter also discusses strategies for doubling farmers' income, such as reducing cultivation costs and increasing production, and highlights the roles of international/national organizations and government schemes in promoting IFS.

Susanne Berliner · · Global

This narration observes a community garden as a space of social diversity, functioning as a "cosmopolitan canopy" where people from different backgrounds interact. While a cosmopolitan spirit exists, the garden is not neutral; its permeable boundaries and internal segregation indicate it is permeated by power dynamics and control.

M.M. Rasmuna, VGR Chandran, Keshminder J.S. · PLANNING MALAYSIA · Malaysia

This research analyzed commercial urban agriculture (CUA) models in Malaysia using the Business Model Canvas to understand their sustainability. The study found that Malaysian CUA primarily employs low-cost specialization, differentiation, and diversification strategies, including organic branding and targeting upscale consumers. Urban farms also diversify revenue through educational programs, food experiences, and leisure activities. A direct link was established between a farm's geographic location (urban vs. peri-urban) and its value proposition strategy, indicating the importance of spatial planning for CUA success.

Marcus Robinson, Jacky Bowring, Shannon Davis, Sarah Edwards · Landscape Research · Global

This narrative review explored how urban expansion at the rural-urban fringe drives the loss of productive agricultural land, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. The review examined how these competing interests can be negotiated spatially, emphasizing the role of multifunctional green infrastructure to integrate both food production and ecological function across the urban-rural continuum.

Mattias Öbrink, Maria Paring · META – Historiskarkeologisk tidskrift · Sweden (Gothenburg)

This text presents an excavated area in the southernmost part of Nya Lödöse, Sweden (Gothenburg), which existed between 1473 and 1624. Excavations conducted between 2022 and 2023 revealed an area with fewer houses and several gardens, contrasting with the densely built-up northern part of the town. The area may have served as both a food supply resource and a land reserve, and the text discusses possibilities and challenges in studying urban gardening, including cultivated soil and land division.

Chivers, Ruth, Laing, Olivia 1977-, British Library · · Global

Ten award-winning designers present original garden designs for public and private spaces, extending up to 50 years into the future. These designs aim to mitigate the effects of climate change, encourage biodiversity, and address issues of legacy, land ownership, changing societal needs, and individual well-being. The paper emphasizes the power of gardening to nurture nature and adapt to change.

Mohammed Abdulai, Mohammed Tanko, Alhassan Andani · World Development Sustainability · Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou)

This study empirically investigated the link between municipal wastewater (MWW) use and vegetable productivity among 416 vegetable farmers in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, using survey data. It was found that MWW use alone is associated with a higher value of vegetable output, but regulation through contacts with extension agents reduces the agronomic and economic benefits of using MWW for irrigation.

Joseph Seong, H. Christopher Peterson, Simone Valle de Souza · Agribusiness · Global

This study evaluated the economic and environmental sustainability potential of urban indoor agriculture (IA) using a multi-objective optimization model (IA-MOO) integrating a bioeconomic model for lettuce production. Results indicated that earnings before taxes (EBT) and energy use efficiency (EUE) are generally not conflicting objectives, except for a short production schedule frame.

Francisco García, Francisco Vergara‐Perucich · Urban Planning · Chile (Santiago)

This article examines how "ollas comunes" (community-led survival kitchens) in Santiago, Chile, contest the dominant logic of neoliberal governance and ownership within public space. Emerging during the 2019 social revolt and amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic to address food insecurity, these initiatives reclaim streets as arenas of collective care, mobility, and embodied everyday democracy by providing free communal meals. Based on qualitative data from interviews, focus groups, and participant observations, findings demonstrate that cooking and eating in the street transform physical streetscapes and mobility patterns, producing emergent publics, meanings, and solidarities.

Rodríguez Taboada, Sanyi · Figshare · Cuba

The SolAgro Framework is an integrated agricultural engineering project by SolAgro SRL, designed for urban farms of 1 to 3 hectares in Cuba. It integrates functional agroecology, open technologies, renewable energy, and local manufacturing to create autonomous nodes of resilience. The project aims for economic returns within 12 months and social returns through youth training, consolidating technological and community sovereignty.

Galia Oriya Cukierman, Demi Coenraads, Emmy Iwarsson, Tong Wu, Alon Shepon · npj Urban Sustainability · Global

This systematic review analyzed 363 community garden (CG) articles from 1992 to 2021, identified through a bibliometric analysis of 1534 urban agriculture (UA) and 470 CG studies. Findings indicate that UA research primarily focuses on food production, while CG studies emphasize social and urban dynamics, mainly in the Global North, with limited quantitative evidence of their impacts. The review concludes that CGs contribute to all SDGs, but their roles in urban resilience, food systems, and policymaking are underexplored, and their overall contribution to sustainability remains unclear due to the lack of a global estimate.

Lena Schmeiduch, Émile Thévenot · International Review of Education · Global

This study explored the potential for lifelong learning within sustainability-led initiatives, such as ecovillages and community-supported agriculture, through the theoretical lens of Noah Sobe's four pillars of lifelong education. While these initiatives offer opportunities to address sustainability-related challenges, their insular nature and limited accessibility have drawn criticism in the literature on sustainability transitions. The analysis suggests that these initiatives and lifelong learning agendas frequently converge in their framing of sustainability issues.

Gideon Baffoe, Philip Antwi‐Agyei · City and Environment Interactions · Ghana (Accra)

This mixed-methods study analyzed the role of urban agriculture (UA) in climate resilience in Accra, Ghana, from the perspective of policymakers. While UA contributes to food security, water use efficiency, and ecological protection, its integration into policy frameworks was found to be limited due to challenges such as weak institutional coordination, competing economic priorities, and governance inefficiencies.

Khondokar H. Kabir, Jannatul Ferdows, Saifur Rahman, Ataharul Chowdhury, Md. Asaduzzaman Sarker, S.M. Asik Ullah, Mohammed Nasir Uddin, Mohammad Maruf Hasan · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · Bangladesh

An online survey of 120 rooftop gardeners in Bangladesh investigated the extent to which Facebook groups support information needs and enhance capacity. Findings indicate that information sharing in Facebook groups assists in planning, acquiring and utilizing resources, carrying out intercultural operations, and determining optimal harvesting and storage practices. Facebook can play a significant role in bridging the information gap among rooftop gardeners and enhancing their skills.

Azemfack Jules Arnol, Mbouobda Hermann Désiré, Dobgima John Fonmboh, Muyang Rosaline Forsah, Fotso · African Journal of Biology and Medical Research · Cameroon

This study aimed to isolate and characterize Rhizobium bacteria from Phaseolus vulgaris root nodules to produce nitrogen biofertilizer as a chemical fertilizer substitute. Nodules from the University of Bamenda's school garden were used to purify and characterize Rhizobium, which were then used with charcoal powder to produce biofertilizer. Morphological characterization revealed fast-growing, translucent, mucoid, Gram-negative bacteria consistent with Rhizobium, and three concentrations of biofertilizer with a six-month shelf life were produced.

Sk. Md. Nur-E-Alam, Marcin Feltynowski, Md. Sekender Ali, Mohummed Shofi Ullah Mazumder, Fida Al Hasan · Acta Scientiarum Polonorum Administratio Locorum · Bangladesh (Dhaka)

This study in Dhaka, Bangladesh, aimed to explore the socio-economic characteristics and current knowledge of rooftop gardeners, and to evaluate factors contributing to their gardening knowledge. The research found that gardening space and media contact positively correlate with gardeners' existing knowledge. Access to diverse media can enhance understanding, and having gardening space facilitates technical knowledge sharing and community building among gardeners.

Emoke Dalma Kovacs, Melinda Haydee Kovacs · Horticulturae · Romania (Cluj-Napoca)

This study in an urban orchard in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, investigated how five Prunus species and soil depth (0–30 cm) affect microbial biodiversity and metabolomic signatures using 225 soil samples. It found significant tree species-specific effects on soil microbial biodiversity, with bacterial biomarkers dominating and apricot tree soils showing the highest microbial activity. Metabolomic analysis identified 247 distinct metabolites, revealing unique organic acid profiles for sour cherry and quinone accumulation for cherry, with depth also influencing microbial communities and metabolite composition.