Research & reports

Shiuhhuah Serena Chou · ISLE Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment · United States

Urban foraging reemerged at the turn of the twenty-first century as a mode of urban food production, leading to a diverse body of literature including field guides and personal accounts. This literature suggests that the resurgence of urban foraging, as seen in works like Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma (2006) and Tama Matsuoka Wong's Foraged Flavor (2012), may be more than a fad. The practice of finding, harvesting, and consuming edible wild plants challenges the idea of American cities as food deserts, presenting urban spaces as sites of cultural and environmental sustainability.

Megan M. Gregory, Scott Peters · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States

A case study within the Food Dignity community-university research partnership examined a participatory action research (PAR) project on cover crops with community gardeners in Brooklyn, New York. Engaging gardeners in cover crop monitoring strengthened their knowledge of ecological processes such as nitrogen fixation, field days supported leadership development, and sustained in-person support enabled implementation of cover cropping practices; challenges included reconciling community-defined priorities with the constraints of a dissertation project and providing sufficient one-on-one support given limited funding for community-based partners.

Harriet Gross · · Global

This chapter reflects on the psychology of gardening, examining the relevance of gender, age and the 'gardening career,' and discusses gardens as sites of resistance and empowerment, as seen in community gardening projects. It describes guerrilla gardening — cultivating someone else's land, more surreptitiously than community gardening, by planting or sprinkling seeds at night without the landowner's permission — and horticultural therapy as a form of occupational therapy that occupies people through work, crafts and gardening, concluding that the range of psychological concepts explored in relation to gardening shows there is no single psychology of gardening.

Natalia Matesanz Ventura · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · United States (New York City)

A case study of more than 50 gardens dotting the Loisaida neighborhood in southeast Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1960s, city agents — neighbors, artists, and architects such as Matta-Clark and Fuller — have built the green spaces and public facilities the neighborhood lacked, activating community and self-managed spaces through affective, dissenting processes. Using architectural forms whose generative parameters depart from traditional design and existing hegemonies, these actors have appropriated the city and reprogrammed public space by creating common space. Stands, domes, and casitas (tiny houses), with their vernacular and kitsch forms, constitute a network centered on the historical lot of La Plaza Cultural. The community gardens form a DIY network of delocalized but interconnected spaces with their own codes, positioned against the real estate market, media encroachment, globalization, and the private appropriation of public resources.

Ednaldo Michellon, Janaina Miyashiro Simon, Aldeir Isael Faxina Barros, Victor de Canini Cezar, Jaqueline da Silva Rosa, Wellington Fernandes Pereira · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil

The municipality of Maringá, Brazil, has 37 community gardens that make use of abandoned or underutilized natural resources while improving participating families' environment and quality of life. Since 2008, the Reference Center for Urban and Periurban Agriculture (CerAUP), created amid social movements advocating for public policy support of urban and periurban agriculture, has provided technical assistance and voluntary extension services for such projects. This study used a questionnaire with participants of the Villa Atenas community garden to assess satisfaction with cultivating medicinal plants, the plants cited, their forms of use, plant parts used, and purposes of use. Results showed high satisfaction with the space used for cultivating medicinal plants, but only superficial knowledge among participants of the plants used and their purposes, leading the authors to conclude that popular and scientific knowledge about these plants needs wider dissemination.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) · FAO Agroecology Knowledge Hub · United Kingdom

A FAO Agroecology Knowledge Hub profile of Farm Hack, a community-led approach to developing, modifying and sharing designs for farm tools, machinery and other innovations, emphasizing farmer-to-farmer learning and platforms for collective 'hacking'. The first Farm Hack was started by The Greenhorns in the U.S.A. and has since been taken up in the U.K. It typically involves two complementary components: web-based and events.

Chris McGivern, Shuttleworth Foundation Team · Shuttleworth Foundation · United States

A Shuttleworth Foundation interview article (dated 24 December 2018) with Rory Aronson, founder of FarmBot, describing how he joined the Shuttleworth Fellowship in 2014 to work on FarmBot full-time and his commitment to open-source principles. He states Facebook videos of FarmBot were shared over 200 million times, preorders exceeded $1 million in the first two months after launch, and the latest manufacturing run completed 500 units.

Heidy Yohana Tamayo Ortiz · El Tiempo · Colombia

An article on Medellín's 'Huertas con Vos' program, featuring a roughly 270-square-meter garden shared by 5 households in the Doce de Octubre neighborhood, saving each household about 50,000 pesos a month. The city has about 100,000 food-insecure vulnerable households, of which 10,000 are prioritized; in 2018 the program built 700 new gardens (450 urban, 250 rural), aiming for 1,707 gardens total over three years.

特定非営利活動法人 Co.to.hana, 金田 康孝, 西川 亮 · 国土交通省 都市と農・緑が共生するまちづくりに関する調査（平成28年度） · Japan (Osaka)

First-year MLIT-commissioned study by Co.to.hana validating usefulness and replicability of community farms on urban unused land, using Kitakagaya Minna-no-uen as the model — surveys, environmental monitoring, stakeholder interviews and an expert panel producing a start guide and dissemination roadmap.

· Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Internet of Things, Data and Cloud Computing · Global

A smart, portable indoor aquaponics system with remote control of watering and lighting and live camera updates is proposed, aimed at urban dwellers lacking time or space to grow their own food.

· Agriculture · Rome, Italy

Models rooftop rainwater harvesting to irrigate 2,631 fruit and vegetable gardens in Rome, estimating 19-33% of gardens could be water self-sufficient depending on irrigation efficiency.

Nagle L., Echols S., Tamminga K. · Journal of Green Building · United States (Pennsylvania)

Monitors the productivity of a 7.5 m² outdoor living wall planted with produce crops during the 2015 summer in State College, Pennsylvania, also collecting irradiance, water-use and soil-moisture data.

Mastura Safayet, Md. Faqrul Arefin, Md. Musleh Uddin Hasan · Journal of Urban Management · Bangladesh (Dhaka)

This study explored the current practices and challenges of rooftop farming in Mirpur and Mohammadpur areas of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Researchers interviewed two practitioners and surveyed 60 non-practitioners. Findings indicate that rooftop farming can improve air quality, reduce atmospheric carbon, and lower stormwater management costs, with most non-practitioners willing to dedicate at least 50% of their roof space to it.

Filiz Çelik · Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology · Global

This study explains the emergence, design, maintenance, and importance of edible landscapes in urban environments. Edible landscaping integrates food plants as design features for both aesthetic value and consumption, aiming to reconnect people with local food systems. It encompasses a variety of garden types and scales but does not include food items produced for sale.

Janneth Jara-Samaniego, M.D. Pérez-Murcia, M.A. Bustamante, C. Paredes, A. Pérez‐Espinosa, Irene Gavilanes-Terán, Marga López, Frutos C. Marhuenda‐Egea, H. Brito, R. Moral · PLoS ONE · Ecuador (Chimborazo Region)

This study developed a field-scale demonstration project in Ecuador's Chimborazo Region to evaluate composting technology for managing organic waste from food markets and urban gardening. Three co-composting mixtures were prepared using market waste and pruning materials. All piles showed suitable composting development with significant organic matter decomposition, and the resulting composts lacked phytotoxicity and possessed suitable agronomic properties for use as organic fertilizers.

Muhammad Solihin · MINDA BAHARU · Indonesia (Batam)

This community service program in Sei Pelungut, Sagulung District, Batam City, Indonesia, aimed to promote urban farming and educate residents on hydroponic cultivation methods due to high vegetable prices. Using a descriptive qualitative method with observation and interviews, the program involved introducing hydroponic growing media, seedlings, planting techniques, and harvesting times. The community, particularly women from Kavling Flamboyan, showed high enthusiasm and participation in the activities.

Emilee Bell · ScholarsArchive (Brigham Young University) · Global

Carol Hand’s book "Growing Green: Urban Gardening" weaves a history of gardening with practical application, inviting readers of all ages to introduce gardens into their lifestyles. The book explains global gardening traditions and future trends, emphasizing the many benefits of gardening, new vocabulary, and do-it-yourself methods. It discusses community, school, home, and personal garden options, as well as strategies for combating challenges urban dwellers might face, such as pollution, space, and vandals.

Quintana Piñeros, Jacqueline Lisette · · Colombia (Bogota)

This proposal is based on studying the climatological behavior of the main Bogota River basin and its vegetation characteristics to identify suitable native species for urban agriculture. It also proposes a rainwater harvesting system design for hard surfaces, specifically the laboratory building terrace at El Porvenir citadel of Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas. The system would comprise storage, transport, and filtration systems, culminating in a drip irrigation system.

Leonardo Zaffi · Florence Research (University of Florence) · Italy

This chapter reconstructs the main themes and implementation methodologies characterizing spontaneous practices and micro-interventions for the transformation of residual urban spaces. It outlines the characteristics of experiences such as public art, placemaking, active design, and urban farming, considering their compatibility and potential effectiveness for systemic "urban acupuncture" actions in the oldest parts of cities. The final part focuses on action methodologies like DIY and user involvement to investigate the potential of "urban acupuncture" in the oldest parts of cities.

Gaston E. Small, Brendan Sisombath, Lauren Reuss, Russ Henry, Adam D. Kay · Compost Science & Utilization · Global

The study measured the effects of different barley mash to wood chip ratios on nutrient retention in compost and subsequent vegetable yield. Nine compost piles (1 m3) were constructed with varying ratios, and the 50:50 mixture maintained internal temperatures above 55°C for 30 days. When the finished compost was used in raised-bed garden plots, arugula and tomato yields increased with compost barley mash content, but less than 5% of N and 2% of P were recycled into new vegetable production.

Jim Leap, Darryl Wong, Kirstin Yogg Comerchero · · United States (California)

This grower guide addresses the basic steps for organically growing peppers in California's Central Coast region. It notes that peppers are productive from July to October without season extension, are relatively easy to grow, and offer various marketing and culinary options. The guide also provides an overview of pepper varieties for specialty crop growers.

Elizabeth Carruthers, Carole Keane, Jo Ingleby · · United Kingdom

This project in the United Kingdom aimed to provide children with first-hand knowledge of food growth and its environmental connection. It sourced seasonal and local ingredients from gardens, grocers, an allotment at Windmill Hill City Farm, and Farmers’ Markets for children to explore.

Arfan Fauzi Sujana, Udjianto Pawitro · Repository Tugas Akhir Prodi Arsitektur Itenas · Indonesia (Bandung)

Rumah Susun Hejo Teuneung Bandung is a residential building designed for low-to-middle income communities, utilizing natural potential as part of its concept. This apartment building attempts to combine two functions, residential and farming, aiming to provide new knowledge, recreation, interaction, and additional income for residents, promoting self-sufficiency in food needs.

Savanah Diane Rhine, Russell Alan Zimmerman · DigitalCommons - CalPoly (California State Polytechnic University) · United States (California)

This project aims to develop a more functional plan for the Ornamental Horticulture (OH) Unit at the Hanford Agriculture Program, which serves over 1,000 students from three high schools in Hanford, California. A majority of these students are not in the OH Career Pathway due to a lack of a constant, fully functional unit. The plan focuses on four broad areas: vegetable boxes, greenhouses, a shade house, and beautification, to provide a functional school garden and OH Unit at the Hanford High Campus. This initiative seeks to equip students with skills in horticulture, crop, and soil sciences, greenhouse production, and irrigation technology, offering practical experience for future careers in agriculture.

A. N. Sarkar · · Global

This paper discusses design procedures and criteria for vertical gardens (living walls) and green roofs. Vertical gardens are suitable for urban areas, offering uses like urban agriculture, while green roofs provide ecosystem services such as mitigating urban heat island effects and improving biodiversity. Both technologies are recognized globally for environmental benefits, with a thriving industry and extensive research, particularly in Europe.