Research & reports

Mohamed Ikhwan Nasir Mohamed Anuar, Saiful Arif Abdullah · PLANNING MALAYSIA · Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)

This study explored the typologies and reappropriation of residual spaces under elevated highways in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, using site observation, document analysis, and expert interviews. Two main typologies of residual spaces were identified: easily accessible and hard-to-access. Experts suggested that play lots, recreational lots, and community gardens were suitable for easily accessible spaces, while semi-natural areas and functional landscapes were suitable for hard-to-access spaces.

Anna Wielicka‐Regulska · Folia Oeconomica Stetinensia · Global

This study examined consumer attitudes towards sustainable food consumption aspects, including urban agriculture, and their acceptance of public policy tools. It found that most respondents buy seasonal food and limit meat consumption, but are rarely influenced by food's climate impact. Most respondents were negative about gardening for food production, though they favored local food in public institutions.

José́ G. Vargas-Hernández · Practice, progress, and proficiency in sustainability · Global

This chapter analyzes the implications of urban sustainable growth, development, and governance structures for revitalizing open vacant spaces in agriculture and farming. Following an extensive literature review, the authors used critical socio-ecological analysis to identify key issues, trends, practices, and implications of urban vacant spaces concerning sustainable urban growth, urban agriculture use, and collaborative governance for revitalization. It concludes that transitional use of vacant land should be employed for developing sustainable green cities, but urban vacant spaces require stimulated utilization for revitalization purposes.

Gerald Taylor Aiken, Christian Schulz, Benedikt Schmid · Voluntary Sector Review · Luxembourg

This article outlines the community economies of Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg's "second city." Esch-sur-Alzette features multiple community-based organizations and movements, including an energy cooperative, urban gardening, an upcycling clothing factory, and a local food shop and restaurant. The article uses Luxembourg's case to reread the relationship between the state and the so-called third sector, defending the political possibilities of community economies.

Jakob Laage‐Thomsen, Anders Blok · Local Environment · Denmark

This article explores variations in civic engagement with urban sustainability politics by examining "urban green communities" in Denmark, including urban gardening and beekeeping. Using a conceptualization of civic and place-based material participation from pragmatic sociology, particularly Laurent Thévenot's work, the study traces translations between familiar attachments and public critiques within these communities. A comprehensive digital mapping exercise identified six civic modes of urban greening and their group engagement styles, with implications for care, justice, and democracy in sustainable city-making.

Chloé Nicolas-Artero · Revista INVI · Chile

This article analyzes the role of water user organizations in the construction of water scarcity within the Chilean ideological and legal water context. The existence of urban gardens in the north of the country is notable in this context, which is oriented towards water use efficiency.

A. V. Shchur, Nadzeya Lobikava, Volha Lobikava · Acta horticulturae et regiotecturae · Belarus (Mogilev)

Research on the Jubilejny district in Mogilev, Belarus, a former Soviet microdistrict, revealed that population ageing is the main threat to these areas. Residents expressed dissatisfaction with uncertain housing situations, inappropriate parking options, and a lack of opportunities to spend leisure time outside. The study proposes short-term improvements such as leisure activities within public spaces and regeneration of green spaces, alongside long-term designs for a community garden and other nature-based solutions.

Sarah Taylor Lovell · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · Global

Despite increasing awareness and proposals for urban agriculture implementation, broad integration into the urban environment has not yet been observed. In most cities, the level of food production has not expanded significantly enough to impact the supply of vegetables, fruits, or other products. Key barriers limiting widespread adoption of urban agriculture include land access, zoning and tax policies, risks of soil and air contaminants, and urban forestry plans neglecting food security.

Pierre Jassogne · · Belgium

SAULE (Urban Agriculture Housing Ecosystem Symbiosis) was a co-creation project conducted in Brussels, Belgium, from 2017 to 2020, involving citizens, urban agriculture professionals, researchers, social information specialists, and urban planners. Focused on the Ferme du Chant des Cailles urban agriculture site and the Archiducs – Logis-Floreal neighborhood, the project was initiated due to construction threats to the site. The research aimed to reflect on the challenge of combining ecological transition and social cohesion at the Brussels regional level.

Dona Pickard · Sociological Problems Journal · Bulgaria (Sofia)

This article analyzes the attitudes toward urban agriculture as an instrument for sustainable urban policies among local authorities, practitioners, and civil groups in Sofia, Bulgaria. Based on data from the research project "Urban agriculture as a strategy for improving the quality of life of urban communities" (2016–2020), the analysis reveals existing deficits in communication and information exchange between these actors. Factors for these deficits and ways to overcome them are also outlined.

Solon Alberto Calero Cruz, Carmen Cecilia Rivera Gómez · Repositorio Digital Universidad Autonoma de Occidente · Colombia (Cali)

This chapter discusses practical urban agriculture approaches to food sovereignty in Cali, Colombia, focusing on five food production and distribution spheres. It examines how participatory communication influences social change and urban sustainability by analyzing how approaches emphasize or de-emphasize culturally situated experiences. The study summarized the outcomes of an intercultural collective convened to discuss communication processes linked to food production and distribution, aiming to understand the most prominent subjectivities.

Anita Pinheiro, Madhav Govind · Journal of Scientometric Research · Global

This scientometric analysis explored global research trends in urban agriculture from 2004-2018 using articles from the SCOPUS database. Research attention significantly increased from 2013, predominantly in the Global North, focusing on food security, sustainability, and community gardening within Social Sciences. The study found very little research in urban agriculture policy and governance.

Noriah Othman, Siti Zabeda Mohammad, Nurhayati Abdul Malek, Mohd Ali Waliyuddin A. Razak · Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal · Malaysia

This study was conducted in Malaysia to identify deterrent factors hindering "community buy-in" in urban farming projects and to understand how to overcome these problems. The research aims to identify these factors to achieve and sustain community buy-in in urban farming projects in the future.

Andrea Galimberti, Hellas Cena, Luca Campone, Emanuele Ferri, Mario Dell’Agli, Enrico Sangiovanni, Michael Belingheri, M Riva, Maurizio Casiraghi, Massimo Labra · Frontiers in Nutrition · Global

This paper provides an integrative overview of the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the need for a systemic approach that considers the connection between infection, environment, and human behaviors, including diet and urban management. A faculty group of experts identified two main aspects: human health depends on sustainable natural resource exploitation in populated areas, and cities have a strategic role in developing sustainable food systems. Priority issues include enhancing urban and peri-urban agriculture, supporting smallholder producers, and maintaining ecosystem services and local biodiversity to improve food safety and security.

Debra J. Davidson · International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food · Global

This study assessed the multiple emergent effects of urban agriculture activities through an extensive, interdisciplinary literature review to discuss its disruptive potential. It suggests that producing food in cities is not inherently transformative in itself, but the potential and observed new forms of social engagement emerging in many contexts can create institutional conditions that may disrupt conventional agri-food systems by building social capital as much as physical capital.

Angela Oyilieze Akanwa, H. C. Mba, E. B. Ogbuene, M. U. Nwachukwu, Charles C. Anukwonke · Apple Academic Press eBooks · Global

This chapter explores the potential of intensive agroforestry and environmental greening as measures to minimize climate change. It details agroforestry components such as urban agriculture, all-season farming, and forest conservation, alongside legislative actions against tree felling. Environmental greening measures include land surface greening, landscaping, gardening, and horticulture, with legislative efforts to minimize land exposure. These practices are presented as efficient ways to reduce greenhouse gas effects on the ozone layer and balance the earth's heat budget.

Aisling Bailey, Jonathan Kingsley · Local Environment · Australia (Melbourne)

This qualitative study investigated how community and allotment gardening may enhance wellbeing for people and place in urban Melbourne, Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 participants representing six community/allotment gardens. The findings suggested that community and allotment gardening enhance people's wellbeing on a personal mental and physical level, through social connectedness and community, and by connecting with the natural environment through the gardens themselves.

Stefan Staehle · sub\urban zeitschrift für kritische stadtforschung · Global

This study offers an alternative perspective on the critical practice of urban gardening, highlighting the ambivalence of the phenomenon. Specifically, the decoupling of social and artistic critique is shown to lead to a programmatic weakening of initiatives and their co-optation by neoliberal urban policies. This can reverse the critical practice of spatial appropriation into its opposite.

Collence Takaingenhamo Chisita, Madeleine Fombad · Journal of Information & Knowledge Management · Zimbabwe

This paper examines existing knowledge management strategies for climate change adaptation among selected environmental organizations and libraries in Zimbabwe, specifically in Harare. It notes that current strategies are not fully leveraged to achieve national development goals. The paper aims to recommend a knowledge management strategy for climate change adaptation to enhance urban farming among urban farmers in Harare, suggesting that a well-coordinated national strategy can contribute to sustainable urban farming.

Pozo Palacios, María Gabriela · · Ecuador (Cuenca)

This paper describes the context of urban agriculture in the historic center of Cuenca, Ecuador, highlighting challenges posed by urbanization and gentrification. It mentions the increase in urbanization rates in Latin America since 1950 and its impact on the food production sector. The paper also touches upon the tradition of private patios devoted to family farming in Cuenca's republican architectural typologies and the diminution of farming areas due to rising land prices, but it does not present specific research methods, findings, or conclusions.

Adrián H. Hearn, Thaís Mauad, Chris Williams, Luís Fernando Amato‐Lourenço, Guilherme Reis Ranieri · Journal of Urbanism International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability · Australia (Melbourne)

This article analyzed the phenomenon of urban agriculture promotion by real estate developers and community associations in Melbourne and São Paulo. Developers of upmarket condominiums advertise urban agriculture as a purchasable commodity, but the gentrifying effects of these developments deepen rather than alleviate social and environmental ills. In contrast, community projects in four case studies emphasized urban agriculture's ability to confront the long-term neglect of land, employment, and environment.

Charlotte Glennie · Sustainability · Global

This article argues that the process of community formation and strengthening in shared growing spaces, such as community gardens and orchards, is a crucial element of urban sustainability. Based on 55 interviews with urban agriculture planning stakeholders, it shows a widespread understanding that shared growing spaces enhance both environmental and social sustainability. However, the difficulty in quantifying these social benefits poses a challenge for advocates in communicating with policymakers.

Mr. Isaiah ACQUAH, Dr.Sc. Joseph Ato FORSON, Dr.Sc. Theresa Yaaba BAAH-ENNUMH · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Ghana

This qualitative exploratory study in Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Ghana, investigated the effect of urban growth and concretization on urban farming households' livelihoods and food security. The study, using interviews and spatial imagery, found that urban farms face challenges due to inadequate land use planning and support, leading to a loss of farmlands. Significant challenges identified include limited farming space, limited resources, continuous increase in buildings, and inadequate education for urban farmers.

Zeinab Abd Elkader, Ahmed Haroun · Fayoum University Journal of Engineering · Egypt

The legislative and executive challenges of roof gardens in new cities in Egypt were clarified. Theoretical studies, including an applied study in Sheikh Zayed City, were presented. The research suggests that while roof gardens offer environmental, social, and economic benefits, challenges exist for their widespread application.

Ana Mélice Dias, Teresa Marat-Mendes · Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) · Portugal (Lisbon)

In Lisbon's Greater Area, Portugal, the morphological impact of municipal planning instruments (Municipal Master Plans) on urban agriculture was investigated. It was concluded that current planning regulations prioritize leisure and aesthetic solutions for urban agriculture uses, rather than design solutions that address economic growth or ecological diversity.