Research & reports

Najma Abdullahi, Erika F. Werner, Patrick M. Vivier, Blythe Berger, Lauren Schlichting · PubMed · United States

A study using Rhode Island birth certificate data from 2015–2016 to evaluate whether proximity to food sources, rather than density, is associated with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) risk. Proximity analysis measured the distance from each pregnant person's home address to the nearest fast food restaurant, supermarket, and farmers market/community garden, and multivariable logistic regression tested the association between distance and GDM risk. Of 20,129 births meeting inclusion criteria, 7.2% (1,447) involved GDM. Distance to food sources varied by insurance type, education and race/ethnicity, but in the adjusted model there was no statistically significant association between distance to any food source and GDM.

Gabriela Rigote, Alessandra Xavier Bueno, Marco Akerman · Saúde e Sociedade · Brazil (São Paulo)

A qualitative study of seven women urban farmers in the eastern zone of São Paulo, Brazil, describing and analyzing everyday cooking practices and their relationship to the food system. Using narrated body maps - a creative visual research method in which participants drew their own body outlines - the study generated visual and oral data on the meanings of cooking, analyzed thematically. It found that cooking functions as a connector from field to table, mutually reinforcing urban and peri-urban agriculture practices, and serves as a tool promoting biopsychosocial wellbeing tied to social, economic and environmental sustainability.

Maulana Andinata Dalimunthe, Noviawan Rasyid Ohorella, Nabila Fahira Nasution · Journal of Peasants’ Rights · Global

This bibliometric literature review analyzed research using the keyword "urban farming" published between 2010 and 2023 to map the field's development. The reviewed literature characterizes urban farming as a way to improve food security and economic conditions in urban areas with potential positive impacts across economic, social, and environmental dimensions, and as commodity production it is concerned with distribution, marketing, and land area; the review itself does not report primary data from a specific location or population.

H. J. Kim, Won-Suk Oh, Jin-Gun Kim, Won-Sop Shin · Healthcare · Global

Ninety participants were divided into experimental and control groups and took part in 16 biweekly urban gardening sessions from May to November 2022 to test effects on perceived restorativeness, resilience, sense of community, and stress reduction. Using the Perceived Restorativeness Scale, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Sense of Community Index, Brief Encounter Psychosocial Instrument, and salivary cortisol testing, the study found that urban gardening activities positively influenced participants' physiological and psychological responses.

Hua Xu, Miki U. Kobayashi · Journal of Architecture and Planning (Transactions of AIJ) · Japan

A study (2023, Japan) conducted a psychological-evaluation experiment in which participants viewed a 360-degree view of the landscape of rooftop gardens in the Shibuya commercial district of Tokyo, examining the relationship between spatial composition and psychological evaluation. Three axes were first identified from the psychological evaluations of the rooftop garden landscape. For inward-facing rooftop gardens, the comfort factor increased with larger floor area and more plants; for street-facing rooftop gardens, the comfort factor decreased when floor area was small and the view was dominated by buildings, roads, and fences with little vegetation.

G. C. Moore Smith, Gilda Berruti · · Italy

This chapter explores Italian community gardens and the multiple policy frameworks that govern these activities, framing urban and peri-urban horticulture as part of a long tradition carrying social, environmental, and health benefits. It states that the drive for locally produced food is part of a recurring theme in public discussion; while few advocate national self-sufficiency, the widespread presence of locally based civic horticulture is said to raise awareness of food-production factors and to have a beneficial impact on patterns of food consumption and procurement. The chapter presents results of an investigation carried out in various parts of the country — Turin, Venice, Bologna, Siena, Rome, and Palermo — and also explores the special case of urban horticulture in greater Naples.

Kamal Prasad Acharya, Chitra Bahadur Budhathoki, Birgitte Bjønness, Krishna Prasad Duwadi · Advances in educational marketing, administration, and leadership book series · Nepal

A participatory action research study (observe-plan-act-reflect) involving students, teachers and parents as co-researchers examined a school-garden project at a public school in Nepal. The garden functioned as a "living laboratory" for learning about flora, fauna and their interrelations, and transformed teaching into a mix of indoor and outdoor sessions. Students developed a sense of responsibility for environmental conservation and were positioned as "junior scientists" caring for the garden, with parents, teachers and students engaging in it as a co-curricular activity.

Tailana Fraga Lima, Ana Maria Girotti Sperandio · Revista Brasileira de Tecnologias Sociais · Brazil

Using a bibliographic and documentary survey with secondary data analysis in a descriptive qualitative approach, this article systematically examines the challenges in the Brazilian population's diet posed by excessive consumption of ultra-processed foods. It discusses the relationship between agriculture in urban space and dietary readjustment and food insecurity, observing that urban agriculture can produce effects that contribute both to addressing the public health problem of hunger and to the use of urban space. It argues that occupying underused and idle sites in the city for garden development promotes integrated urban spaces accompanied by changes in eating habits and behaviors, aligned with urban planning aimed at a healthy city.

Ambroise Dalecky, Madougou Garba, Abdoulaziz Ibrahim Danzabarma, Jonas Etougbétché, Sylvestre Badou, Henri‐Joël Dossou, Ibrahima Sow, Cheikh Tidiane Niang, Ousmane Diene, Idrissa Diallo, Mohamed Seyidna Ali Saghiri, Mohamed El Hady Sidatt, Frank van Steenbergen, Amadou Bocar Bal, Luwieke Bosma, Gualbert Houémènou, Solimane Ag Atteynine, Karmadine Hima, Gauthier Dobigny, Yonas Meheretu · Environnement Risques Santé · Sub-Saharan Africa

The abstract text provided consists only of acknowledgments—thanking Valérie Golaz (INED-LPED), Marc Egrot (IRD-LPED), and the organizers of the international conference "Implementation of public policies and pesticides in the Souths" (PoPPesCI project, on public policies and pesticides in urban agriculture), held in October 2021 in Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire, for prompting the article's writing. It contains no actual findings or content about rodent proliferation or synthetic chemical rodenticides despite what the title suggests.

Nataliya Apanovich, Seth Asare Okyere, Stephen Leonard Mensah, Louis Kusi Frimpong · Societal Impacts · United States

This study examined societal benefits gained by university students participating in community-based learning through the University of Arizona Community Garden (UACG) in Tucson, Arizona, using interviews, participant observation and student activities. Findings showed the community garden provided psychosocial benefits, including social interaction and connection with nature, for the participating students.

Alexis R. Cole, Jennifer Pethan, Jason Evans · Nutrients · United States

An integrative review examines the potential role of teaching kitchens operated in collaboration with local agriculture — including farms, community gardens, vertical farms, and urban agriculture — against the backdrop of diet-related chronic disease in the United States. The paper reviews the current state of agricultural systems, the food-is-medicine concept, consumer behavior, and the roles of each sector, followed by case studies illustrating how gaps between teaching kitchens and agriculture programs have been addressed. It summarizes opportunities for combining teaching-kitchen and agriculture-program knowledge and resources, along with challenges that may arise.

Veronica Sebald, Julia M. Schmack, Monika Egerer · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · Germany

This study surveyed the occurrence of poisonous plant species in 30 urban community gardens across two German cities, Berlin and Munich, and examined concerns around poisonous and highly poisonous plants in urban garden settings. It found that plants producing substances toxic to humans occur in these gardens while also potentially holding ecosystem-functioning and biodiversity-conservation value, creating a trade-off with the ecosystem service of human health promotion, and concludes that poisonous plants should be carefully monitored and managed—depending on garden participants and the goals of the garden organization—to mitigate health risks while still supporting biodiversity conservation.

Olivia G Bassetti, Rebecca A McDonough, Kabindra M Shakya · Environmental Monitoring and Assessment · United States (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh)

A 2023 study that sampled soils from 21 community gardens in Philadelphia city, the Philadelphia suburbs and Pittsburgh city, Pennsylvania, USA, in September–October 2021 and measured seven elements (Pb, Zn, Cu, V, Cd, Ni, As) by ICP-MS. City gardens had higher concentrations than suburban ones. All elements except vanadium fell below Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection guidelines, but against the stricter Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment limit of 140 mg/kg for lead, 36% of Philadelphia city gardens, 60% of Pittsburgh gardens and 20% of Philadelphia suburban gardens exceeded it — so whether a garden counts as 'safe' or 'over the limit' depends on which standard is applied. In Philadelphia, concentrations generally fell with distance from historical smelter sites, though the correlation was significant only for zinc. Raised-bed soils were lower in lead and arsenic but often higher in zinc, copper, vanadium and nickel, which the authors attribute to ongoing deposition from road traffic and active industry rather than legacy contamination.

Superintendencia Nacional de Servicios de Saneamiento (SUNASS) · Superintendencia Nacional de Servicios de Saneamiento (SUNASS), Plataforma del Estado Peruano · Peru

Peru's sanitation services regulator (SUNASS) reported on 18 January 2023 that more than 635,000 people in Lima Metropolitana (6% of its population, including 180,000 children under 11) lack access to Sedapal's public drinking water network. Those without network access buy water from tanker trucks at 16-18 soles per cubic meter, up to six times the roughly 3 soles per cubic meter paid by network-connected users. SUNASS also published a district ranking of daily per-capita water consumption, with San Isidro highest at 280 liters and Lurigancho lowest at 32 liters.

Ilieva R.T., Cohen N., Israel M., Specht K., Fox-Kämper R., Fargue-Lelièvre A., Poniży L., Schoen V., Caputo S., Kirby C.K., Goldstein B., Newell J.P., Blythe C. · Land (MDPI), 11(5):622 · Global

A systematic review of 272 peer-reviewed publications drawing on urban-agriculture sites in 57 countries, organizing socio-cultural benefits into four domains: cohesive communities, health and well-being, economic opportunities, and education. Community connection and learning emerged as the most frequently reported benefits.

Hume C., Grieger J.A., Kalamkarian A., D'Onise K., Smithers L.G. · BMC Public Health, 22:1247 · Global

A systematic review synthesizing 53 eligible studies. Community garden participation was positively associated with fruit and vegetable intake and several psychosocial and community outcomes, though effects on physical health indicators were mixed.

Gray T., Tracey D., Truong S., Ward K. · Local Environment, 27(5):570-585 · Australia

A mixed-methods study of 42 social-housing residents across six new community garden sites in Sydney. Participants reported greater health and wellbeing awareness, new interest in growing fresh food, shared produce and recipes, happiness, and frequent socialization and community connectedness.

Chan C.L., Tan P.Y., Gong Y.Y. · BMC Public Health, 22:1251 · Global

A systematic review of how school garden-based programmes affect children's diet- and nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Synthesizing studies from multiple databases, it concludes that such programmes are a promising and cost-effective intervention for improving healthy eating among schoolchildren.

Wood C. J., Barton J. L., Wicks C. L. · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(20):13166 · United Kingdom

A longitudinal study tracking 53 people with mental illness referred to the therapeutic community garden 'Growing Together' in Essex, UK, showing that participation improved wellbeing, reduced loneliness and raised life satisfaction. Benefits held even across the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting the value of green social prescribing.

Wells N., Myers B., Henderson C. · Preventive Medicine Reports (Elsevier) · United States

A two-year randomized controlled trial assigning 46 low-income elementary schools in Arkansas, Iowa, New York and Washington to school gardens with curriculum or a waitlist control. Children in the intervention increased fruit and low-fat vegetable consumption more than controls, supporting the effectiveness of school garden programs.

三牧 浩也（柏の葉アーバンデザインセンター 副センター長） · 国土交通省 スマートシティ官民連携プラットフォーム 講演資料 · Japan

A presentation by the deputy director of Urban Design Center Kashiwanoha (UDCK) explaining the public-private-academia town-building of Kashiwanoha Smart City, in which Mitsui Fudosan participates. It outlines the collaboration framework among citizens, companies and universities and the resident-participatory approach centered on health and community.

Evans D.L., Falagán N., Hardman C.A., Kourmpetli S., Liu L., Mead B.R., Davies J.A.C. · Ecosystem Services, 54, 101405 · Global

A systematic review synthesizing 157 peer-reviewed articles that compares which ecosystem services are delivered by different types of urban agriculture and green infrastructure. It finds that community gardens, green spaces and parks deliver the most diverse services, that local climate and air-quality regulation are best provided by green infrastructure alone, and that biological control and genetic-diversity maintenance peak when green infrastructure is combined with urban agriculture.

Tripodi P., D'Alessandro A., Francese G. · Frontiers in Plant Science 13:1031776 · Italy

Integrated genomic and biochemical analysis of heirloom tomatoes linking fruit shape and size to sugars, organic acids, and aroma compounds. Demonstrates heirlooms as germplasm resources for high food quality and sustainable agriculture.

Colson-Fearon B., Versey H. S. · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19(19):12752 · United States

Case study examining urban agriculture as a sustainable strategy against food insecurity in Baltimore, finding it builds social capital, educates residents on healthy eating, and facilitates distribution of affordable food toward food sovereignty.

Cosco N.G., Wells N.M., Zhang D., Goodell L.S., Monsur M., Xu T., Moore R.C. · Frontiers in Psychology, 13:993637 · United States (North Carolina)

An RCT of the Preventing Obesity by Design (POD) garden intervention in 15 Wake County childcare centers serving ages 3–5. Using a waitlist-control design, it tests effects on fruit and vegetable identification, liking and snack-time consumption, demonstrating collaborative garden-based outdoor learning in early childhood settings.