Research & reports

Kajsa Ignell, Åsa Bugge Marin · · Argentina (Buenos Aires)

A field study was conducted in November and December 2015 at six urban agricultural sites in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The study aimed to map ecosystem services at these sites and assess urban agriculture's potential to strengthen adaptive capacity and resilience in Buenos Aires. The mapping and research showed that urban agriculture provides many ecosystem services, creating a sense of community and other social values, and contributing to urban temperature regulation, added biodiversity, and water infiltration.

Douglas Roberto Bizari, Jean Carlos Cardoso · Horticultura Brasileira · Global

This article discusses the potential of using recycled water from treated domestic sewage in urban horticulture as a solution to escalating clean water shortages. While cultural and sanitary impediments exist for large-scale use, and knowledge of treatments is limited, a safe alternative is irrigation for non-edible species like those in floriculture and landscaping. This approach can combine environmental protection with agricultural productivity, support local development, create jobs, and aid environmental protection.

· Apple Academic Press eBooks · Australia (Perth)

This study conducted a sustainable water management trial in Butler, Perth, Western Australia, for urban irrigation. The trial system incorporated features like untreated fit-for-purpose groundwater, drip irrigation, and soil enhancement, comparing outcomes against controlled areas. The study found that fit-for-purpose irrigation combined with water-sensitive land management could achieve significant water savings and irrigation efficiency for urban agriculture. While untreated groundwater quality can be an issue, the research indicated it can be managed with innovative irrigation techniques.

Emma Stigson · · Sweden

A qualitative study investigating the development of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Sweden utilized literature reviews, interviews, participant observations, and digital media tracking. The findings indicate that CSA is relatively new in Sweden but is becoming more common, with the number of farms increasing over the past 3-4 years and now spread across the country. CSA contributes to ecological, economic, and social sustainable development in Swedish rural areas.

Gundula Proksch · · Global

This chapter discusses the potential of urban agriculture to mitigate water management challenges. While industrial agriculture consumes 70% of accessible water, cities struggle with water security and fail to utilize on-site sources like rainfall. Urban agriculture is presented as a solution to these water challenges by integrating water-efficient strategies with existing urban infrastructure, building systems, and management approaches.

هالة فالح احمد · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Iraq

A field study in Iraq investigated the role and importance of school gardens within educational institutions. The research found that school gardens eliminate desertification, moderate weather, and bring happiness to students and teachers, while their neglect obstructs the teaching process. The study recommends organizing teacher courses on school environment and health, and conducting periodic cleaning and repair campaigns for school gardens and buildings.

Gundula Proksch · · Global

This chapter investigates factors for implementing sustainable, energy-efficient urban agricultural operations, focusing on the solar needs of plants, the extension of growing seasons indoors, and passive solar gains for buildings. It provides an overview of greenhouse typologies, cover materials, and lighting systems to optimize energy use and production. Additionally, it examines the potential for photosynthesis and the carbon cycle to utilize building exhaust systems for CO2-rich air and excess heat to support crop cultivation, exploring intersections among nutrient, water, and energy cycles through case studies.

Alessandra Silva Araújo · URBANA Revista Eletrônica do Centro Interdisciplinar de Estudos sobre a Cidade · Portugal

This research compared factors leading to community garden initiatives in Porto, Portugal, and Belo Horizonte, Brazil, focusing on the influence of urban planning processes. It found differences in how urban planning in both cities incorporates urban agriculture practices. The connections between urban agriculture and urban planning, facilitated by environmental planning practices, were found to be incipient, hindering planning's goal of catalyzing a sustainable city.

Chiara Casazza, Stefano Pianigiani · Civil Engineering and Urban Planning An International Journal (CiVEJ) · Global

Urban agriculture is a complex phenomenon that responds to the common need for sustainable cities in environmental, economic, social, and institutional terms. It encompasses various approaches and intervention typologies, from low-tech to high-tech solutions like community gardens and vertical farms. This field characterizes cities at different scales, including territory, town, neighborhood, building, and house, addressing diverse user exigencies and requirements.

Tom Beer, Brenda B. Lin, A.E.J. McGill · Water science and technology library · Global

This chapter considers the effects of climate change on food production, with particular reference to urban agriculture and its associated impacts on food security. The value of urban agriculture to the health and nutrition of developing and developed countries is described. The current status of related research by international agencies is outlined, and their omissions are highlighted. Proposals are made as to how these overlooked areas of research might be addressed.

Bettina König, Ranka Junge, András Bittsánszky, Morris Villarroel, Tamás Kőmíves · Ecocycles · Global

A literature review was conducted on the social, environmental, and economic impacts of aquaponics. The technology has potential applications in various settings, including commercial or community-based urban food production, industrial-scale production, small-scale farming, and educational systems. However, it is concluded that due to the complexity within markets, value chains, communities, infrastructure, and policy settings, further research and data acquisition are needed to fully assess all sustainability aspects.

LE Wynne, Dana Cordell, Joanne Chong, Becky L. Jacobs · UTS ePRESS (University of Technology Sydney) · Australia (Sydney)

This report, using Sydney as a case study, examines land-use planning on the urban fringe for peri-urban food production. It finds that for many cities, including Sydney, a large proportion of peri-urban food production has already been lost due to conversion to residential and infrastructure uses. The report reviews various planning responses to address threats to peri-urban agriculture.

Rossella Franchino, Nicola Pisacane · Journal of Sustainable Architecture and Civil Engineering · Global

This study proposes urban farming as an effective tool for renewing urban open spaces, considering its environmental, economic, and social possibilities. Through a structured case study on the requalification of a degraded urban area in Southern Italy, a preparatory analysis of local resources was conducted using diachronic and synchronic comparative map studies. This analysis, alongside the study of urban farming models, enabled the development of the project idea.

Gundula Proksch · · Global

"Creating Urban Agricultural Systems: An Integrated Approach to Design" is a resource that documents environmental, systemic, technical, and operational considerations in urban agriculture. It compiles emerging strategies, current practices, and working case studies. This research synthesizes information on inputs and outputs, resource efficiencies, environmental benefits, and operational achievements, based on numerous site visits, examinations of outstanding case studies, and interviews with stakeholders behind innovative farm operations.

Heidrun Moschitz, Christoph Kueffer · GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society · Global

This paper argues that while urban agriculture might be considered a passing fad, it is a vehicle to deal with many urgent topics of societal transformation towards a sustainable future. It discusses the potential of urban agriculture to change agriculture and urban life.

George Martin, Roland Clift, Ian Christie · Sustainability · Global

This exploratory study examined three urban cultivation sites in New York, London, and San Francisco to assess their nutritional, ecological, and social sustainability contributions. Field analysis revealed very low food outputs relative to the populations of their catchment areas, indicating that most urban food will continue to come from outside urban peripheries. The study concluded that urban food growing's sustainability benefits are more social than agronomic or ecological.

Jin-Hee Ju, Won-Tae Kim, Hui Xu, Young-Han Yoon, Eun‐Young Choi · Journal of Environmental Science International · Global

This study investigated the influence of hydrophilic polymer (HP) mixture ratio on the growth of eggplant (Solanum melongena) for lower maintenance urban agriculture via green roofs. As the hydrophilic polymer mixture ratio increased, the growth index, number of leaves, leaf length, leaf width, and dry weight of shoot and root decreased. Specifically, these values were significantly lower in HP5.0% and HP10.0% treatments compared to the control, and the survival rate was lowest at 56% in the HP10.0% treatment.

Michael Buxton, Rachel Carey, Kath Phelan · Water science and technology library · Australia (Melbourne)

This case study examines the relationship between urban and peri-urban systems in Melbourne, Australia, where peri-urban agricultural production faces pressure from rapid urban development. It explores three scenarios relating rural and urban land supply and demand, and land use planning techniques to limit rural land development. The study argues that stronger statutory planning measures are needed to prevent the loss of peri-urban agricultural land and enhance the resilience of city food systems.

Kimberley Curtis · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Global

This book review covers Steven McFadden's "Awakening Community Intelligence," presenting his argument for the exponential expansion of Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs). McFadden believes CSAs have the potential to become "community cornerstones" and function as a "network of light-giving impulses" through digital networking, addressing 21st-century challenges.

Stefan Hebold, Andrea Frömel · edoc Publication server (Humboldt University of Berlin) · Global

This study aimed to address the lack of scientific documentation on the forms and effects of urban agriculture by investigating the health of urban-produced plant-based foods. Raised beds were established at urban, peri-urban, and rural locations, planted with identical species, and compared with the yields from an ECF container farm hydroponic system. Yields were compared between the hydroponic system and raised beds, while raised beds were compared among themselves based on heavy metal accumulation.

Ida Åberg · · Global

This abstract introduces urban agriculture (UA) as a potential solution to the challenges of feeding rapidly growing cities sustainably and addressing unsustainability and poverty.

Annette Voigt, T. E. Leitão, Andrew Hursthouse, Ari Jokinen, Avigail Heller, Monika Latkowska, Paulo Brito da Luz, Yvonne Christ, Béatrice Bechet, Mart Külvik, Johannes Langemeyer · · Global

This chapter presents guidance on tools for undertaking an ecological assessment with a simple, integrated, and systemic approach using sets of indicators. Agro-environmental indicators allow efficient assessment of the state, trends, and rate of change of environmental status or ecosystem services. Indicators for a garden’s suitability as a habitat depend on selected species and their demands. Gardens near the seashore require coping with difficult environmental conditions, and water requirements vary by climatic zone and crop evapotranspiration rates. Improving physical and chemical soil conditions generally enhances crop growth and reduces risks of erosion, compaction, and poor drainage. Urban gardening can expand habitat areas for particular animal species from nearby green areas. The chapter provides information on minimizing main risks from urban environmental pressures on urban gardening.

Afsana Akther, Tofael Ahamed, Tomohiro Takigawa, Ryozo Noguchi · Journal of the Japan Institute of Energy · Global

This study proposes a GIS-based multi-criteria analysis model for solid waste management in Dhaka, Bangladesh, incorporating factors such as waste-generating site locations, road networks, environmentally sensitive locations, causes of illegal dumping, and waste segregation to select suitable sites for waste disposal and composting that would support urban agriculture. Using exclusionary criteria, decision factors, and weighted standardization, the analysis produced a suitability map identifying potential composting site locations.

Patrizia Ghisellini, Marco Casazza · Journal of Environmental Accounting and Management · Global

Given cities' near-total dependence on imported resources, this paper offers a short review of research on urban agriculture, energy and urban resilience, alongside a historical overview of the evolving concept of the city-countryside relationship. It concludes that urban agriculture in its various forms partially addresses food security in both developed and developing countries and provides environmental, economic and social benefits, but states that its energetic and environmental impacts have not been adequately investigated on-site in specific locations, leaving it unclear whether urban agriculture is a sustainable option.

Helen Armstrong, Abby Mellick Lopes · Water science and technology library · Global

This chapter contrasts growing cities (such as in Asia and Australia), which are destroying their rural edge, with shrinking cities (such as in Europe and North America), which are creating a new rural urbanism in their urban centres, and examines how design and mapping technology enable new typologies for peri-/inter-urban rural land. It draws on small-scale community initiatives in Penrith, Western Sydney -- Out & About in Penrith, Penrith as a Regional City Garden, and the Cooling the Commons project -- to show the potential of mobile infrastructure and temporary urbanism for Western Sydney.