Research & reports

Matthew Thompson · Antipode · United Kingdom (Liverpool)

This paper explores the community land trust (CLT) model as an institutional solution to urban decline, focusing on a case study in Granby, Liverpool, England. The Granby CLT campaign aims to collectively acquire empty homes, with guerrilla gardening playing a role in gaining political trust and financial support. The study discusses the CLT model's potential for democratic stewardship and the contradictions that may undermine its political legitimacy.

Maja Lorbek, Milena Martinsen · Urbani izziv · Europe

This paper examines the evolution of allotments and allotment dwellings in Germany and Austria by comparing gardeners' actual practices with the development and changes in the legal framework. It found that legislation and zoning regulations, often established retrospectively, reveal an ongoing negotiation process between informal practices and planning authorities. Allotment gardens, which emerged in the late 19th century, originally served a subsistence economy, providing food and emergency accommodation.

Jo Webber, Joe Hinds, Paul M. Camic · Ecopsychology · United Kingdom

A mixed-methods study surveyed 171 allotment gardeners in the United Kingdom to investigate the relationships between allotment gardening, feeling connected to nature, and well-being. Allotment gardeners' eudaimonic well-being and quality of life in the environmental domain were significantly higher than population means reported in the literature. However, the study found no association with subjective well-being.

Marta Camps‐Calvet, Johannes Langemeyer, Laura Calvet‐Mir, Erik Gómez‐Baggethun, Hug March · Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) · Spain (Barcelona)

This research examined the role of urban gardens in building community resilience and articulating resistance in Barcelona, Spain, based on data from 27 urban gardening initiatives (13 self-governed, 14 public). Results showed that urban gardens contribute to resilience by fostering social and ecological diversity, transmitting local ecological knowledge, and creating opportunities for collective action and self-organization.

Judith Schicklinski · WIFO Studies · Europe

Across Europe, self-organized civil society movements are emerging to address local challenges, particularly in maintaining and developing green spaces where local governments face budget constraints. Initiatives like urban gardening demonstrate people's ability to cooperate, organize, and take responsibility for green spaces, introducing practices that support socio-ecological transition. These activities contribute to urban sustainability by providing ecological benefits and recreational opportunities.

Elena Bertrán Arroyo · · Spain (Córdoba)

This study states that cities are socio-biological systems where social and natural aspects are interconnected through the provision and consumption of ecosystem services.

Hanife Vardi Topal · · Turkey (Izmir)

Community gardening was evaluated as a tool for sustainable urban development in the Izmir Metropolitan area, Turkey. The potential of existing community gardens was investigated at two case study sites in Bornova and Buca, focusing on the social, economic, and environmental qualities of the region. A mixed method approach, incorporating historical research, interviews, and diagramming, was used. After evaluating findings from site observations, open discussions, and interviews, the data was used to illustrate a conceptual community garden network in Izmir.

M. Antonio Zárate Martín · Anales de Geografía de la Universidad Complutense · Spain (Madrid)

This paper is based on investigations for urban greenspace planning and the opportunities of urban agriculture for feeding a growing population. It also results from urban environmental improvement activities conducted with the School of Engineer Agronomists of the Polytechnic University of Madrid. Through urban agriculture cases, the paper analyzes alternatives for recovering constructed spaces and increasing inhabitants' quality of life.

· REGAC - Revista de Estudios Globales y Arte Contempor�neo · Spain (Valencia)

This paper maps collective initiatives in Valencia, Spain, that emerged in response to inadequate national and local cultural policies. These initiatives, including urban orchards, acted as resistance to institutional policies or appropriated spaces due to a lack of public institutional interest. They function as urban experimentation laboratories for social and cultural transformation, forming a dense local network.

Michael J. Roth, Miryam Frixen, Carlos Tobisch, Thomas Scholle · · Germany (Dortmund)

This study analyzed how urban agriculture can stimulate and support urban renewal in an economically declined neighborhood in Dortmund-Hörde, Germany, using a case study. A project path was developed using participatory action research to involve residents and stakeholder groups, fostering collective stewardship for urban agriculture forms. The research concluded that synchronously combining research, planning, design, and implementation with intense feedback loops can achieve synergies for academic knowledge on urban agriculture's potential performance in sustainable development, as well as benefits for the case-study area and individual urban gardeners.

Judith Schicklinski · Econstor (Econstor) · Europe

This article examines the role of civil society movements in managing green spaces across European cities, particularly in the context of socio-ecological transition and tight public budgets. It highlights how self-organized initiatives like urban gardening contribute to maintaining and developing biodiverse green spaces, offering recreational, ecological, and climate resilience benefits. The discussion explores how citizen groups can expand green spaces and which policy frameworks foster collaboration for innovative urban food production and green-space management.

Ellen Banzhaf, Helen Kollai · ˜The œinternational archives of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences/International archives of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences · Germany (Leipzig)

This study monitored urban tree cover in Leipzig, Germany, over a decade to understand its distribution and changes for sustainable urban development. Using digital orthophotos, a digital elevation model, and a digital surface model, an object-based image analysis scheme was employed for detailed tree mapping. The results demonstrated high accuracy in tree detection and effective avoidance of misclassification caused by shadows.

Alan Hallsworth, Alfred Wong · International journal on food system dynamics · United Kingdom (Portsmouth)

This empirical case study examined the potential for urban gardening to contribute to individual food security. Focusing on Portsmouth, England, the study found that prevailing economic and social structures hamper the likelihood that urban gardening can offer much greater food security. Realistically, contemporary urban gardening most closely resembles a middle-class pursuit for personal enjoyment, rather than a significant contributor to food security.

Miren Rekondo Iparraguirre · TDX (Tesis Doctorals en Xarxa) · Europe

This doctoral thesis explores the development of eco-citizenship competence in school gardens, specifically through collaborative technological design activities. Elementary school students designed and assembled an irrigation system for their school garden over ten activities. Analysis showed students integrated elements from various design proposals without exclusive opposition, and that design conflicts led to a more dynamic and complex garden model. The study also found differences in argumentative discourse structure and dynamics between scientific argumentation and technological design activities.

Runrid Fox-Kämper · REAL CORP Repository (University of Southampton) · Europe

This paper explores the functions of urban gardening for European cities, with an emphasis on ageing societies. It presents research on living preferences of aged persons in four German cities, indicating the importance of green space access and social functions of urban gardens. The paper also includes a literature review on urban gardening's functions in European cities and initial results from the COST Action on urban allotment gardens.

Greg Keeffe · Research Portal (Queen's University Belfast) · United Kingdom

This chapter focuses on developing sustainable growing infrastructure at two scales: a large-scale city-wide fuel-productive landscape using algae arrays in Liverpool and a hyper-localized neighborhood food production system in Salford, UK, utilizing a closed-cycle aquaponic system. The author proposes a three-part model for urban agriculture implementation—hardware, software, and interface—concluding that urban agriculture should be viewed as a process rather than a static design, with benefits extending beyond physical outputs like energy and food.

Beth Perry, ⁄ Walsh, Diana Silver · White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) · United Kingdom

This project, conducted from October 2014 to May 2015, focused on the Biospheric Foundation in Blackfriars, East Salford, UK. The Biospheric Foundation was an urban socio-ecological experiment aiming to implement a whole-system approach to urban farming in a deprived area. Its goals included designing interconnected systems, retrofitting a building for ecological research, and raising public awareness of healthy food and ecological systems in urban settings.

Jeanne Pourias, Éric Duchemin, Christine Aubry · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Canada (Montreal); France (Paris)

This paper investigates the food function of collective gardens (CGs) in Paris, France, and Montreal, Canada, where their numbers have rapidly increased. Researchers conducted interviews, quantified production, and monitored plots to understand the quantities and types of fruits and vegetables produced, their destination, and space use. The results indicate a wide diversity of practices concerning CGs' food function, which should be considered alongside their multifunctionality.

Gioia Gibelli · TERRITORIO · Italy (Milan)

Agriculture has long been an important resource for Milan and its surroundings, with its significance increasing in recent years. Agricultural areas near the city can enhance urban metabolism and citizens' quality of life through ecosystem and landscape services, providing cultural and environmental services, and improving urban resilience. In this context, two important initiatives, the Agricultural District of Milan (DAM) and 'Parco delle Risaie', have been underway in Milan since 2008.

Jill Rutter · Policy Press eBooks · United Kingdom

This chapter, based on field observations in the UK, examines social interactions in "transversal spaces" such as children's centers, workplaces, online forums, parks, and allotment gardens. These spaces facilitate meaningful social contact between migrants and longer-settled residents, potentially reducing hostility. Research indicates that while interactions across class or age boundaries are common, interactions across ethnic boundaries are less frequent, though individuals aged 18-34 showed the highest ethnic integration.

Giuseppe Cinà, Francesco Di Iacovo · PORTO Publications Open Repository TOrino (Politecnico di Torino) · Italy

This paper examines urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in Italy, identifying challenges in its planning, including the traditional exclusion of agricultural areas from territorial planning and the lack of local agricultural policy. The study highlights a disconnect between top-down policies and bottom-up practices, noting that numerous autonomous initiatives have emerged due to insufficient regional and local planning solutions. The authors conclude that overcoming the limitations of the top-down planning system, particularly in governance and inclusiveness, is a primary challenge for Italy.

Dieneke Schram-Bijkerk, Dirven-van Breemen L, P Otte · Rivm (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) · Europe

Based on a literature review conducted by the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), this report examines the health and living-environment effects of non-commercial neighborhood vegetable gardens on vacant urban land. It notes that garden work is associated with increased physical activity and consumption of self-grown vegetables and fruit, and indications of reduced stress and increased social contact in the neighborhood, while also stressing the importance of minimizing risks from soil and air pollution. The review identifies measurable indicators for each health effect and recommends using consistent measurement methods to enable international comparison; findings are also used to inform research on allotment gardens in various European countries.

Carlos Verdaguer Viana-Cárdenas · · Europe

This report describes the third Training School of the COST Action Urban Agriculture Europe, held in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, Spain, from 24 to 26 September 2014. The city had recently expanded through two new neighborhoods, Zabalgana and Salburua, along its greenbelt, but these areas suffered from over-dimensioned public space lacking density and mixed uses and were expensive for the municipality to maintain; the Training School used Zabalgana as a practical field to explore urban agriculture as a way to re-qualify this excess public space, through field visits and presentations followed by a one-day design charrette.

Emanuele Blasi, Clara Cicatiello, Barbara Pancino, Silvio Franco · Agricultural and Food Economics · Italy

Peri-urban agriculture is exposed to pressures toward diversification and multifunctionality, developing differently depending on territorial features. A paper studies the case of Trentino, an Italian Alpine region where the ratio of urban to rural domain is heavily skewed toward the latter and farms face environmental problems that jeopardize their competitiveness in mainstream markets, comparing the development of alternative food chains there with other Italian peri-urban areas. The mountain environment makes it difficult for farms to standardize products to large retailers' requirements, but alternative food chains endorse and communicate to the market the typicality of products and farmers' savoir-faire, the two main factors of added value. Survey data from short food chain consumers show they are inherently more attentive to these product cues, as a result of a lifestyle more attached to identity and origins, and prouder of their territory. These findings confirm that, given its structural and cultural traits, alternative food markets in the Trentino area are meaningful for the survival and development of the local agricultural sector.

Charlotte Flink, Jenny Persson · · Europe

This thesis examines whether Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), as an alternative food production model, can promote sustainable urban and rural development in Sweden, using a Triple Bottom Line (economic, environmental, social) framework across two parts: a literature review and a quantitative participant survey at the CSA farm Stackvallen. The literature review indicated CSA operations can contribute to sustainable societal development through economic stimulus and environmentally sound food supply, while the participant survey found respondents rated the social aspects low and valued the health and environmental aspects more highly.