Research & reports

Claudia Pasquero, Marco Poletto · · Europe

This article introduces the Urban Algae Canopy, an innovative architectural system that redefines farming and horticulture within urbanism. It proposes agriculture as a tool for reprogramming Milan's public realm and challenges the separation between urban and rural conditions. The Urban Algae Folly aims to integrate technical and scientific research with societal needs through architectural design.

Paul Suski, Alexandra Palzkill, Melanie Speck · Frontiers in Sustainability · Global

This article argues that sufficiency, often underestimated, is a suitable strategy for achieving a sustainable circular economy. It proposes shifting research and policy focus from product-centric approaches to consumption patterns guided by sufficiency. The case of urban gardening illustrates how small interventions can transform consumption by challenging the logic of availability. The authors advocate for using social practice theories to develop effective circular economy strategies.

Claudia Wiese, Bernd Pölling, Wolf Lorleberg · Frontiers for Young Minds · Global

This article discusses how cities, despite covering only 2-3% of land, consume 75% of global energy and produce 80% of CO2 emissions, making them dependent on distant food sources. It describes how urban agriculture can help cities address climate change and environmental problems, while simultaneously improving living environments for urban populations.

Pekka Ilmari Niskanen · Ruukku Studies in Artistic Research · Global

This paper examines three gardens—a Sahrawi sandoponic garden in Algerian refugee camps, a Helsinki Sandoponic Garden, and the Jardin Truillot in Paris—as sites for community gathering and addressing trauma. The Helsinki garden, a project by PHOSfate, highlights injustices faced by the Sahrawi population and the Baltic Sea, linking refugee status to phosphate mining and eutrophication. The study argues that recognizing injustice is central to the activism in these gardens and related practices.

Ikarini Widayati, Ika Kustiani, Panji Kurniawan · Seminar Nasional Insinyur Profesional (SNIP) · Indonesia (Pringsewu)

This study investigated the potential development of urban farming as a strategy for urban greening in Pringsewu Regency, Indonesia, by utilizing spaces in homes, idle land, and residential roads. Its objectives are to create more pleasant, healthy, and clean dense urban residential environments, apply urban farming concepts, and provide economic and environmental benefits to selected communities. Pringsewu urban area still has 1,856.36 hectares with non-urban characteristics, and urban farming is developing to anticipate decreasing urban land.

Fika Risdana, Abdul Munir, Ardian Ariatsyah · Jurnal Ilmiah Mahasiswa Arsitektur dan Perencanaan · Global

This study investigated the thermal effects of hydroponic plants on green roofs for reducing roof temperatures and supporting urban farming. The research compared the thermal performance of three modules: a hydroponic green roof with lettuce, a hydroponic green roof with bok choy, and a green roof filled with water. Thermocouple wires connected to a data logger were used to measure and record data.

Evinç Doğan, Federico Cuomo, Luca Battisti · Sustainability · Italy (Turin)

This paper explored strategies for reviving urban greening in post-industrial landscapes through nature-based solutions (NbS), using the case of Turin's old FIAT premises in the Mirafiori Sud area. Data were collected through public literature review, interviews, and focus groups with policymakers, volunteers, and inhabitants. Qualitative thematic analysis showed that Mirafiori Sud became a co-creation hub for sustainable solutions, regenerative art in shared spaces was crucial for community engagement, and urban agriculture support could improve alternative food networks.

Angelia Sia, Puay Yok Tan, Kenneth B. H. Er · Plants People Planet · Singapore

This opinion article discusses the role of urban horticulture in Singapore, focusing on four national-level programs. It illustrates how these initiatives contribute to cultivating community ownership, fostering community ties, and promoting interest in horticulture among urban dwellers. The programs include community gardens, allotment gardens, the Gardening with Edibles program, and therapeutic horticulture programs.

Muhammad Izzad Ramli, Muhammad Azizi Mohd Ariffin, Zarina Zainol, Mohd Nazrul Mohd Amin, Dedeng Hirawan, I D Sumitra, Nursuriati Jamil · Pertanika journal of science & technology · Global

This paper proposes a design for a Smart Portable Farming Kit, an IoT-based system for cultivating short-duration vegetables and mushrooms indoors in urban areas. The prototype design is simple, lightweight, and durable, requiring minimal user attention. It proved better than traditional setups by increasing mushroom yield, making oyster mushroom cultivation easier and more profitable in urban areas.

Erich Wolff, Hanna A. Rauf, Perrine Hamel · Environmental Science & Policy · Global

This study analyzed past Nature-based Solutions (NbS) projects in informal settlements across Southeast Asian and Pacific countries, utilizing both grey and academic sources. Six main types of NbS were identified, used to address various social, ecological, and cultural challenges in these settlements, including traditional community gardens and constructed wetlands, some differing from those in the Global North. NbS are often framed as grassroots initiatives led by local communities or as technical systems implemented within "upgrading programs."

Juan Camilo Ochoa Céspedes · Entorno Geográfico · Colombia (Medellín)

This paper critically analyzes peri-urban and peri-urban agriculture, addressing problems of territorial tension resulting from the accelerated expansion of real estate into peri-urban areas due to low urban land availability. The discussion questions the economic, environmental, and social risks of this expansion, highlighting tensions and resistance. The paper illustrates these issues with examples from the peri-urban area of Medellín and its metropolitan area.

Suman Kumar Sourav, C. T. Subbarayappa, D. C. Hanumanthappa, Mudalagiriyappa, Prem José Vazhacharickal, Andrea Mock, Mariko Ingold, Andreas Buerkert · Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems · India

This study investigated how three rates of mineral nitrogen addition combined with rainfed versus irrigated conditions affected CO2 emissions from typical crops during the wet (Kharif) and dry (Rabi) seasons on a Nitisol in Bengaluru, South India. Two two-factorial split-plot experiments were conducted under rainfed and irrigated conditions from 2017 to 2021, using maize, finger millet, and lablab, and the vegetables cabbage, eggplant, and tomato or chili. CO2 emissions were measured with a Los Gatos Research multi-gas analyzer from 7:00-11:30 a.m. and 12:30-6:00 p.m., with CH4, NH3, and N2O found negligible. Regardless of irrigation, season, crop, or nitrogen level, afternoon CO2 emission rates were 2-128% higher than morning rates. Diurnal differences ranged from 0.04-1.61 kg CO2-C/ha/h in the irrigated field and 0.20-1.78 kg CO2-C/ha/h in the rainfed field. In the rainfed field, high-nitrogen plots emitted 56.4% more CO2 than low-nitrogen plots, versus only 12.1% more in the irrigated field. A linear mixed model showed nitrogen fertilization enhanced CO2 emissions, most strongly in rainfed crops; soil moisture enhanced emissions in rainfed crops but decreased them under irrigation, while soil temperature at 5 cm depth enhanced emissions in both fields.

Grace Gardner, Wendy Burton, Maddie Sinclair, Maria Bryant · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Global

A scoping review following Arksey and O'Malley's methodology searched Scopus and grey literature to identify interventions aimed at strengthening the environmental sustainability of school food systems; of 6,016 records screened, 24 were included. The most common intervention types were sustainably designed school lunch menus, school food waste reduction, sustainability education delivered through school gardens, and dietary interventions with an added environmental component, and the review concluded that further research is needed to establish the effectiveness of these interventions.

Ananda Rizqullah, Bilqis Tsurayya, Paul Aldo Purba, Helki Ginting, Alya Putri Natandini, Dicky Andrea Sembiring · International Journal of Architecture and Urbanism · Indonesia

This paper proposes NeoHada, an adaptive urban building design concept for Indonesia that integrates solar-piezoelectric technology and rooftop farming, developed in response to urban flooding challenges. The concept is based on three principles — climatic, energetic, and productive architecture — using a rain-harvesting system on building rooftops to prevent flooding and provide an alternative water source, solar panels combined with piezoelectric technology for independent electricity generation, and rooftop farming aimed at urban food self-sufficiency. The paper frames the proposal in relation to Sustainable Development Goals covering zero hunger, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, sustainable cities, and climate action.

Pere Llorach-Massana, Laura Cirrincione, Jorge Sierra-Pérez, Gianluca Scaccianoce, Maria La Gennusa, Javier Peña, Joan Rieradevall · The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment · Global

This study assessed the environmental impact of a new infill wall material derived from urban agriculture (UA) waste — tomato plant stems from a building rooftop greenhouse tomato crop — using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology per ISO 14044 and ISO 14067, based on data from laboratory-scale sample production. The results indicate that when biogenic carbon fixed in the UA waste is accounted for, the material achieves a negative carbon footprint of -0.2 kg CO2eq per kg, meaning it can fix rather than emit carbon emissions over its life cycle; for the scenario considered, approximately 0.42 kg CO2eq per square meter per year could be sequestered. However, the crop area required to produce enough waste to manufacture a unit of the material was found to be quite large, and the study identifies reducing material density and exploring urban crops with higher waste production rates as directions for future work.

CHRISTINA FELIX KIFUNDA · Asian Journal of Agriculture · Tanzania

Combining 30 years of temperature and rainfall data from the Tanzania Meteorological Agency with a questionnaire survey of 386 urban-agriculture households across five wards of Kinondoni City (Bunju 118, Kunduchi 42, Mabwepande 102, Mzimuni 28, Wazo 96), plus focus group discussions, key informant interviews and direct observation, this study examined climate change's effects on urban crop production and farmers' adaptation strategies. More than 70% of surveyed smallholder farmers were aware of climate change indicators, consistent with the meteorological data, citing rising temperature (76%) and declining rainfall (73%); pests and diseases were ranked highest (88%) among significant climate-change effects. Land scarcity was also identified as a significant challenge for urban agriculture, and pesticide and fertilizer use was the most commonly cited adaptation strategy (65%).

William Miyakava, Margarete Cristiane de Costa Trindade Amorim · Revista Geonorte · Brazil

This study examined the effects of urban agroforestry on climate elements in Presidente Prudente, Brazil, hypothesising that vegetation cover combined with urban agriculture positively influences urban climate dynamics. Automatic sensors recorded temperature and relative humidity at three points with distinct land cover -- a densely built urban area, an urban area with vegetation/agroforestry, and a rural point -- during representative wet (February) and dry (July) months of 2021, with space-time panels and rhythmic analysis graphs used to identify urban heat island (UHI) occurrence day and night. It found that low rainfall combined with high wind-direction variability and speed in February produced greater UHI intensity and magnitude both day and night, while July's low wind speed, low directional variation, near-zero rainfall and stable atmospheric conditions produced more homogeneous daytime UHI but heterogeneous, high-intensity nighttime UHI.

Madhvi Chulet, Sahil Fadia, Shweta Suhane · · Singapore

A paper on future master planning for the Punggol District in Singapore, revisited every 25 years, structured around five systems: green, water, public spaces, energy, and food. Set against Singapore's sustainable-architecture policies for climate mitigation and the way COVID-19 reshaped design at the urban and building scale, the paper argues that a systems-thinking approach produces positive outcomes for architectural form and site planning, and it synthesizes guidelines for blue-green infrastructure in the Punggol District.

Luiza Vigne Bennedetti, Paulo Antônio de Almeida Sinisgalli, Maurí­cio Lamano Ferreira, Fabiano Lemes de Oliveira · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Global

Following the PRISMA protocol, a 2023 systematic review evaluated 26 studies on the interplay between urban agriculture (UA) and sustainability surveyed on Web of Science. While UA is increasingly recognized as an action to promote urban sustainability and inform public health policy for urban populations, the review confirms that its implementation still presents challenges in countries across both the Global North and Global South. The review identified numerous key challenges to UA adoption, including air and soil contamination, availability of green areas, layout of urban infrastructure, and food distribution, among others. Given the many socio-economic and environmental contextual factors involved — especially when comparing Global North and Global South realities — the review concludes there is a need to develop a model adaptable to these different contexts. It further concludes that the concept of sustainability lacks a universal understanding, and that one of the most important remaining gaps is addressing social issues in relation to environmental ones.

Prof. Dr. Hasan YILMAZ · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Global

This 2023 paper introduces the concept of Biodiversity Friendly Cities (Biofriendly City) as a response to climate change. Citing a UN development report projecting that nearly 70% of the global population will live in urban areas by 2050, it argues this trend is driving rapid loss of urban green spaces and agricultural land, alongside environmental problems including transportation, infrastructure, energy, health and nutrition issues, air pollution, visual pollution and solid waste. Inadequate open and green spaces, obstruction of wind corridors, misguided urban planning, and light reflection from glass and shiny surfaces are described as contributing to urban heat island formation, while insufficient attention to natural and ecological thresholds leaves cities with difficult-to-reverse ecosystem damage and greater vulnerability to disasters. Urbanization is described as degrading productive landscapes such as urban green spaces and agricultural land, fragmenting habitats and increasing pressure on urban biodiversity, even as cities also create new habitats and species — with vascular plant and bird diversity in some temperate cities reported to surpass that of the surrounding landscape. Citing the IPCC, the paper notes global temperatures have already risen by 1.1°C, progressing toward 1.5°C.

Mahir Yazar, Ece Baykal Fide, İrem Daloğlu Çetinkaya · Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning · Turkey

A 2023 study of climate policies in nine cities in Turkey examined how vulnerable groups and individuals are identified and how land-use policy is developed to address the identified vulnerabilities and climate justice concerns, using policy content analysis and expert interviews. The analysis found critical relationships between identified vulnerable groups, responsive land-use policy and climate justice. While social-aid municipalism-related vulnerabilities dominated districts' climate policies, nature-based solutions (NBS) — especially green infrastructure and urban agriculture — emerged as the dominant climate adaptation approach. However, the way urban vulnerabilities are prioritized in the climate and sustainability plans places less emphasis on intersectionality and infrastructure-related vulnerabilities, and tokenism of justice occurs in the policy documents: the plans do not incorporate vulnerable communities into land-use planning. The study concludes that the complexity of responsive land-use policy requires greater awareness of how to practically support vulnerable communities.

Julio César García-Colin, Carlos Díaz-Delgado, Humberto Salinas-Tapia, Carlos Roberto Fonseca, María Vicenta Esteller Alberich, Khalidou M. Bâ, Daury García-Pulido · Water · Spain

Using lysimeter data from a golf course in Spain, researchers designed and validated a sustainable urban agriculture drainage system with water reuse (SUADS-WR) based on a daily water balance, estimating reference evapotranspiration via the Penman-Monteith or Hargreaves-Samani methods. Compared with experimental data, estimated irrigation depths were lower than the water actually supplied, and estimated percolation matched measured field drainage. Implementing SUADS-WR allowed harvested water to cover more than 38% of the crop's annual water demand.

Dinda Nur Haliza · Jurnal Teknologi Pangan dan Ilmu Pertanian · Indonesia (Jakarta)

Motivated by the risk that conversion of agricultural land in Jakarta, Indonesia, poses to food security, this study developed a conceptual model integrating rainwater harvesting with automatic irrigation for a rooftop greenhouse, based on a literature review of 12 journal articles and 3 textbooks on land conversion, irrigation systems, rainwater harvesting and greenhouse design. The resulting conceptual model shows rainwater collected in an underground reservoir could be supplied via automatic irrigation to crops in a rooftop greenhouse, though the authors state further study is needed on soil moisture requirements for specific plant types and direct testing of the model.

Ahmad Shukry Yahya, Nur Bahiah Mohamed Haris, Jasmin Arif Shah, Nurulnadiatulamira Ahmad Zaki · International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences · Global

A concept paper aiming to explore the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) factors influencing the adoption of urban farming. It outlines urban farming's potential benefits — improved access to fresh produce, reduced food transportation costs, community health improvements, and contributions to greenhouse gas reduction and biodiversity — and reviews existing approaches that treat KAP factors individually versus as a holistic model, aiming to deepen understanding of the KAP model as applied to urban farming adoption. No empirical data is presented.

Christian Nindyaputra Octarino · ATRIUM - Jurnal Arsitektur · Indonesia

A study examined how effective urban farming and greenery integrated into a residential area are at maintaining microclimate quality, using field measurement and ENVI-MET simulation in the Tompeyan district of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The results show vegetation in outdoor spaces has a significant effect on surface and air temperature. The ENVI-MET simulation showed an increase in the thermal comfort index in vegetated areas, although it had not yet reached the ideal value.