Research & reports

Matthijs T. Wessels, Gert Jan Veldwisch, B.J.M. van Vliet, Alphonce Kyessi, Shaaban M. Mgana · Water International · Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)

This study examined the policy dynamics of irrigated urban agriculture in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, using stakeholder interviews and a literature review. It found that while irrigated urban agriculture is positively received for its productivity, it faces challenges from discourses prioritizing health and modernity. Authorities pursue modern farming models, but most urban farmers operate with informal and insecure access to land and water, highlighting a tension between planning ideals and urban reality.

Armansyah Armansyah, Sri Rum Giyarsih, Apit Fathurohman, Ade Latifa Soetrisno, Andy Ahmad Zaelany, Bayu Setiawan, Dani Nur Saputra, Muamar Haqi, Lamijo Lamijo · Jurnal Kawistara · Indonesia

A qualitative study in Palembang City, Bandung City, and Denpasar City, Indonesia, explored the interconnection of urban farming and urbanization in realizing sustainable urban development. The research collected data through observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation from 30 urban farming actors, 10 from each city, selected via purposive sampling. Analysis revealed a positive interrelation between urban farming and urbanization across nine dimensions: economy, social, environment, health, culture, food, education, tourism, and technology, indicating that urban farming's positive impacts can minimize urbanization's negative impacts.

Munifah Siti Amira Yusuf, Norsida Man, Nur Bahiah Mohamed Haris, Ismi Arif Ismail, Siaw Shin Yee, Tengku Halimatun Sa’adiah T. Abu Bakar · Sarhad Journal of Agriculture · Malaysia

This study evaluated the effectiveness of Malaysia's Urban Agriculture Program, implemented by the Department of Agriculture since 2010. Primary data from 230 participants were analyzed using PLS-SEM, revealing a positive association between all CIPP factors (Context, Input, Process, Product) and program effectiveness.

Magdalena Biernacka · · Global

Ensuring equal access to attractive green spaces for all urban residents, including vulnerable groups, is crucial due to pandemics, climate change, and lifestyle diseases. Both formal and informal green spaces provide ecosystem services, and smaller green infrastructure can be effective in compact city centers.

Stephen Leitheiser, Rubén Vezzoni · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Global

This paper presents a conceptualization of radical food democracy (RFD), linking diverse economies with diverse citizenship. Diverse economies scholarship, while valuable for theorizing alternative food networks (AFNs), has been criticized for essentializing the autonomy of alternative economic practices, risking the confusion of emancipatory social change with market-embedded products and the displacement of negative impacts. The paper argues that realizing RFD requires both experimenting with new economic practices that create food economies alternative to capital accumulation and cultivating new political subjects capable of universalizing these struggles.

Melissa Anna Murphy, Pavel Grabalov · ˜The œGeojournal library · Europe

A study of urban agriculture initiatives in Aarhus, Denmark, and Rotterdam, the Netherlands, explored how municipalities facilitate urban agriculture and its performance in public spaces. It identified four public service trajectories: increasing access and animation, contributing to social services, producing and distributing food, and building communities. The study found that food production and social services may be little suited for urban spaces requiring high public access, although benefits can reach a broad public if localized and facilitated appropriately.

Syarifuddin Syarifuddin, Mahir Pradana, Pablo Farías, Hanifah Putri Elisa, Adrianza Putra · WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on SYSTEMS archive · Indonesia

This study conducted a bibliometric analysis to chart the evolution of urban agricultural research trends and the links between scientific concepts in Indonesia from 2008 to 2022. Based on data collected from the Scopus database using the keyword "urban farming," 169 publications related to Indonesia were identified. The number of urban farming-related articles has fluctuated over the last 10 years, and the expansion of keyword-based research establishes a connection between agribusiness and social entrepreneurship as scientific notions.

Meriem Korchi, Ouassila Bendjaballah · Indonesian Journal of Social Science Research · Algeria

This study assessed urban actors' perspectives on urban agriculture in Annaba, Algeria, and mapped agricultural activities to integrate them into urban policy. Interviews with decision-makers and farmers, combined with spatial analysis, revealed that while there is interest in urban agriculture, it is not effectively integrated into institutional and legal frameworks. Agricultural plots in cities are often reserved for future urban development.

Consultant Engineer, 107B El. Venizelou str., 73132, Chania, Crete, Greece, John Vourdoubas · International Journal of Current Science Research and Review · Global

This review emphasizes the multiple environmental, economic, energy, and social benefits of green roofs installed on urban buildings. Green roofs are reported to remove atmospheric pollutants, release oxygen, mitigate the urban heat island effect, reduce building energy consumption, improve rainwater management, and promote urban agriculture. Their construction is financially subsidized in several countries due to these benefits, which contribute to urban sustainability and resident well-being.

Bacha Nesrine, Hadj Mohamed Naima · International Journal of Innovative Technologies in Social Science · Algeria (Algiers)

Algerian cities face uncontrolled urbanization, with Algiers experiencing a reduction in agricultural area per inhabitant from 0.82 hectares in 1962 to 0.18 hectares in 2010. This study, using historical analyses, interviews, and field observations, assessed the integration of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in Delly Ibrahim to restore ecological and economic balance and enhance local food security. Findings indicate that UPA can play a crucial role in mitigating negative urbanization effects by preserving agricultural land, ensuring secure local food supplies, and promoting environmentally friendly development.

Sarah Bell, Charlotte Johnson, Tse‐Hui Teh, Kat Austen, Gemma Moore · · United Kingdom (London)

This chapter explores co-design in developing urban infrastructures, presenting a six-step "Bottom-Up Infrastructure" model. The method was applied to a rooftop garden on a London social-housing estate, intended to function as drainage infrastructure. The case study revealed the potential for co-design, but also highlighted significant constraints on implementation in cities where communities possess limited power and resources.

Carina Rose Layfield · Teaching and Learning Anthropology · Global

This student essay examines a senior thesis project from Barnard College's urban studies program, advocating for the use of container farms to expand urban agricultural education in career and technical education settings. The author reviews their research process, results, and argument regarding the essential role of Perkins Act funding for such programs.

Anna Ternell, Bosse Lagerqvist, Anders M. Nilsson, Mauricio Sagastuy Klie, Martin Berg, Martin Andre-Bae Pedersen, Maciej Lasocki, Márta Kreidlmayer, Csaba Oláh, Zoltán Szekér, Sándor Némethy · Ecocycles · Global

This study investigated the integration of ecosystem-centred urban planning and multifunctional land use into landscape conservation strategies to foster sustainable and resilient urban environments. A mixed-methods approach combined a comprehensive literature review, case study analysis from various European cities, and the development of a conceptual framework and a novel urban metabolism model. The results demonstrated how urban agriculture and ecosystem-centred planning can be effectively utilized to enhance landscape conservation and urban sustainability.

Anjoulie Brandner, Karolina Taczanowska, Brenda Maria Zoderer, Christoph Schunko · Urban forestry & urban greening · Austria (Vienna)

A survey of 458 respondents in Vienna, Austria, analyzed urban wild food foraging locations and preferences for urban green spaces (UGS). 1239 foraging locations were identified across 9 UGS types, with forest and meadow landscapes, parks, and UGS mosaics being most utilized. Foragers' major concerns were contamination from traffic and dogs.

Isna Rahmawati, Yuwanda Nila Ariyani, Aliyah Fitriani · Desa-Kota · Indonesia (Jakarta)

A study in Kampung Samtama, Central Jakarta, Indonesia, surveyed 58 residents to assess their participation level in an urban farming program. Participation was measured across planning, implementation, utilization of results, and evaluation stages. The findings indicated a high overall community participation level (78.25), with the utilization of results stage scoring highest and the evaluation stage scoring lowest among all stages.

Bernard Afiik Akanpabadai Akanbang, Millicent Awialie Akaateba, Prosper Issahaku Korah · Discover Cities · Ghana (Wa)

This exploratory cross-sectional survey in seven rapidly growing neighborhoods in Wa, Ghana, administered 285 questionnaires to residents to understand motivations, challenges, and constraints of home gardening. Results showed 56% of respondents had gardens, primarily motivated by beautification (56.1%) and food production (52.3%). Limited space (49%) and busy schedules (34%) were identified as main barriers. The study found that while garden ownership aligned with the autonomy need, the relationship need, which correlates with environmental motivations, was notably low among residents. This indicates a limited effect of environmental awareness on home gardening motivation in the surveyed population.

R Mithun, S Roopadarshini · International Journal of Social Service and Research · India (Bengaluru)

This qualitative study in Bengaluru, India, investigated how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) initiatives can enhance urban agriculture's productivity, sustainability, and inclusivity. Data was collected through stakeholder interviews, extensive field observations, and a comprehensive review of pertinent literature. Findings indicated that ICT initiatives have transformative potential in addressing key challenges encountered in urban agriculture in Bengaluru, such as limited access to information, inadequate market linkages, and constrained financial resources. Specifically, ICT was found to optimize crop management practices, foster stronger market connections, facilitate financial access, and promote social inclusivity within urban agricultural systems.

Gustavo [UNESP] Nagib · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · France (Paris)

Research conducted in Greater Paris between 2018 and 2021 examined ephemeral urban agriculture (UA) initiatives in eco-districts during construction phases. This qualitative study, using fieldwork and observation, found that temporary UA occupations serve as incubators for new initiatives, fostering the emergence of associations and companies. UA is integrating into a new urbanism that anticipates long-term agricultural practices, bringing together various stakeholders.

Fabián Adolfo Aguilera-Martínez, Fabián Alonso Sarmiento-Valdés, Juan José Castiblanco-Prieto · Ediciones Comunicación Científica eBooks · Colombia (Bogotá)

This 2024 interdisciplinary study examined transformation dynamics in urban fringe territories, focusing on Bogotá, Colombia, with cases in Guatemala and Costa Rica. Using participatory methodologies, it identified community participation, environmental management, territorial planning, and social empowerment as key transformative elements. Community workshops and projects like "Nuestra Casa, Nuestra Huerta" demonstrated the importance of collaborative design, public space recovery, and urban agriculture for sustainable urban fringe transformation.

Jeffrey Chiwuikem Chiaka, Gengyuan Liu, Hui Li, Wen Zhang, Mingwan Wu, Zhaoman Huo, F. Gonella · Environmental and Sustainability Indicators · Sub-Saharan Africa

This study evaluated land cover change and its drivers using spatial and statistical analysis in 22 designated protected areas (PAs) across the tropical coastal regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Results indicated that food production is prevalent in these protected areas regardless of their designation, and forest loss occurred in most PAs, suggesting weak conservation. Population density was the most significant driver of land cover change, and only 15 out of 22 protected areas showed an increase in their total ecosystem service value.

Mariana Sanchez Salvador · · Portugal (Lisbon)

This paper examines the historical evolution and current state of Lisbon's foodscape. Historically, Lisbon possessed large agricultural spaces and a tight-knit food network, but nowadays, food has largely disappeared from the public realm. Mapping past and present urban food assets is key to providing a comprehensive portrait of Lisbon's foodscape and its potential for solutions.

Micaela F. Lipman, Marcia Caton Campbell · Urban agriculture · United States (Wisconsin)

This chapter examines local government food systems policy and planning in Madison and Dane County, Wisconsin. Despite a history of regulatory innovation in urban agriculture, the city and county have been slow to address food injustices in local food systems planning and policy development. The study highlights local government collaboration with the nonprofit sector and how codification of goals supports or hinders urban agriculture.

Gustavo Nagib · Atlantis highlights in social sciences, education and humanities/Atlantis Highlights in Social Sciences, Education and Humanities · Global

This qualitative study, conducted between 2016 and 2022 in São Paulo, Paris, and Lausanne, explored the relationship between urban agriculture, activism, and the right to the city. It found a convergence between discourse and practice in intraurban horticulture, emphasizing public space reappropriation, social bond strengthening, urban biodiversity promotion, and a new city-nature relationship. Community gardens in all three cities serve as hubs of collective experience, offering a critique of contemporary cities and an alternative to urban life.

Cavani Guzmán, Pierina · Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences (University of Skopje) · Peru (Lima)

This article discusses the impact of urbanization and industrialization processes on peri-urban agricultural production in the Nuevo Horizonte de Carapongo association in Lurigancho, Lima, Peru. The research analyzes the development of these phenomena and their relationship with the changes generated in the agricultural production of the area, contributing to the academic discussion on the deagrarianization process of peri-urban spaces.

Chika Takatori, Yulu ZHENG, S.M. Asik Ullah · Urban and Regional Planning Review · Japan

This research proposed a spatial design framework for urban open and green spaces in Japan, focusing on urban agriculture amidst a declining and aging farming population. The study first analyzed and mapped the supply of land available for urban agriculture using GIS, population mesh data, and interviews. Secondly, it calculated and mapped the spatial distribution of demand for urban agriculture based on surveys and statistical information. Finally, a framework was constructed to compare, evaluate, and match the supply and demand of urban agriculture.