Research & reports

Minjae Kong, Kwang-Lai Park, Jin-Kwan Son, Ji-Hoon Shin · Journal of the Korea Society of Environmental Restoration Technology · South Korea (Seoul)

This study investigated the characteristics of rooftop gardens (farms) in 40 areas in Seoul, Korea. Cabbage, lettuce, pepper, and mini-tomatoes were the most preferred vegetables and fruits. Problems observed in rooftop gardens during cultivation included drainage systems, soil management, the cost or quality of planting mats, and diseases and insects.

Alessandra Giannini, Andrea Oldani · TERRITORIO · Global

Micro-agriculture refers to small-scale agriculture, in contrast to intensive agriculture and monoculture. It is a collection of 'small scale' agricultural practices, including horticulture (such as urban vegetable gardens), fruit-growing, or flower-growing. Micro-agriculture is a landscape defined by garden plots and materials, forming a unified yet diversified whole that differs from traditional agricultural landscapes in its reduced scale, biological richness, material variety, and heterogeneous landscape.

Yugo YAMAMOTO, Asami ORITA, Motoyuki NAGAI · Studies in Regional Science · Japan (Osaka)

A questionnaire survey was conducted among LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) and general consumers in Osaka Prefecture to identify sustainable lifestyles related to food production and consumption and evaluate their effect on CO2 emissions. LOHAS consumers tended to participate in local food production activities and make purchasing decisions based on health and environmental consciousness. Their total daily life CO2 emissions were 15% lower than regular consumers, but their transportation-related CO2 emissions were higher due to roundtrips to local farm shops.

Seungmin Lee, Alexandra Nan, Meredith Kealty, Kevin Pan · cIRcle (University of British Columbia) · Canada

This report assesses irrigation systems for a new rooftop garden at the Student Union Building (SUB) in Vancouver, Canada, which aims for LEED Platinum+ certification. Micro-irrigation is recommended due to limited space, the need for high water efficiency, and a low carbon footprint. Micro-irrigation systems apply water directly to plants, reducing evaporation and energy costs, with an observed 80% improvement in water efficiency compared to conventional practices.

Nicolette Larder, Kristen Lyons, Geoffrey Woolcock · Local Environment · Australia

This article explores the values and meanings domestic food producers associate with urban backyard food production in Australia. Through interviews with eight domestic food producers in one Australian city, the study finds that the act of growing food at home offers space for hope. These small acts are seen as part of the broader food sovereignty movement seeking to remake the global food system.

Avi Friedman · Island Press/Center for Resource Economics eBooks · Global

This chapter discusses the problems of conventional landscaping, which requires excessive water, maintenance, and chemicals, leading to resource depletion and pollution. Alternative practices such as edible landscaping and xeriscaping are gaining traction in residences, as they can significantly reduce adverse environmental effects while maintaining aesthetic value. The principles and applications of these methods are discussed in this chapter.

Fritz Hammerling Navas Navarro, Luz Mila Peña Torres · Revista de Investigación Agraria y Ambiental · Global

Urban Vertical Garden Modules (MHUV) are introduced as a hybrid of vertical gardens and urban agriculture. This study presents a "culinary and medicinal module" that can be placed in kitchens, rooftops, or patios, proposing the cultivation of species like thyme, mint, and parsley. The module consists of three recyclable plastic baskets, each with four rows and a capacity for fourteen seedlings, supported vertically by a recycled wooden structure.

Anna Biebrauer · University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy (University of Minnesota) · Global

This handbook provides a basic design primer for urban farmers, gardeners, and community groups interested in creating pocket farms, community gardens, or CSAs. It compiles urban agriculture components, precedents, and design considerations for arrangement, construction, perception, and use by farmers and their communities. The suggested ideas and plants are tailored for the Northern climate (hardy to USDA Zone 4).

Yang Dan-ni · Journal of Changjiang Vegetables · Global

This paper examines the changing functions of vegetable production in urban agriculture and highlights the significance of promoting ornamental vegetable production and marketing. It proposes that the research and development of ornamental vegetables represents a viable urban agriculture production mode, facilitating cultivation shifts from rural areas to cities, enterprises to families, and fields to balconies. Key development areas include cultivar selection, equipment innovation, cultivation technology, marketing, and service system construction.

Shikha Srivastava, Scot Nelson · ScholarSpace (University of Hawaii at Manoa) · United States (Hawaii)

This article discusses Cercospora leaf spot, a common fungal disease affecting eggplant in home and community gardens in Hawaii. It describes the pathogen and disease symptoms, offering integrated practices to improve plant growth and yields for gardeners.

Community Gardening Works! ACGA 2011 Conference, Mara Gittleman, Kelli Jordan, Eric Brelsford · Cities and the Environment · United States (New York City)

This paper is a case study of Farming Concrete, a community-based project in New York City, which has more than 500 community gardens, over 80% of which host food production according to a 2010 GrowNYC survey. Using citizen science methods in which gardeners and researchers jointly designed and conducted the research, the project measured how much food was grown in New York City community gardens in 2010 and 2011.

Maira Echeverry, Sebastián Gutiérrez, Julián Pineda, Nelson Ravelo · · Colombia

This account describes Barrio San Luis, an informal settlement on the eastern hills of Chapinero, Bogotá, Colombia, formed by rural-to-urban displacement and still undergoing legalization, where residents obtained services such as a community-run water system through collective organizing. It describes the Casa Taller Las Moyas, a project founded roughly seven years earlier to serve neighborhood children and youth left without care while parents work, offering workshops in baking, ceramics, crafts and urban agriculture in two daily shifts organized around school schedules; the text ends mid-sentence and provides no further data on the seed-conservation activities named in the title.

Leigh Whittinghill, D. Bradley Rowe · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · Global

Urban agriculture faces limitations including competition for space, lack of formalized land use rights, and health hazards from food contamination. Green roof technology is proposed as a method to alleviate these issues, potentially reducing the use of contaminated land and water at ground level. However, for large-scale implementation, installation costs must be reduced, roof weight limitations assessed, and appropriate management practices developed.

Takao Koyama, Takayuki Minagawa, Tsutomu Hanai, Hideki IDOTA · Journal of Structural and Construction Engineering (Transactions of AIJ) · Japan (Tokyo)

The validity of using residential design live loads for rooftop gardens has not been confirmed. This study proposes new design live load values for rooftop gardens based on building survey results from 24 steel-framed houses in the Tokyo area. The proposed design live load value will enable rational structural design for residences with rooftop gardens.

S. L. Balcău, Maria Apahidean · Bulletin of University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca Horticulture · Global

This paper emphasizes that vegetables can be used not only for alimentary purposes but also for decoration, proposing the "edible landscaping" system. Root vegetables can be used for creating vegetation carpets and beds, kale for borders, squares, and flower stands, and vegetables cultivated for pods, beans, and capsules for decorating pergolas and towers. Green vegetables are preferred for creating colorful views or color contrasts. To arrange beautiful gardens using ornamental vegetables, basic landscape architecture principles must be followed, and plants chosen carefully.

A. J. Gilbert, Yael Raviv · Women & Performance a journal of feminist theory · Global

The abstract for this record is incomplete. It introduces "Sharecropper," a series of micro farming installations, as an artistic, practical, and philosophical exploration of growing, cooking, and eating food within a community.

Mikhaela Mullins · Lincoln (University of Nebraska) · United States (Lincoln)

This case study at Saratoga Elementary School in Lincoln, Nebraska, aimed to identify children's desires for a garden space. A school garden was constructed, and an after-school garden club was implemented, where participating students drew their ideal gardens. Elements from these drawings were categorized as 'highly desired' or 'somewhat desired' and subsequently integrated into a proposed garden design plan for Saratoga, which utilizes Permaculture design methods for sustainability.

David Tracey · · Global

This text outlines various ideas and designs for urban agriculture, ranging from small-scale indoor cultivation like windowsill herbs and sprouts to container gardening in tight spaces. It also covers integrating food-growing into backyards, utilizing front lawns for food movements, engaging in public and community gardening, establishing community orchards, and exploring future farm concepts for higher yields.

Renato Teixeira de Oliveira · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil (Fortaleza)

This experiment, conducted at the Urban Agriculture Teaching and Research Center of the Federal University of Ceará in Fortaleza, Brazil, evaluated the influence of different container sizes and substrates on andiroba seedling development. Seedlings grown in 24.6 L polyethylene bags showed statistically superior aerial part height, collar diameter, main root length, and dry mass of aerial part and root system compared to those produced in smaller bags after 190 days. Dry masses of the aerial part and roots were also greater for seedlings developed in the substrate containing earthworm humus.

Bayani M. Espiritu · Journal of the International Society for Southeast Asian Agricultural Sciences · Asia

This study investigated the effects of microbially inoculated compost on mungbean and pechay growth in container media. Compost from coconut coir dust and chicken manure was inoculated with nitrogen-fixing bacteria (Azotobacter sp.) and/or cellulolytic fungi (Trichoderma harzianum). Mungbean plants supplied with uninoculated compost showed the lowest fresh biomass and nodule count, while compost with combined Azotobacter sp. and T. harzianum inoculation significantly increased fresh biomass and nodule numbers in mungbean, and showed similar positive results for pechay.

José Luis Galdeano Tostado · Creatividad y sociedad: revista de la Asociación para la Creatividad · Global

This paper observes an increasing awareness of environmental issues and neighborhood action in city centers, with concepts like urban gardens and self-managed spaces becoming more familiar. It suggests that vacant lands and unused building sites in cities offer significant potential for citizens' creative initiatives. The abstract does not present any specific findings on governance challenges or critical interventions.

Dale Maharidge · · United States (Kansas City)

This chapter introduces the success story of Sherri Harvel, who was active in a community garden in Kansas City. Having joined the garden in the early 1990s, she quit her banking job in 2003 to become an urban farmer. She named her new business Root Deep Urban Farm.

Hongyuan Li · Bulletin of Soil and Water Conservation · China (Tianjin)

An investigation of wild flowers in urban areas of Tianjin City was conducted from 2005 to 2010. The study examined the ecological habits, life forms, and distribution of each species, identifying six distinct distribution patterns: single, linear, scattered, assembled, radial, and climbing. Following an analysis of these patterns' characteristics, the potential use of these wild flowers in urban gardening was discussed.

Ricardo Vásquez Ochoa, Emilio José García Bidegorry · · Mexico

The "Eutropia" project, which won second prize in the Holcim America 2008 Next Generation category, proposes sustainable housing for 36 families in the Los Reyes neighborhood, Mexico. It addresses precarious living conditions by compressing housing areas to create public spaces and integrating sustainable infrastructure. The design includes a block with a green roof for food production and recycling, a clearing house, and a street market for trading self-produced food.

Teofilo Cuesta Borja, Ditter Horacio Mosquera Andrade · · Colombia (Quibdó)

This article presents the results of a structural and functional characterization of urban productive systems in Quibdó, Colombia. The study analyzed vegetation by growth habit and conducted a Rapid Rural Appraisal on species utilization. Residents use mixed home gardens, rooftops, and potted plants for urban agriculture, along with animal husbandry. 58 species across 51 genera and 41 botanical families were found, distributed in three strata. These species are important for food and traditional medicine, indicating that urban productive systems in Quibdó are oriented to supply food and medicinal needs.