Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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3623 results(40 / 145)
Economics of vertical farming in the competitive market
2023Moghimi F., Asiabanpour B. · Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy 25:1837-1855 · Global
Presents the first quantitative model evaluating the economic prospects of vertical farming in a competitive market, analyzing investment and operating costs against market prices to identify conditions for profitability and the central role of energy cost.
EconomicsThe bright and the dark side of commercial urban agriculture labeling
2023Chicoine M., Rodier F., Durif F. · Agriculture and Human Values 40(3):1153-1170 · Global
Analyzes how companies use commercial urban agriculture labeling in product marketing, examining the consumer-perceived benefits and risks of leveraging urban farming as a brand and value proposition.
EconomicsFood educationVertical farming - smart urban agriculture for enhancing resilience and sustainability in food security
2023Oh S., Lu C. · The Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology 98(2):133-140 · Global
Review of commercial vertical farming with IoT-based precision control, discussing its contribution to food security and the sustainability and profitability challenges facing the indoor farming industry.
EconomicsPolicyThe Role of Allotments and Community Gardens and the Challenges Facing Their Development in Urban Environments—A Literature Review
2023Kwartnik-Pruc A., Droj G. · Land (MDPI), 12(2):325 · Global
A systematic review of 162 peer-reviewed papers (1978–2022) organizing the role of allotments and community gardens into six themes (community, health, economics, pollution, urban planning, sustainable environment). Ecologically, it concludes that gardens create habitat mosaics that act as refugia for urban biodiversity and that urban agriculture enriches plant diversity, helping conserve native and agricultural biodiversity — and calls for planning and policy frameworks that treat gardens as part of urban green infrastructure alongside greenspace restoration and heat-island mitigation.
BiodiversityCommunityPolicyUrbanization, agrifood systems transformation and healthy diets across the rural–urban continuum
2023FAO · FAO — background paper for SOFI/SOFA 2023 · Global
Urban populations in low- and middle-income countries are growing at ~3% a year. An empirical, cross-country analysis of food supply, food security and diets across the rural-urban continuum, examining how urbanization shapes access to healthy diets.
HealthPolicyThe Role of Urban–Rural Connections in Building Food System Resilience
2023Berkhout E., Sovová L., Sonneveld A. · Sustainability (MDPI) 15(3), 1818 · Global
Analyzes urban-rural connections across four resilience dimensions (agency, buffering, connectivity, diversification), positioning mid-size cities as key hubs for rural food supply and drawing lessons for post-COVID food systems in low- and middle-income countries.
An integrated literature review on Urban and peri-urban farming: Exploring research themes and future directions
2023Srinivasan K., Yadav V.K. · Sustainable Cities and Society · Global
A bibliometric integrated review of urban and peri-urban farming literature (2002–2022), identifying food security, local food systems and sustainable agriculture as core themes, with IoT, resilience and LCA emerging as new directions.
The role of urban and peri-urban agriculture in global food security from post-war to the COVID-19 crisis
2023Bertolini A.M., Jaime P.C., Di Giulio G.M. · Saúde e Sociedade (SciELO), 32(3):e230330 · Global
A historical review of urban and peri-urban agriculture's contribution to food security from the post-war era to the COVID-19 crisis, reassessing urban-rural food connection through the lenses of food justice and global health.
HealthCo-creative research for transitioning toward a fair and sustainable agri-food system in Brussels, Belgium
2023Hermesse J., Vankeerberghen A., Lohest F., Truyffaut A. · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Belgium (Brussels)
Examines six co-creative, transdisciplinary research projects in Brussels that engaged diverse stakeholders to co-produce knowledge on urban food production, distribution, and equitable food access, highlighting recommendations for institutional and legislative reform to support food system transitions.
CommunityFood educationPolicyMultidimensional performance of periurban horticulture: assessing agroecological transition and soil health
2023Sokolowski A.C., Álvarez V.E., Mangiarotti A., Gonçalves Vila Cova C. · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Argentina (Buenos Aires)
In Buenos Aires peri-urban family farms, TAPE surveys and soil measurements showed that self-defined agroecological farms outperformed conventional ones on soil health indicators including aggregate stability and organic carbon.
Organic cycleCommunityBiodiversityDriving sustainable urban development: Exploring the role of small-scale organic urban agriculture in Bogotá, Colombia: A case study
2023Riaño-Herrera D.A., Varela-Martínez D.A., Chenet J.G., García-García D.A., Díaz-Verus S.D. · Sustainable Cities and Society · Colombia (Bogotá)
This case study analyzed rooftop organic agriculture in Bogotá over 11 months, documenting an 82.1% relative yield from 336 harvested vegetables and estimating food autonomy potential for over 11,000 families through 432 projects.
Organic cycleCommunityEconomicsHealthA scoping study of urban community gardening promoted by the Philippine National Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture Banner Program (NUPAP)
2023Bayot R.S., Schreinemachers P., Mwambi M., Dominguez D.D., Oro E.M., Gonsalves J.F. · World Vegetable Center (CGIAR) · Philippines (Metro Manila)
This scoping study evaluated urban community gardening sites under the Philippines' National Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture Banner Program (NUPAP) across Metro Manila, covering 26 sites in 7 cities. Findings showed the program lacked targeted support for vulnerable populations despite coordinating numerous urban farming initiatives.
CommunityPolicyFood educationHealth"It's Not Only Our Task": Administrative Barriers of Enabling Urban Gardening in Tampere, Finland
2023Willman K. · ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies, Vol. 22, No. 2 · Finland (Tampere)
Through discourse analysis of interviews with eight Tampere city officials, this study reveals how bureaucratic caution and institutional ambiguity create a constrained operational space for community gardening, despite political-level support for its expansion.
CommunityPolicyDrivers of Innovative Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture in Bamenda City, Cameroon
2023Ngetleh N., Bime-Egwu M., Tambi M. · Agricultural Sciences · Cameroon (Bamenda)
This study identifies the socioeconomic and institutional drivers behind innovative urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) adoption in Bamenda City, Cameroon, demonstrating that UPA is a critical livelihood strategy for the urban poor amid rapid urbanization. The findings inform policy recommendations to support sustainable urban food production.
EconomicsCommunityPolicyFood educationUrban agriculture and its biodiversity: What is it and what lives in it?
2023Royer H., Yengue J., Bech N. · ScienceDirect · Global
Systematic review of biodiversity impacts of urban agriculture globally, comprehensively analyzing agriculture's role in urban ecosystems.
BiodiversityCommunityOrganic cycleMicroclimate characteristics and multi-effect analysis of facade and rooftop agriculture based on in-situ observation and meta-analysis
2023Li Y., Ma E., Liao L., Li J., Zhu S., Zhang Q. · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Global
Meta-analysis of microclimate effects from facade and rooftop agriculture, demonstrating building-integrated farming's role in climate adaptation and urban heat mitigation.
BiodiversitySMART GROW – Low-cost automated hydroponic system for urban farming
2023Kueh Yung Shin K., Tan P.P., Goh Boon Ling M., Chong C.J., Bolhassan N.A. · HardwareX, 16:e00498 · Malaysia
An open-hardware study designing and publishing SMART GROW, a low-cost automated IoT hydroponic system paired with an Android app for small-scale urban farming. It monitors and controls basic parameters such as pH, EC and water level and can be readily replicated, self-built and customised at home. It exemplifies DIY and maker culture in which citizens tackle urban food production with self-built equipment.
DIYCommunityEconomicsDesign and Simulations of a Self-Assembling Autonomous Vertical Farm for Urban Farming
2023· Agriculture · Global
Presents a conceptual design and simulations of a self-assembling, low-cost, fully automatic vertical farm with a small footprint intended to be installed and used by a non-specialist. Cost minimisation is achieved by using one set of resources moved by a robot arm to service the plants.
DIYEconomicsDevelopment of a Low-Cost and Modular Vertical Farming Rig for Sustainable Farming Process
2023· Instrumentation Mesure Métrologie · Global
Develops a low-cost, modular vertical farming rig based on a steel cuboid enclosure constructed with sustainable and locally sourced materials. Monitoring and control use a Raspberry Pi with microcontrollers and IoT sensors/actuators for remote automation.
DIYEconomicsDecentralized in-vessel composting: an efficient technology for biodegradable solid waste management
2023· Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery · Global
Examines decentralized in-vessel composting as an efficient technology for managing biodegradable solid waste.
DIYCompostOrganic cycleMunicipal Waste Degradation by Vermicomposting Using a Combination of Eisenia fetida and Lumbricus rubellus Species
2023· Agronomy · Global
Investigates the degradation of municipal waste through vermicomposting using a combination of Eisenia fetida and Lumbricus rubellus.
DIYCompostOrganic cycleLife cycle assessment of source separation of biowaste, pay as you throw systems and autonomous composting units in the Municipality of Katerini, Greece
2023· Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management · Greece
Life cycle assessment comparing source separation of biowaste, pay-as-you-throw systems and autonomous (decentralized) composting units in the Municipality of Katerini, Greece.
DIYCommunityCompostOptimizing tea waste as a sustainable substrate for oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) cultivation: a comprehensive study on biological efficiency and nutritional aspect
2023· Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Global
Studies discarded tea waste as a low-cost, sustainable substrate for oyster mushroom cultivation, assessing biological efficiency and nutritional quality. Demonstrates reuse of an agricultural waste stream for cheap mushroom production.
DIYOrganic cycleHealthIoT-Enabled Smart Drip Irrigation System Using ESP32
2023· IoT (MDPI) · Global
Design of a low-cost IoT smart drip irrigation system comprising an ESP32, solenoid valve, and soil-moisture, temperature, humidity and water-flow sensors that automates watering based on sensor readings.
DIYEconomicsDevelopment of a Low-Cost Plant Growth Chamber for Improved Phenotyping Research
2023· Journal of Biosystems Engineering · Global
Development of a low-cost plant growth chamber using open-source technology that controls internal temperature, LED lighting and aeroponics with remote operation; the prototype achieved over 600 umol m-2 s-1 PPFD and 21/17 degree C day/night temperatures.
DIYEconomics