Research & reports

Mohammed Hussen Alemu, Carola Grebitus · PLOS ONE · United States

This study used choice experiments and latent class analysis in North America to quantitatively examine what drives consumer preferences for growing food in community gardens. It found that providing tools and guidance were the most important contextual factors for participation, that proponents were characterized by high subjective knowledge and perceived benefits, and that opponents had low knowledge. The authors suggest the findings can inform policies promoting sustainable urban food systems.

Savanah St. Clair, Maryam Saraylou, Daila Melendez, Norman Senn, Serina Reitz, Destini Kananipour, Angelo Alvarez · Applied and Environmental Soil Science · United States (Los Angeles)

This research characterized the arable soils at Los Angeles Pierce College to address health and food-security challenges, using soil physical/chemical measurements, microbial cultivation, and 16S rDNA sequencing on a citizen-science platform. It found plant-growth-promoting, antibiotic-producing and bioremediating bacteria—including abundant Streptomyces, Bacillus and Methylobacteria—across fields with distinct microclimates, and tests indicated that plant-based oils could control antibiotic-resistant bacteria more effectively than common antibiotics. The authors say the results can guide future trials and product development by identifying target soil microorganisms and the most viable fields.

Mary Rogers, Illana Livstrom, Brandon Roiger, Amy Smith · HortTechnology · United States (Minneapolis)

Growing North Minneapolis (GNM) is an urban agriculture and youth development summer program in North Minneapolis, MN, run as a partnership between the University of Minnesota and community partners that recruits, trains, and employs youth aged 14–15 facing barriers to employment. Post-program qualitative surveys showed that youth learned across multiple domains of knowledge and valued the social interaction offered by the intergenerational mentorship structure.

· Journal of Economic Entomology · USA

Tests low-cost, spun-bonded-fabric low tunnels as a physical barrier against airborne insects on Brussels sprouts. Finds they reduce insect populations, insecticide applications, and chewing damage.

· Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition · USA

A study of how farm-to-school educators combine education and play in a student-centered learning environment, considering children's culture, local school context, and nested inequalities.

· Environmental Science & Technology · United States

Using a tiered model, the study shows that consuming vegetables grown in PFAS-impacted soil or irrigation water can be an important human exposure pathway, raising concern over produce from contaminated sites.

Cooper A., Felix D., Alcantara F., Schroeder J. · Plant Direct · USA (San Diego)

At an urban community garden in San Diego, in-ground vegetables and fruit trees accumulated lead and arsenic, showing urban garden soils can contaminate food crops; raised beds with clean soil eliminated detectable contamination.

· Agriculture and Human Values · New York City, USA

Contrasts two New York community gardens to reveal tensions between 'green aesthetics' and 'food justice,' arguing that an aesthetics/beautification orientation can align with gentrification and marginalize the needs of low-income communities of color.

Butterfield K. L. · Sociological Perspectives · USA

Analyzes how community garden locations relate to neighborhood composition, showing an uneven distribution in which gardens are not necessarily sited where most needed; ethnicity, income, and education shape access and can produce green-space inequity.

· Landscape and Urban Planning · USA (New York City)

Empirical study of NYC's public High Line project showing housing values near the park rose 35% and rents ~68%, with parkgoers overwhelmingly white/tourist—evidence that a flagship public greening investment captured value for the affluent and failed its low-income host neighborhood.

FAO · Food and Agriculture Organization · Latin America and Africa

FAO Food for the Cities Programme pilot case studies in Latin America and Africa. Examines linkages between urban farmers, food banks, and school meals; sustainable food system development; institutional market connections. Demonstrates public procurement models supporting urban farmers.

Manuela Alves da Cunha, Lidice Almeida Arlego Paraguassú, José Geraldo de Aquino Assis, Arthur Benjamin de Paula Carvalho Silva, Ryzia de Cassia Vieira Cardoso · Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine · Brazil (Salvador)

A city-wide mapping of active food gardens in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, followed by site visits and interviews with gardeners. Only 18 active food gardens could be located in the whole municipality; 17 took part (8 communal, 9 private). Gardeners averaged 55.76 years old and were 52.9% male overall, but women made up 87.5% of communal-garden gardeners and had higher education levels. For 52.9% of respondents the garden was their main source of income; 82.4% ate the produce, 70.6% also sold it and 47.1% donated. Fifty-nine neglected and underutilized species (NUS) were recorded, with 76.5% of respondents reporting they eat 19 of them. The gardens supply affordable food and food diversity without government support — but the very small absolute number of active gardens in a city of this size is equally part of the finding.

Doris González-Fernández, Ana Sofía Mazzini Salom, Fermina Herrera Bendezu, Sonia Huamán, Bertha Rojas Hernández, Illène Pevec, Eliana Mariana Galarza Izquierdo, Nicoletta Armstrong, Virginia Thomas, Sonia Vela Gonzáles, Carlos Gonzáles Saravia, Marilyn E. Scott, Kristine G. Koski · Frontiers in Public Health · Peru (Lima)

In peripheral settlements of the Pachacámac district of metropolitan Lima, Peru, community health promoters delivered a sequence of (1) home and community gardens, (2) 'conscious nutrition' and (3) parenting workshops (ICDP), comparing 113 children aged 0–3 in intervention communities with 127 in control communities at baseline, 8 and 12 months. The interventions significantly reduced the risk of food insecurity (adjusted risk ratio 0.20, 95% CI 0.08–0.51) and of language delay (0.39, 0.19–0.82), but did not significantly improve motor or social/cognitive delay. Multiple micronutrient supplement use lowered motor delay risk (0.12), while households with more pets had higher risk of motor delay (3.24), social/cognitive delay (2.72) and food insecurity (1.73). Because gardens were bundled with nutrition and parenting components, the contribution of the gardens alone cannot be isolated.

Carola Grebitus, Lauren Chenarides, Rebecca Logsdon Muenich, Alex Mahalov · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · United States

This research investigates consumers' perception and acceptance of urban agriculture through a qualitative, exploratory field study with 19 residents from a major metropolitan area in the southwest U.S. The concept mapping procedure was used, and data were analyzed using content and semantic network analysis. Consumers' perceptions of urban farming related to environment, society, economy, and food attributes. The study found a much higher number of positive associations than negative, signaling that consumers would likely accept farming in close proximity, though individual perceptions varied greatly.

Samantha Bowman, Ankur Choudhary, Alexandria Connell, Megan G. Davey, Katina Decoulos, Richard Duhamel, Brooklyn Feng, Ian Finn, Doreen Guan, Sophia Liquori, Connor Moloney, Claudia Namaroff, Emily J. Noonan, Hunter Proulx, Stephen Rezendes, Maura Robitaille, Vincent Shu, Jaques Skriletz · Scholarworks (University of Massachusetts Amherst) · United States (Springfield)

The Senior Urban Design Studio 2019 developed six proposals for a transformative urban district in Springfield, MA, focusing on enhancing aesthetic quality and resident well-being. The study analyzed district assets and engaged residents through site visits, interviews, and workshops. It aimed to create a framework for a strong identity and coherence in the Six Corners and Old Hill neighborhoods, which feature active urban agriculture.

Vatsi Meneghel Danilevicz · Psicologia & Sociedade · Brazil (Bahia)

This experience report details the journey of a community garden at a Family Health Unit (USF) in southern Bahia, Brazil, aiming to revive local knowledge and create visibility. Using a cartographic methodology, the study analyzed the garden's effects on participants' health and the bond between health workers and service users. The garden, primarily involving around ten poor, elderly Black women residents, proved to be a powerful tool for therapeutic support, relationship building, cultivation of medicinal plants, reduction in allopathic medication use, and production of vegetables and fruits for participants' consumption.

Larissa Maas, Rosane Malvestiti, Leila Amaral Gontijo · Cadernos de Saúde Pública · Brazil

This study assessed the main difficulties faced by seven urban organic farmers in two Brazilian cities without policies encouraging urban farming, through semi-structured interviews conducted from July to December 2018. The research revealed challenges such as a lack of trained labor, inadequate machinery and equipment for small areas, and insufficient financing, indicating that the absence of policies hinders the development of urban organic farming.

Emily A. Holmes, Mary F. Campbell, Wesley James, Karen Matthews · Ecology of Food and Nutrition · United States (Mississippi Delta)

This research evaluated the impact of school garden programs on fifth-grade students' garden knowledge, self-perception, and standardized test scores in the Mississippi Delta. The study found no effect on standardized test scores, but students showed increased garden knowledge and reported positive feelings about their future, teamwork, and leadership ability, supported by observations of joy and confidence.

Jonathan London, Bethany B. Cutts, Kirsten Schwarz, Li Schmidt, Mary L. Cadenasso · Agriculture and Human Values · United States (California)

This study, based on 24 interviews with urban agriculture (UA) leaders in Sacramento, California, identifies three "taproots" of UA projects: justice, health, and market. The analysis reveals how these roots interact differently with racial capitalism, creating disparities in their growth trajectories. Specifically, UA projects associated with the justice taproot are historically underrepresented and undervalued.

Arione Porto da Silva · · Brazil (Maceió)

This research aims to analyze how the municipality of Maceió, Brazil, implements public policies to promote urban and peri-urban agricultural production, as stipulated in the city's Master Plan. It involves analyzing documents from the Municipal Secretariat for Sustainable Development (SEMDS) to identify programs and policies supporting urban farmers. The study is justified by agriculture's key role in compensating for job losses in Brazil before and after the pandemic.

Marina Portugal Torres, Pedro Henrique Goulart Pinheiro, Daniela Barroso Siste · · Brazil (Belo Horizonte)

This study investigated a homeopathic treatment for a high infestation of Orthezia cochineal on Golden Shrimp plants in the Botanical Garden of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, from November 2018 to February 2019. Orthezia nosode at 12CH potency was applied weekly. Observations showed an improvement in plant health, evidenced by new vigorous shoots, and a significant reduction in cochineal attacks.

Matthew Q. McPherson, Daniel Friesner, Carl S. Bozman · International Journal of Social Economics · United States

This study conducted a retrospective analysis of secondary data from the 2015–2016 Gonzaga University Logan Neighborhood Asset Mapping Project in the United States. Hierarchical and nonhierarchical cluster analyses were used to establish interrelationships between the perceived importance of various community assets. Findings revealed intuitive clustering, with farmers’ markets, community gardens, and meeting spaces clustered closely together.

Hélder Ribeiro Freitas, Maximiliano Pérez, Carolina Baldini, Cristiane Moraes Marinho, Pablo Arístide, Denes Dantas Vieira, Lucas Ricardo Souza Almeida, Elson de Oliveira · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil; Argentina

This study analyzes urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) experiences in the Sertão de São Francisco Pernambucano/Bahiano (Brazil) and the southern Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA, Argentina). Using an action-research methodology from 2017 to December 2019, it aimed to understand UPA dynamics and improve sustainable agri-food systems. The analysis shows various contributions to territorial processes in promoting agroecology and UPA security among diverse stakeholders.

Jasmine B. Sami, Zachary Stein, Krystin Sinclair, Larry Medsker · Journal of STEM education · United States

George Washington University (GWU) and USDA partnered to implement a two-week tuition-free summer camp (July 23-August 3, 2018) for high school students from the Washington Metro Area. The camp introduced participants to data analytics methods and tools using STEAM-related Open Data, focusing on food nutrition, forestry, and urban agriculture. Learning goals, including demonstrating basic data science knowledge and presenting results, were assessed using a survey tool, with positive results reported.

Neil Cox, Zoe Beynon-MacKinnon · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Canada

This article presents observations and suggestions from the operations of Lettuce Harvest Foundation (LHF), a grassroots urban agriculture nonprofit in Vancouver, Canada, founded in 2019. LHF's programming was designed to address challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings suggest that short-term emergency food relief is insufficient, and propose harnessing pre-existing industry elements as a method for grassroots organizations to mitigate food system strains during crises.