Research & reports

А А Золотаревский, И И Прокопович · Лесной вестник / Forestry bulletin · Russia (Moscow)

This article explores the potential of composts made from woody-plant waste (WPW) as an alternative to expensive organic additives for urban gardening in Moscow. It suggests that composting WPW can provide a cost-effective solution for preparing fertile soil, which is crucial for plant survival in urban environments. Modern composting technologies allow for the mechanization of WPW composting, producing vegetable earth suitable for planting trees.

Sara Parme · Educational Media Reviews Online · Global

The documentary film "Plant This Movie" (2014, 83 min) explores our relationship with food and the wasted space and resource of the 21st-century lawn. This film, one of many similar documentaries on urban farming, proposes learning from and improving upon past mistakes of the Green Movement. It notes that many agricultural nonprofits, including one highlighted, fail due to lack of funding, and while it suggests sustainability efforts should be run like a business, only a fraction of the film is dedicated to this aspect.

Barrientos Gómez, Yuly Anthoula · · Global

A paper examining that, while much research has attempted to establish the range of benefits and services attributed to urban agriculture across social/community, environmental, economic, political, and technical dimensions, uncertainty remains about the outlook from an environmental-management perspective, how the scholarly effort around the topic has evolved, and where this knowledge has been produced. Aiming to systematically evaluate the state of knowledge on urban agriculture through a literature review, the article presents a quantitative review of 300 studies on urban agriculture, examining the origin of publication, number of authors, type of publication, language, type and nature of the investigation, publication source, country of origin, and research objectives categorised by field of knowledge.

Shoujun Chen, Nikolay Popov · Unitec Research Bank (Unitec Institute of Technology) · Global

This 2015 paper, addressing projected population growth in Auckland, New Zealand, surveys planning concepts for peri-urban agricultural development. It notes that while Auckland is the country's largest customer of food markets, its fossil-fuel-based agricultural system is vulnerable to urban growth and climate change. The paper reviews various peri-urban agriculture planning concepts and evaluates their applicability to a specific site, the Special Housing Areas (SHAs) in Belmont.

Guo Xiao-ha · Anhui nongye kexue · Global

A discussion of the development of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in China. While CSA has advantages over traditional agricultural production and sales models, the paper identifies limitations including heavy demands on labor and material resources, higher prices for agricultural products, difficulty building trust between producers and consumers, and loss of membership.

Kemisola O. Adenegan, Olubunmi Lawrence Balogun, Taibat Olukemi Yusuf · International Journal of Vegetable Science · Global

A study in a tropical urban setting examined the relationship between households' initial assets and the profitability of urban farming. Two local government areas (LGAs) were randomly selected, and 198 respondents were chosen based on the number of urban farmers in each LGA; interview data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and budgetary techniques. Eighty percent of the urban farmers surveyed had sufficient assets to start a profitable urban farming enterprise.

Bernd Pölling, Hans Wydler, Denise Kemper, Dona Pickard, Biancamaria Torquati, Óscar Alfranca, Wolf Lorleberg, Pedro Mendes‐Moreira, Giulia Giacchè, A. Spornberger, André Luis Alves Miguel, María José Prados Velasco, H. Weissinger, Axel Timpe, Lea Deborah Egloff, Bruno Ronchi, Paola Branduini, Gunilla Andersson, Oleg Paulen, Luís Neves, Avigail Heller, Xavier Recasens, E. Alves, Kristine Herkströter, J.W. van der Schans, Galina Koleva · RWTH Publications (RWTH Aachen) · Global

The available text for this RWTH Aachen publication consists only of a list of contributing authors — Pölling, Alfranca, Alves, Andersson, Branduini and numerous others — with no methods, findings or conclusions stated.

Emmanuel Okello, Emmanuel Emmanuel, Amonya, Collins, Okwee Acai, James, Erume, K.S. Joseph, Gejihu De, Henri · International Journal of Livestock Production · Uganda

This study assessed the performance, factors affecting productivity, and challenges of intensive pig farming in peri-urban Kampala, Uganda, using data from 332 purposively selected sows and 521 grower pigs. Information on management practices, challenges, and prospects was gathered through farmer questionnaires, key informant interviews, and stakeholder focus group discussions. Most farms showed a good overall level of management, but breeding practices were uniformly erratic across all farms, with different breeds crossed indiscriminately, and both reproduction and performance parameters were suboptimal. Breed had a significant effect on growth performance (p < 0.001) and litter size (p < 0.005), while feeding had significant effects on litter size (p < 0.001), number weaned (p < 0.01), weight-to-age ratio (p < 0.05), and weaning-to-service interval (p < 0.05). The major constraints identified were high feed costs, disease, and competition for land with expanding residential estates, and performance indices varied greatly between farms, indicating substantial room for improvement; the study recommends improved housing, breeding practices, feeding, and biosecurity measures.

Maurizio Lanfranchi, Carlo Giannetto, Angelina De Pascale, Remus Ion Hornoiu · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Global

This paper examines the application of Qualitative Risk Analysis to several public projects based on urban and peri-urban agriculture as a model of sustainable territorial development. Following a literature review of Qualitative Risk Analysis and stakeholder involvement in public-sector decisions, several urban and peri-urban agriculture projects advanced by local public administration were evaluated, classified according to defined risk categories, and represented graphically through a probability-impact matrix. The matrix showed that data scores and rankings vary significantly across the different projects. The findings indicate that the success of a marketing policy based on sustainable marketing depends not only on the characteristics of the territory analyzed but also on the level of "riskiness" associated with the projects, and the paper suggests this can guide public organizations with limited resources in assessing and prioritizing projects using riskiness as a criterion.

Emily Gustafsson-Wright, Sophie Gardiner, Vidya Putcha · Brookings Institution · Global

A Brookings Institution report published on 9 July 2015 examining the 38 impact bond deals in existence as of 1 March 2015, with six more contracted by July. It defines impact bond structures, inventories existing deals, sets out policy frameworks and the motivations of each type of stakeholder, and tests the claims made for impact bonds. The authors express cautious optimism while stressing that the field remains nascent and needs greater transparency and continued research.

Corporación de Promoción Económica CONQUITO · CONQUITO · Ecuador

The bylaws of CONQUITO, Quito's economic promotion corporation. Article 1 establishes it as a private-law nonprofit legal entity; Article 28 sets the Board (Directorio) at seven members, including two permanent seats held by the Metropolitan Mayor (or delegate) and the president of the Chamber of Small Industry; Article 35 assigns the presidency of the Board and General Assembly to the Metropolitan Mayor of Quito or a permanent delegate. Approved at the Ordinary General Assembly on March 13, 2015.

Peano C., Migliorini P., Sottile F. · Ecology and Society · Global

Develops an indicator-based sustainability assessment tool translating Slow Food's 'good, clean, fair' principles into criteria spanning economic, ecological, social, cultural, and quality dimensions, applied to the Slow Food Presidia project.

Specht K., Siebert R., Hartmann I., Freisinger U. B., Sawicka M., Werner A., Thomaier S., Henckel D., Walk H., Dierich A. · Agriculture and Human Values 31(1):33-51 · Global

Reviews sustainability of building-integrated farming (ZFarming) such as rooftop greenhouses and indoor farms, assessing economic, environmental, and social benefits and limits of its commercial development.

Kettle P. · Irish Journal of Sociology · Ireland (Dublin)

This sociological study examines why Dublin residents invest in allotment gardening, finding a significant demographic shift away from traditional older male participants toward younger, middle-class, and female growers. It contextualises Dublin's growing allotment movement within broader urban agriculture trends.

Padgham J., Jabbour J. · United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) · Senegal (Dakar)

This UNEP report presents findings from a 2012 knowledge assessment of urban and peri-urban agriculture in Dakar, identifying key sustainability threats including urban encroachment, degraded water and soil quality, fragmented policy, and farmers' limited credit access.

Martellozzo F., Landry J., Plouffe D., Seufert V., Rowhani P., Ramankutty N. · Environmental Research Letters · Global

A global analysis estimating that meeting urban dwellers' vegetable demand from within cities would require roughly one-third of total global urban area, demonstrating that space constraints make full urban self-provisioning unrealistic in many countries.

Mok H., Williamson V., Grove J., Burry K., Barker S., Hamilton A. · Agronomy for Sustainable Development · Global

This review of urban agriculture across the developed world acknowledges its role in food security and social well-being but stresses that it carries significant costs, input requirements, and constraints, underlining major hindrances to cities feeding themselves this way.

Hamilton A., Burry K., Mok H., Barker S., Grove J., Williamson V. · Agronomy for Sustainable Development · Global

This global review of urban agriculture in developing countries catalogs its benefits alongside the costs and hindrances of the practice, underscoring the resource constraints and operational obstacles that temper its promise as a food-security solution.

Chloe Puett, Cécile Salpéteur, Elisabeth Lacroix, Simbarashe Dennis Zimunya, Anne-Dominique Israël, Myriam Aït-Aïssa · Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation · Zimbabwe (Chipinge)

A 2014 societal-perspective cost-effectiveness analysis of a low-input community vegetable garden (LIG) programme for households affected by HIV in five wards of Chipinge District, eastern Zimbabwe. Activity-based costing drew on accounting data, 15 focus groups with participants and 5 with comparators, and 33 key-informant interviews; effects were measured with the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) and Food Consumption Score (FCS) for 1,330 participant and 1,330 comparator households. Total societal cost was €1,525 per beneficiary household (€1,415 incremental), giving €12,456 per household reaching the top HDDS tertile and €8,299 per household reaching an acceptable FCS (>35) — 20–30 times Zimbabwe's GDP per capita. The authors conclude the gardens are neither cost-effective nor affordable relative to other interventions. Stated limitations include no baseline data, self-selection among participants, recall bias (data collected more than a year after the programme) and an inability to measure full garden yields. Note that the setting is a rural district, not a city, so the figures cannot be transferred directly to urban gardens.

Kubi Ackerman, Michael Conard, Patricia J. Culligan · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Global

This multi-year study by the Urban Design Laboratory at the Earth Institute assessed urban agriculture in New York City (NYC). It presented metrics on potential growing capacity, surveyed NYC urban farmers on production challenges, and monitored a commercial rooftop farm in Brooklyn. The study aimed to provide insight into urban agriculture's role in creating sustainable food systems for NYC and other cities.

Chiara Tornaghi · Progress in Human Geography · Global

This paper defines the scope and an initial agenda for a critical geography of urban agriculture, noting that despite growing interest across disciplines, it remains a marginal field in human geography. Beyond rhetoric, urban agriculture raises questions for critical geographers, particularly regarding its role in reshaping urban landscapes and experimenting with alternatives to capitalist urban organization. The paper highlights that urban agriculture is sometimes establishing embryonic forms of recreating the Commons.

Harry Kasumba, Tabukeli Musigi Ruhiiga · Journal of Human Ecology · Global

This literature review explored the potential of Structural Path Analysis (SPA) for investigating urban agriculture. The review found that urban agriculture has not yet attracted scholarship using the SPA technique. It also identified that smaller geographical areas often lack applicable databases for SPA, and a critical requirement for SPA is a developed system of continuous record-keeping by participants, which is often absent.

Long Cheng-zh · Guangdong nongye kexue · Global

This article, based on comprehensive literature research, proposes a framework for an urban agriculture strategic development plan. The framework is rooted in customer value theory, focusing on modern industry competition and strategic theory. It suggests that the strategic approach for urban agriculture should fully activate the entrepreneurial spirit of market participants while maintaining its quasi-public product attributes.

Suleiman Mkwela Hawa · Journal of Geography and Regional Planning · Tanzania (Dar Es Salaam)

This study assessed the governance of urban agriculture (UA) in Kinondoni Municipality, Dar Es Salaam City, Tanzania, through the perceptions of 24 local leaders. Unstructured interviews focused on leadership quality, infrastructure provision, and farmers' land rights. The leaders generally perceived limited efforts and plans to support UA in the municipality based on these criteria.

Izeldin A. Babiker · Journal of animal research · Saudi Arabia

This study aims to characterize the diversity of camel production systems in Saudi Arabia, with a focus on peri-urban camel production. Socio-economic changes post-petroleum era led Bedouins to settle in urban areas, increasing demand for camel milk from an urbanized population. This stimulated the development of peri-urban camel dairy production, which the study seeks to describe in terms of production orientation, resource endowments, and strategies.