Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
3241 results(41 / 130)
Analysis on the Economic Feasibility of a Plant Factory Combined with Architectural Technology for Energy Performance Improvement
2022Kim Y., Shin H.-R., Oh S.-H., Yu K.-H. · Agriculture (MDPI) · Korea
Conducts a comparative economic analysis in Korea of greenhouses versus natural- and artificial-light plant factories based on insulation, lighting, and photovoltaic costs, also assessing energy use and emissions to gauge commercial plant-factory feasibility.
EconomicsExploring Conventional Economic Viability as a Potential Barrier to Scalable Urban Agriculture: Examples from Two Divergent Development Contexts
2022Kafle A., Hopeward J., Myers B. · Horticulturae 8(8):691 · Australia, Nepal
Analyzes urban agriculture viability across 40 sites in Adelaide and the Kathmandu Valley, calculating margins and benefit-cost ratios from land, labour and distribution costs, finding land cost the primary driver and labour a critical constraint to scalability.
EconomicsTechno-Economic Assessment of an Office-Based Indoor Farming Unit
2022Cichocki J., von Cossel M., Winkler B. · Agronomy 12(12):3182 · Germany
Assesses technical requirements, productivity and economic viability of a 'Smart Office Farm' indoor unit based on a five-week production cycle of lettuce, pak choi and basil, comparing indoor vertical production with field and greenhouse cultivation in Germany.
EconomicsBusiness model and cost performance of mini-plant factory in downtown
2022Lu N., Kikuchi M., Takagaki M. · Plant Factory Basics, Applications and Advances (Elsevier), pp. 271-293 · Japan
Analyzes the business model and cost performance of downtown mini plant factories with artificial lighting, finding their profitability high enough to attract entrepreneurs but highly sensitive to output prices, system acquisition cost and wage rates.
EconomicsEconomies of scale in constructing plant factories with artificial lighting and the economic viability of crop production
2022Zhuang Y., Lu N., Shimamura S., Maruyama A., Kikuchi M., Takagaki M. · Frontiers in Plant Science 13:992194 · Japan
Empirical study of economies of scale in constructing Japanese plant factories with artificial lighting (PFALs), assessing optimal commercial scale and economic viability while accounting for transaction costs.
EconomicsCommercial urban agriculture: A review for sustainable development
2022Dias G. M., Ayer N. W., Khosla S., Van Acker R., Young S. B., Whitney S., Hendricks P. · Sustainable Cities and Society 87:104198 · Global
Text-mining review of commercial urban agriculture literature, identifying economic drivers such as employment generation, supply-chain cost reduction, and market proximity as the main forces behind for-profit urban farming.
EconomicsPolicy名古屋農業振興地域整備計画書
2022名古屋市 · 名古屋市 農業振興地域整備計画 · Japan
Nagoya's agricultural revitalisation area development plan, setting the institutional framework for municipally supported urban agriculture through conserving quality farmland, modernising facilities, promoting farmer-led citizen farms and collaborative local land use.
PolicyCommunityBiodiversityEconomics福岡市農林業総合計画（令和４年度～令和８年度）第２部 農業
2022福岡市 · 福岡市 農林業総合計画 · Japan
Agriculture chapter of Fukuoka's five-year comprehensive plan, covering subsidies for citizen farms, experience farms and refresh farms plus Agrichallenge and other municipally supported urban agriculture measures.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsFood educationUnlock the hidden potential of urban rooftop agrivoltaics energy-food-nexus
2022Jing R., Liu J., Zhang H., Zhong F., Liu Y., Lin J. · Energy (Elsevier), 256:124626 · China (Shenzhen)
Integrating GIS, biogeochemical and solar simulation to quantify how much food and energy urban rooftop agrivoltaics (lettuce grown under PV panels) can produce. For Shenzhen's 854,000 rooftops (~105 km²) it estimates ~0.98 Mt/year of lettuce (meeting the whole city's demand) and ~2,106 MW of PV generating ~1,899 GWh/year, while flagging ~4.11 Mt/year of extra irrigation water as a key water trade-off.
EconomicsOrganic cyclePolicyGlobal food-miles account for nearly 20% of total food-systems emissions
2022Li M., Jia N., Lenzen M., Malik A., Wei L., Jin Y., Raubenheimer D. · Nature Food · Global
A global accounting showing that food miles account for about 20% of total food-system CO₂ emissions (3.0 GtCO₂e), giving scientific grounding to the carbon benefit of shortening food transport through local consumption.
EconomicsPotential of urban and peri-urban agriculture in the Global South: Priority investments for innovation
2022CoSAI, IWMI · CoSAI / IWMI (International Water Management Institute) · Global
Identifies priority investment areas for urban and peri-urban agriculture in the Global South—Asia holds 49% of the world's urban irrigated cropland—and proposes investment priorities across technology, policy and finance.
PolicyEconomicsFood systems and rural-urban linkages in African secondary cities
2022Zimmer A., Guido Z., Davies J., Joshi N., Chilenga A., Evans T. · Urban Transformations (BioMed Central) · Africa
Demonstrates that African secondary cities function as connection points between rural and urban food systems, evaluating mid-size cities as intermediate nodes for food distribution, processing and market formation.
EconomicsThe role of the common agricultural policy in contributing to jobs and growth in EU's rural areas
2022Grodzicki T., Jankiewicz M. · PLoS ONE (PMC8812895) · Europe
A quantitative analysis of how the EU Common Agricultural Policy affects rural employment, GDP and poverty in the Baltic states, showing that higher rural employment promotes rural economic growth.
PolicyEconomicsUrban, periurban and horticultural landscapes – Conflict and sustainable planning in La Plata district, Argentina
2022Baldini C., Marasas M.E., Tittonell P., Drozd A.A. · Land Use Policy · Argentina (La Plata)
Using multicriteria analysis in La Plata's periurban horticultural belt, the study maps land-use aptitude and identifies conflict zones between urban expansion and agricultural production, calling for integrated sustainable planning.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsA sustainable pathway towards prioritization of multifunctional benefits in urban agriculture contributing to shrinking cities in developing countries — An empirical case of Sri Lanka
2022Wadumestrige Dona C.T.G., Mohan G., Fukushi K. · Current Research in Environmental Sustainability · Sri Lanka (Colombo)
A perception survey of 402 small-scale farmers in Colombo District found positive attitudes toward the social, economic, and environmental benefits of urban agriculture, with environmental benefits rated highest, supporting home and community gardens as viable open-space management strategies for shrinking cities.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityHealthChallenges of urban garden initiatives for food security in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2022Ishak N., Abdullah R., Mohd Rosli N.S., Abdul Majid H., Abdul Halim N.S., Ariffin F. · Quaestiones Geographicae, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 57–72 · Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)
A survey of 106 urban farmers across 17 community gardens in Kuala Lumpur identified weather variability, land access, and financial constraints as the primary obstacles to urban food production, highlighting the need for targeted policy support.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsEnsuring Urban Food Security in Malaysia during the COVID-19 Pandemic—Is Urban Farming the Answer? A Review
2022Murdad R., Muhiddin M., Osman W.H., Tajidin N.E., Haida Z., Awang A., Jalloh M.B. · Sustainability (MDPI), Vol. 14, No. 7, Article 4155 · Malaysia
This review examines how COVID-19 disrupted Malaysia's fresh food supply chain and argues that urban farming approaches—including community gardens, vertical farming, and hydroponics—can meaningfully strengthen urban food security for Malaysian households.
CommunityPolicyHealthEconomicsInside Zambia's 'new normal:' COVID-19 policy responses and implications for peri-urban food security and livelihoods
2022Manda S. · Journal of International Development · Zambia (Chongwe, Lusaka)
This study examines how Zambia's COVID-19 'new normal' policies disrupted peri-urban food production and market access near Lusaka, finding that ~53% of small-scale farmers reported zero agricultural income and that policy responses lacked systematic agricultural support.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityWelfareFarmer attitudes and perceptions toward gleaning programs and the donation of excess produce to food rescue organizations
2022Harvey S., Mount P., Valentine H., Gibson C. · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 11(4):233-247 · United States
Interviewing 12 farmers who participated in a gleaning program and 16 who did not in the Greater Kansas City metro area, this study analyses motivations for and barriers to donating surplus produce to food-rescue organisations such as food banks. Participants cited ease of donating and tax incentives; non-participants cited safety and liability concerns. It informs the design of food-rescue schemes that redirect urban and peri-urban farm surplus to community food aid.
Food lossCommunityWelfareEconomicsA simplified non-greenhouse hydroponic system for small-scale soilless urban vegetable farming
2022Gumisiriza M.S., Ndakidemi P.A., Mbega E.R. · MethodsX, 9:101882 · Tanzania
A methods paper presenting a simplified, non-greenhouse hydroponic system built from low-cost, readily available materials using the Kratky method, with detailed step-by-step instructions. Requiring no specialised equipment or power, it offers a reproducible, self-buildable approach to soilless vegetable growing in confined urban spaces, supporting DIY and maker-style citizen food production.
DIYEconomicsCommunityThere Grows the City: A Long History of Urban Agriculture in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
2022Michael Carriere, David Schalliol · Journal of Urban History · United States (Milwaukee)
This historical essay documents the history of urban agriculture in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, complicating the "declensionist" narrative of the twentieth-century U.S. city. It argues that food production played a significant and often overlooked role in Milwaukee's economic, social, and spatial development, even during industrial expansion. The authors show that urban agriculture remained a viable tool for urban redevelopment, used by both public- and private-sector actors well into the twenty-first century.
EconomicsCommunityPolicy"The highest and best use of land in the city": Valuing urban agriculture in Philadelphia and Chicago
2022Domenic Vitiello · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · United States
Using mixed methods, this article traces the evolution of urban agriculture practice, support, and policy in Philadelphia and Chicago since the 1990s, contrasting cities that treat farming and gardening as public goods with those seeking economic and redevelopment gains. It finds that while both cities became prominent urban farming centers, Chicago increasingly treated urban agriculture as a public good whereas its status in Philadelphia remained contested and unstable.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityCommunity Supported Agriculture, Human Capital, and Community Health
2022Celina L. Martinez, Daisy Rosero, Tammy Thomas, Francisco Soto Mas · Health Promotion Practice · United States (New Mexico)
This qualitative study assessed how community-supported agriculture (CSA) contributes to human capital and addresses social determinants of health in central and northern New Mexico, using questionnaires with 13 purposively sampled CSAs (8 responded). The responding CSAs reported activities such as training, job creation, education, access to healthy food, food security, health education, social connections, and food justice. The authors argue public health should support CSA and generate evidence on its health and social benefits.
CommunityHealthEconomicsPotentials and perspectives of food self-sufficiency in urban areas—a case study from Leipzig
2022Rüschhoff J., Hubatsch C., Priess J., Scholten T., Egli L. · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · Germany (Leipzig)
A Leipzig case study assessing food self-sufficiency potential, finding that combining organic agriculture, reduced food loss, and a more plant-based diet could reach a mean self-sufficiency level of about 95%.
Food lossOrganic cycleEconomicsEvaluation of Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) Production Using Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) Biomass Supplemented with Agricultural Wastes
2022Ejigu N., Sitotaw B., Girmay S., Assaye H. · International Journal of Food Science · Ethiopia
Evaluates water hyacinth biomass, alone or mixed with wheat/teff straw, as a low-cost substrate for oyster mushroom cultivation. The authors conclude water hyacinth is a promising cheap substrate owing to its ideal C/N ratio and low lignin, while also helping control the invasive weed.
DIYOrganic cycleEconomics