Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
3275 results(41 / 131)
Opportunities and challenges of food policy councils in pursuit of food system sustainability and food democracy–a comparative case study from the Upper-Rhine region
2022· Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Germany (Upper Rhine)
A comparative case study of food policy councils in the Upper-Rhine region (including Germany), examining opportunities and challenges for food system sustainability and food democracy.
PolicyCommunityThe Development of Sustainable Social Farming in Italy: A Case Studies Analysis
2022· Sustainability · Italy
A case-studies analysis examining the development of sustainable social farming in Italy, addressing social inclusion and the training and employment of disadvantaged people.
WelfarePolicyChallenges and Perspectives of Social Farming in North-Eastern Italy: The Farmers' View
2022· Sustainability · Italy
A study of social farming in North-Eastern Italy from the farmers' perspective, examining challenges and prospects with a focus on the social and work inclusion of disadvantaged people.
WelfarePolicyUrban community gardens in Cape Town, South Africa: navigating land access and land tenure security
2022· GeoJournal · Cape Town, South Africa
Based on 34 community food gardens, the study finds insecure land tenure is a major threat to garden sustainability in Global South cities. It concludes that past efforts to formalize tenure failed due to poor coordination among government departments and unclear land-acquisition processes.
PolicyCommunityHow well do we know green gentrification? A systematic review of the methods
2022Jessica Quinton, Lorien Nesbitt, Daniel Sax · Progress in Human Geography · Global
A systematic review of the methods used in green gentrification research — the claim that adding vegetation such as parks, street trees and gardens raises property values and displaces existing residents. It finds that studies are heavily concentrated on U.S. cases, that early qualitative work has been giving way to quantitative analysis, that almost no attention has been paid to which characteristics of greening (scale, type, location) matter, that demand-side mechanisms remain poorly understood, and that displacement itself — the central concern of the literature — has not been well documented.
PolicyCommunityHow Much Food Can We Grow in Urban Areas? Food Production and Crop Yields of Urban Agriculture: A Meta-Analysis
2022Florian Thomas Payen, Daniel L. Evans, Natalia Falagán, Charlotte A. Hardman, Sofia Kourmpetli, Lingxuan Liu, Rachel Marshall, Bethan R. Mead, Jessica A. C. Davies · Earth's Future · Global
A global meta-analysis extracting 2,062 observations from 200 studies reporting urban crop yields, compared across crops, urban spaces (allotments, rooftops, indoor systems) and growing systems. Urban yields were on par with or greater than global average conventional yields, with the largest gap for cucumbers and gherkins (17 kg m⁻² cycle⁻¹ versus 3.8 kg m⁻² cycle⁻¹ conventional). The authors flag significant limits: observations cluster in Europe (n=516), North America (n=398) and East Asia (n=361), with the seven most-studied countries supplying roughly two-thirds of the data and sub-Saharan Africa only 223 observations; many observations come from researcher-run field experiments with controlled inputs, which is likely to inflate yields relative to ordinary citizen plots; and the literature concentrates on leafy greens and tomatoes while fruit is barely studied.
EconomicsPolicyEcosystem services of urban agriculture and prospects for scaling up production: A study of Detroit
2022Joshua Newell, Alec Foster, Mariel Borgman, Sara Meerow · Cities · United States (Detroit)
A study in Detroit's Lower Eastside (~15 sq. miles) examined the spatial extent, characteristics, and residents' perceptions of urban gardens using spatial analysis and interviews. Gardens covered less than 1% of vacant land and were often ephemeral. Primary obstacles to scaling up urban agriculture in Detroit include uncertainty over land tenure, environmental pollutants, potential ecosystem disservices, and a lack of government support and capital investment.
Governance failureCommunityBiodiversityPolicyEconomicsClimate changeHealthCultivating sustainable and healthy cities: A systematic literature review of the outcomes of urban and peri-urban agriculture
2022Nitya Rao, Sheetal Patil, Chandni Singh, Parama Roy, Charles Pryor, Prathigna Poonacha, Mariam Genes · Sustainable Cities and Society · Global
This systematic literature review analyzed 320 articles quantitatively and 86 qualitatively from a total of 4029, examining outcomes of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) on sustainability and wellbeing. The review confirmed an exponential increase in UPA literature since 2015 and a regional bias towards the Global North. It identified six thematic outcomes across environmental, economic, and social sustainability pillars, with environmental sustainability being most discussed and gender and social differentiation least represented.
Peri-urban agricultureHealthEconomicsPolicyClimate changeBuilding community (gardens) on university campuses: masterplanning green-infrastructure for a post-COVID moment
2022Rachael Walshe, Lisa Law · Landscape Research · Australia
This study explored how university masterplans in Australian universities express the benefits of campus community gardens as green community spaces and how they might better aid universities in achieving strategic missions, using a multiple case-study methodology. By comparing dominant themes in community garden literature with the visions of campus masterplans, the research aimed to understand how community gardens might be better positioned as tools for place and community building. The results provided a finer-grained understanding of green infrastructure in campus master planning for a post-COVID-19 moment.
CommunityPolicyHealthPlanning for green infrastructure using multiple urban ecosystem service models and multicriteria analysis
2022Karen Lourdes, Perrine Hamel, Chris Gibbins, Ruzana Sanusi, Badrul Azhar, Alex M. Lechner · Landscape and Urban Planning · Malaysia
This study characterized the spatial distribution of multiple urban ecosystem services (UES) in a rapidly urbanizing catchment in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and developed a systematic approach to integrate UES into green infrastructure (GI) planning. Using InVEST models to spatially quantify and map six UES (heat mitigation, runoff retention, sediment retention, scenic quality, urban recreation, and agricultural production), the assessment revealed that densely built areas generally had low UES provision. A multicriteria analysis identified locations for five GI strategies: conservation of headwaters, reforestation for biodiversity, development and conservation of urban parks, and greening of built infrastructure.
Urban–rural linkageClimate changePolicyA review on urban agriculture: technology, socio-economy, and policy
2022Grace Ning Yuan, Gian Powell B. Marquez, Haoran Deng, Anastasiia Iu, Melisa Fabella, Reginald B. Salonga, Fitrio Ashardiono, Joyce A. Cartagena · Heliyon · Global
This review examined urban agriculture (UA) across technology, socio-economy, and policy, noting that supporting UA expansion in cities is challenging due to its poor economic profitability. The study highlighted UA's value beyond profitability, including social, health and well-being, disaster risk reduction, and environmental benefits. It also presented advancements in UA technologies and plant biotechnology as potential solutions for increasing the future profitability of commercial UA.
Economic viabilityEconomicsPolicyHealthClimate changeDigital agricultureOptimizing the co-benefits of food desert and urban heat mitigation through community garden planning
2022Yujia Zhang, Jordan P. Smith, Daoqin Tong, B. L. Turner · Landscape and Urban Planning · United States (Phoenix)
A model was developed to optimize the co-benefits of food desert and urban heat mitigation through community garden planning, applied to over 5,000 vacant parcels in the Phoenix metro-area, USA. The study found that the optimal number and locations of community gardens needed for different mitigation goals can vary significantly. The existing 76 community gardens were mostly clustered around urban cores, leaving two-thirds of the metro-area underserved, but spatially optimized siting could double the co-benefits gained and cover more high-need neighborhoods.
CommunityHealthClimate changePolicyLandscape Change Analysis: Ecosystem Services in the Peri-urban Agriculture of Bangkok
2022Fa Likitswat, Alisa Sahavacharin · Journal of Architectural/Planning Research and Studies (JARS) · Thailand (Bangkok)
This research analyzed landscape transformations, specifically agricultural landscape structures and functions, in eight selected sites in the urban fringe of Bangkok from 1952 to 2018. The study found that the significant loss of agricultural landscape in Bangkok's peri-urban areas resulted in the loss of seasonal water retention areas, productive landscapes, and urban wildlife habitats. It concludes there is a research gap regarding the lack of policies and practices to promote ecosystem services linked to preserving peri-urban agriculture in Bangkok.
Environmental trade-offsPeri-urban agricultureClimate changeBiodiversityPolicyThe loss of peri-urban agricultural land and the state-local tensions in managing its demise: The case of Greater Western Sydney, Australia
2022Amy Lawton, Nicky Morrison · Land Use Policy · Australia (Greater Western Sydney)
This study examines the drivers of peri-urban agricultural land loss in Greater Western Sydney, Australia, with a focus on the role of government agencies. It found that competing housing priorities and private market interests continue to take precedence over protecting agricultural land. The research indicates that this trend will persist unless the current pro-urbanization narrative and associated political priorities are altered.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageGreen City or Urban Countryside?; An Analytic Review of the Urban Sprawl Phenomenon in the Algerian City N’Gaous
2022Imen Bendjemila, Salah Chaouche · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Algeria
Urban sprawl in N'Gaous, Algeria, expanded its land area by over ten times (from 33.7 to 379.7 hectares) and its population by over six times (from 4,887 to 33,515 persons) over 60 years. This rapid growth creates significant issues, particularly for peri-urban orchards, which are the primary economic activity. The study used an analytical approach with Geographic Information Systems to assess the agronomic potential of soils and quantify agricultural land consumed by construction, aiming to achieve an optimal agri-urban balance rather than merely avoiding urban expansion.
Environmental trade-offsPeri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkageEconomicsPolicyHortas urbanas – História, Classificação, Benefícios e Perspectivas.
2022Marc François Richter, Luiza Vigne Bennedetti, Bruna Raquel Rodrigues Teixeira, Maico Ismael Klein, Angélica Gomes Florczak dos Santos · Confins · Brazil
This study mapped the concepts and benefits of urban gardens globally and in Brazil, presenting the history of urban agriculture and its modalities. A systematic literature review via Portal periódicos da CAPES corroborated various social, environmental, and economic advantages. In recent decades, Brazil has implemented federal, state, and municipal policies to support community garden projects, aiming to reduce poverty and ensure food security.
CommunityHealthEconomicsPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceSeeds and the city: a review of municipal home food gardening programs in Canada in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
2022Janet Music, Lisa Mullins, Sylvain Charlebois, Charlotte Large, Kydra Mayhew · Humanities and Social Sciences Communications · Canada
This study compared 19 municipal urban home food gardening programs in Canada in 2020, which provided free gardening supplies and instructions. It found a complicated relationship between municipalities, gardening programs, and food security, and determined that gardening somewhat alleviated social and emotional challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, municipalities are limited in their policy capacities to adequately address food insecurity in Canada.
Governance failurePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityHealthThe Specter of Enclosure in School Gardens
2022Graham Slater, Robert G. Unzueta, Clayton Pierce · · Global
This chapter argues that much scholarly literature on school gardens is based on problematic assumptions or ignores histories of violence and dispossession. Without an ecocritical approach, school gardens risk replicating systems of domination, extraction, exploitation, and human supremacy. The authors propose integrating theoretical reflection into emancipatory action within a historical materialist framework to address colonization, land dispossession, labor exploitation, and anthropocentrism.
Equity & displacementFood educationCommunityPolicyGlobal Trends in Urban Agriculture Research: A Pathway toward Urban Resilience and Sustainability
2022Dan Yan, Litao Liu, Xiaojie Liu, Ming Zhang · Land · Global
A bibliometric analysis of 605 papers from the Web of Science database (2001–2021) tracked global research trends in urban agriculture. The study found a substantial increase in publications, with the US, Germany, UK, Italy, and China being the most influential countries. Research focuses include food production, various functions of urban agriculture, and emerging topics like sustainability and the water-energy-food nexus. The analysis also noted that urban agriculture does not necessarily equate to a resource-conserving and environmentally friendly food system, suggesting a need for technology-based transitions for sustainable development.
Urban–rural linkageClimate changePolicyEconomicsFrom small-scale agriculture to urban agriculture: women, subsistence economy, and the question of the commons
2022Elisabeth Meyer-Renschhausen · Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe · Global
This article provides a historical overview of small-scale, subsistence farming, primarily by women, spanning two centuries from the early 19th century to the 21st century. It traces the evolution from the loss of commons in Prussia to urban farming in contemporary cities across Europe, America, and Africa. The discussion includes subsistence farming in towns, garden cities, post-war initiatives, and the significant role of unacknowledged family production in Eastern Europe.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyUrban–rural linkageExploring the need for innovation in greening urban environments: Reflecting on radical practice in Greater Manchester, UK
2022Adelina Court, Aileen Kelly, Michael Hardman · Cogent Social Sciences · United Kingdom (Greater Manchester)
This paper explores the need for innovation in urban green infrastructure, focusing on enabling urban food growing in cities. It reviews current policy tools and presents a case study of a multifunctional forest school in Salford, UK, which enables larger-scale farming in a deprived area. The study, conducted by a multidisciplinary team, also proposes a visual methodology framework for future replication.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceLand Tenure Security and Urban Agriculture: Focusing on the Vegetable Cultivation in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania
2022Betty Mntambo · Huria Journal of the Open University of Tanzania · Tanzania (Morogoro Municipality)
This study examined land tenure security in urban agriculture among 69 male and female vegetable farmers in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania, using snowball sampling and a cross-sectional design. Findings revealed that farmers access land informally by renting from legal landowners, with social relationships determining tenure security. Land tenure insecurity negatively affects vegetable cultivation and generates uncertainty and animosity between farmers and landlords.
Governance failurePolicyEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCultivating inclusive public space with urban gardens
2022Melissa Anna Murphy, Peter E. Parker, Margot Hermus · Local Environment · Global
This article aims to unpack how urban settings, organizational forms, and municipal enabling affect urban gardening (UG) practices towards inclusion in public space. It draws on urban commons theory and research on inclusion in public space to understand multi-faceted UG governance and its exclusionary aspects. A comparative analysis of UG initiatives in three Northern European municipalities explores both municipal enabling and the co-production of inclusive public space.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyHealthCommercial Urban Agriculture in Florida: Needs, Opportunities, and Barriers
2022Catherine Campbell, Jorge Ruiz‐Menjivar, Alia DeLong · HortTechnology · United States (Florida)
This research characterized commercial urban agriculture (CUA) operations in Florida, United States, and explored urban farmers' perceptions of needs, barriers, and opportunities for CUA development. A cluster analysis identified three distinct groups of urban farmers with differing perceptions of barriers, opportunities, and informational needs. The study notes that the U.S. Department of Agriculture Census of Agriculture does not report data on CUA operations, limiting knowledge about their status, including barriers to business operations and profitability.
Economic viabilityEconomicsPolicyCommunityImplementation of Urban Agriculture Plan (green garden) in Razi University of Kermanshah and its Effects on Sustainable Development
2022Hadi Ebadi, Zahra Mohebi · Journal of Sustainability Perspectives · Iran (Kermanshah)
This study investigated the implementation of an urban agriculture plan (green garden) at Razi University of Kermanshah, Iran, and its effects on sustainable development. The plan is expected to strengthen social interaction, economic and environmental aspects, and foster a culture aligned with urban agriculture development. The findings are intended for use in planning and agricultural policies.
CommunityEconomicsClimate changePolicy