Research & reports

S. S. Horowitz, Liu JuanJuan Liu JuanJuan · CABI eBooks · China (Wuhan)

This chapter, focusing on a case study of intra-urban agriculture in Wuhan, China, mapped the dynamic relations between actors, institutions, processes, and spaces. Theoretical and practical challenges to growing food within Chinese cities were identified, and ways for state and non-state actors to collaborate in reassembling intra-urban agriculture to maximize its social, ecological, and economic contributions were suggested.

Trisna Setia Permana, Moh. Qudsi Fauzy · Jurnal Ekonomi Syariah Teori dan Terapan · Indonesia (Surabaya)

This descriptive qualitative case study in Surabaya, Indonesia, examined the role of urban farming in the welfare of Muslim farmers across four farmer groups, from an Islamic perspective. The study found that urban farming positively contributed to material welfare by creating job opportunities, self-employment, small businesses, and increasing income for group members. Furthermore, it supported non-material welfare through producing halal commodities, generating usury-free income, implementing honest and fair marketing principles, and engaging in community development activities like counseling and training.

Jyothsna Latha Belliappa, Alison Byrnes, Prayas Abhinav · · India

The City Spinning project, an urban horticulture and community networking experiment in two Indian cities, demonstrated a low-cost, resource-light model that separates consumption from ownership, aligning with sustainable Product-Service Systems. This project aimed to support urban poor children's nutritional needs and foster social equity by enabling interaction with community members. It also highlighted the importance of safe play spaces for children's development of citizenship competencies, which are often limited to confined playgrounds in most Indian cities.

Yoonah Jang, Sun Jin Jeong, Kyeong Suk Han, Gyung Mee Gim, InChan Choi, Joonyung Heo · The Korean Journal of Community Living Science · South Korea

A study investigated the status of school gardening in 164 elementary schools (39.4% of 416) in Jeollabuk-do, South Korea. The installation and automation of garden facilities, such as greenhouses and tool sheds, were poor. Teachers, who most often operated the gardens, reported difficulty managing them due to a lack of knowledge about sustaining gardens and expressed a need for training programs.

강미영, 김영희, 김용현, 진종현, 이민희, 허무룡 · · South Korea

A South Korean study aimed at raising awareness of environmental importance through eco-friendly urban agriculture and promoting the effective establishment of urban agriculture. It found that, through urban agricultural activities, urban residents received education in eco-friendly farming methods and applied them in plot preparation, crop cultivation, and harvesting. Participants also regarded the seeds and seedlings used in urban agriculture as eco-friendly, and reported that the activities helped change their perceptions of the environment; they stated that this heightened awareness of environmental importance also influenced behavioural change, that they could introduce their urban agricultural activities to neighbours as eco-friendly, and that they intended to continue participating in urban agricultural activities.

김승현, 고영지, 김지원, 신상은, Yu Seun Kim · 한국색채학회 학술대회 · South Korea

A 2017 study proposes a color design for the Korean urban farming kit "Naega Geurin Eco Farm" (My Green Eco Farm) as a case study. It identifies that existing urban farming kits show large differences in tone and tend to favor primary colors, resulting in colors that can look unsophisticated and fail to evoke the character of the kit, and, using KS C&D 155a to visually analyze the colors of existing kits, proposes a color design applicable to this kit.

Prem José Vazhacharickal · International Journal of Social Sciences · India

Street vending and urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) production systems, and their contribution to local services, are examined in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), India — a region with a population of 21 million where a high proportion of urban poor and rising in-migration make it vulnerable to food crisis. Based on primary and secondary data, street vending in UPA production is argued to complement rural supply chains and reduce ecological footprints, with a recommendation that these marketing systems be better planned and incorporated into city architecture to secure local food supply and employment.

Audit Yulardi, Andar Bagus Sriwarno, Dwinita Larasati · Jurnal Sosioteknologi · Indonesia (Bandung)

In Bandung, Indonesia's "Kampung Berkebun" program, residents whose main occupation was not farming faced difficulty maintaining productive plants such as vegetables, particularly through daily watering. This study developed a time-efficient irrigation system and trialed it with residents in RT 2, RW 2, Kacapiring, Bandung. A single-point connected irrigation system reduced the time consumed by watering activities, and trial observation showed a behavior change: residents who previously watered irregularly began watering more regularly.

Muhammad Nuri Shobry · Kebijakan dan Manajemen Publik · Indonesia

Using George C. Edward III's policy implementation model combined with the Van Horn and Van Meter framework — communication, resources, disposition, bureaucratic structure, and socio-political-economic support as the five variables — this qualitative descriptive study with purposively sampled informants analyzed implementation of the urban farming program by the agricultural, fishery, and forestry extension agency in Gresik Regency, Indonesia. It found that implementation of the urban farming policy by the Gresik extension agency was not going well and fell short of the maximum, with the stages of implementation not proceeding smoothly and the communication, resources, and target-group support variables in particular found to be poorly organized and ineffective.

정나라, 정명일, 한승원, 김재순 · · South Korea

A resident survey in South Korea was conducted to provide basic data for building a community garden as part of a village-making project. Respondents who said they would use the garden more than once a week made up a high share, with usage frequency rising with respondent age; afternoon use on both weekdays and weekends showed high intended participation, and the garden's efficiency was found to increase when it was located within about a 20-minute walk (roughly 1 km); the study concludes that garden design should reflect each community's characteristics rather than applying a uniform layout.

Tong-Yu Li, Ziyi Wang, Xueshan Bai, Yue Wang · DEStech Transactions on Environment Energy and Earth Science · China

A review tracing the origin and evolution of urban agriculture as a new industry closely tied to the city, summarizing the main problems in contemporary urban agricultural development in China. Building on urban agriculture development experience under urbanization, it proposes a new development pattern for Chinese cities.

Heejoon Choi, Junga Lee, Heejung Sohn, Dong-Gil Cho, Youngkeun Song · Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology · South Korea

This study analyzed the landscape-ecological characteristics of green spaces in a high-density built-up area and evaluated the potential of introducing urban gardens to generate green networks in residential zones. It selected Yeoksam-Dong, Seoul — designated both a green-initiative zone and a park-service-deprived area — as the site, categorizing existing green space into street trees, private gardens, public pocket gardens, rooftop gardens, and parks, then applying FRAGSTATS landscape-index analysis and multi-buffer connectivity assessment. Results showed green area distributed in the order: street trees, private gardens, public pocket gardens, parks, rooftop gardens. Street trees' total core area (TCA, 1,618 m²) was comparable to that of parks (1,128 m²). Private gardens showed potential for green networking through gardening, given irregular patch shapes (ED=78.1 m/ha) and close average distance between patches (ENN=33.9 m). Public pocket gardens also showed potential, being evenly distributed (LPI=5.7%, SHEI=0.9) while exposed to external disturbance (TCA=66 m²). Small green networks within a 50m buffer of connected green area covered 84% of the study site, with green-network effects expected from gardening in public pocket gardens (27%) and street trees (26%).

Tarina Levin · · China

A master's thesis assessing urban agriculture (UA) in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China, and its place in the city's green infrastructure, using literature studies, map studies, site visits, interviews, and field observations. It situates the study against China's ongoing urbanization, in which agricultural land is converted for real estate development, deepening dependency on imported agricultural products, alongside a cultural shift from the older agricultural society toward Western ideals — exemplified by the adoption of short-cut monocultural grass lawns using species unfamiliar to the Chinese climate, which the thesis states causes negative environmental effects. It also finds numerous examples across China, including on former lawn sites, where agriculture is practiced in urban environments, and analyzes UA's effects and potential in Xi'an to propose design principles for environmentally and culturally beneficial UA practice for food production. UA is concluded to have many potential benefits beyond being a food source — including community-building properties, enrichment of urban biodiversity, and the potential to reconnect with China's agricultural roots — but these benefits are stated not to be absolute: UA can also be a source of conflict as well as a source of environmental pollution and contaminated food. The thesis notes many uncertainties remain around the subject, and that because UA is often neglected in governmental planning processes, these issues can be difficult to address.

Lijie He, Zhiguo Fang · Urban Planning International · China

Identifying green residential communities and urban agriculture as important approaches to addressing environmental and food-safety problems that have long been researched and practiced separately without intersection, this paper (2017, China) argues that integrating urban agriculture into green residential communities could help transform cities from a consumption pattern toward a production pattern. Based on behavioral characteristics and spatial demands spanning food production, food consumption, and food recycling/reuse, it examines a strategy system of space, technology, and management for integrating urban agriculture into green residential communities, proposing new ideas for China's green residential community and urban agriculture development.

Jin-Wook Lee, Jong-Sang Sung · Sustainability · South Korea

As part of a South Korean urban policy to revive shrinking cities by demolishing vacant residential structures and converting the resulting plots into public space, this case study examined the process, stakeholders and sources of conflict in the Daebong 2 neighborhood of Daegu, using purposive-sampling interviews with municipal authority staff, NPO members and residents, analysed through open coding. It found conflict between users and non-users over possession of public goods, conflict among project executives during the creation process, and conflict rooted in the spatial and policy characteristics specific to dense, historic residential areas. Overcoming this rivalry and discord was said to require a shift in perspective among policy practitioners, a public/private/community governance structure, consensus among residents, and welfare programs grounded in inclusivity and public interest.

Kadarso Kadarso, Rini Raharti · Jurnal Pertanian Agros · Indonesia

This study, aiming to identify promising urban farming commodities and develop agricultural production toward food self-sufficiency in Yogyakarta City, Indonesia, used a combined qualitative and quantitative approach with Location Quotient, Dynamic Location Quotient, and SWOT analysis. Mergangsan, Ngampilan, Tegalrejo, Kotagede, Mantrijeron, Gondokusuman, Wirobrajan, Pakualaman, Umbulharjo and Kraton were identified as economic-base areas, while Gedongtengen, Gondomanan, Danurejan and Jetis were non-base areas. Mergangsan, Ngampilan, Kotagede, Danurejan, Gondokusuman and Jetis showed faster development potential, while Gedong Tengen, Gondomanan, Tegalrejo, Pakualaman, Mantrijeron, Wirobrajan, Umbulharjo and Kraton showed slower development potential. Based on the SWOT analysis, the study proposed strategies including leveraging economic-base strengths and strengthening agricultural extension officers (S-O), promoting farming and improving farm management (W-O), improving infrastructure quality and marketing efficiency (S-T), and expanding market share while noting the constraint that other non-agricultural businesses are more promising (W-T).

Christine Brown-Paul · Practical Hydroponics and Greenhouses · China

Amid food-safety concerns and the demands of a growing population, this piece states that China's cities are increasingly embracing aquaponics as a method of urban farming to secure food supplies for the future.

Lusyana Anggraeni, Weishaguna Weishaguna · Prosiding Perencanaan Wilayah dan Kota · Indonesia

A study of the Walagri environmental community and residents of Kelurahan Pasanggrahan in Ujungberung District, Indonesia, examined differing perceptions of urban farming implementation between community members and local residents. Using observation, interviews and descriptive quantitative analysis, the researchers compared perspectives on recreation, conservation, education and sustainability factors. The analysis found both similarities and differences between the community's and residents' perceptions, and recommended establishing a new collaborative framework to build environmental awareness.

Dwi Haryanta, Mochammad Thohiron, Bambang Gunawan · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Indonesia (Surabaya)

A survey conducted in river, ditch and reservoir waters in Surabaya, Indonesia, randomly sampled sedimentary soil and measured pH, color, structure, texture, organic matter, total nitrogen, K2O and P2O5. Clay content ranged 89.87-92.14%, organic matter 5.96-7.60%, total nitrogen 0.09-0.13%, K2O 0.88-1.12% and P2O5 2.08-2.44%, with soil color grayish-black to black. Housing sewer mud deposits were the most crumbly, and sludge reservoirs were the most heavily used. The sewage sludge soil was found potentially usable as a planting medium for urban agriculture.

Ferdianto Budi Samudra, Adi Prayoga · Surya Agritama : Jurnal Ilmu Pertanian dan Peternakan · Indonesia

This descriptive study in Penanggungan Village, Trawas District, Mojokerto Regency, Indonesia, aimed to assess the sustainability of an organic urban farming system implemented in household yards using mini greenhouses. The research, conducted in a community-based organic farming area, found that the urban farming system in the study location was sustainable from the perspective of its cultivation system.

Gyun-Gi Bae, Donghun Shin · 산업경제연구 · South Korea

This study explored farmer income creation in urban agriculture through farmer participation and community activation, focusing on a community garden in Jeonju, South Korea. Exploratory factor analysis identified four factors: community, farmer participation, facilities/environment, and operation/management. Regression analysis showed all factors positively influenced user satisfaction, with farmer participation and community having the strongest effects. For farmer income generation through produce sales and increased plot fees, sufficient facilities and environmental conditions were concluded to be necessary.

Jae-Youl Lee · 서울도시연구 · South Korea (Seoul)

This ethnographic study examined urban agriculture practices at Nodeul Urban Agriculture Park in Seoul from March to September 2014, using participant observation and in-depth interviews. The research found that cultivation practices generate a virtuous cycle of affective agricultural production and emotional accomplishments, which are associated with practical achievements and socially conscious consumption. Emerging ethics, including rural concerns, also interact with this production-emotion cycle.

Mai Lan Phuong, Nguyen Phuong Le, Philippe Lebailly · Asian Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development · Vietnam (Hanoi city)

A study in Trau Quy town, Hanoi, Vietnam, collected quantitative and qualitative data from 40 households through surveys, in-depth interviews, and group discussions. The research found that urban agriculture contributes to household income, food security, food safety, and creates job opportunities for family labor, especially for those unable to find off-farm jobs. Socially, urban agriculture supports livelihood security and the maintenance of traditional social networks for households affected by urbanization.

Jennifer C. Latimer, David Van Halen, James H. Speer‬, Stephanie Krull, Patricia G. Weaver, Joseph M. Pettit, Heather Foxx · PubMed · United States (Indiana)

This study collected over 1,061 surface soil samples from an approximately 1.25-acre urban community garden in Terre Haute, Indiana, during the summer of 2012, to evaluate the spatial distribution of lead at the plot level. The results highlighted significant variability in lead concentrations within small areas of a former residential property, with some areas showing high lead concentrations (600 ppm). Based on these findings, several areas of concern were identified, and the community garden was reconfigured to reduce potential lead exposure to gardeners and the local community.

Boong Hoon Eom, Eun Jin Jang · Journal of people, plants, and environment · South Korea (Daegu)

This study investigated Daegu citizens' awareness of urban agriculture through a questionnaire administered to 328 residents from May 9-25, 2015. The cognition level of urban agriculture was found to be very low, though experienced groups reported high satisfaction and future participation intentions were very high. Motivations included 'Hobby and leisure activities' and 'Safe food production', while perceived effects included 'Safe agricultural products' and 'Change in dietary life'. Preferred types of urban agriculture included 'Rooftop garden' and 'Learning/education type home garden'.