Research & reports

Alex Franklin, Imre Kovách, Bernadett Csurgó · Sociologia Ruralis · Global

This article qualitatively examined a public sector-led initiative to instigate co-production of community food growing, focusing on the discretionary practice of front-line public sector workers. The study found that public sector-led initiatives lack sufficient intention or scope to transform existing social orders. However, they do contribute to propagating individual and smaller-scale occurrences of social innovation in community food security.

Sophie Lufkin, Emmanuel Rey, Suren Erkman · Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) · Switzerland

A case study in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, explored three scenarios (technological, behavioral, and symbiotic) for the future development of an urban sector by 2035. These scenarios tested design strategies related to industrial symbioses, production, storage, transportation, and urban agriculture, with energy flow analysis assessing each scenario's energy performance. The research highlights the necessity of complementary approaches that simultaneously combine technology, user behavior, and urban symbiosis to achieve high-energy performance at the neighborhood scale.

Yolanda Gil, David Kirkland, Rocco Sergi · Water science and technology library · Australia (Sydney)

This chapter outlines the process of developing and implementing a master plan for urban farming in Horsley Park, Western Sydney. The case study highlighted that the implementation of the master plan has a number of challenges, including legislative and regulatory processes, and environmental and social matters. This suggests difficulties in transitioning from planning to the reality of farming in the Sydney region.

Sarah Kumnig · WU Research · Austria (Vienna)

This paper analyzes the implications of neoliberal urban development for agricultural spaces and practices in Vienna, Austria, where agricultural areas face pressure from population growth and a construction boom. Using the Donaufeld district as a case study, the analysis reveals selective preservation and activation of specific urban agriculture types and the use of participatory politics in urban development projects. The study highlights the challenges faced by urban agriculture amidst competing interests in a rapidly developing city.

Runrid Fox-Kämper · · Global

This book provides insights and examples of how urban space is negotiated, describing urban gardens as "lived places" where social relations, meanings, and a sense of place are developed. To trigger social benefits, it is essential that these sites fulfill more functions than just food growing and leisure. Horticultural practices, such as using pesticides or fertilizers, have a strong influence on the ecological impact of urban gardening; although awareness among gardeners has increased due to training programs in recent decades, this impact persists.

Sri Tuntung Pandangwati, Ole Fryd · · Australia (Melbourne)

A study in Maribyrnong, Australia, used secondary data and GIS to assess the potential of urban vacant land for vegetable production in three suburbs: Maribyrnong, Footscray, and Seddon. Maribyrnong and Footscray could meet annual local vegetable demand using less than half their vacant spaces. Seddon could potentially produce 93% of local demand by utilizing all existing vacant spaces.

P. Antwi Agyei, Jeroen H. J. Ensink · Journal of Science and Technology (Ghana) · Ghana (Accra)

A study in Accra, Ghana, from September 2012 to August 2013, analyzed 323 soil and irrigation water samples and 501 produce samples for E. coli, and interviewed 693 participants. It found irrigation water was significantly more contaminated than farm soil, and over 80% of produce samples were contaminated with E. coli, with street food salad being the most contaminated. Key risk factors included farm soil, wastewater use, and poor hygiene, while consumers did not prioritize health indicators despite high risk awareness.

Andrew Syah Wicaksana · Jurnal Sains dan Seni ITS · Global

This study proposes apartment designs using an edible landscape approach to address continuous population growth, urbanization, climate change, and pressure on natural resources. This design aims to bring positive psychological and practical influences towards a productive and conducive lifestyle in urban environments. The design approach is extrinsic (nature) and environmentally-oriented (ecological design), utilizing Donna P. Duerck's "Architecture Programming" method and Rob Krier's theory of architectural composition.

Jennifer Mack, Justin Scherma Parscher · · Sweden

In Sweden, continuous access to green space was a fundamental aspect of public life since the late nineteenth century. As apartment living became prevalent in Swedish cities during the early and mid-twentieth century, allotment gardens emerged as a key social reform to provide contact with nature amidst overcrowding and rapid urbanization. Green space increasingly became a right for Swedes across all socio-economic classes.

Karin Dobernig, E.J. Veen, Peter Oosterveer · · Global

This chapter examines urban food growing as a social practice, addressing how it relates to practice theory and social change. It explores what "urban food growing" means as a social practice and how it interacts with other existing social practices in urban contexts. The text notes that while urban food growing is often framed as an emerging movement, it has historical precedents like victory gardens and allotment gardens.

Cécile Faliès · Problèmes d Amérique latine · Chile (Santiago)

This article provides an overview of agriculture around Santiago, Chile, based on fieldwork conducted since 2005. Despite the presence of agriculture linked to Santiago and Valparaiso, and the emergence of some forms like organic farming, it is difficult to classify this as urban agriculture due to the peripheral location and limited number of plots. The study indicates that urban agriculture, as commonly defined, has a limited presence in the Santiago metropolitan area.

Stephan Barthel, Johan Colding, Erik Andersson, Maria Schewenius · Diva portal (Dalarna University Library) · Sweden (Stockholm)

Campus Albano, the newest addition to Stockholm University, began production on November 30, 2015, following a five-year planning and design process. This project is notable for its participatory planning and strong focus on integrating ecosystem services, such as wetlands and allotment gardens, into the final campus design. Student and researcher accommodations are expected by 2018, and university buildings by 2019.

Elanna Nolan, Alan March · Australian Planner · Australia (Melbourne)

This paper examined why a proposed community garden project at Hardy Gallagher Reserve in Princes Hill, initiated by Yarra City Council in Melbourne, failed by April 2010 after its launch in October 2008. Using communicative planning theory, it argued that the planning process for the community garden was doomed to fail from the beginning, demonstrating a lack of consideration for appropriate participation.

Jennifer L. Barron · Local Environment · Global

This paper explored how neoliberal processes of privatization, state entrepreneurialism, and devolution intersect with community gardens. It argued that certain characteristics and orientations of gardens are more conducive to resisting neoliberalism. These include cultivating producer, citizen, and activist subjectivities, elevating the use value of shared lived space, advancing spatial justice through community access to non-privatized space, and promoting food justice through non-commodified means of obtaining food.

Douglas Roberto Bizari, Jean Carlos Cardoso · Horticultura Brasileira · Global

This article discusses the potential of using recycled water from treated domestic sewage in urban horticulture as a solution to escalating clean water shortages. While cultural and sanitary impediments exist for large-scale use, and knowledge of treatments is limited, a safe alternative is irrigation for non-edible species like those in floriculture and landscaping. This approach can combine environmental protection with agricultural productivity, support local development, create jobs, and aid environmental protection.

Annalisa Metta · Iris (Roma Tre University) · Global

This publication compiles insights from 50 architects, landscape architects, designers, and environmental leaders on sustainability, sustainable design, urbanism, and architecture. Through articles, interviews, and project presentations, they promote good practices and share visions on projects like gardens and community gardens from a sustainability perspective. The work advocates for a complementary convergence of bottom-up practices and traditional design, suggesting design should involve negotiation with places, elements, and people.

Martin Palacios, Minkyu Park · · Global

This work aimed to identify key factors determining the spatial and physical appearance of urban agriculture. It also discussed ways to encourage the acceptance of urban agriculture in public open spaces and the broader urban landscape.

Csaba Bende, Gyula Nagy · Belvedere Meridionale · Hungary

This study investigated the organizational and operational schematics of two community gardens, Megálló and Makkosház, in Szeged, Hungary, comparing them to Western practices. Empirical data was collected through interviews with gardeners and coordinators in October 2014, and January and March 2015. Results indicated that Szeged's community gardens differ considerably from average American community gardens but share common features with European ones. Both gardens were found to be top-down directed and controlled, which contrasts with American and European practices.

Gundula Proksch · · Global

This chapter discusses the potential of urban agriculture to mitigate water management challenges. While industrial agriculture consumes 70% of accessible water, cities struggle with water security and fail to utilize on-site sources like rainfall. Urban agriculture is presented as a solution to these water challenges by integrating water-efficient strategies with existing urban infrastructure, building systems, and management approaches.

Ellen van Holstein · Environment and Planning A Economy and Space · Australia (Sydney)

Empirical research at three community gardens in Sydney, Australia, examined property practices such as transplanting, plotting, and fencing. The study found that community gardeners create overlapping understandings of common and private property, driven by contradictory motivations for community inclusion and personal interest protection. Feelings of ownership, while contributing to belonging, also legitimize defensive and exclusive spatial claims within these gardens.

Piers H.G. Stephens · Oxford University Press eBooks · Global

This chapter applies the author's work on property rights justification to community gardens, criticizing the Lockean private property justification. It argues that legitimate property ownership derives from "belonging," a felt bond of lived experience, which can conflict with Lockean "possession." The chapter concludes that the Lockean orientation combined with technocratic politics reduces contemporary life, making connection to nature uncommon, and that community garden practices offer practical alternatives.

Gundula Proksch · · Global

This chapter investigates various approaches to community involvement in urban agriculture, demonstrating how communities and interest groups can be instrumental in creating and operating urban agricultural projects. Urban agriculture has the potential to reestablish lost connections between food production and consumption and restore social, economic, and cultural ties. Community-initiated urban agricultural programs are essential in reducing the divide between producers and consumers.

Viktoria Timpka · · Global

The purpose of this study is to highlight different aspects, resistances, and negotiations in urban farming. It also aims to explore how this activity relates to the urban environment. The study draws on related material.

Alessandra Silva Araújo · URBANA Revista Eletrônica do Centro Interdisciplinar de Estudos sobre a Cidade · Portugal

This research compared factors leading to community garden initiatives in Porto, Portugal, and Belo Horizonte, Brazil, focusing on the influence of urban planning processes. It found differences in how urban planning in both cities incorporates urban agriculture practices. The connections between urban agriculture and urban planning, facilitated by environmental planning practices, were found to be incipient, hindering planning's goal of catalyzing a sustainable city.

Chiara Casazza, Stefano Pianigiani · Civil Engineering and Urban Planning An International Journal (CiVEJ) · Global

Urban agriculture is a complex phenomenon that responds to the common need for sustainable cities in environmental, economic, social, and institutional terms. It encompasses various approaches and intervention typologies, from low-tech to high-tech solutions like community gardens and vertical farms. This field characterizes cities at different scales, including territory, town, neighborhood, building, and house, addressing diverse user exigencies and requirements.