Research & reports

Fabio Amato, Lucia Simonetti · Journal of urban regeneration and renewal · Italy (Naples)

This paper focuses on the social urban garden in the Ponticelli neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of Naples, Italy, an area facing significant social and cultural problems including high unemployment and crime rates. The urban garden demonstrates how social cohesion can be built through urban agriculture and contribute to sustainability. However, the initiative risks remaining isolated and providing limited benefit to regional environmental sustainability efforts if not framed within an overall metropolitan strategy.

Brenda B. Lin, Monika Egerer, Jonathan Kingsley, Pauline Marsh, Lucy Diekmann, Alessandro Ossola · Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment · Global

This letter explores whether there was a renewed global interest in gardening during the initial waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. It notes that gardening, in various forms from private yards to community gardens, has the potential to counteract negative physical and mental health impacts of lockdowns and reduced human-nature interactions. Media reports indicated spikes in gardening interest, with sold-out seeds and plants in stores.

Naji Meidani Ali Akbar, Ismaila Rimi Abubakar, Ayesha Agha Shah, Wafa Al-Madani · Land · Global

This research explores how the ecologically embedded settlement patterns, building configurations, urban agriculture and home gardening, and water conservation of the Maya-built environment can offer insights for mitigating contemporary urban sustainability challenges. The Mayans' respect for nature guaranteed sustainable habitats, featuring mixed land use and residences constructed with native and recyclable materials. The study suggests that Mayan principles, such as protecting vegetation, conserving water, and listening to environmental feedback, have significant implications for urban land-use planning and policies today.

Benjamin Selwyn · The Journal of Peasant Studies · Global

This article argues that a Green New Deal (GND) for agriculture must actively combat environmental degradation, social inequality, and labor exploitation, rather than merely aiming to restart capitalist economies. It identifies key areas for discussion and political action, including the reorientation of state subsidies, workers' rights, agrarian reform, the decommodification of food, agroecology, urban agriculture, new technologies, and rewilding.

Mukesh Choudhary, Abha Rawat · Bhartiya Krishi Anusandhan Patrika · Global

This review examines rooftop horticulture as an innovative solution for urban cultivation, addressing limited space in cities. It provides an interdisciplinary assessment of various development approaches and forms of rooftop horticulture, drawing on existing experiences and offering suggestions for planning sustainable cities. The review notes that some urban rooftop gardens utilize mineral fertilizers and pesticides.

Mekonnen Amberber Degefu, Mekuria Argaw, Gudina Legese Feyisa, Sileshi Degefa · ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH · Ethiopia

This study characterized and compared the Spatio-temporal responses of ecological land to urban landscape dynamics in Bahir Dar, Addis Ababa, Adama, and Hawassa cities in Ethiopia for the last three decades (1990–2020). Three sets of Landsat satellite images, field observations, and urban land indexes were used to produce landscape maps and geo-spatial data analysis. Results showed that in all cities, ecological land had changed intensely regarding its quantity and spatial pattern, and the substantial expansion of built-up ecosystems was manifested at the cost of ecological land.

Oliver Kellhammer · Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · Global

This article explores how marginalized urban communities in North American cities create collective 'open-source' spaces like squats and guerrilla gardens to build social and environmental resilience against climate change emergencies. These spaces can mitigate the short and long-term effects of climate disasters, particularly in low-income neighborhoods facing overcrowding and infrastructure issues. The author provides personal accounts of involvement with a guerrilla garden in Vancouver and a community garden allied with squatters in New York's Lower East Side during Superstorm Sandy.

Ana Manríquez-Altamirano, Jorge Sierra-Pérez, Pere Muñoz, Xavier Gabarrell · Journal of Cleaner Production · Global

This study proposed an eco-design methodology to upcycle tomato stems, identified as the most promising agro-urban solid waste from rooftop greenhouse tomato crops, for local "do-it-yourself" use. Researchers characterized tomato stems physically, chemically, and mechanically, then conducted a creative session with specialists to identify applications. Resulting concepts included "Fences and trellises," "Packaging," and "Boards, panels and blocks," providing data on stem characterization for broader biomass utilization.

Naiane Modri Fuzinatto, Jaciney Aparecida Danielli, Daniela Preschlak, Augusto Fischer · Revista em Agronegócio e Meio Ambiente · Brazil

This study presented a proposal for organic strawberry cultivation in urban spaces for a small producer and evaluated the financial viability of local sales. Through a qualitative and quantitative case study in Santa Catarina State, results indicated social and environmental benefits from adopting urban strawberry cultivation under an organic production system. Furthermore, the entire investment could be recovered in just over two years, representing a medium-term return on investment.

Gail Hansen, Joseli Macedo · University Press of Florida eBooks · Global

Many ecological, political, and economic programs are available to help cities become more sustainable and protect the urban environment. Resilient city planning practices include climate change adaptations, renewable energy technology, reducing urban sprawl, improving urban agriculture and native species use, and using self-sustaining, biophilic buildings. Goals and strategies for implementing these practices rely on citizens accepting responsibility with pro-environmental behaviors that mitigate destructive impacts from development and maintenance practices.

Seema Purushothaman, Sheetal Patil, Raghvendra S. Vanjari, A. R. Shwetha · · India (Bengaluru)

A participatory assessment in Byramangala, Bengaluru, explored farmers' perspectives on using wastewater (domestic sewage with industrial effluents) for irrigation. The study found that farmers were adapting to a heavily polluted environment, which resulted in restricted crop choices, lower produce prices, health impacts, and socio-cultural consequences. Despite concerns about water quality, farmers prioritized health-imparting agriculture and were keen to continue farming, but their preference for treated wastewater was overshadowed by its potential diversion for urban use.

Emmanuelle Virey, Tolga Coskun · Cahiers ESPI2R · Europe

Green infrastructure refers to an interconnected network of natural or semi-natural areas whose proper functioning generates benefits for human societies and strengthens their resilience. It can simultaneously produce multiple benefits such as improved stormwater management, creation of cool islands and species habitats, job creation in urban agriculture, economic valuation of real estate, and new nature experiences. Green infrastructure allows for the reinvention of urban landscapes and a reconsideration of our intimate relationship with living things.

Cristina Electra Mâcnea, Asănică Adrian, Fabian Claudia, Peticilă Adrian, Julia Nerantzia TZORTZI · AgroLife Scientific Journal · Global

This abstract discusses urban degradation caused by human nature and industrial growth, considering urban horticulture as a potential strategy to partially reverse these problems and recover the human-nature relationship. It proposes that urban horticulture can be an alternative solution to issues such as poverty, lack of public spaces, deteriorating food and life quality, and climate change in cities.

Gabriela Ledesma, Jelena Nikolic, Oriol Pons · Building and Environment · Ecuador (Quito)

This study developed a co-simulation model incorporating plant heat and mass balances into building simulations to assess the thermal effect of rooftop farms on building thermal performance. Applied to two free-running schools in Quito, Ecuador, integrated rooftop greenhouses improved thermal comfort and air quality, reducing thermal load by 42% and CO2 exceedance hours by 40%, despite a 2.94 kWh/m2 rise in electricity demand.

Doris Friedrich · · Global

This chapter examines three Arctic vegetable farming projects: Calypso Farm in Alaska, Arviat's community gardens and greenhouses in Canada, and Polar Permaculture in Norway. These projects aimed to improve health or increase food security and independence, experimenting with various growing techniques such as greenhouses, hydroponics, growboxes, and outdoor fields. Many of these projects were successful in improving their own and their community's quality of life.

Martin MASSOUANGUI-KIFOUALA · International journal of innovation and applied studies · Republic of Congo (Pointe-Noire)

This article analyzed precipitation data in Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo, using agronomic criteria and frequencies to understand rainy season behavior for agricultural planning. The study found that Pointe-Noire has a bimodal rainfall regime, allowing for two cultivation periods annually. However, the rainy seasons are very random, with increasingly late starts, early endings, and shortening durations over the years.

Martina Artmann, Katharina Sartison · RWTH Publications (RWTH Aachen) · Germany

This study investigated the implementation and impact potential of edible cities in three German case studies (Andernach, Haar, Munich) as part of a project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Edible cities are a concept that utilizes public spaces to provide free food and urban gardening opportunities for citizens.

Diego Armando Masaquiza Moposita, Juan Carlos Santillán Lima, Carlos Roberto López-Paredes · Dominio de las Ciencias · Global

This review aimed to compile and update information on urban gardens and their effects on sustainability, socioeconomic, and agri-food impacts. Databases including Sciencedirect, Google-scholar, Scopus, and NCBI were reviewed, emphasizing articles from the last five years. The review describes the origin and importance of urban gardens, their environmental, economic, and agri-food effects, and the benefits families receive from their production, contributing to food security and improved lifestyles.

Ahmed Khadra · IGI Global eBooks · Global

This chapter examines the health effects of climate change, specifically focusing on the global issue of fecal peril caused by intestinal parasites. It suggests that water shortages, driven by climate change, increase pressure on water resources, leading to greater use of urban wastewater for irrigation in urban agriculture. Unsafe management and inappropriate wastewater use are likely to exacerbate the transmission of infectious diseases, including those caused by intestinal protozoa and helminths.

Boglarka Z. Gulyas, Jill L. Edmondson · Sustainability · Global North

A systematic review of literature on urban agriculture (UA) in the Global North identified factors determining its success in enhancing city resilience and challenges limiting it. UA's success in increasing city resilience was defined as dependent on five factors: institutional and public support, a sufficient knowledge base, communication and collaboration among actors, and resourcefulness in efficient space and resource use. However, comprehensive assessments of UA's potential are still lacking, suggesting challenges in its effective implementation.

Dong BaoCheng, Wei Li, Wenyong Xu · Antibiotics · China

A field experiment in peri-urban agricultural soil in China investigated the effects of partially substituting chemical fertilizer with organic fertilizers like pig manure and sewage sludge on soil quality and antibiotic residues. Organic substitution significantly increased residual antibiotic levels in agricultural soil, with antibiotic sequestration rising by 138.1~332.5%. This indicated that organic fertilizers can promote antibiotic persistence in soil by modifying soil quality, demonstrating a contamination risk.

Ivanio Folmer, Gabriella Eldereti Machado · Diversitas Journal · Global

This theoretical study proposes a discussion on contemporary urbanity and agriculture, focusing on food through the lens of agroecology and its relationship with socio-environmental dynamics. It discusses conceptual issues involving territory, urbanity, agroecology, and food production, as well as public policies for healthy food and a balanced socio-environmental environment. The research aims to characterize contemporary urbanity and its potential for creating new spaces for agriculture, such as urban agriculture.

John Taylor, Mamatha Hanumappa, Lara Miller, Brendan Shane, Matthew L. Richardson · Sustainability · United States (Washington, DC)

A public-access geographic information system (GIS) and Tableau dashboards were developed for comprehensive multifunctional urban green infrastructure (UGI) planning in Washington, DC. The dashboards enable stakeholders to identify existing UGI (150 ha) and potential areas for new UGI, including urban agriculture (UA). A total of 2734 ha is potentially suitable for UGI development, with 2575 ha potentially suitable for UA. Of this UA potential, 56% is located in Wards 5, 7, and 8, which are largely food deserts with primarily Black residents experiencing the greatest inequities. The tool allows users to prioritize equitable UGI development using population vulnerability indices.

Samuel Ken‐En Gan, Ser-Xian Phua, Joshua Yi Yeo, Zealyn Shi‐Lin Heng, Zhenxiang Xing · Methods and Protocols · Global

This study investigated using mealworms and superworms to consume polystyrene (PS) and their frass as plant fertilizer. Researchers found that small amounts of sucrose and bran increased PS consumption by the worms. Superworm frass, in particular, supported better growth and rooting of dragon fruit cacti over a fortnight compared to mealworm frass and control media. These findings suggest worms could offer a zero-waste solution for plastic degradation and urban farming.

Ambrogio Zanzi, Federico Andreotti, Valentina Vaglia, Sumer Alali, Francesca Orlando, Stefano Bocchi · Sustainability · Italy (Milan)

This study aimed to assess the benefits of an agroecological requalification of a dismissed peri-urban area in the South Milan Agricultural Regional Park, Italy. Using I-Tree Eco software, the provision of ecosystem services from planting new hedgerows was simulated over 30 years, showing that the planted area becomes an essential supplier of regulating ecosystem services for neighborhoods, increasing carbon storage and air pollution removal. A notable increase in carbon sequestration was observed at the end of the simulation, demonstrating a replicable methodology and techniques for assessing ecosystem services in urban and peri-urban environments.