Research & reports

Lutfiah Alfariza, Ramadhani Eka Putra, Mia Rosmiati · MIMBAR AGRIBISNIS Jurnal Pemikiran Masyarakat Ilmiah Berwawasan Agribisnis · Indonesia

This study examined the contribution of urban farming to the economic and social pillars of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in urban Indonesia. It focused on goals related to poverty, hunger, health, gender equality, and decent work. The findings indicate that urban farming increases income, provides access to healthy food, empowers women, and creates employment for urban communities, thereby positively contributing to these SDGs.

Koen van der Gaast, J.E. Jansma, Sigrid Wertheim‐Heck · Agriculture and Human Values · Netherlands

This study explored how residents of Almere Oosterwold, Netherlands, envision and organize urban agriculture futures, where 50% of plots must be used for urban agriculture. Using futuring, it found that residents have diverse future perspectives and can formulate specific actions but struggle to commit to them, attributing this to temporal dissonance. The paper concludes that both planning and entrepreneurship are necessary for realizing urban food futures.

Raj, T. Yuvan, Divashen, C., Pillaiy, K. Nishart, Pretthic, S., Rishwin, S. · UiTM Institutional Repositories (Universiti Teknologi MARA) · Global

This smart aquaponic garden system integrates aquaculture and hydroponics with IoT sensors to monitor water parameters and optimize plant growth. A central monitoring platform processes real-time data to maintain optimal conditions for plants and fish and detect abnormalities. The system offers remote access and control, aiming to promote sustainable agriculture, reduce water consumption, and provide an accessible platform for local food production in urban farming and community gardens.

Claudia Wiese, Bernd Pölling, Wolf Lorleberg · Frontiers for Young Minds · Global

This article discusses how cities, despite covering only 2-3% of land, consume 75% of global energy and produce 80% of CO2 emissions, making them dependent on distant food sources. It describes how urban agriculture can help cities address climate change and environmental problems, while simultaneously improving living environments for urban populations.

Amare Molla Dinku, Tefera Chane Mekonnen, Getachew Shumye Adilu · Heliyon · Ethiopia

A mixed-methods study conducted in Dessie and Combolcha cities, north-central Ethiopia, surveyed 506 resident households to measure the status of food insecurity in urban food systems. The study confirmed that 33.1% of respondents were food insecure, with nine and six individuals per 100 people forced to 'sleep hungry' and 'not eat in the whole day and night' respectively. Household food insecurity was significantly associated with the gender of the household head, participation in casual labor, and living house ownership, and the degree of food insecurity was deemed higher due to weak food system governance, an inconsistent food supply chain, and socio-economic and gender inequalities.

Suryani Suryani, Ani Nuraini, Cicilia Windiyaningsih, Muhammad Dani Alviansyah, Muhammad Gumilar · Jurnal Pelayanan dan Pengabdian Kesehatan untuk Masyarakat · Indonesia

This community service program in Indonesia aims to enhance self-potential and economy through urban agriculture programs, specifically "Budikdamber" (fish cultivation in buckets) and wick hydroponics. Budikdamber is an aquaponics technique suitable for urban areas with limited land and water, while wick hydroponics uses less water than soil cultivation. The program seeks to improve community economics by utilizing existing urban spaces such as yards, vacant lots, fences, walls, and roofs for these methods.

Pekka Ilmari Niskanen · Ruukku Studies in Artistic Research · Global

This paper examines three gardens—a Sahrawi sandoponic garden in Algerian refugee camps, a Helsinki Sandoponic Garden, and the Jardin Truillot in Paris—as sites for community gathering and addressing trauma. The Helsinki garden, a project by PHOSfate, highlights injustices faced by the Sahrawi population and the Baltic Sea, linking refugee status to phosphate mining and eutrophication. The study argues that recognizing injustice is central to the activism in these gardens and related practices.

Gareth Haysom, Jane Battersby · Palgrave studies in agricultural economics and food policy · Africa

Based on findings from cities in five African countries, this study argues for a re-framing of urban food system resilience. It contends that the urban system, specifically infrastructure, shapes the functioning of the food system and consumers' ability to use it, and that the agency of urban food system users needs inclusion in understandings of, and efforts to increase, food systems resilience.

Rajat Kumar · Ecology Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal · India (Delhi)

This paper investigates the toxicity in river water in the Yamuna khadar floodplains in Delhi, India, caused by pesticides and fertilizers used in agriculture. The study examines how this toxicity is perceived, discursively constructed, and dealt with by differently located stakeholders. It finds that stakeholders in the Yamuna khadar do not experience pollution as a homogeneous community, nor do they all perceive themselves as suffering from or contributing to the toxicity in a similar way.

Pedro Sorrentino, Maria Carolina Maziviero · arq urb · Brazil (Curitiba)

This article reflects on a new perspective on the right to the city, aiming to reframe the relationship between humanity and nature to overcome the current civilizational crisis. It presents the contributions of urban agriculture practices in Curitiba, Brazil, highlighting advancements towards the right to the city and a new land culture, along with their challenges and potential.

Angelia Sia, Puay Yok Tan, Kenneth B. H. Er · Plants People Planet · Singapore

This opinion article discusses the role of urban horticulture in Singapore, focusing on four national-level programs. It illustrates how these initiatives contribute to cultivating community ownership, fostering community ties, and promoting interest in horticulture among urban dwellers. The programs include community gardens, allotment gardens, the Gardening with Edibles program, and therapeutic horticulture programs.

Cleber José Bosetti · Revista Desenvolvimento Social · Brazil

An empirical study was conducted at the Federal University of Santa Catarina's Rural Sciences Center in Curitibanos, Brazil, to evaluate urban agriculture's potential for value generation and food security improvement. The study involved cultivating a 5m² garden for one year using biodynamic agricultural management, followed by accounting for production factors and economic viability analysis. Results indicated that urban agriculture has the potential to contribute to food security and that its practices, under resilient agricultural management, are also economically viable.

Amy Russell, Ziqi Li, Mingshu Wang · International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation · United Kingdom (Glasgow)

This study investigated the distribution of urban agriculture in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, finding that existing projects are mostly centrally located, covering 36% of the total population (approximately 635,000) within a 10-minute walk. A positive correlation was found between walking travel time to the nearest urban agriculture project and food desert status, indicating access disparity. Using the Maximal Covering Location Problem model, the research identified that a minimum of 15 new urban agriculture projects on vacant and derelict land could increase population coverage to 49% and equalize access disparity to a statistically non-significant level.

Muhammad Izzad Ramli, Muhammad Azizi Mohd Ariffin, Zarina Zainol, Mohd Nazrul Mohd Amin, Dedeng Hirawan, I D Sumitra, Nursuriati Jamil · Pertanika journal of science & technology · Global

This paper proposes a design for a Smart Portable Farming Kit, an IoT-based system for cultivating short-duration vegetables and mushrooms indoors in urban areas. The prototype design is simple, lightweight, and durable, requiring minimal user attention. It proved better than traditional setups by increasing mushroom yield, making oyster mushroom cultivation easier and more profitable in urban areas.

Fatin Nurlia Sari Dewi, James Rilatupa · Jurnal Sains Teknologi Urban Perancangan Arsitektur (Stupa) · Indonesia (Jakarta)

This study descriptively investigates the issue of agricultural land degradation in Kembangan District, West Jakarta, Indonesia. It notes that the conversion of agricultural land due to urban development can lead to the loss of regional food security and identity. The research concludes that vertical urban agriculture, adapted with architectural engineering technology, is one way to develop the agricultural industry to maintain food security amidst the land crisis.

Mayra I. Rodríguez González, Christian Kelly Scott, Tatiana Marquina, Demeke B. Mewa, Jorge García Polo, Binbin Peng · Earth Interactions · Mexico

This mixed-method study in Mexico City, Mexico, explored urban agriculture's (UA) role as an alleviation and land management strategy, integrating ecosystem services and livelihoods frameworks. It quantified food production, crop diversity, six ecological processes, cultural benefits, and contributions to livelihood capitals. UA supported ecological processes, connected humans to nature, and provided supplemental income, but also showed trade-offs between ecological processes, limits in promoting formal education beyond agroecological knowledge, and an inability to fully lift families out of poverty.

Putu Riska Wulandari, Ida Ayu Nyoman Saskara, I Gusti Wayan Murjana Yasa, A.A.I.N. Marhaeni · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Indonesia (Denpasar)

This study investigated the institutional aspects of subak agricultural sustainability in Denpasar City, Bali, using a literature review method. It found that institutional factors are crucial for preserving subak's viability and fostering subak farming in urban settings. Social capital was identified as the factor contributing most to the sustainability of urban farming in Denpasar City, fostering high community involvement in conjunction with Tri Hita Karana.

Guilherme Raj, Giuseppe Feola, Hens Runhaar · Agriculture and Human Values · Portugal

This comparative case study of three Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) initiatives in Portugal analyzed how power shapes transformations to postcapitalist work relations. Results showed that while CSA creates non-alienated, non-monetized, and care-filled postcapitalist work relations, they insufficiently unmake unbalanced power relations established in capitalist work relations. The selected CSA initiatives could benefit from actively deconstructing internal hierarchies, decentralizing decision-making power from farm owners, and addressing oppressive power relations ossified in their local and cultural context when establishing postcapitalist work relations.

Erich Wolff, Hanna A. Rauf, Perrine Hamel · Environmental Science & Policy · Global

This study analyzed past Nature-based Solutions (NbS) projects in informal settlements across Southeast Asian and Pacific countries, utilizing both grey and academic sources. Six main types of NbS were identified, used to address various social, ecological, and cultural challenges in these settlements, including traditional community gardens and constructed wetlands, some differing from those in the Global North. NbS are often framed as grassroots initiatives led by local communities or as technical systems implemented within "upgrading programs."

Imelda Cahiles, Ricardo Bullecer · ACADEME University of Bohol Graduate School and Professional Studies · Asia

A study assessing the implementation of the Gulayan sa Paaralan Program (GPP) in schools in Lila District, Bohol, Philippines, revealed that the overall program implementation was less implemented. While roles and responsibilities at the school level and the establishment and maintenance of school gardens were implemented to a moderate extent, capability building, program monitoring, sustainability mechanisms, and program evaluation were less implemented. Respondents generally perceived the program as moderately beneficial and reported that implementation-related problems were less serious.

Ana Tereza Souza Domingos, Carolina Oliveira Mesquita, Emiliano Lôbo de Godoi, Thiago Augusto Mendes · Laws · Brazil

This bibliographical and documentary research analyzed the effectiveness of public food security policies in Brazil between 2012 and 2022, also considering urban agriculture as an alternative. It concluded that public policies were gradually weakened, and from 2019 to 2022, the Brazilian government discouraged food policy implementation. Consequently, Brazil faces food insecurity and hunger due to disjointed policies, the pandemic, and an economic crisis.

Davide Marino, Francesca Curcio, Francesca Benedetta Felici, Giampiero Mazzocchi · Land · Italy (Rome)

This paper proposes agroecological assessment as a tool for formulating evidence-based local food policies, adapting the Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE) model on a sample of 20 farms in the city-region food system of Rome, Italy. Data analysis showed that agroecological principles are not fully adopted by the majority of farms considered in Rome. Additionally, farms with the highest agroecological level are mainly driven by social factors and have a lower propensity for innovation, which could hinder the transformation process of food systems.

Sri Purwanti · Jurnal Jendela Inovasi Daerah · Indonesia (Magelang)

This study used quantitative methods to assess the community's potential and competence for urban agricultural activities in Magelang Utara District, Magelang City, Indonesia. Field findings indicated that the community is capable and competent, evidenced by their participation in yard planting and waste management to support economical and accessible plant cultivation.

Xolile Mkhize, Bonginkosi E. Mthembu, Carin Napier · Journal of Agriculture and Food Research · South Africa (Durban)

This study in Umlazi Township, Durban, South Africa, assessed food and nutrition insecurity in an urban informal settlement through a household survey (n=200), vendor survey (n=25), anthropometric data, and land ecotope data. Findings showed that over 67.0% of informal dwellers were unemployed, surviving on a household food budget under US$115.1 per month, and 73.0% of households lacked access to land for cultivation. The study concludes that land accessibility for food production is restricted, contributing to food insecurity.

Ananda Rizqullah, Bilqis Tsurayya, Paul Aldo Purba, Helki Ginting, Alya Putri Natandini, Dicky Andrea Sembiring · International Journal of Architecture and Urbanism · Indonesia

This paper proposes NeoHada, an adaptive urban building design concept for Indonesia that integrates solar-piezoelectric technology and rooftop farming, developed in response to urban flooding challenges. The concept is based on three principles — climatic, energetic, and productive architecture — using a rain-harvesting system on building rooftops to prevent flooding and provide an alternative water source, solar panels combined with piezoelectric technology for independent electricity generation, and rooftop farming aimed at urban food self-sufficiency. The paper frames the proposal in relation to Sustainable Development Goals covering zero hunger, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, sustainable cities, and climate action.