Research & reports

Elke Rogge, Eva Kerselaers, Charlotte Prové · · Europe

This study explores opportunities and challenges for peri-urban agriculture, examining envisioning processes in Ghent and Kortrijk, Belgium, initiated by local authorities. Results indicate that pressure on farmland is a key issue in both contexts. Multifunctionality is complex in practice and governance, and successful envisioning processes require clear objectives, defined study areas, policy support, strong leadership, and reliable data.

Catharine Ward Thompson, Peter Aspinall, Jenny Roe, Lynette Robertson · · United Kingdom

This cross-sectional survey investigated the relationship between access to green space and health outcomes (stress, general health) among 406 adults in four highly deprived urban communities in Scotland, United Kingdom. Social isolation and place belonging were the strongest predictors of stress in three communities and of poor general health in the fourth. The amount of green space in the neighborhood, particularly access to a garden or allotment, was a significant predictor of stress, while physical activity, frequency of winter green space visits, and views from home predicted general health.

Leonardo Boganini, Chiara Casazza · · Italy

The ongoing Ur.C.A. research project in Italy's Tuscany region aims to identify the possibilities of integrating agriculture into urban settlements, especially brownfield sites and marginal areas, utilizing hydroponic technologies. The project analyzes the potential for requalification of these urban contexts through urban agriculture, focusing on legislative and technological feasibility. It seeks to develop an innovative hydroponic growth cell system suitable for urban unused areas, integrating renewable energy and rainwater collection.

Wanda Kononowicz, Katarzyna Gryniewicz-Balińska · Digital library of Zielona Gora (University of Zielona Góra) · Poland

This paper describes the historical development of allotment gardens in Wrocław, Poland, from the mid-nineteenth century. It notes the emergence of various types, including rented gardens, gardens for the poor or factory workers, school gardens, Schreber gardens, and "war" vegetable gardens cultivated between 1914-1918.

Xavier Recasens Gracia, María José Prados Velasco, Óscar Alfranca · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Spain

This study comparatively analyzed the relationships between the economic activity of urban farms and agricultural protection systems in the metropolitan areas of Barcelona and Seville. It investigated the business management and commercial aspects of urban agriculture, and how it is conditioned by urban planning and Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) decisions. Based on the CANVAS Business Model and quantification of benefits, the results demonstrated that urban agriculture is multifunctional and can contribute to business profits.

Andrew E. G. Jonas · · United Kingdom

This chapter explores the notion of "the alternative" as relatively unexamined. Empirical work over three years involved six food businesses and initiatives facilitating direct contact between producers and consumers. Earth Share Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Nairn, North East Scotland, provides vegetables to approximately 200 households weekly. The chapter suggests that diversity within the "alternative" food sector is not necessarily problematic, and consumers' contingent, accidental, and partial commitment has not undermined the success of these schemes.

Luca Salvati, Pere Serra, Serena Rugiero, Alberto Sabbi · Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia · Europe

This article discusses the relationship between landscape and peri-urban agriculture and the implications of sustainable land management for fringe land quality. It proposes a framework to evaluate the latent nexus between agro-forest systems and human settlements in southern Europe. Eco-sustainable planning integrated with multifaceted research and policy dimensions is a relevant approach to urban fringe sustainability. Permanent assessment of these factors allows for the implementation of different development scenarios.

Andrew Sleight · · United Kingdom

The Midlothian Community Hospital Garden achieved significant success, thanks to funding provided by the Tyne Esk LEADER.

Chiara Zonda · · Italy (Milan)

This abstract is a personal reflection on the author's childhood experiences with a family garden in Milan's hinterland, Italy. It describes the author's fascination with gardens and the sense of peace and community they provided. The author then notes realizing that urban gardens could serve as a strong tool for social aggregation within a neighborhood or community, leading to further research on existing successful urban garden initiatives worldwide.

Jens A. Geißler, Tim Schümann · · Germany

The Bad Oldesloe City Library in Germany organized an event series on urban gardening, integrating makerspaces and community learning. This initiative aimed to position the library as a modern learning hub and foster new urban initiatives.

Giulio Senes, Natalia Fumagalli, P. Ferrario, Daniele Gariboldi, Roberto Rovelli · Journal of Agricultural Engineering · Italy (Milano)

A study was conducted in 133 municipalities of the metropolitan area of Milano (excluding Milano city) to evaluate the presence of Municipal Community Gardens (MCGs) and define criteria for new MCG settlements. The study found that 59 municipalities had MCGs, with an average area per capita of 0.68 sq.m (excluding an outlier), and most MCGs were located in urban or suburban areas. Criteria proposed for identifying suitable areas for new MCGs included proximity to road networks within residential areas, suitable land use, and not high land capability, leading to the identification of the number and area of MCGs to be realized and their potentially suitable sites in each municipality.

Nicolás Cuvi · Americanae (AECID Library) · France (Paris)

The journal "Letras Verdes" called for reflections on biodiversity and urban agriculture, but many proposals were not published due to their technical report nature and lack of reflection on the meaning of these spaces. However, the article by Ana Cristina Torres et al., "Exploring the human-nature relationship: urban agriculture, conservation sciences, and the city," analyzes community gardens in Paris. In these spaces, dedicated to urban agriculture, the meaning of "nature" is redefined while new meanings about the city are constructed.

Beatriz Pineda Revilla, A.J.J. van der Valk · Urban Agriculture Magazine · Netherlands

This article examines the role of a participatory agent, a civil servant in Amsterdam East, Netherlands, whose primary task is to bridge the interests of citizens and local government within a community garden. The study focuses on citizen-led initiatives in Dutch cities.

Darya Hirsch, Christian H. Meyer, Johannes Klement, Martin Hamer, Wiltrud Terlau, Hirsch, Darya, Meyer, Christian, Klement, Johannes, Hamer, Martin, Terlau, Wiltrud · Publication Server of Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences (Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences) · Germany

This paper presents an empirical case study on Urban AgriCulture initiatives in the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg region of Germany. It states that Urban AgriCulture is a niche movement with the potential to contribute significantly to urban development and constitute a pillar of urban quality of life.

Charlotte Prové, Joost Dessein, Michiel De Krom · Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) · Belgium; Poland

A study evaluating urban agriculture in Belgium and Poland argues that current governance approaches fail to reflect the importance of local context. The authors found that considering city-specific factors is crucial for urban agriculture to reach its full potential. They recommend a broader policymaking strategy that acknowledges benefits beyond food production.

· · Italy

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) document from 2004 recognized the strategic value of peri-urban agriculture, describing these areas as complex territories with important economic, environmental, and social roles. The document also noted that peri-urban areas may include less favored areas, entitling local farmers to additional indemnity for natural or environmental limitations.

Elifnaz Durusoy · MEGARON / Yıldız Technical University Faculty of Architecture E-Journal · Turkey (Istanbul)

The Yedikule Urban Gardens in Istanbul were studied as an example where cultural conservation and social inclusion have been challenged by economic development due to the growth of urban development. This study emphasizes both destruction and development within the context of physical, natural, economic, and social change. It demonstrates the hardships faced when attempting to sustain urban gardens during periods of urban growth.

Andrew Hursthouse, T. E. Leitão, Annette Voigt, Avigail Heller, Béatrice Bechet, Paulo Brito da Luz · HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · Europe

This chapter overviews factors influencing the chemical, physical, and biological status of soils, water, and the biosphere in urban allotment gardens. It highlights that urban garden soils, water, and biosphere are affected by pollution due to their location in city centers or suburbs, with traffic infrastructure and industrial zones widely identified as impacting soil and water quality. Concerns over long-term risks from pollutant transfer (mainly metals) from soil to plants in these uncontrolled environments have been widely publicized.

Richard Almenius · · United Kingdom

A 2016 urban planning thesis on London, United Kingdom. It states that London imports 80 percent of its food, much of it from abroad over long distances ("food miles"), raising sustainability concerns and contributing to road freight congestion and pollution in the inner city. The thesis proposes redeveloping the brownfield land of Greenwich Peninsula in south-east London — near the Millennium Dome, the Thames, and underground access — by combining rooftop and courtyard urban farming with large-scale food production in a converted former industrial building, presented as a pilot project for a sustainable way of living in London beyond meeting housing needs alone.

Alexandra Doernberg, Ingo Zasada, Katarzyna Bruszewska, Björn Skoczowski, Annette Piorr · Sustainability · Germany

A 2016 study applies a food systems approach to examine the potential and limits of regional organic food supply in the Berlin Metropolitan Region (BMR), Germany. Using an analytical framework built from the literature and qualitative interviews plus a stakeholder workshop on two alternative food network types — organic community supported agriculture (CSA) and organic retail trade — it finds that demand for regional organic food exceeds regional supply, while identifying obstacles including limited access to land, rising rental prices, insufficient processing capacity, and an unsupportive political environment for organic farming.

Gražina Janulytė-Bernotienė · Journal of Sustainable Architecture and Civil Engineering · Europe

A conceptual paper positioning the Lithuanian tradition of green architecture as both a perception of landscape identity and of human-nature coexistence, treated as a field of cultural activity that extends beyond urban planners, architects, or landscape architects. It examines the urban expression of green architecture in Lithuanian cities, identifying two branches with different origins running from urban agriculture to city landscape. The paper argues that future development of green architecture should be tied to the concept of a self-sufficient city that ensures renewal of both artificial and natural structures, and that Lithuanian cities need to grow the intensity of green structures in parallel with urban intensity.

Krystyna Pudelska, Kamila Rojek · Teka Komisji Architektury Urbanistyki i Studiów Krajobrazowych · Poland

This case study examines the historic school and its adjoining park in the village of Sobieszyn, Ułęż County, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, established at the end of the nineteenth century under the will of Count Kajetan Kanty Kicki. Located away from the village center on the slope of the Świnka, a tributary of the Wieprz River, the site continues to operate today as the Kajetan Kicki Agriculture School.

Wanda Kononowicz, Katarzyna Gryniewicz-Balińska · Civil And Environmental Engineering Reports · Poland

This paper traces the history of allotment gardens in Wrocław, Poland, alongside changing socio-economic conditions from the mid-nineteenth century onward. They began as rented plots for the poor and factory workers, then in the early twentieth century expanded to include school gardens and Schreber gardens with shared common areas as part of Dr. Schreber's educational health program; "war" vegetable gardens were widely cultivated from 1914 to 1918; allotments were systematically integrated into the city plan as permanent urban greenery elements in the 1920s; and during the 1930s economic crisis, allotments with garden houses were adapted as housing for the unemployed and homeless. The paper describes Wrocław's allotment gardens as cultural heritage with historical, social, recreational, economic and compositional value, noting that while Western Europe is seeing a renaissance of the allotment idea, Poland shows a tendency to eliminate them from urban landscapes.

Rosanne Wielemaker, Jan Weijma, G. Zeeman · Resources Conservation and Recycling · Netherlands

A study on Rotterdam, the Netherlands, assessed how source-separation-based New Sanitation (NS) systems could match the supply of nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic matter with demand from Urban Agriculture (UA), premised on the view that sustaining cities long-term requires a circular metabolism where the output ('waste') of one urban process becomes input for another. Applying the Urban Harvest Approach, originally developed for the urban water cycle, to nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic matter across two UA typologies (ground-based and rooftop) and four NS concepts treating domestic urine, feces, and organic kitchen waste, the study found that UA's demand for nutrients and organic matter could be reduced by 65-85%, with full (100%) self-sufficiency achievable for phosphorus, while nitrogen and organic matter would reach only partial self-sufficiency.

Susan Noori, Mary Benson, B J Gawryszewska, Michael Hardman, Kadri Kasemets, Maria Partalidou, Tarmo Pikner, Krista Willman · · Europe

A sociological essay addresses the sparse sociological literature on allotment gardens as 'lived places,' exploring how social relations, experiences, meanings, and a sense of place develop and become visible within gardens. It argues that allotment gardens offer people the opportunity to engage creatively in place-making and that this active engagement drives the social process of place-making, taking the Pispala allotment garden in Tampere, Finland, as an example of an urban nature area experienced as an extremely socially meaningful place, and discusses urban livability and place-making in relation to people's connections to rurality and nature, along with the permeable, transient boundaries and sense of community that develop within shared spaces where individual plots are leased.