Research & reports

Tibisay Pérez, Sintana E. Vergara, Whendee L. Silver · Scientific Reports · United States

Continuous micrometeorological mass-balance measurements of greenhouse gas emissions from commercial-scale windrow food-waste composting found emission factors of 6.6–8.8 kg CH4–C and 0.01 kg N2O–N per Mg of wet food waste, for a combined emission factor of 926 kgCO2e per Mg of dry food waste. Composting emissions were 38–84% lower than equivalent landfilling, with a projected minimum net savings of 1.4 MMT CO2e for California by 2025.

Cole Rosengren · Waste Dive · United States

California's Little Hoover Commission recommended pausing SB 1383, the state's organics recycling law, citing concern the state will miss its 2025 targets, but CalRecycle, industry and environmental advocates strongly opposed the pause, noting roughly $500 million already invested. 445 of 614 jurisdictions now have residential food-waste collection programs, and waste costs rose 20% for residential and 30% for commercial customers.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development · United States

An EPA report that for the first time quantifies methane emissions attributable to food waste in U.S. municipal solid waste landfills from 1990 to 2020 (EPA-600-R-23-064). In 2020, food waste was responsible for about 55 million metric tons CO2e of landfill emissions and accounted for 58% of fugitive methane emissions from MSW landfills. Because food waste decays quickly, 50% of its carbon degrades within 3.6 years, often before gas collection systems are installed.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development · United States

This EPA report (October 2023, EPA-600-R-23-065) introduces the 'Wasted Food Scale,' a new ranking of eleven food waste management pathways from most to least environmentally preferable, replacing the 1990s 'Food Recovery Hierarchy.' It finds source reduction, donation, and upcycling most preferable, and that sewer/wastewater treatment and landfill stand out for their sizeable methane emissions.

Joshua Newell, Alec Foster, Mariel Borgman, Sara Meerow · Cities · United States (Detroit)

A study in Detroit's Lower Eastside (~15 sq. miles) examined the spatial extent, characteristics, and residents' perceptions of urban gardens using spatial analysis and interviews. Gardens covered less than 1% of vacant land and were often ephemeral. Primary obstacles to scaling up urban agriculture in Detroit include uncertainty over land tenure, environmental pollutants, potential ecosystem disservices, and a lack of government support and capital investment.

Yujia Zhang, Jordan P. Smith, Daoqin Tong, B. L. Turner · Landscape and Urban Planning · United States (Phoenix)

A model was developed to optimize the co-benefits of food desert and urban heat mitigation through community garden planning, applied to over 5,000 vacant parcels in the Phoenix metro-area, USA. The study found that the optimal number and locations of community gardens needed for different mitigation goals can vary significantly. The existing 76 community gardens were mostly clustered around urban cores, leaving two-thirds of the metro-area underserved, but spatially optimized siting could double the co-benefits gained and cover more high-need neighborhoods.

Manuela Alves da Cunha, Ryzia de Cássia Vieira Cardoso · Ambiente & sociedade · Brazil (Salvador)

A descriptive study collected data from urban garden farmers in Salvador, Brazil, to assess the contribution of urban gardens to food and nutritional security and sustainable development. Urban gardens were shown to provide work and income for families, contributing to food supply and security. Beyond producing fresh vegetables for the local population, the activity also contributes to ecosystem balance and sustainability.

Hayden Hinton · Digital Archive @ GSU · United States (Atlanta)

A study in the Proctor Creek watershed in Atlanta, Georgia, measured field saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) in soils under compaction, urban agricultural use, and lawn maintenance. Urban farming significantly increased soil Kfs (mean 2.2E-4 cm/s) compared to compaction (9.1E-7 cm/s) and lawn maintenance (9.0E-6 cm/s), limiting overland flow. Grain-size distributions showed no significant difference, indicating Kfs was controlled by land-management practices, not soil texture.

Cristiane Cruz Barros Cristiane Cruz Barros, Óscar Emerson Zúñiga Mosquera, Luciano Pires de Andrade, Horasa Maria Lima da Silva Andrade · International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Science · Brazil (Recife)

This case study examined the Integrated Project of Community Gardens around CEASA/PE in Recife, Brazil, using secondary and primary data from semi-structured interviews. The research analyzed socio-spatial dynamics before and after the project's implementation to identify municipal transformations. It aimed to compare the project's reality with policy forecasts and identify environmental impacts, with initial conclusions presented.

Elvis Albert Robe Wandscheer, Rosa Maria Vieira Medeiros · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil

This study investigated the interrelations between urban agriculture and local institutions in Belém-PA and Porto Alegre-RS, Brazil. In both municipalities, actions were observed that were implemented temporarily but lacked continuity. Porto Alegre showed more commercial channels derived from previously established institutional relations, while Belém presented several elements without alternative solutions for problems related to high temperatures and navigation distances.

Denise Arroyo-Lambaer, Luís Zambrano, Miguel Rivas, Diana Laura Vázquez-Mendoza, Fernanda Figueroa, Martha B. Puente-Uribe, Ana Cecilia Espinosa‐García, Marco A. Tapia-Palacios, Marisa Mazari-Hiríart, Daniel A. Revollo-Fernández, Alaíde Jiménez-Serna, Marco Covarrubias, Carlos Sumano · Frontiers in Sustainable Cities · Mexico (Mexico City)

This study investigated the needs and commercialization challenges of chinampa producers in Xochimilco, Mexico City, to assess the potential of a green label. The analysis, based on a literature review and producers' mental model analysis, found that unresolved issues like commercialization problems, consumers' unwillingness to pay fair prices, soil degradation, and poor irrigation water quality persist. These issues make it difficult for most producers to bear certification costs, indicating that implementing a green label would likely fail to deliver its intended benefits.

Arnim Wiek, Stefanie Albrecht · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (Phoenix)

A multiyear transdisciplinary project in Phoenix, United States, analyzed the development of a sustainable urban food forest enterprise. The project built a coalition of supporters, secured a suitable site, codeveloped a vision and action plan, and fundraised a major start-up donation. However, research findings indicate that despite achieving success factors to some extent, an underdeveloped sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem jeopardizes long-term success and multiplication efforts.

Laís Caroline Marianno de Olivera, Gislaine Costa de Mendonça, Renata Cristina Araújo Costa, Regina Aparecida Leite de Camargo, Luís Filipe Sanches Fernandes, Fernando António Leal Pacheco, Teresa Cristina Tarlé Pissarra · Land Use Policy · Brazil

This study investigated the impacts of 35 years of urban expansion in Brazil's Administrative Region of Ribeirão Preto, linking it to agricultural land loss and environmental consequences. Using Landsat images and GIS, the research found rural area losses exceeding 350 km2, with equivalent production and economic losses of approximately 1.1 Mton/year and 230 MR$/year. Significant environmental impacts included the destruction of over 9100 km of natural watercourses, nearly 630 km2 of Permanent Preservation Areas, and the occupation of Guarani Aquifer recharge areas with impermeable surfaces, affecting approximately 7000 headwaters.

Andrea Valencia, Jiangxiao Qiu, Ni‐Bin Chang · Ecological Indicators · United States (Miami)

This study focused on food security within an urban agriculture network in the greater Miami metropolitan area, United States. Considering existing governance structures, sustainability indices were quantified for clustering urban agricultural sites (UASs) and identifying cluster priorities based on vulnerability or risk levels using multicriteria decision-making. Eight clusters were selected for visualizing UASs ranked by multicriteria decision-making under governance scenarios prioritized for climate change, social equity, and economic development impacts, highlighting the role of governance structure in incentive programs for enhancing overall UAS sustainability performance.

Margaret Marcy Emerson · Digital Commons - LIU Promoting Scholarship and Creative Work of LIU Students, Faculty, and Staff (Long Island University) · United States

In 2019, an estimated 35% of all food was lost or wasted in the U.S., and organic waste in landfills generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Composting significantly cuts the amount of food going into landfills, reducing climate and environmental impacts. Compost enhances soil, reduces the need for chemical fertilizers, improves soil water retention, provides carbon sequestration, and local composting conserves energy and reduces transport emissions.

Manuela Alves da Cunha, Ryzia de Cássia Vieira Cardoso · Ambiente & sociedade · Brazil (Salvador)

A descriptive study was conducted to highlight the contribution of urban gardens to promoting Food and Nutrition Security and sustainable development in Salvador, Brazil. Data collected from urban garden farmers in the city showed that the gardens have been promoting work and generating income for families, contributing to food supply and security. In addition to producing fresh vegetables for the local population, the activity contributes to ecosystem balance and sustainability.

Gustavo Henrique [UNESP] Pereira da Silva, Margarete Cristiane de [UNESP] Costa Trindade Amorim · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil

A study in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil, analyzed the effect of urban agricultural areas on atmospheric heat island intensity. Data were collected in February 2019 at 12 fixed points spanning three urban agricultural areas, eight intra-urban areas, and one area without construction materials. During daytime (9 a.m., 3 p.m.), points located to the south of the island of Santa Catarina—including urban agriculture sites—recorded the highest air temperatures, while at night temperatures decreased overall, with the studied agricultural areas becoming 'islands of freshness' relative to surrounding areas on many days.

S. Alan Walters, Christina Gajewski, Amir Sadeghpour, John W. Groninger · Climate · United States

An experiment at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, USA, evaluated culinary herb production on an extensive green roof (about 8 cm deep) under twice-weekly, weekly, and fortnightly watering (1 L per plant), testing perennial garlic chives, lavender, lemon balm, and winter thyme, plus annual basil. All perennial herbs produced more dry biomass and greater overwintering potential under the two more frequent watering schedules, and basil grew well with weekly watering, but weekly watering was required across all perennial herbs to achieve commercially viable growth, vigor, and overwinter survival.

Olga I. Soldatenkova · USA & Canada Economics – Politics – Culture · Canada

This article discusses the role of modern agriculture in Canada's food system, household food security and the expansion of agricultural exports. It describes the specialization and distribution of agricultural production across Canada's provinces and the territories of the country's Arctic zone, with particular attention to the development of urban agriculture, noting that in some cases it is treated as an element of action plans to combat climate change.

Cleidiane Moraes Novais, Tadeu Miranda de Queiróz · Engenharia Sanitaria e Ambiental · Brazil

In Tangará da Serra, Mato Grosso, Brazil, a city facing a recent water crisis, researchers analyzed samples collected from October 2019 to April 2020 with an initial-rainfall sampler, measuring pH, bicarbonates, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, calcium, magnesium, total hardness, chlorides, sodium, and potassium in the first five millimeters of rainfall to assess its suitability for irrigating urban agriculture. Chemical compound concentrations were highest in the very first millimeter of rain and improved as precipitation continued; under FAO guideline classification there was no restriction on using the municipality's rainwater for urban agriculture irrigation, though both natural and anthropogenic sources may have influenced the measured concentrations, and discarding the initial millimeters before use is presented as a viable option for irrigating backyard crops.

Bruno do Nascimento Macedo, Fernanda Nogueira Comas, Amarílis Lucia Casteli Figueiredo Gallardo · Journal of Urban Technology and Sustainability · Brazil (São Paulo)

This study discussed the main environmental services and disservices associated with urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in São Paulo, Brazil, using a systematic literature review and spatial analysis. It identified 12 environmental services and 5 disservices, mapping 197 UPA initiatives. The research concluded that UPA has the potential to offer environmental benefits, but can also exert negative pressures on the environment, including in areas that should be protected.

Mia Arvizu · Ethnic studies review · United States

This paper introduces "Cocoon: a series" by independent artist Mia Arvizu. This initial series challenges white supremacy culture and assimilation, serving as a stepping stone to spark conversations that spread resistance against patriarchy, capitalism, and colonialism. Arvizu is currently working in a fellowship with the National Park Service (NPS) and Groundwork, USA, focusing on communications for community-based projects such as community gardens.

Anne Debertin · · United States

This research studied how equity can exist at the intersection of regenerative and biophilic design strategies within an affordable housing model. Three case studies from Minneapolis, Santa Monica, and El Paso were examined using Terrapin’s Fourteen Patterns of Biophilic Design and the Living Building Challenge design guide. The analysis revealed that equity can operate through "place" (a Living Building Challenge imperative) and "connection to natural systems" (a Terrapin pattern). The study concluded that place and connection to natural systems have the potential to act as conduits to human and planetary equity.

Meredith Gaglio · · United States

The "Ecotopia" concept, promoting ecologically and socially responsible American Appropriate Technology (AT), included innovative urban planning like rooftop gardens. However, the expansion and contraction of the intranational Ecotopian network built by former Rainmakers in the mid-to-late 1970s revealed a crisis of purpose within RAIN and signaled a crisis within the AT Movement itself.

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.