Research & reports

Salvatore Pinna · Kobra (Universitätsbibliothek Kassel) · Spain

This study examines a municipal rural park in the Madrid region, Spain, established to promote local and seasonal produce, and analyzes its role in agricultural landscape enhancement using in-depth interviews and website analysis. Drawing on the European Landscape Convention's definition of landscape, it shows how spatial, ecological, and social outputs of farmer-led multifunctional and peri-urban agriculture interact with the park's management framework. The results are discussed in relation to Spanish environmental and landscape law, particularly regarding the connection between food, territory, and traditional landscape.

Brian J. Shaw · Cambridge University Press eBooks · Europe

An entry on ØsterGRO, a rooftop farm located in the center of Copenhagen that operates as a form of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).

Andrea Colantoni, Silvia Pili, Enrico Maria Mosconi, Stefano Poponi, Massimo Cecchini, Doria Paola, Luca Salvati · IRIS Research product catalog (Sapienza University of Rome) · Europe

A study describing relevant experiences of peri-urban farming in six Southern European metropolitan regions — Lisbon, Barcelona, Marseille, Rome, Athens and Istanbul — representative of different socioeconomic contexts. It frames the recent development of peri-urban agriculture as reflecting a crisis-driven process of "coming back to land," in which new land has been extensively cultivated and new relations formed between farmers, communities and territories, and outlines strengths and weaknesses in using fringe land for cropping along with implications for urban sustainability.

Eva Olsson, Eva Kerselaers, Lone Søderkvist Kristensen, Jørgen Primdahl, Elke Rogge, Anders Wästfelt · Sustainability · Europe

A study focusing on peri-urban land in Gothenburg (Sweden), Copenhagen (Denmark), and Gent (Belgium) analyzed the relationship between peri-urban food production and urban resilience. It found that arable farming has declined in all three areas since 2000 due to urban expansion and recreational land use changes. While policies for farmland preservation exist, strategies for local food production are not expressed in current planning documents, and competing land uses and high dependence on global food systems reduce peri-urban food production and improvements in urban food security.

Malin Gustafsson, Matilda Olsson · · Netherlands (Schiedam)

This thesis focuses on a design proposal for a multifunctional foodscape in a peri-urban area on the city edge of Schiedam, in the Metropolitan Region of Rotterdam-The Hague, Netherlands. The proposal includes food production, education, and recreation, aiming to transform peri-urban areas into multifunctional zones and exemplify their role as transition zones between urban and rural landscapes. An empirical pre-study was conducted, focusing on urban farming in Rotterdam, dairy farming in Midden-Delfland, and greenhouse horticulture in Westland.

Rafael Mata Olmo, Carolina Yacamán Ochoa · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Spain (Madrid)

This study, based on a case study in the Community of Madrid, addresses the treatment of agricultural landscapes in metropolitan contexts from a heritage perspective, emphasizing the role of this approach in territorial development and the revitalization of peri-urban agriculture. It synthesizes the concept of heritage and the agrarian park figure, then proposes a methodology for activating patrimonialization processes of peri-urban agricultural areas, supported by public participation and the activation of their identity elements.

Redazione · ECONOMIA E SOCIETÀ REGIONALE · Europe

This paper analyzed the characteristics of organizations that can best convey the cultural benefits of urban agriculture to the city. Through case studies in the cities of Seville and Milan, it examined the relationship between the presence of tangible and intangible cultural heritage and the ways communities are organized to transmit the value of that heritage.

José Antônio Segrelles Serrano · Revistes Científiques de la University of Barcelona (University of Barcelona) · Spain

This study discusses peri-urban agriculture, Agricultural Natural Parks, and local markets in Spain as a response to the subordination of rural areas to urban expansion. Peri-urban areas suffer negative impacts from urban functions, marginalizing family farming, yet peri-urban agriculture generates valuable environmental and cultural heritage. Agricultural Natural Parks are presented as a means to ensure sustainable agricultural activity and promote efficient, profitable farming with high added value in these areas, supporting local and seasonal food consumption and increased food security.

Corrado Diamantini · City Territory and Architecture · Italy

This article discusses the role of peri-urban agriculture in maintaining the identity and sustainability of Alpine cities, which face challenges such as urban sprawl. It emphasizes that peri-urban territories in the Alps can be crucial for sustainable urban development. As evidence, a planning project for the Rotaliana Königsberg territory north of Trento, Italy, is presented, which aims to restore its agro-food vocation through the creation of a vast agricultural park encompassing much of the urbanized area.

Darya Hirsch, Christian H. Meyer, Johannes Klement, Martin Hamer, Wiltrud Terlau · International journal on food system dynamics · Germany (Bonn)

This study uses a broad approach to Urban AgriCulture (UAC), encompassing crop production in urban and peri-urban areas, and presents an empirical case study on UAC Initiatives in Germany's Bonn/Rhein-Sieg region. The work aims to fill a gap due to the current lack of comprehensive and comparative studies on urban agriculture, which makes it difficult for researchers to identify its benefits.

Solange Hernandez · International Review of Administrative Sciences · France

This case study in the urban community of Pays d’Aubagne et de l’Etoile, France, over 25 years, aimed to understand paradoxical territorial management practices in peri-urban agriculture. Based on quantitative analyses of qualitative data, the study demonstrated the relevance of these management practices in action, but identified paradoxes as a recurring source of tension and deadlock in territorial public administration. The research proposes managerial tools applicable in the framework of public action in peri-urban agriculture.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

· · 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.

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.

Luca Salvati · · Europe

Land-use change in southern Europe was assessed through a case study of the Athens metropolitan region, Greece, analyzing the spatial distribution of built-up areas, cropland and forests together with demographic and socioeconomic indicators across alternating expansion waves over the past 50 years. Per-capita built-up area was higher during the "dispersed" urbanization wave than the "compact" one, but cropland was the land-use class most vulnerable to urbanization, with a high rate of conversion from forest to cropland — later abandoned and finally developed — observed since the early 1990s. This process was linked to land fragmentation and soil degradation driven by illegal housing and real estate speculation.

Laure‐Elise Ruoso, R. Plant, Pierre Maurel, C. Dupaquier, Philip Roche, Muriel Bonin · Ecology and Society · France (Thau Lagoon)

This record is a citation for a study on reading ecosystem services at the local scale through a territorial approach, focusing on peri-urban agriculture in the Thau Lagoon, Southern France. The abstract provides only the citation information and no further details about the study's methods or findings.

Amandine Joly · · France

This study characterized and strategically analyzed urban agriculture for the IETI external planning and environment consulting firm in Île-de-France, France. The analysis aimed to help IETI position itself commercially in urban agriculture, identifying both the benefits and the obstacles the firm might encounter. The study also briefly discussed the various scales of urban agriculture's integration into the territory and its advantages for the consulting firm.

Rocío Pérez-Campaña · European Planning Studies · Spain

This research analyzed land-use transformations of peri-urban agricultural deltas and vegas in Andalucía, Spain, focusing on medium-sized cities between 1956 and 2007. It also assessed their consideration in regional spatial planning. The findings indicate that these landscapes are changing land use and sometimes disappearing, receiving meagre attention and vague consideration in spatial planning.

Gioia Gibelli · TERRITORIO · Italy (Milan)

Agriculture has long been an important resource for Milan and its surroundings, with its significance increasing in recent years. Agricultural areas near the city can enhance urban metabolism and citizens' quality of life through ecosystem and landscape services, providing cultural and environmental services, and improving urban resilience. In this context, two important initiatives, the Agricultural District of Milan (DAM) and 'Parco delle Risaie', have been underway in Milan since 2008.

Giuseppe Cinà, Francesco Di Iacovo · PORTO Publications Open Repository TOrino (Politecnico di Torino) · Italy

This paper examines urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in Italy, identifying challenges in its planning, including the traditional exclusion of agricultural areas from territorial planning and the lack of local agricultural policy. The study highlights a disconnect between top-down policies and bottom-up practices, noting that numerous autonomous initiatives have emerged due to insufficient regional and local planning solutions. The authors conclude that overcoming the limitations of the top-down planning system, particularly in governance and inclusiveness, is a primary challenge for Italy.

Valerio Moretti, Adele Sateriano, Marco Zitti, Luca Salvati · · Europe

This article discusses the relationship between landscape and peri-urban agriculture and its implications for rural area management in the northern Mediterranean basin. It proposes a framework to evaluate the links between agro-forest systems and expanding urban settlements. The study advocates for a sustainable land management perspective in policies to preserve fringe land from excessive settlement scattering and landscape fragmentation, contributing to systemic and multi-scale approaches for territorial policies and integrated management of peri-urban agricultural landscapes.