Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
3315 results(50 / 133)
Past, Present and Future of Urban Agriculture in Cameroon: Major Contemporary Challenges (1993-2017)
2022Theodore Ngoufo Sogang, Youssouf Monkouop · Journal of Agricultural Chemistry and Environment · Cameroon
This article proposes a framework for understanding the past, present, and future of urban agriculture in Cameroon, focusing on the period from 1993 to 2017. It examines the subject through five fundamental notions: International Relations and Geopolitical Agriculture, Urban Economic Agriculture, Environmental and Food Climate Stakes, and Science and Culture adapted to agricultural and food mutations. The study aims to provide a comparative review of agriculture in transition by integrating historical, social, economic, and diplomatic perspectives.
Food educationFood sovereignty & justiceHealthEconomicsScaling Local Bottom-Up Innovations through Value Co-Creation
2022Chiara Marradi, Ingrid Mulder · Sustainability · Global
This work addresses the challenge of scaling bottom-up initiatives, such as urban farming, into new local ecosystems, noting that these initiatives often struggle due to socio-cultural challenges. It introduces a three-phased approach to enable knowledge exchange and collaboration across cultures and ecosystems. The approach defines common scalability criteria and frames scaling as a multi-step learning process to bridge cognitive and context gaps, contributing to transferable impact-driven scaling strategies.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsAgricultura urbana em Curitiba: um fenômeno heterogêneo e desigual
2022Elizandra Flávia Araujo, Marcos Paulo Fuck · Cadernos de Ciência & Tecnologia · Brazil (Curitiba)
This study aimed to identify and characterize different categories of urban agriculture practitioners in Curitiba. A descriptive study using bibliographic and documentary analysis found that urban agriculture activities are concentrated in peripheral areas of the city, with most participants having a monthly family income of up to two minimum wages. Despite a wide range of actors engaging in these practices, their visibility and inclusion in the political agenda occur asymmetrically.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageCommunity Gardens in Budapest, Challenges and Opportunities
2022Amine Mseddi, Mariann Simon · European Journal of Architecture and Urban Planning · Hungary (Budapest)
This paper analyzes four community gardens on vacant inner-city plots in Budapest, Hungary, to understand their challenges and opportunities. It found that these gardens face significant obstacles including temporary status, changing political circumstances, and varying local population attitudes. Despite these challenges, NGOs and local communities play a crucial role in sustaining these projects and raising awareness.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsPeripheralization, Ejidos and Agricultural Livelihoods in Intermediate Mexican Cities: The Importance of Collective Agency to Reduce Vulnerabilities
2022Yadira Méndez–Lemus, António Vieyra, Lorena Poncela, Beatriz de la Tejera, Cinthia Ruiz-López · Frontiers in Sustainable Cities · Mexico
A paper examining the interactions between peripheralization, vulnerabilities of agricultural livelihoods, and local collective agency in creating new capabilities in intermediate Mexican cities, based on a study in Tarímbaro municipality, part of the intermediate city of Morelia. The unit of analysis was the ejido, a form of social land tenure granted to landless peasants in 1917 after the Mexican Revolution and one of the most important forms of social organization in rural Mexico; about half of Mexican territory comprises more than 30,000 community-based land tenures, mainly ejidos, and a high proportion of land now occupied by urban centres was formerly ejido land. The study used the example of 15 ejidos notably affected by the expansion of Morelia, conducting semi-structured interviews with each ejido's president in 2015, followed by a survey of 61 individuals from 11 of the 15 ejidos. The peripheralization of Morelia was found to have produced inequalities in the adjacent municipality of Tarímbaro, with differential vulnerabilities in peri-urban agricultural livelihoods found among the participating ejidos; not all ejidos succeeded in addressing vulnerabilities linked to the urbanization of agricultural land, but those that achieved some success shared characteristics that reinforced common values and motivations toward shared goals for sustaining local livelihoods. The paper highlights the importance of functional rural organizations in regulating access to, and distribution of, resources in the peripheries of intermediate cities.
Peri-urban agricultureEconomicsCommunityPolicyIs Urban Farming the Green Economy of the Future?! : Investigation of the Sustainable Management of a Hungarian Startup Enterprise
2022Zsuzsanna Varga, Etelka Katits, Katinka Magyari, Ildikó Palányi, Éva Szalka · Soproni Egyetem Kiadó eBooks · Europe
A report examining the practice of sustainable management and growth, taking the 1987 UN report as a starting point, through a case study and situation analysis of a nascent, innovative Hungarian agricultural start-up, examining how financial accounting data can be used to measure and interpret the sustainable growth rate (SGR). Drawing on case and situation analysis from the Hungarian consulting sector, the study applied a quantitative technique using a self-developed financial diagnostic and value-creation expert system called FINel. Alongside the theoretical conception of sustainable management and SGR, the report demonstrates its application in business practice, presenting sustainable finance adapted to corporate life cycles as the basis for sustainable corporate management in a holistic approach.
EconomicsPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Agriculture Digital Planning for the European Unions Green Deal
2022Ana M. Bartolome, Deiyalí Carpio, Beatriz Urbano · Amfiteatru Economic · Europe
This study used the digital agricultural geographic information system AGRO-GIS to calculate and predict potential urban agriculture from abandoned horticultural lands and greenhouses in urban areas, applying binary logistic regression to identify determinants of abandoned horticultural land and greenhouses and ANOVA to test differences in agrarian land variation among urban areas. Results showed an average of 97.85 ha of abandoned horticultural land and greenhouses providing potential urban cultivable land per city; a one-hectare decrease in non-irrigated land was associated with an 87.98% increase in the odds of potential urban agriculture, and a one-hectare increase in grassland-shrubland was associated with a 67.59% increase in the likelihood of potential urban agriculture.
PolicyDigital agricultureClimate changeEconomicsEvolving local agrifood initiatives within a territorial agrifood system: the case of Prato Province, Italy
2022Barbora Duží, David Fanfani, Stanislav Martinát · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Europe (Italy)
A case study of Prato Province (Tuscany, Italy) analyzing how urban and peri-urban farming is embedded in local community life. Methods combined spatial analysis, semi-structured interviews with local stakeholders (N=9), field observations and discussions with local farmers (N=17). The study identified a diversity of locally rooted agrifood initiatives and food networks connecting individual farmers with local residents, with farms varying in how re-embedded they were in the urban space of Prato and its inhabitants. Cooperation among local agrifood initiatives was found to contribute to a more sustainable territorial agrifood system, and a tendency toward more sustainable land management was observed in the region. The authors argue that coordinated local food governance and innovative territorial planning instruments could contribute to sustainable agrifood systems elsewhere.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyUrban–rural linkageImplementation of Economy Civics Through Citizen Participation in Urban Farming Program
2022Fajar Sidiq Muttaqin, Endang Danial, Prayoga Bestari · JURNAL CIVICUS · Indonesia
A qualitative case study examining citizen participation in Bandung city's "Urban Farming" program in Pajajaran Village, Indonesia, as a form of "economy civics" implementation. The program was created by the Bandung city government in response to the city's dependence on food from surrounding areas, with data collected through interviews, observations and documentation studies involving the city's Food and Agriculture Office, Pajajaran Village officials, and the community. The results indicate that citizen participation in the Urban Farming program constitutes a form of economy civics implemented through produce with market value, affecting both the local economy and food security.
CommunityEconomicsFood educationUrban–rural linkageGrowing Edible Cities and Towns: A Survey of the Victorian Urban Agriculture Sector
2022Kelly Donati, Nick Rose · · Australia
A 2022 report presents findings from a survey of urban agriculture practitioners in greater Melbourne (including green wedge areas), Bendigo, Ballarat, and Geelong, Australia. It provides baseline data on the composition, activities, market channels, challenges, needs, and aspirations of the urban agriculture sector, and, informed by the survey findings and the academic literature, sets out a roadmap for addressing the sector's key challenges and building on its existing social and environmental commitments.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsEnvironmental and Social Dynamics of Urban Rooftop Agriculture (URTA) and Their Impacts on Microclimate Change
2021Begum M.S., Bala S.K., Islam A.K.M.S., Roy D. · Sustainability (MDPI), 13(16):9053 · Asia
Compares an experimental agricultural rooftop with bare roofs, measuring microclimate parameters including air, surface, and indoor temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide. It shows that rooftop agriculture can mitigate urban microclimate change and supply fresh vegetables while delivering environmental and socioeconomic benefits to city dwellers.
BiodiversityCommunityOrganic cycleEconomicsまちづくり団体による都市農業の市場外流通支援の特徴と課題
2021· 都市計画論文集（公益社団法人 日本都市計画学会）56巻2号 · Japan
A peer-reviewed paper analyzing how community-development organizations support off-market distribution (direct and contract sales) of urban agriculture, using cases in Kashiwa and Kokubunji. It provides scholarly context for public-private farmers-market and local-food efforts such as Kobe's EAT LOCAL KOBE.
PolicyCommunityEconomics都市農業をめぐる情勢について
2021農林水産省 農村振興局農村計画課都市農業室 · 農林水産省（都市農地活用支援センター セミナー資料） · Japan
A Ministry of Agriculture briefing on the current state and policy trends of urban agriculture. It summarises trends in urban farmland area, productive/specified-productive green space, measures under the Urban Agriculture Promotion Act, and initiatives toward diverse functions such as citizen farms, experience farms and agriculture-welfare collaboration — a baseline reference for municipalities designing urban-agriculture policy.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityFood educationLong-Term Development of Urban Agriculture: Resilience and Sustainability of Farmers Facing the Covid-19 Pandemic in Japan
2021Yoshida S., Yagi H. · Sustainability 13(8):4316 · Japan
Drawing on a survey of 74 farms in Tokyo, the study revealed conditions for farm resilience to the COVID-19 pandemic and the relationship between short-term resilience and long-term farm development. More than half of the farms increased sales, and short-term resilience contributed to farmers' intentions for long-term development and farmland preservation.
EconomicsPolicyCommunityEdible City—A New Approach for Upscaling Local Food Supply? The Case of Andernach, Germany
2021Artmann M., Sartison K. · Making Green Cities: Concepts, Challenges and Practice (Springer, Cities and Nature series), 173-194 · Global
A case study analyzing the 'Edible City' of Andernach, Germany, as a multifunctional productive green space where citizens can harvest freely in public areas. Drawing on interviews with key initiators, it shows that the project generates multifunctional social, ecological and economic benefits addressing urban challenges such as food security, biodiversity and social cohesion, and examines its potential for upscaling local food supply.
CommunityFood educationWelfareEconomicsBiodiversityNeglected and Underutilized Plant Species (NUS) from the Apulia Region Worthy of Being Rescued and Re-Included in Daily Diet
2021Scarano A., Semeraro T., Chieppa M., Santino A. · Horticulturae · Italy
Review of neglected and underutilized plant species from the Apulia region of southern Italy, highlighting their adaptive, nutritional, and economic potential and the case for re-including them in the daily diet.
Heirloom & landraceBiodiversityHealthEconomicsConsumer attitudes to vertical farming (indoor plant factory with artificial lighting) in China, Singapore, UK, and USA: A multi-method study
2021Ares G., Ha B., Jaeger S. R. · Food Research International 150:110811 · Global
Examines consumer attitudes to vertical farming across the USA, UK, Singapore and China using online surveys and a novel text-highlighting method, contrasting perceived benefits like sustainability with concerns over price and naturalness across markets.
EconomicsGrowing-Service Systems: New Business Models for Modular Urban-Vertical Farming
2021Martin M., Bustamante M. J. · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 5:787281 · Sweden
Proposes and analyzes 'growing-service systems'—a product-service-system business model for modular urban-vertical farming—exploring how service-oriented value provision beyond product sales can create new commercial opportunities for the sector.
EconomicsThe global rise of urban rooftop agriculture: A review of worldwide cases
2021Appolloni E., Orsini F., Specht K., Thomaier S., Sanyé-Mengual E., Pennisi G., Gianquinto G. · Journal of Cleaner Production 296:126556 · Global
Systematic review of rooftop agriculture cases worldwide, mapping diverse business forms including commercial and social models, and their integration into urban food policy and planning.
EconomicsPolicyFood security: The role of urban and peri-urban agriculture. A case of Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania
2021Malekela A. A., Nyomora A. M. S. · International Journal of Biosciences (INNSPUB) 18(6):204-214 · Tanzania
This case study in Dar es Salaam finds urban and peri-urban agriculture positively contributes to food security: 84% of crop-producing farmers engaged primarily to obtain food and income, underscoring UPA's role for the urban poor.
WelfareEconomicsGlobal mapping of urban-rural catchment areas reveals unequal access to services
2021Cattaneo, A., Nelson, A., McMenomy, T. · PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) 118(2) · Global
The foundational paper on the Urban-Rural Catchment Areas (URCA) typology, mapping the urban-rural continuum worldwide as 30 classes (7 city sizes × 3 travel-time bands) and showing unequal access to services.
PolicyEconomicsEconomic and Social Development along the Urban-Rural Continuum: New Opportunities to Inform Policy
2021Cattaneo A., Adukia A., Brown D.L., Christiaensen L., Evans D.K., Haakenstad A.M., McMenomy T., Partridge M., Vaz S., Weiss D.J. · World Development / World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 9756 · Global
About 25% of the world's people live in the peri-urban areas of small and mid-size cities. Proximity to large cities is strongly correlated with lower poverty, while mid-size-city fringes face a 'peri-urban penalty'. Establishes URCA as a core policy framework.
PolicyEconomicsAs the city grows, what do farmers do? A systematic review of urban and peri-urban agriculture under rapid urban growth across the Global South
2021Follmann, A., Willkomm, M., Dannenberg, P. · Landscape and Urban Planning 215, 104186 · Global
A meta-analysis of 92 studies across 83 Global South cities, showing that peri-urban agriculture under rapid urbanization faces both pressures—displacement/marginalization of farmland and expansion/intensification driven by rising food demand.
EconomicsCommunity gardening in Hellinikon as a resistance struggle against neoliberal urbanism: spatial autogestion and the right to the city in post-crisis Athens, Greece
2021Apostolopoulou E., Kotsila P. · Urban Geography, 43(2), 293–319 · Greece (Athens)
Examining the Hellinikon self-organized guerrilla garden that emerged as resistance to real estate redevelopment of the former Athens international airport, the paper argues that community gardening can embed grassroots opposition to neoliberal urban transformation and assert the right to urban space.
CommunityPolicyWelfareEconomicsAssembling agroecological socio-natures: a political ecology analysis of urban and peri-urban agriculture in Rosario, Argentina
2021Hammelman C., Shoffner E., Cruzat M., Lee S. · Agriculture and Human Values · Argentina (Rosario)
Drawing on interviews with 30 stakeholders in Rosario, the study applies assemblage and urban political ecology frameworks to reveal how institutionalized agroecology constructs valued socio-natures amid land pressure and economic marginalization.
CommunityPolicyEconomics