Research & reports

Rute Sousa Matos, Desidério Batista · Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) · Europe

A philosophical essay (RCAAP, Portugal, 2014), drawing on landscape theorists Rosario Assunto and Ferriolo, examines allotment gardens as landscape spaces combining lived and contemplative experience, using Lisbon's allotment gardens as a case study of efforts to regulate, develop, and integrate such spaces into city planning. It situates allotment gardens historically in Portugal's 1960s-70s rural-to-urban migration, discussing them along both ethical dimensions (social, environmental, emotional, economic) and aesthetic dimensions (urban regeneration and city design), without reporting empirical measurements.

Francesca Cognetti, Serena Conti · SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología · Italy

A paper on Milan, Italy (2014) interprets the rising interest in urban agriculture in Milan as driven both by a desire to revive city design and by concrete attempts to realize it. Constructing a taxonomy of experiences to compose a hypothetical scenario of a "cultivated Milan," it focuses on initiatives that use cultivation not just as individual satisfaction or environmental reflection but as a tool for addressing urban issues and organizing common life; it argues that the English term "community gardens" — despite perhaps overemphasizing the community aspect — better describes these practices than the conventional Italian term "urban orchards," since the observed projects, in different ways, all aim to rediscover shared urban space, both physical and relational, through small projects that offer tangible immediate satisfaction while implicitly pointing toward wider horizons.

Elżbiata Słabińska · Res Gestae · Poland

In 1930s central Poland, national policy to mitigate the effects of unemployment was expanded into so-called "special actions" providing full or partial employment support, comprising efforts to create bases for independent livelihoods, social and educational assistance, and support for employing white-collar workers. These were coordinated by the Labour Fund (Fundusz Pracy) together with national and local authorities and numerous economic and socio-cultural organizations. Allotment gardens and vocational training drew considerable interest among the unemployed. The paper concludes that although these were innovative measures, they were introduced too late to produce visible effects before the end of the interwar period.

Stefano Grando, Roberto Henke, Livia Ortolani, Francesco Vanni, Thomas Aenis, Andrea Knierim, M. C. Riecher, R. Ridder, Harold H. Schobert, Holger Fischer · · Italy

Noting that urban and peri-urban farms cannot feed a city's entire population in either quantity or variety, but can provide a base for products and services that enhance the ecological, social and economic sustainability of metropolitan areas, this study analyzes farms in the countryside surrounding Rome, Italy. It first identifies market-oriented farms within the municipality of Rome and classifies them into three categories — traditional, adaptive and reactive peri-urban farms — then examines two cases of "reactive" farms in depth to identify the factors that shaped their successful trajectories and drove their renewed, multifunctional role in Rome's peri-urban agriculture.

Oliver Moore, Olive McCarthy, Noreen Byrne, Michael Ward · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Europe

This paper examines one of the earliest and most prominent community supported agriculture (CSA) initiatives in Ireland, focusing on its organizational restructuring under productivity pressure. CSA is built on sharing risk and reward, and some uncertainty is treated as acceptable, but in this case the realized risk of insufficient produce, once pushed to its limits, became in fact unacceptable to members. The process by which this member-owned and member-operated CSA critically self-assessed and restructured after this shortfall is termed "reflexive resilience" — a description of an initiative that had to acknowledge a real produce shortfall and rebuild, not merely one that anticipated shocks in the abstract.

Ségolène Darly, Christine Aubry · Géocarrefour · Europe

This study examined the diversity of alternative agri-food networks (S3A) supplying collective catering (school and institutional canteens) in France, particularly the Île-de-France region, and their respective capacity to reestablish a link between food and urban agriculture. Distinguishing S3A based on proximity relations tied to the region's urban agriculture from S3A built on extended networks spanning distant production and consumption sites, the results show that whether Île-de-France farm products are introduced into canteens depends, beyond the level and nature of local supply, on multiple other local factors such as the existence of producer-referencing networks and the state of kitchen equipment and labor resources.

Nerea Morán Alonso · · Europe

Framed by the need for new processes to regenerate urban space amid the current ecological crisis, this study positions urban gardens as instruments that help close urban metabolic cycles and improve residents' quality of life, and it analyzes three European cases -- London, Berlin, and Madrid -- to identify the legal and regulatory conditions most favorable to the development of urban garden projects.

Marian Simón Rojo, Nerea Morán Alonso · E.T.S. Arquitectura (UPM) eBooks · Spain

This paper argues that the resurgence of interest in urban and peri-urban agriculture is tied to a rediscovery of the importance of food security and local production, which has led to the development of the first local sustainable food plans. It states that this resurgence often comes with an aura of renewed modernity, whether through its creative and social-mobilization potential or through the dazzling technological innovation linked to new building-based production systems (vertical farming), and notes that professional and academic urban-planning circles have begun incorporating debate on organizing local agricultural systems, framed as strategic reserves in an energy-transition scenario, into reflection on the city's future.

Michela Felicetti · Advanced engineering forum · Italy

A paper examining whether the food hub concept can be applied to the Piana di Sibari area of Calabria, Italy, designated a Quality Agrifood District (DAQ) under regional law. After identifying features of the food hub concept within the area's largest cooperative, the paper argues that this arrangement represents an opportunity for small farmers to access conventional food supply chains from which they would otherwise be excluded. It frames food hubs as a hybrid of alternative and conventional food networks and, notably, as a way to address the economic viability problem faced by local food initiatives such as community-supported agriculture (CSA)—that is, the paper's premise is that CSA-type local food initiatives struggle to be economically viable on their own.

Javier Calatrava Requena, Requena, Javier Calatrava · Revista española de estudios agrosociales y pesqueros/Revista española de estudios agrosociales y pesqueros · Spain

Against a backdrop of rising interest in urban farming in both developing and industrialized countries, this study analyzes the Urban Agglomeration of Granada, Spain, as an example of intercalated farming areas existing within an urban ecosystem. It notes conceptual confusion around urban agriculture often causes errors in calculating environmental sustainability indicators based on green-space density, because some agricultural activities clearly carried out within the urban ecosystem are not counted as "urban." The Granada case analysis showed inaccuracies in the use of conventional "greening" indicators based on urban green density, and the study concludes that strong institutionalized protection is needed for these intercalated agro-urban spaces.

Landesabstimmungsleiterin Berlin, Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg · Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg · Germany

The official final result report for Berlin's 25 May 2014 referendum on preserving Tempelhofer Feld. Of 2,491,365 eligible voters, 46.1% (1,149,145) participated. The citizen-initiated bill (question 1) passed with 739,124 'yes' votes (64.3%), while the Senate's counter-proposal (question 2) was rejected with 588,586 'no' votes (51.2%), resulting in a law preserving at least 230 hectares as permanent public green space.

Barrow Cadbury Trust · Barrow Cadbury Trust · United Kingdom

Published 7 August 2014, reporting results for the first cohort of 1,000 prisoners in the Peterborough Social Impact Bond: an 8.4 per cent fall in reconviction relative to the comparable national baseline. The figure was produced for the Ministry of Justice by independent assessor Professor Darrick Jolliffe with Qinetiq and the University of Leicester using propensity score matching, finding 142 reconvictions per 100 prisoners at Peterborough against 155 per 100 in the control group. Payment required a reduction of more than 7.5 per cent, so the project did not qualify at this stage; outcome payments were due to be decided in 2016.

Henderson S. R. · Peter Lang (Studies in Modern European History, vol. 64) · Germany

A comprehensive history of Ernst May's New Frankfurt initiative within the Weimar context, covering housing settlements, construction and material innovations, the parks-and-garden-colony program, the Frankfurt Kitchen, and reforms in schools and medical facilities.

Migge L., Haney D. H. · Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection (Ex Horto series); Harvard University Press · Germany

An annotated English translation (edited and introduced by David H. Haney) of Migge's foundational 1913 treatise, presenting the primary source for his social and productive garden theory, from urban parks to housing settlements with allotment gardens.

Jaquand C. · In Situ. Revue des patrimoines, no. 21 · Germany

Examines Migge's landscape designs for urban extensions in Berlin, Frankfurt and Dessau and his organic city-garden relationship based on recycling water and urban waste, including the evolving self-sufficient settlement system of his 1932 book.

Yves Cabannes, Isabel María Raposo · City · Europe

This paper conducted a comparative analysis of peri-urban agriculture in Lisbon and London to assess its contribution to migrant social inclusion and urban biodiversity. The study found that social inclusion patterns are city-specific; for example, Cape Verdean urban farming communities in Lisbon strengthen community bonds but do not necessarily lead to better integration into wider Portuguese society. Migrant urban farmers contribute to broadening biodiversity, primarily in Lisbon and to a lesser extent in London.

David Adams, Michael Hardman · Urban Studies · United Kingdom

This paper uses ethnographic data from 'F Troop', a guerrilla gardening group in an English midland city, to re-examine urban guerrilla gardening practices. It argues that these practices may not be as "resistant" or "celebratory" as often suggested in existing literature. The study highlights that the social backgrounds and motivations of participants, along with their relationships with other users of the space, are important but largely unacknowledged aspects of guerrilla gardening.

Marta Bobowski · Facta Simonidis · Germany

This article addresses the phenomenon of urban gardening, with a specific focus on Germany. Part I defines and categorizes the main forms of non-economically motivated gardening in urban public space, outlining its core attributes and historical background. Part II indicates how the culture of a historical period affects the shape of green areas and clarifies the correlation between urban gardening and present political, social, and ecological discourses.

María Antonia Fernández Nieto, Eduardo Zamarro Flores · Arte y Ciudad · Spain (Madrid)

This study presents a case of urban recovery through citizen participation in mural painting at Aliseda18, an urban garden on the outskirts of Madrid. Various age groups participated transversally in the mural's creation, transforming previously identity-less walls into a backdrop that provides identity to the urban garden and its neighborhood. This case demonstrates processes of public space reappropriation and urban landscape generation at the local level, responding to inhabitants' initiatives.

OECD · OECD eBooks · Italy

This chapter presents three case studies on collective action in Italy. The "Land Conservation" project in Tuscany involves a local public body and farmers co-producing environmental services to enhance flood resilience and landscape maintenance. The shared garden in Campania describes the concerted management of a green area on a degraded site transformed into an eco-archaeological park. The collective management of mountain meadows and pastures in the Aosta Valley coordinates multiple stakeholders with regional support to maintain the landscape and preserve biodiversity.

Marcelo Ortega Romero, Juan Mingot Marcilla, María Jesús García Martínez, Eduardo de Miguel, Miguel Izquierdo‐Díaz, Amaya Gómez · · Spain (Madrid)

This study evaluated the potential health risk from trace elements in urban garden soils in Madrid, Spain. Thirty-six composite soil samples were collected from the top 20 cm of six urban gardens, and concentrations of cobalt, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, and zinc were determined. The findings indicated that urban soils are significantly enriched in trace elements relative to background levels, suggesting a potential health risk.

Fátima Rodríguez Marín, Jorge Fernández-Arroyo, Helena Álvarez García · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Spain

This experience, conducted by a group of primary education students, involved school garden activities with pre-school and primary children, with a focus on pre-schoolers. Through various activities demonstrating plant growth and garden creation, children had fun learning about nature, developing conceptual, attitudinal, and procedural knowledge, including observation and respect for plants.

Pierluigi Musarò, Roberta Bartoletti · Archivio istituzionale della ricerca (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna) · United States (New York City), Italy, Europe

This study maps urban gardening in New York City and Italy, tracing the evolution of urban gardens from 19th-century worker gardens to the 1970s community garden movement. It notes that contemporary urban horticulture in Italy, while influenced by the US movement, primarily focuses on social, cultural, and civic-political values, with economic and productive potential not being central or sometimes excluded.

Veguita de Graná · · Spain (Granada)

This conference addresses the question of whether urban gardens humanize cities. Students will visit the leisure gardens in Granada (Las Huertas). The conference is organized by the Permanent Seminar on Agroecology of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Granada.

Marjetica, Potr · 公共艺术 · Netherlands (Amsterdam)

The on-site project "The Cook, the Farmer, His Wife and Their Neighbour" involved the creation of a community garden and community kitchen in the Nieuw West district of Amsterdam. This collaborative project was organized with the Dutch collective Wilde Westen.